The Dire State of Movie Development

Matt is joined by The Black List founder Franklin Leonard to dig into the state of screenwriting in Hollywood and how the landscape has changed over the past five years and since the strike. They discuss the decline in research and development on the studio level, how this has affected aspiring writers, if there is room for optimism, and if it's still possible to break through (2:25). Matt finishes the show with an opening weekend box office prediction for the movie ‘Transformers One’ (26:03). For a 20 percent discount on Matt’s Hollywood insider newsletter, ‘What I’m Hearing ...,’ click here. Email us your thoughts! thetown@spotify.com Host: Matt Belloni Guest: Franklin Leonard Producers: Craig Horlbeck and Jessie Lopez Theme Song: Devon Renaldo Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Matt is joined by Bloomberg’s Lucas Shaw to recap last night’s Emmys and nominate the under-discussed winners and losers from TV’s biggest night (02:21). Later, ‘Hacks’ creators Jen Statsky, Lucia Aniello, and Paul W. Downs call in to talk about their big win for Outstanding Comedy Series, how they pitched the show to HBO, and the state of the comedy genre (15:58). For a 20 percent discount on Matt’s Hollywood insider newsletter, ‘What I’m Hearing ...,’ click here. Email us your thoughts! thetown@spotify.com Host: Matt Belloni Guest: Lucas Shaw, Jen Statsky, Lucia Aniello, and Paul W. Downs Producers: Craig Horlbeck and Jessie Lopez Theme Song: Devon Renaldo Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Matt is joined by Seth Meyers to discuss the evolving state of late-night television, making content that will work on digital, and the growing trend of the online celebrity interview show. Seth also gives his thoughts on the upcoming 50th anniversary extravaganza for 'SNL,' who should take over 'SNL' after Lorne Michaels, and Jason Reitman’s new movie, ‘Saturday Night’ (02:12). Matt finishes the show with a recap of his time at TIFF and predicts which films are in the running for the coveted People’s Choice Award (28:36). For a 20 percent discount on Matt’s Hollywood insider newsletter, ‘What I’m Hearing ...,’ click here. Email us your thoughts! thetown@spotify.com Host: Matt Belloni Guest: Seth Meyers Producers: Craig Horlbeck and Jessie Lopez Theme Song: Devon Renaldo Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Matt is joined by Bloomberg’s Lucas Shaw to pose their five biggest questions about the entertainment industry for the remainder of 2024. They discuss Disney and Bob Iger’s succession plan, whether the election will fundamentally change Hollywood, whether we could lose a streaming service in the next four months, and how this award season stacks up to those from past years (02:00). For a 20 percent discount on Matt’s Hollywood insider newsletter, ‘What I’m Hearing ...,’ click here. Email us your thoughts! thetown@spotify.com Host: Matt Belloni Guest: Lucas Shaw Producers: Craig Horlbeck and Jessie Lopez Theme Song: Devon Renaldo Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It’s fall festival season! Matt is joined by Peter Kujawski, the chairman of Focus Features, to discuss the science of premiering a movie at a film festival. Peter provides his expertise on why you bring a certain movie to a certain festival, the risk involved, and which specific festivals are best suited for certain types of films. They also discuss the politics of these festivals jockeying to attain the world premieres of splashy titles, and which festival award is the most coveted (02:51). Matt ends the show with an opening weekend box office prediction for ‘Beetlejuice Beetlejuice’ (26:10). For a 20 percent discount on Matt’s Hollywood insider newsletter, ‘What I’m Hearing ...,’ click here. Email us your thoughts! thetown@spotify.com Host: Matt Belloni Guest: Peter Kujawski Producers: Craig Horlbeck and Jessie Lopez Theme Song: Devon Renaldo Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices