HOLLYWOOD'S UPDATED TECH STACK
Technology is changing Hollywood at warp speed and at TheGrill this year, we’re digging into how those shifts are playing out across the business - with a focus on AI. We will show you three projects that have leaned heavily on AI in the narrative storytelling. You’ll also see how AI is being used to read audiences and culture and why scripted series built for your phone have captured Hollywood’s attention. 
GENERATING THE IMPOSSIBLE
AI is expanding what filmmakers can bring to the screen. At TheGrill, we’ll show clips from three projects doing just that and a company that has assembled a toolkit to do so. Grill partner Todd Terrazas, the co-founder of AI on the Lot, will moderate “The Future of Filmmaking: A New Production Model for Hollywood,” with Jason Zada, Eliza McNitt, Jon Erwin and Ori Winokur digging into generative AI and hybrid live-action/AI workflows. Zada will show a piece of his new AI film, Terrarium. Terrazas will bring Gods Don’t Give Gifts from Gossip Goblin, a creator-led studio founded by former Oculus/Meta executive Zack London, combining human writing, art and production with AI. 
SMALL SCREEN, BIG BUSINESS
Short-form scripted series are booming on mobile, and Hollywood wants in. David Oyelowo, Nate Parker and Jana Winograde join TheWrap’s Tess Patton for “Microdramas: Hollywood’s Next Big Story,” a conversation about the fast-growing business of short-form scripted series. Winograde herself made the jump from traditional Hollywood, where she previously led entertainment at Showtime, to building a company around vertical storytelling. What’s driving its global appeal? How does the business model work? And as creators, platforms, investors and former studio executives move into the space, can microdramas become a major new lane for Hollywood? 
WHAT DO AUDIENCES WANT?
Kevin Goetz has spent his career helping Hollywood answer that question. As founder and CEO of Screen Engine/ASI, he’s personally tested more than 5,000 film titles, with research that impacts how movies are made, marketed and released. In “Transforming Audience Insights in the Age of AI,” Goetz will get into how research companies are using AI to accelerate analysis, find patterns in audience response and deepen qualitative insights, including emerging approaches like AI-powered augmented audiences. But can AI really replace the people sitting in a theater telling you what they think? Goetz will also dig into the technology’s limitations, why real audience response still matters and where human interpretation and judgment remain essential. 
READING THE SIGNALS
Culture moves fast, and spotting the next big shift early can be valuable intelligence. Yves Bergquist, an AI researcher at USC’s Entertainment Technology Center, is using AI to make sense of an increasingly fragmented media landscape. In “Zeitgeist Intelligence Powered by AI: Finding the Signals in Pop Culture,” he’ll look at how AI can identify patterns and emerging signals in what audiences are responding to. Bergquist will also share findings from a new white paper exploring how his Zeitgeist system uses AI to understand audience segments and map the connective tissue between different brands and IP. The question we have: Can those signals show what’s capturing attention and where culture is headed before it hits the mainstream? Audience research, cultural intelligence, filmmaking, even the size and shape of the screen itself. Technology is touching just about every part of the entertainment business. There’s a lot to unpack. That’s what TheGrill is for. TheGrill is Sept. 30 at the DGA Theater in Los Angeles. Your ticket also gets you into AI Creator Day on Sept. 29. One ticket. Two days. P.S. WrapPRO gets you 20% off with code REGISTERED20. Knowing more should cost you less.
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