# Why Hollywood Needs Books More Than Ever

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-town-with-matthew-belloni-5195688/why-hollywood-needs-books-more-than-ever
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-town-with-matthew-belloni-5195688/why-hollywood-needs-books-more-than-ever.md
Podcast: [The Town with Matthew Belloni](https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-town-with-matthew-belloni-5195688)
Published: 2026-04-01T23:14:00+00:00
Episode link: https://traffic.megaphone.fm/GLT5985703147.mp3
Audio file: https://traffic.megaphone.fm/GLT5985703147.mp3
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JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/the-town-with-matthew-belloni-5195688/episodes/why-hollywood-needs-books-more-than-ever
Duration seconds: 1905

## Resource

Matt is joined by Jason Richman, UTA partner and cohead of media rights, to talk about the recent success of high-profile book adaptations at the box office ('Project Hail Mary,' 'Wuthering Heights,' 'The Housemaid'), why the long-standing Hollywood strategy of adapting books into films went away and is now back, the rise of female-focused authors, why this is leading to more power for book rights holders, what genres are most popular, and more (00:00). Matt finishes the show with an opening weekend box office prediction for ‘The Super Mario Galaxy Movie’ (27:23). Host: Matt Belloni Guest: Jason Richman Producers: Craig Horlbeck and Jon Jones Theme Song: Devon Renaldo This episode is brought to you by AMC+. Start your free trial today at join.amcplus.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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## Transcript

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