Hollywood News Banter

Matt Belloni, executive editor of the Hollywood Reporter joins guest host Michael Schneider to discuss top entertainment news stories of the week.

• Now that the battle for Viacom is over, attention turns to its troubled properties, including the film studio Paramount Pictures. After the major flop Ben-Hur, Paramount needs to find a way to turn his company around, likely by betting on successful franchises like Transformers.

• The ratings are in for the A+E channel Viceland, and there's good news and bad news. In general the numbers are down. There are only half as many viewers from what the channel was getting when it was previously H2, a History channel offshoot. But, those viewers who are watching are much younger than before, around the age of 40. Those younger viewers drive more advertising.

• Actress and comedian Leslie Jones has endured horrific abuse on social media before. Now, her personal website has been hacked, and private information exposed. Celebrities are constantly being told they need to have a strong social media presence, but that also makes them a target for abusive trolls. Jones' case is especially disturbing because she has been targeted because of her gender and race.