Live from CinemaCon at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, Matt is joined by 'The Mandalorian and Grogu' director Jon Favreau to discuss bringing a streaming property to the big screen, the future of the 'Star Wars' universe, why the perception of AI needs to change, how to improve movie theaters, and how new technology is transforming filmmaking.

Host: Matt Belloni

Guest: Jon Favreau

Producers: Craig Horlbeck and Jon Jones

Theme Song: Devon Renaldo

This episode is brought to you by AMC+. Start your free trial today at join.amcplus.com.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Matt is joined by Bloomberg’s Lucas Shaw to discuss the business behind Justin Bieber’s Coachella performance, Ye’s successful mini comeback in Los Angeles, and Bill Ackman’s $64B bid to buy UMG (02:29). Matt finishes the show with a prediction about Hollywood’s letter opposing the Paramount-Warner Bros. merger (22:40).

Host: Matt Belloni

Guest: Lucas Shaw 

Producers: Craig Horlbeck and Matt Pevic

Theme Song: Devon Renaldo

This episode is brought to you by AMC+. Start your free trial today at join.amcplus.com

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Matt is joined by documentary filmmaker Morgan Neville to talk about his new film ‘Lorne’, what it was like having exclusive access to Lorne Michaels and the behind-the-scenes moments from 'SNL' for multiple years, what surprised him about Lorne, what he thinks the future of 'SNL' looks like, and more (02:42). Matt finishes the show with an opening weekend box office prediction for ‘You, Me & Tuscany’ (34:37).

Host: Matt Belloni

Guest: Morgan Neville

Producers: Craig Horlbeck, Jon Jones, and Matt Pevic

Theme Song: Devon Renaldo

This episode is brought to you by AMC+. Start your free trial today at join.amcplus.com

Hacks: Every Thursday at 9pm on HBO Max.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Matt is joined by Cinema United President and CEO Michael O’Leary to discuss their new filmmakers council including Jerry Bruckheimer, Emma Thomas, and Ryan Coogler, what this council plans to accomplish, the promising start at the 2026 box office, if we are seeing a shift in the types of movies that are getting made, and how they plan to improve the moviegoing experience (02:32). Matt finishes the show with a prediction about the release dates of 'Dune: Part Three' and ‘Avengers: Doomsday’ (28:57).

Host: Matt Belloni

Guest: Michael O’Leary

Producers: Craig Horlbeck, Jon Jones, and Matt Pevic

Theme Song: Devon Renaldo

This episode is brought to you by AMC+. Start your free trial today at join.amcplus.com

Hacks returns April 9 on HBO Max.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Matt is joined by labor lawyer, journalist, and author Jonathan Handel to break down how the WGA reached a tentative deal with the AMPTP earlier than expected and what was won—including significant health care increases and AI protections—as well as a surprising agreement to a four-year deal instead of three years. They discuss if this deal is ultimately a win for the WGA and if this will lead to labor peace across other guilds (2:30). Matt finishes the show with a prediction about late-night talk shows (28:57).

Host: Matt Belloni

Guest: Jonathan Handel

Producers: Craig Horlbeck and Matt Pevic

Theme Song: Devon Renaldo

This episode is brought to you by AMC+. Start your free trial today at join.amcplus.com

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Matt is joined by film producer Todd Garner to discuss if movies are actually getting longer. Todd provides a study of over 3,600 films from 1980-2025 to reveal which genres have gotten longer over the years, and by how much. They discuss a surprising trend among action films, why auteur-driven films are getting longer, and the increase in the percentage of movies over two and a half hours. Todd provides his expertise as an experienced producer and executive in Hollywood to help outline what the movie length discussions are like among studios, how they differ from streamers, and if this is a problem for movie theaters (2:42). Matt finishes the show with an opening weekend box office prediction for A24’s new film ‘The Drama’ (27:10).

Host: Matt Belloni

Guest: Lucas Shaw 

Producers: Craig Horlbeck and Matt Pevic

Theme Song: Devon Renaldo

This episode is brought to you by AMC+. Start your free trial today at join.amcplus.com

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Matt is joined by Jason Richman, UTA partner and cohead of media rights, to talk about the recent success of high-profile book adaptations at the box office ('Project Hail Mary,' 'Wuthering Heights,' 'The Housemaid'), why the long-standing Hollywood strategy of adapting books into films went away and is now back, the rise of female-focused authors, why this is leading to more power for book rights holders, what genres are most popular, and more (00:00). Matt finishes the show with an opening weekend box office prediction for ‘The Super Mario Galaxy Movie’ (27:23).

Host: Matt Belloni

Guest: Jason Richman

Producers: Craig Horlbeck and Jon Jones

Theme Song: Devon Renaldo

This episode is brought to you by AMC+. Start your free trial today at join.amcplus.com

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Matt is joined by Bloomberg’s Lucas Shaw to discuss why Netflix has raised its prices twice in the past 18 months and the growing prominence of ad tiers on streaming services. They also talk about Opening Day baseball airing on Netflix, the surging MLB ratings, and who might be the biggest buyer for baseball rights in 2028 (00:00). Matt finishes the show with a prediction about the new HBO 'Harry Potter' series (25:20).

Host: Matt Belloni

Guest: Lucas Shaw

Producers: Craig Horlbeck and Jon Jones

Theme Song: Devon Renaldo

The Clyburn family searches for connection in Montana's Madison Valley. The Madison, New Series now streaming - only on Paramount+ 

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Matt is joined by United States Senator Adam Schiff (D-California) to discuss his recent hearing with entertainment industry and labor leaders on the challenges facing the film industry and the importance of instituting a federal tax incentive to bring film and TV production back to California. They talk about how the production slowdown has hurt the city of Los Angeles, why California is not as aggressive in offering tax incentives as other states and countries, and what the federal tax credit would entail. They discuss where Schiff stands on the Warner Bros.–Paramount merger, the Los Angeles mayoral race, and more (00:00). Matt finishes the show with a prediction about the venue of the Academy Awards moving from Hollywood to downtown L.A. in 2029 (29:31).

Host: Matt Belloni

Guest: Adam Schiff

Producers: Craig Horlbeck and Jon Jones

Theme Song: Devon Renaldo

The Clyburn family searches for connection in Montana's Madison Valley. The Madison, New Series now streaming - only on Paramount+ 

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Matt is joined by Alex Heath from the Sources newsletter and Access podcast to discuss the end of Disney’s deal with OpenAI after they announced the shutdown of video app Sora. They get into why OpenAI is changing course, AI companies' relationship with Hollywood, and what this means for Disney. They also discuss the massive layoffs at Epic Games and how this move affects Disney's future as a major investor in the video game company (00:00). Matt finishes the show with a prediction about the future of the 'Bachelor' franchise after the Taylor Frankie Paul scandal (22:49).

Host: Matt Belloni

Guest: Alex Heath

Producers: Craig Horlbeck and Jon Jones

Theme Song: Devon Renaldo

The Clyburn family searches for connection in Montana's Madison Valley. The Madison, New Series now streaming - only on Paramount+ 

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Matt is joined by Bloomberg’s Lucas Shaw to discuss the massive weekend at the box office for ‘Project Hail Mary’ and use this as an opportunity to revisit the movie star power ranking. They sourced producers and executives around town and created their ranking of movie stars they believe are the biggest box office draw in Hollywood (00:00). Matt finishes the show with a prediction about the premiere of new Yellowstone sequel ‘Dutton Ranch’ (28:49).

Host: Matt Belloni

Guest: Lucas Shaw 

Producers: Craig Horlbeck and Jon Jones

Theme Song: Devon Renaldo

The Clyburn family searches for connection in Montana's Madison Valley. The Madison, New Series now streaming - only on Paramount+ 

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices