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Matthew Belloni

Formerly the editor of The Hollywood Reporter, and an entertainment lawyer, Belloni covers the inside conversation about money and power in Hollywood.

THE LATEST ARTICLES
NEWSLETTERS
Filmmaker Adam McCay has been pitching a star-studded political dramedy, but challenging streaming economics have made it difficult to find a home.
HOLLYWOOD • March 23, 2023
Streaming’s Long, Slow Journey to Television
New Disney+ and Netflix numbers point to a split between existing and new subscribers, and a familiar, potentially stable future for streaming.
Lauren Sanchez has been quietly working on her first scripted film. It’s been quite the trial by fire.
HOLLYWOOD • March 19, 2023
Lauren Sanchez’s Adventures in the Screen Trade
Jeff Bezos’s ambitious companion self-financed a film that secretly shot last summer and includes a cameo by Bezos’s ultra-private daughter, but crew defections turned a low-budget passion project into something far less hassle-free than buying undies on Amazon.
Netflix film chief Scott Stuber has passed on the rare opportunity to spend $150 million on a Nancy Meyers romantic comedy.
HOLLYWOOD • March 16, 2023
Netflix Priced Itself Out of the Nancy Meyers Business
Backend “buyouts” allow streamers to compete with studios for top projects and A-level stars. But that system has ballooned up-front fees to the point where Netflix said no to a bankable filmmaker and her $150 million Scarlett Johansson movie.
Paramount executives, the Academy leadership, and Oscars producers believed until last week that Tom Cruise would attend.
HOLLYWOOD • March 14, 2023
The Tom Cruise Oscar Failure
The ‘Top Gun’ star’s absence is part of a larger problem for the Oscars—namely, nobody except Fan Bingbing wants to attend these days unless they’re actively flacking a project. But isn’t Cruise supposed to be the industry’s global ambassador?
Jimmy Kimmel will host his third Oscars this Sunday.
HOLLYWOOD • March 10, 2023
Behold, the 2023 Awards Season Awards!
Puck’s second annual, totally subjective and partially grievance-based salute to the oddities and embarrassments of Hollywood’s interminable Oscar season.
Paramount Global chairwoman Shari Redstone and C.E.O. Bob Bakish in 2017.
HOLLYWOOD • March 5, 2023
Why Won’t Shari Redstone Sell Showtime?
Paramount’s owner and her C.E.O., Bob Bakish, thwarted a $3 billion-plus bid from David Nevins in favor of their own plan to merge Showtime with Paramount+. But some analysts and company investors think that’s as insane as five ‘Billions’ spin-offs.
WGA West president Meredith Stiehm (pictured) and writer Michael Winship sent a rallying email to members on Monday after executive director and lead negotiator David Young took medical leave three weeks before studio negotiations.
HOLLYWOOD • March 2, 2023
A Hollywood Writer Strike Setback?
The departure of the WGA’s fiery, feared chief negotiator and a key omission in the union’s demands raise questions about its leverage at an uncertain moment for the new streaming economy.
Peter Jackson after winning the best director Oscar for "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King."
HOLLYWOOD • February 27, 2023
11 Burning Questions About the First Two Months of Hollywood ’23
Is Costner the highest-paid actor on TV? Do the studios actually want a writers strike? Why is Zaz suing Paramount? And are the new Lord of the Rings movies for real?
In the grand scheme, even with all the challenges Disney faces, the issue of what to do with the Fox assets is a good problem to have.
HOLLYWOOD • February 23, 2023
What If Disney’s Fox Deal Wasn’t So Terrible?
Bob Iger’s $71.3 billion play for streaming-age scale has been branded by some as too pricey for the new era of austerity, but the assets and executives could be a secret weapon in the war to become Hollywood’s last studio standing—if that’s what Iger wants.
When rumors leaked earlier this month that Yellowstone may end after its current fifth season because Kevin Costner is locked in a standoff over his shooting dates, few associated with the show were surprised.
HOLLYWOOD • February 20, 2023
Casualties of the Costner-Yellowstone Crossfire
Taylor Sheridan and the cast, crew, and executives behind TV’s No. 1 show have been frustrated by its star’s ego and unavailability for years. Now, as new details emerge in a standoff over Costner’s shooting days, Paramount’s Redstone and Bakish are ready to place their bet on the Sheridan-verse.
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