Podcast Summary: The Town with Matthew Belloni

Episode: The Hollywood Stock Market: The Rock, Louis C.K., Kevin Feige, Sora 2, and More!
Date: October 13, 2025
Host: Matt Belloni
Main Guest: Lucas Shaw

Episode Overview

This live episode from the Ringer and Puck's Screen Time event in Los Angeles features host Matt Belloni and media reporter Lucas Shaw conducting their annual “Hollywood Stock Market.” In this interactive format, the hosts "buy" and "sell" shares in people, companies, and trends shaping the film and entertainment industry. Their choices are based on who and what they believe has upside potential or is poised for decline in the near future—not personal endorsements but a snapshot of Hollywood’s business climate and cultural currents.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Hollywood Stock Market: The Game Plan

• Each host selects trends, companies, or personalities to “buy” or “sell,” aiming to spot future winners and avoid those due for a downturn
• Picks are explained with industry insight, often diving into nuanced, sometimes contrarian perspectives about business prospects

2. Sells: Trends, Companies, and Talents Losing Momentum

a) The AI Freakout (SORA)

• Host: Unidentified co-host/guest (presumed Matt Belloni)
  • Selling the industry "freakout" over AI video tools like SORA
  • Warns against “overstating AI’s immediate impact,” predicting it’ll be a tool, not a wholesale replacement for creative talent
  • Quote: "The notion that you are suddenly going to have a lot of movies wholly written by, starring, or directed by artificial intelligence is utter horseshit." (04:54)

b) Comcast

• Host: Lucas Shaw
  • Selling Comcast due to declining broadband/video business, lackluster Peacock growth, and strategic uncertainty
  • Quote: "Of all the big media companies that you’re looking at right now, tell me what the Comcast strategy is. And I don’t totally know." (08:09)

c) Microdramas / Mini Dramas

• Unidentified Co-host/guest: Skeptical that mini dramas (“microdramas”) receiving buzz will be the next big thing
  • Points out coverage is more hype than reality, referencing trend pieces that lack real consumer evidence
  • Quote: "I would challenge any of those authors to tell me, do they know someone who has actually watched one or consistently?" (16:27)

d) Glenn Powell

• Lucas Shaw: Selling on the actor despite his recent successes, questioning his potential to become a true superstar.
  • Concerned upcoming projects lack breakout potential and are from directors “that have had their day” (Ron Howard, Judd Apatow)
  • Quote: "We all want Glenn Powell to be Tom Cruise. I just don’t think he’s Tom Cruise now." (19:11)

e) TikTok Sale

• Unidentified Co-host/guest: Selling the "TikTok sale" narrative, calling it a political charade that won’t meaningfully transfer power away from Chinese interests
  • Quote: "I think it will be sold, but it’s not a real sale. You’re buying a US asset of an entity that is still fundamentally controlled by a Chinese company." (25:14)

f) Sports Streaming

• Unidentified Co-host/guest: Selling ESPN and Fox’s new standalone sports streaming services, doubting their value or audience at a $40 price point
  • Quote: "I have yet to find anyone who can explain who these services are for and who would pay like $40 for some of the sports." (29:12)

g) Kevin Feige / Marvel

• Lucas Shaw: Selling Marvel’s top producer, citing a massive slowdown in Marvel’s film slate and declining box office expectations.
  • Quote: “If you look at the retraction or retrenchment in Marvel over the next couple years...this is a studio that had three or four movies consistently for a decade. One next year, one in 27, and after that, not a lot dated.” (30:01)

h) Millie Bobby Brown

• Unidentified Co-host/guest: Selling, calling her “star on Netflix, nowhere else.” (31:25)

3. Buys: People, Companies, and Trends with Upside

a) Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson

• Unidentified Co-host/guest: Buying even as his latest film flopped; his star power and franchise reliability are seen as long-term assets.
  • Quote: "He is undeniably a star with a big following and I’m really not worried about his long-term career prospects." (09:22)
  • Lucas (on his prospects): "He’s Arnold Schwarzenegger...stick to what he does well." (11:14)

b) Josh D’Amaro (Disney Parks)

• Lucas Shaw: Buying Disney executive for his bold pricing strategies; sees price hikes as corporate strength despite public complaints.
  • Quote: “He knows the pricing power that they have...He’s basically saying to these Disney adults and Disney fans, what are you gonna do? You’re gonna pay it.” (13:12)

c) Scripted Content on YouTube

• Unidentified Co-host/guest: Buying the long-term potential for scripted entertainment to break out on YouTube and social platforms, even if microdramas are a media fad.
  • Quote: “Scripted programming on YouTube, scripted programming on TikTok, platforms with a real following will take off.” (16:45)

d) Ed Sheeran

• Unidentified Co-host/guest: Buying his value as a touring artist, even as his pop recording career fades—comparing him to Coldplay and Beyoncé’s established, legacy stardom.
  • Quote: "He will be one of the biggest touring artists for the next 20 years." (21:47)

e) Louis C.K.

• Lucas Shaw: Buys the comedian/canceled star as an industry player making a comeback behind the scenes.
  • Points to successful tours and renewed interest from streamers as a creator
  • Quote: “He was on Bill Maher last week and nobody cared. Nobody was up in arms. I have heard that several streaming TV outlets have been discussing whether he could be brought back not as a star, but as a creative force behind a new show.” (23:57)

f) Theatrical Stunts (Releases & Event Programming)

• Lucas Shaw: Buys putting unique or nostalgic content in theaters (e.g., Taylor Swift or Hamilton event films, kids’ movies re-released during dry periods), seeing opportunity in a leaner theatrical market.
  • Quote: “Put a movie in theaters that nobody has heard of or that came out 20 years ago...that, to me, is where we are going in the theatrical business...” (26:24)

g) Hip Hop

• Unidentified Co-host/guest: Buys hip hop’s enduring cultural importance despite current soft metrics in touring and streaming.
  • Quote: "It’s still the most important music in the culture...It’s going to be fine long term." (28:48)

h) Games on Netflix

• Lucas Shaw and guest: Ambivalent but leaning toward buying for long-term potential, despite short-term uncertainty and lack of a breakout hit yet
  • Quote: "Short term, selling; long term, I’m buying." (31:57)

4. Quick Hits: Buy/Sell Lightning Round

• Taylor Swift: Too dangerous to sell; hosts want no part of Swift backlash (31:02)
• Mike & Pam (Warner Bros. film heads): Buying—appreciation for the slate’s diversity, though concerns for the upcoming year remain (31:09)
• Riyadh Comedy Festival: Will return bigger, but debate over reputational risk vs. promotional value (31:31)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On AI hype:
  "The notion that you are suddenly going to have a lot of movies wholly written by, starring, or directed by artificial intelligence is utter horseshit." – Unidentified guest, (04:54)

• On Dwayne Johnson's Oscar appeal:
  "He’s just, like, plotting this in as one of his stops on the Dwayne Johnson road to infinite fame." – Lucas Shaw, (10:56)

• On Disney park pricing:
  "He knows the pricing power that they have...what are you gonna do? You’re gonna pay it?" – Lucas Shaw, (13:12)

• On Hollywood microdrama hype:
  "I would challenge any of those authors to tell me, do they know someone who has actually watched one or consistently?" – Unidentified co-host, (16:27)

• On Ed Sheeran’s phase change:
  "He will be one of the biggest touring artists for the next 20 years." – Unidentified co-host, (21:47)

• On Louis C.K.’s comeback:
  "He was on Bill Maher last week and nobody cared. Nobody was up in arms." – Lucas Shaw, (23:57)

• On TikTok’s US sale:
  "I think the whole thing is bullshit...it’s a total charade." – Unidentified co-host, (25:14)

• On Marvel’s decline:
  "This is a studio that had three or four movies consistently for a decade. One next year, one in ’27, and after that, not a lot dated." – Lucas Shaw, (30:01)

Useful Timestamps

• 04:14 — AI panic/SORA and the real impact on filmmaking
• 08:09 — Comcast’s strategic predicament and business model woes
• 09:01 — Dwayne Johnson’s star power analyzed post-box office flop
• 13:12 — Disney park pricing and Josh D’Amaro’s bold moves
• 16:27 — Critique of the microdrama hype cycle
• 19:11 — Glenn Powell’s ceiling as a Hollywood lead
• 23:57 — Louis C.K. discussion: “cancelled” to comeback
• 25:14 — The “fake” TikTok sale
• 26:24 — Opportunity in event-style theatrical exhibition
• 28:48 — Hip hop’s staying power despite recent commercial softening
• 29:12 — Sports streaming’s uncertain future
• 30:01 — Marvel retrenchment and Kevin Feige’s crossroads
• 31:02 — Taylor Swift and lightning round buy/sell

Final Thoughts

This rapid-fire live episode, laced with industry-insider banter and a touch of cynicism, surfaces key debates animating Hollywood: the real vs. hyped promises of AI, the changing contours of stardom, the state of legacy brands (Marvel, Disney, Comcast), and the ongoing disruption in music, streaming, and the event economy. Lucas Shaw and Matt Belloni’s stock market conceit serves as an engaging framework to explore where money, attention, and cultural cachet may flow next.