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mattbelloni.bsky.social
Matt Belloni
@mattbelloni.bsky.social
8.6K followers 53 following 330 posts
Founding partner @pucknews, host @ringer The Town, @kcrw; Ex-editor @HollywoodReporter, entertainment lawyer. Get my email: https://puck.news/author/matthew-belloni/
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Matt Belloni @mattbelloni.bsky.social · 14h
Can Prime Video finally get its act together in TV? Says one producer: "I haven’t made a show with Amazon, but I would now.” New @kimmasters.bsky.social ⬇️⬇️ puck.news/can-peter-fr...
Can Peter Friedlander Fix Amazon TV?
At Netflix, Friedlander was beloved for greenlighting blockbusters and passion projects, alike. At Amazon, he’ll need to work within new constraints—and he’s never been a guy who likes saying no.
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mattbelloni.bsky.social
Matt Belloni @mattbelloni.bsky.social · 16h
New pod: Let’s ignore the “centrist” and “both-sides” platitudes. Why, exactly, does David Ellison want Bari Weiss at CBS News? With @semaforben.bsky.social. Listen! open.spotify.com/episode/6uTW...
David Ellison’s $150M Bet on Bari Weiss and a New-Look CBS News
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Matt Belloni @mattbelloni.bsky.social · 1d
New pod: Put aside that one Rock movie flopped. This is A24's whole STRATEGY to justify that $3.5B valuation. Is it sustainable?? With the Monday smashing machine @lucasshaw.bsky.social. Listen! open.spotify.com/episode/7EOd...
The 'Smashing Machine’ Bomb and A24’s Big-Budget Burden
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Matt Belloni @mattbelloni.bsky.social · 4d
It’s emergency time for content owners and actors, so let’s understand the legal issues with AI-generated video from two experts in the field. ⬇️⬇️ puck.news/what-is-holl...
A.I.’s ‘Lazy Sunday’ Moment
OpenAI’s new video generator, Sora 2, trained on copyrighted material and celebrity likenesses, has thrust Hollywood into uncharted legal territory and put Sam Altman on a collision course with studio...
puck.news
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mattbelloni.bsky.social
Matt Belloni @mattbelloni.bsky.social · 5d
New pod: The case against OpenAI's new actor exploitation and copyright-infringement tool Sora2. With SAG-AFTRA exec director Duncan Crabtree-Ireland. Listen! open.spotify.com/episode/1y0f...
Sora 2, AI Actors, and How Hollywood Can Fight Back
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mattbelloni.bsky.social
Matt Belloni @mattbelloni.bsky.social · 6d
Sora 2’s response to “South Park’s Cartman doing the “you can’t handle the truth” monologue from A Few Good Men.”
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Matt Belloni @mattbelloni.bsky.social · 6d
New pod: Why are more original screenplays selling to studios and streamers? And is the decline of the superhero movie a factor? With manager Geoff Shaevitz of Entertainment 360. Listen! open.spotify.com/episode/1UrG...
The Return of the Spec Script—Is There Hope for Original Screenplays in Hollywood?
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Matt Belloni @mattbelloni.bsky.social · 6d
No big deal, I’m just making personalized videos on Sora with my favorite copyrighted characters owned by Disney and Amazon/Netflix and featuring an identifiable actress who is definitely not getting paid for this….
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Matt Belloni @mattbelloni.bsky.social · 7d
Disney+/Hulu cancellations during the first 5 days of the Jimmy Kimmel standoff exceeded Netflix's blowups over Cuties in 2020 and Reed Hastings' donation to Kamala Harris in 2024, per new data shared with @loudmouthjulia.bsky.social. ⬇️⬇️ puck.news/did-the-jimm...
Kimmel & The Disney+ Cancellation Epidemic
Beyond the shabby politics and Hollywood outrage, Disney’s decision to reinstate its late-night host was also evidence that “churn events” matter more than ever.
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Reposted by Matt Belloni
jonathanfriedman.com
jonathan friedman @jonathanfriedman.com · 8d
“Is everyone in Hollywood just okay with whatever OpenAI prefers?”

☎️ @mattbelloni.bsky.social trying to give the town a (necessary) wake-up call re: AI cos trampling on IP rights

“…the AI ship is going to sail… with Hollywood staying well behind—and eventually wondering where its business went.”
Who Won the Week: Sam Altman With today's announcement that OpenAl's latest Sora video tool will require copyright holders to opt out of inclusion, the company's C.E.O. steps up his effort to trample all over Holly-wood—without much significant pushback at all. A little more on this...: I don't think people in town realize how fast the entertainment industry's collective grasp over its key assets is slipping away. Altman is now taking the few copyright guardrails off his marquee video product, attempting to graft onto the Section 230 protections afforded to social media companies and forcing studios and other I.P. owners to explicitly ask OpenAl not to include their assets in videos the tool cre-ates. That potentially means anyone can make Minions clips that compete with the actual Minions content... every kid can input their own lyrics for a Taylor Swift song and instantly create a music video with Swift's actual voice. And the onus would be on the I.P. owners to play Whack-a-Mole on steroids with every single piece of infringing content. Where was the outrage today? The guilds and talent agencies are silent. The studios, some of which want deals with OpenAI and its potential $500 billion valuation, have been slow to respond, despite knowing about this at least a week in advance. (I heard about it this weekend, and when I contacted a major agency source, he responded, "Yeah, we're adding it to the list.") Today, when I asked for a reaction from the Motion Picture Association, which now counts Amazon as a member, I was directed to a years-old statement noting that "if the fair use defense does not excuse the exercise of the copyright owner's exclusive rights, the use of the owners' works for training requires affirmative, i.e., opt-in, consent." Okay, and dozens of A.I.-related lawsuits are pending, including from Disney, Comcast, and other major copyright owners. But it's clear that OpenAl and the others are seeking to define the legal and policy rules of the A.I. road on their terms, and they seem to be winning. For example: Sora won't generate images of real people, just other I.P.-protected materials, because "our general approach has been to treat likeness and copyright distinctly," Jason Kwon, the company's chief strategy officer, told the Journal. Our general approach? Is everyone in Hollywood just okay with whatever OpenAl prefers? Puck's A.I. expert, lan Krietzberg, whose newsletter you should definitely be reading (sign up here), had this to say when I asked his reaction to the Sora news: I've often heard A.I. described as a sort of social media 2.0-all the engagement and hyper-targeting of your X feed raised to the power of on-demand, personalized, and human-like conversations. But the latest rumblings from both Meta (surprise, surprise) and OpenAl are even less subtle than that. First, there's "Vibes," a Meta platform for the creation and publication of shortform A.I.-gener-ated videos. Now, OpenAl is reportedly preparing to launch a TikTok-esque app whose entire pitch, similarly, revolves around the sharing of 10-second A.I.-generated videos. The rub is that these videos will feature copyrighted material—-unless, that is, the I.P. holder opts their copyrighted content out. The move is sure to bring about even more legal tension between Hollywood-and the creative industry writ large-and Big Tech. There are currently more than 51 A.I.-related copyright lawsuits in existence (just in the U.S.); I expect we'll see a bunch of new ones shortly after OpenAl's new app goes live. I would hope so. Otherwise, the A.L. ship is going to sail for the New World with Hollywood staying well behind and eventually wondering where its business went.
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Matt Belloni @mattbelloni.bsky.social · 8d
New pod: We’re all adults, it’s okay to love a movie and want it to succeed but also admit it’s got a looooong and uphill battle ahead. Film bros, pls direct all feedback to @lucasshaw.bsky.social. Listen! open.spotify.com/episode/2D26...
The Battles Over the Box Office of ‘One Battle After Another’
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Matt Belloni @mattbelloni.bsky.social · 11d
Kimmel's the clear winner of the past week, but here's how all the players in the blast radius fared .... puck.news/the-jimmy-ki...
The Jimmy Kimmel Blast Radius
Assessing the winners, losers, and survivors of the biggest political-media feud in recent Hollywood history.
puck.news
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Matt Belloni @mattbelloni.bsky.social · 11d
New pod: Hollywood is a sales business, so which platforms are buying and WHAT they are buying has always been the top priority. Until....now? Parsing a new report on the $210B in annual content spend ..... With KPMG US author Scott Purdy. Listen! open.spotify.com/episode/5hnT...
Where the Money Is Spent in Hollywood and How It's Changing
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Matt Belloni @mattbelloni.bsky.social · 12d
Here’s the blueprint for how David Ellison plans to get the swift acquisition of TWO Hollywood studios past government regulators. It started yesterday with the hiring of Trump’s former antitrust enforcer. ⬇️⬇️ puck.news/david-elliso...
David Ellison’s Antitrust Playbook
Paramount’s new boss would still release about 15 Warner Bros. movies per year if he acquires its parent company as a key Trump advisor joins to help grease a potentially loud transaction.
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Matt Belloni @mattbelloni.bsky.social · 12d
Final NRG tracking for ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER has it at a $19M domestic opening. Other services put it higher, mid-$20Ms. Neither is good for a $130M+ Leo DiCaprio dramedy, but reviews are strong. No PTA movie has grossed more than $77M worldwide.
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Matt Belloni @mattbelloni.bsky.social · 13d
New pod: Who’s got the leverage in the next battles between Trump, the TV stations and Disney, and why Blue state attorneys general could play a surprising role. With @eriqgardner.bsky.social. Listen! open.spotify.com/episode/2dIV...
Kimmel Is Back, But Disney vs. Trump Is Just Beginning
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Matt Belloni @mattbelloni.bsky.social · 13d
Bigger on TV than I predicted….though about a third of the YouTube views so far….and counting (though a “view” is only 30 seconds on YT)….
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Matt Belloni @mattbelloni.bsky.social · 13d
New: Bob Broder has died. He was one of the most influential TV agents of all time, repping Chuck Lorre, Jim Burrows, dozens of others, and his boutique agency was the fuel that led to the growth of ICM, now part of CAA. RIP.
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Matt Belloni @mattbelloni.bsky.social · 14d
Jimmy Kimmel’s guests for the big return tonight are Glen Powell and Sarah MacLachlan. Both are promoting new projects on Disney-owned Hulu.
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Matt Belloni @mattbelloni.bsky.social · 14d
Of all the backlash that Disney CEO Bob Iger endured this week, one critic may have stung the most, per @kimmasters.bsky.social. ⬇️⬇️ puck.news/iger-eisner-...
Iger, Eisner, and Why Disney Finally Stood Up to Trump
Amid the backlash to the Jimmy Kimmel debacle, Disney’s former chairman and C.E.O. Michael Eisner broke his long silence on X with a scathing rebuke of Bob Iger. Did the drive-by contribute to today’s...
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Matt Belloni @mattbelloni.bsky.social · 15d
New pod: Why Disney finally stood up to Trump, and why the next few days and months are crucial for Jimmy Kimmel, the company, and its top executives. With @lucasshaw.bsky.social. Listen! open.spotify.com/episode/04Z4...
Kimmel’s Return, Disney’s Decision, and Iger’s Legacy
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Matt Belloni @mattbelloni.bsky.social · 15d
KIMMEL IS BACK
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Matt Belloni @mattbelloni.bsky.social · 16d
A statement….with no threat to Disney or call to action of any kind….very Hollywood…. www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/j...
400 Celebs Sign Open Letter Backing Jimmy Kimmel, Including Tom Hanks, Meryl Streep, Jennifer Aniston
An ACLU open letter supporting free speech and condemning Kimmel's suspension draws the support of a long list of Hollywood luminaries.
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Matt Belloni @mattbelloni.bsky.social · 16d
New: Sarah MacLachlan, Jewel, and more musicians scheduled to perform at tonight's premiere for Hulu's ABC News doc LILITH FAIR have all pulled out after Disney scrapped the red carpet. First notable talent consequence of the Jimmy Kimmel situation.
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Reposted by Matt Belloni
markhamnolan.com
Markham Nolan ☘️ @markhamnolan.com · 18d
Worth your time on the Kimmel saga: @mattbelloni.bsky.social & @dkthomp.bsky.social with a ton of great media industry context.

podcasts.apple.com/ie/podcast/p...
The Jimmy Kimmel Saga and America's Free-Speech Crisis
Podcast Episode · Plain English with Derek Thompson · 19/09/2025 · 41m
podcasts.apple.com
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