Matthew Belloni

My annual sit-down with a candid group of teen moviegoers, who share their brutally unfiltered thoughts on the stars and stories that do (and don't) get them into theaters—from ‘Spider-Man' (“always gonna hit”) to Spielberg (“He's no Nolan”) to Sydney Sweeney (“like… no”).

Securing a wide release and 45-day window for 'The Magician's Nephew,' the 'Barbie' director broke the streamer's will on its previously nonnegotiable day-and-date strategy. So why now?

In his first earnings call as C.E.O., D’Amaro dropped a 3,000-word mission statement preaching A.I., a “One Disney” strategy, and a superapp to end all superapps. But perhaps what’s most telling is what he left out.

Executive compensation in Hollywood has exploded in the last 25 years, even in a period of steady decline for the industry and a generally stagnant stock market. An eye-opening new study ranks the boom’s victors and their jaw-dropping spoils.

May 14, 2026 Matthew Belloni Welcome back to What I’m Hearing, a little early tonight because I’m at the Mandalorian & Grogu premiere, where Jon Favreau just thanked the California Film Commission for the tax breaks that allowed this to be the first Star Wars movie filmed in L.A. That line got applause from a […]

A half decade of M&A opportunists, Peak TV casualties, industry contraction, devastating strikes, and approximately 1,500 David Zaslav mentions later, show business still can’t figure out if it’s reinventing itself or fading away. So I asked 100 industry sources what they think is going on.

May 21, 2026 Matthew Belloni Welcome back to a very special anniversary issue of What I’m Hearing. No, it’s not a clip show… well, not really. 💫💫 Exactly five years ago yesterday, I sent an email to 300 people in my Outlook folder— producers, executives, filmmakers, actors, and friends. I seriously wondered if anyone would […]

In a complementary study to my annual survey of L.A. teens, it turns out that young people across America have pretty specific—and not all that shocking or unfair—gripes with the movie business.

May 25, 2026 Matthew Belloni Welcome back to What I’m Hearing, coming to you from the Dodgers/Rockies game on this very pleasant Memorial Day. Before you ask, yes, David Zaslav did attend Graydon Carter’s big event with Bryan Lourd and Dario Amodei at the du Cap in Cannes (sponsored by Claude!), but just the small […]

As the industry—even the creative class—shifts to cautiously accept A.I., a Cate Blanchett–founded nonprofit is pushing to adopt a framework of consent for performers. Meanwhile, the business is groping around for new ratings standards in an effort to separate out the slop.