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👋 This is Warner Bailey. Connect with me here.
Today is a bucket list interview.
Matt Belloni, the former Hollywood Reporter editor turned Puck insider and host of The Town, and I sat down this week to chat on the current state of the Industry, and where the opportunity is for the next generation.
We first met in January when he had me on The Town to answer the simple question: Is Hollywood Assistant Life Still Insane? (obviously yes)
But today we flip the script as I ask him… is Hollywood in general just insane?
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🚨 NEW AvA VIDEO SERIES!!
I sat down with 7 of the biggest names in the Creator Economy and am sharing their playbook with you.
Guests include:
Adam Faze (Subway Takes, Boys Room)
Syd Cohen (Writer @ The Publish Press)
Woodie Hillyard (CEO @ Jake Paul’s “W”)
& more
This is a must watch for any creators out there or anyone working with digital talent or brands.
1) Grammy nominations just dropped
Kendrick Lamar, nominated a staggering 66 times in his career, leads the way with 9 noms
Lady Gaga (7) & Bad Bunny (6) follow close behind
The always competitive “Best New Artist” category features: Leon Thomas, Addison Rae, Sombr, Lola Young, Olivia Dean, KATSEYE, The Marias and Alex Warren.
2) The creator of Tilly Norwood, the fake AI actress, is still yapping away
3) Live Nation posted a record revenue of $8.5 billion in Q3. Billion with a “B.”
The company’s operating income was up 24% hitting $793 million, and is on pace for their ‘strongest year ever.’
4) AMC on the other hand lost $298 million in Q3
The world’s largest theater chain clocked major losses despite a successful slate including ‘Super-Man’ and ‘Jurassic World: Rebirth,’ but these films were a far cry from ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’ and ‘Despicable Me 4’ from the same period in ‘24.
5) Random graphic of the day: Have you ever wondered who the highest paid dead celebrity is? No? Well we have the answer anyway:
Michael Jackson’s estate leads the way with $3.5B, with Elvis and J. R. R. Tolkien rounding out the top 3 earners. That number will probably rise as MJ’s biopic, out in April of ‘26, just released their first trailer, hitting 30M views in first 6 hours.
Credit: Forbes
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Our new job board features 125+ early career roles in Entertainment, including:
💼 C-Suite Assistant - Lionsgate - Apply Here
💼 Assistant to Partner & Department Head (Film) - UTA - Apply Here
💼 Tour Marketing Coordinator - Live Nation - Apply Here
💼 Associate Social Media Manager (Pitchfork) - Conde Nast - Apply Here
💼 Brand Campaigns Manager - Wimbledon - Apply Here
💼 Social Media Coordinator (NBC Sports, Olympics, etc.) - NBCUniversal - Apply Here
💼 Live Events Coordinator - Barstool Sports - Apply Here
💼 Executive Assistant - Disney - Apply Here
💼 A&R Assistant - Warner Music Group - Apply Here
💼 Talent Booker - Betches Media - Apply Here
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🎒 Social Media/PR Intern (Game Shows - Spring 2026) - Sony Pictures - Apply Here
🎒 Production Assistant Intern (Film/TV) - HyperObject Industries - Apply Here
The one and only… Matt Belloni.
Our conversation is below:
How did you get your start in the industry, and what drew you to the kind of stories you cover?
Belloni: I started in the most boring way possible: as a lawyer. I worked at a law firm that did entertainment litigation. But one nice thing about then is it taught me how money is actually made in Hollywood, that informs a lot of what I cover now. I’ve always been interested in following the money.
What made you walk away from the machine of The Hollywood Reporter to build something entirely new with Puck?
Belloni: It was a mutual decision. I didn’t agree with the management at the time, and at same time I was itching to something more entrepreneurial. I didn’t think I’d be writing, but when we were starting Puck it just made the most sense for me to be the first writer.
As legacy media consolidates, and the influence of personality-driven outlets like Puck rise, how has that reshaped the way stories are told and who controls the narrative in Hollywood?
Belloni: The narrative is increasingly controlled by the talent because they have the social platforms and the ability to tell their own stories without intermediaries like newspapers or magazines. But also I have the ability to both compete with legacy outlets and also do something new and different because I am not weighed down with all the infrastructure and brand expectation comets with a legacy brand. There’s no way I could do what I do at a legacy brand.
When people look back on this era of Hollywood: the strikes, the streamer wars, the AI panic, what do you think will actually define it?
Belloni: The consolidation. Hollywood existed as a collection of 6 to 8 dominant studios for 100 years but the internet has democratized content so it is in the process of realigning around that and reshaping itself.
Who actually runs Hollywood right now?
Belloni: Big Tech.
You call your podcast The Town, but lately it feels more like The Wild West right now. Is Hollywood broken or just being rebuilt?
Belloni: I think both. The old models are broken, but we haven’t quite replaced them yet with what the professionally produced content business will look like. I’d give it 10 years.
If you were starting out today, what would you do differently?
Belloni: I’d probably go right into media and not go to law school….but I do use my legal training a lot, and it helped me with a base group of sources when I started out in media.
For young people trying to break into the industry right now, where’s the real opportunity right now?
Belloni: I think we are still in early days of creator/influence led businesses where talent can own more of their output.
Shameless plug: go check out my episode on The Town to hear him try and pry crazy assistant stories out of me.
👋 Enjoy the weekend and see you back here on Monday
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This newsletter is written by Warner Bailey and edited by Riley Furey and Dominik Sansevere.
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