Digital Afterlife: Hollywood & AI Tech

New framework for content ROI in streaming era.
Film market growth accelerates for Disney, Lionsgate, and Columbia Pictures.
Europe’s €141 billion audiovisual sector expands, but streaming pay and authors’ rights lag.
BTS and Stranger Things top 2025’s most loved entertainment.

Ginger Liu is the founder of Hollywood PR agency, Ginger Media & Entertainment, journalist and researcher on technology and entertainment, an MFA photographer and filmmaker, and host of the podcast Digital Afterlife: Hollywood & AI Tech

Digital Afterlife News: Dead Celebrities, Dead Relatives, AI industry set for significant growth.
Google’s Sweetwater explores how AI turns grief into a new kind of memory.
Character.ai blocks teenagers from chatting with its AI bots amid safety concerns.

Ginger Liu is the founder of Hollywood PR agency, Ginger Media & Entertainment, journalist and researcher on technology and entertainment, an MFA photographer and filmmaker, and host of the podcast Digital Afterlife: Hollywood & AI TechTechnologyArtificial IntelligenceMental HealthStartup

HumanX took over San Francisco this week, drawing more than 6,500 attendees, with an impressive 60% at VP level or above, alongside 400+ sponsors, 300+ speakers, and a packed media presence of 350 journalists. Held across several days in April 2026, the event brought together some of the biggest names shaping AI right now. Speakers and participants included leaders and voices from companies such as OpenAI, NVIDIA, Google DeepMind, Microsoft, and Meta, alongside a surge of fast-rising startups entering film, media, healthcare, and enterprise AI.

Ginger Liu is the founder of Hollywood PR agency, Ginger Media & Entertainment, a journalist and researcher on visual media technology and entertainment, an MFA photographer and filmmaker, and host of the podcast Digital Afterlife: Hollywood & AI Tech

AI revolution in film and TV production and industry future report
AI is boosting productivity by 5–10% in development and pre‑production (visual pitches, script breakdowns, A/B story testing, and shot lists), with potential expansion into physical production (virtual sets, fewer reshoots) and post‑production (VFX, clipping, dubbing, faster workflows). Up to 20% of U.S. original content spend — about $10 billion by 2030 — could be addressable, with distributors capturing most of the value through margins as producers fragment.

SAG-AFTRA eyes studio tax on digital performers amid unstoppable rise of AI
Autodesk sues Google over AI-powered movie-making software
Amazon plans AI push to accelerate TV and film production
AI loops cause cultural stagnation with no new data
AI set to transform cinema operations from scheduling to box office forecasting
AI to make linear TV and streaming feel like a mood-shifting platform

Ginger Liu is the founder of Hollywood PR agency, Ginger Media & Entertainment, journalist and researcher on technology and entertainment, an MFA photographer and filmmaker, and host of the podcast Digital Afterlife: Hollywood & AI Tech

AI set to reshape film and TV production from script to screen.
Artificial intelligence promises to revolutionise every phase of television and film production, potentially transforming not just how stories are told, but who gets to tell them. As demand for video content surges, US adults now spend almost seven hours daily watching across platforms, stagnant budgets, lengthy production schedules, and fierce competition for viewers’ increasingly fragmented attention challenge traditional media.​ 

Amazon Prime Video introduces AI-powered video recaps for original series
New Dutch AI time‑travel series from Tilly Norwood creators
Beta Film launches AI startup Chapter41 with industry veterans
Kevin Reilly to helm AI startup Kartel as entertainment and tech worlds converge
Disney+ eyes user-generated AI videos despite IP lawsuits
Amazon Prime Video introduces AI-powered video recaps for original series

Eros Innovation raises $150m to power AI media platform

Ginger Liu is the founder of Hollywood PR agency, Ginger Media & Entertainment, journalist and researcher on technology and entertainment, an MFA photographer and filmmaker, and host of the podcast Digital Afterlife: Hollywood & AI Tech