10.10.24 Future Film Fridays

5 min readOct 11, 2024

Hello Medium readers! As promised, I’m now bringing my weekly LinkedIn post #FutureFilmFridays to this platform. If you’re new here, each week I explore the most intriguing stories at the crossroads of Hollywood and emerging technology, turning a lens on the future of entertainment. Think of it as your industry news fix, with a futurist’s perspective.

This week, we explore visionary collaborations, next-gen immersive tools, cutting-edge AI news (per usual), and the evolving influencer landscape. Let’s get into it!

1. Neri Oxman Designs for Megalopolis 🏙️

The boundary-pushing designer and materials engineer Neri Oxman, famous for her work integrating design, biology, and technology, revealed her collaboration with Francis Ford Coppola on his recent film Megalopolis (I have not seen yet so will not comment on its quality!). Oxman’s Krebs Cycle of Creativity made me a fan years ago, and now she’s bringing her vision of urban ecology and organic design into speculative cinema. This is exactly the kind of cross-discipline collaboration I’d love to see more of in Hollywood — urban design visionaries contributing to future world-building on screen.

2. Epic Games and the Future of XR 🕹️

Epic Games Inc., bolstered by its now solid financial footing, discussed how it will be bridging the its high end Unreal Engine with its Fortnite Unreal Editor to create the next generation of immersive XR tools. We’re talking about robust world-building features that will soon have low barriers to entry, offering developers and gamers tools to craft fully interoperable ecosystems. Think of it as the first step towards a true metaverse, where an interoperable economy is crucial. This is where entertainment is heading and everyone should take note.

3. XTR Acquires Late Night Labs — AI Meets Indie Film 🎬

XTR, an established documentary film company from Bryn Mooser, has just announced its acquisition of the new AI studio Late Night Labs. What’s intriguing here is the move to expand into animation and narrative filmmaking through AI, but, according to the two companies, from an artist-first perspective. I’m not sure exactly what that means as there is not a lot of info on the latter, but with creatives like Natasha Lyonne advising, this deal could put XTR on the radar for filmmakers looking to push the boundaries of storytelling with AI.

4. Netflix and the SVOD Dilemma 📺

A must-read article from The New York Times paints a striking portrait of how Netflix, the “purest expression of the streaming model,” has reshaped entertainment, and not necessarily for the better. The SVOD model made us believe that refined, moral, and intelligent content would always be on the other side of the screen, but as oversaturation hits, many viewers are finding it harder to get anywhere enjoyable in the streaming landscape. It’s a deeper commentary on the ‘uberfication’ of our content world, where quantity doesn’t necessarily mean quality.

5. Runway ML’s $5M AI Film Fund 🎥

Runway ML has announced $5 million in funding to help up to 100 films that utilize AI-generated video. There is an extensive application process and a rolling time line, and the fund looks to provide filmmakers with AI tools and the capital to push the boundaries of visual storytelling. I’m curious to see which projects and from what filmmakers get the funding.

6. HeyGen’s AI Avatar Generator 3.0 🤖

HeyGen has launched its 3.0 AI avatar generator, and while it’s still in early stages, the tech is impressive; users can create hyper-realistic 3D avatars with ‘full body dynamics’ to create a visual and audio representation of oneself that is pretty eerie. With Zoom announcing it will be enabling 3D AI Avatars that can deliver a message or a short speech for you in a meeting, I wonder if this will one day soon mean that your AI avatar could handle creative tasks like self-tapes for actors or a movie pitch? This is fascinating.

7. AI.Lonso: Eleven Labs Brings a New Spin to AI Narration 🎙️

And along these lines… ElevenLabs (in partnership with DeepReel) just announced AI.Lonso, an AI double of F1 race driver Fernando Alonso that looks to be a fan engagement tool for the Aston Martin FI team. It uses both the robust voice cloning tools of Eleven Labs and the virtual avatar tools of Deep Reel. As the press release states, “Personalized AI experiences are poised to drive the next stage of growth for Formula 1, and other sports leagues that embrace it, by providing fans a new level of access to stars.”

👉 Read more: https://elevenlabs.io/blog/ai-lonso

8. Influencers Shape the Digital Economy 🌐

I was initially torn over including this article but it certainly informs the future of entertainment. Though the #influencereconomy has its critics, the fact remains that these individuals are shaping the digital landscape. The Hollywood Reporter’s list of 2024’s most influential influencers is something to track, especially how these creators will utilize new AI tools and platforms to extend their reach and innovate content production.

9. Evan Shapiro on Radical Collaboration in Hollywood 🤝

I’m new to Evan Shapīro’s thought pieces but I’ve become a fan. This interview is a fascinating read on his beliefs how data and user voices are now the bloodline of Hollywood, and why streaming is starting to look more like retail — a thorny business model that’s not necessarily sustainable. He also emphasizes the importance of provocative language and ideas to stand out in today’s crowded media landscape.

And that’s it for this week. I hope you enjoyed. Please give it a thumbs up so that the all-powerful ‘algos’ know to share it more.

The future is coming fast — I’ll see you there.

#Hollywood #AI #filmmaker #futurist #Technology