Digital Afterlife: Hollywood and AI Tech

Ginger Liu
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Digital Afterlife: Hollywood Tech with Ginger Liu explores the latest news in Hollywood's AI-driven tech, artist copyright battles, entertainment policy, and film industry disruption. We explore the latest global startups and research in AI entertainment and media. Entertainment AI Tech News rounds up the latest Hollywood and global news Digital Afterlife News explores visual media, digital afterlife technology, and startups. Ginger Liu, MFA, is the founder of Ginger Media & Entertainment and is a multimedia journalist and researcher. gliumedia.com gingerliu.com https://gingerliu.substack

  1. 1d ago

    Entertainment and AI Tech News

    In this week’s Entertainment and AI Tech News — Yoroll’s AI Odyssey turns Homer’s epic into a playable, branching film built in two days on a ~$250 budget, while independent channel IncredibleXvision has crossed 10,000 YouTube subscribers with AI-generated shorts, suggesting synthetic content can build repeat audiences, not just one-off virality. On the studio side, Warner Bros. is facing significant backlash after promoting The End of Oak Street with an AI-generated dog podcast, a campaign many viewers say made them less likely to see the Anne Hathaway and Ewan McGregor thriller. AI is reshaping production and policy: Roku added a 24-hour AI channel via Fairground to its FAST lineup; Autodesk is rolling out 3D controls in Flow Studio for finer command over AI scenes; Brad Pitt argues AI could revive mid-budget films if used as a cost-saving tool rather than a performer replacement; Chinese models like MiniMax’s Hailuo 3 and ByteDance’s Seedream 5.0 are reigniting Hollywood’s copyright concerns; SAG-AFTRA is pushing back on weakening performer protections around digital replicas; the EU has begun enforcing transparency rules requiring clear labeling of AI-generated or significantly altered content; and Internet Cinematic’s new India–Japan AI film studio in Tokyo signals growing cross-border collaboration aimed at making ambitious filmmaking more accessible while keeping human artists central. Ginger Liu is the founder of Hollywood PR consultancy Ginger Media & Entertainment, a journalist and researcher on technology and entertainment, an MFA photographer and filmmaker, and host of the podcast Digital Afterlife: Hollywood & AI Tech

  2. Aug 25

    Digital Afterlife AI News

    Digital replica APIs market projected to reach $2.4 billion by 2036, South Koreans use AI videos to remember deceased loved ones, China curbs AI companions as tech companies limit chatbot features Artificial intelligence companies are expanding digital replica technology across business, marketing and bereavement services, as developers build systems that can generate personalized videos, simulate emotional conversations and recreate deceased loved ones. The digital replica APIs market is projected to grow from $145 million in 2026 to $2.4 billion by 2036, according to Fact.MR. The expansion is bringing new scrutiny from regulators and researchers. China has introduced restrictions on AI companions that encourage emotional dependency, while studies and emerging services are examining whether replicas of deceased people can comfort mourners without creating new risks involving consent, privacy and emotional attachment. Ginger Liu is the founder of Hollywood PR consultancy Ginger Media & Entertainment, a journalist and researcher on technology and entertainment, an MFA photographer and filmmaker, and host of the podcast Digital Afterlife: Hollywood & AI Tech

  3. Aug 20

    Entertainment and AI Tech News

    Europe’s AI funding is surging, with capital concentrating in a handful of breakout startups and the U.K. pulling ahead as the region’s leading market. At the same time, AI is moving deeper into entertainment production, with digital twins, generative video and VFX tools reshaping how film, TV, gaming and live experiences are made. The result is a clear picture of an industry shift: investment is accelerating, a small number of companies are capturing most of the money, and AI is spreading from model development into the workflows that power content creation and distribution. AI in VFX market set to top $1.07 billionDigital Twin in entertainment market set for rapid growthEurope’s AI funding boom is led by the U.K. as investment spreads across the regionGenerative AI in movies market set to reach $1.03 billionMIPCOM Cannes adds microdramas to 2026 agendaGinger Liu is the founder of Hollywood PR consultancy Ginger Media & Entertainment, a journalist and researcher on technology and entertainment, an MFA photographer and filmmaker, and host of the podcast Digital Afterlife: Hollywood & AI Tech

  4. Aug 11

    Entertainment AI Tech News with Ginger Liu

    BAFTA adds AI disclosure rule to awards submissions, Aronofsky seeks new funding for Primordial Soup, Gossip Goblin’s AI film set for theatrical release, Anthropic settles landmark author piracy case for $1.5 billion, and other news. Gossip Goblin’s Gods Don’t Give Gifts is headed to U.S. theaters on Oct. 30, Ash Koosha’s Dreams of Violets was the first fully AI-generated film to screen at Tribeca earlier this year, and Koosha has now released Odysseus: The Fall to coincide with Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey, as Darren Aronofsky’s AI studio push and the backlash around Neill Blomkamp’s Nightborne show how heated the debate has become. This week’s Entertainment AI Tech News roundup covers the industry’s push to draw clearer lines around AI use, from BAFTA’s new disclosure rule for awards submissions and Anthropic’s $1.5bn settlement with authors over pirated training data, to Netflix’s admission that generative AI appeared in roughly 300 titles and its $587m acquisition of Ben Affleck’s postproduction startup, while also tracking AI-native content moving toward mainstream distribution with Gossip Goblin’s theatrical release, Darren Aronofsky’s fresh funding push for Primordial Soup and the mixed reactions to high-profile AI experiments from Neill Blomkamp and others. Ginger Liu is the founder of Hollywood PR consultancy Ginger Media & Entertainment, a journalist and researcher on technology and entertainment, an MFA photographer and filmmaker, and host of the podcast Digital Afterlife: Hollywood & AI Tech

  5. Aug 6

    Entertainment AI Tech News

    Entertainment AI Tech News with Ginger Liu AI-generated Odysseus: The Fall released ahead of Nolan’s The Odyssey, Netflix admits generative AI used in 300 TV shows and films, PixVerse raises $439 million as AI video Netflix has confirmed that generative AI was used in the production of around 300 films and television series in 2026, underscoring how rapidly the technology is becoming embedded in mainstream entertainment. Singapore-based AI video-generation startup PixVerse has raised an additional $439 million in a Series C extension, pushing its valuation above $2 billion and underscoring investor confidence in the fast-growing AI video sector. The new capital follows an earlier Series C close this year and brings the total raised in the round to $439 million. Congress is advancing the No Fakes Act, a bipartisan bill in Washington designed to curb AI deepfakes that copy a person’s voice and image without consent. Amazon MGM Studios has pulled the AI-animated series Punky Duck from its GenAI Creators Fund after director Jorge R. Gutiérrez quit the project following a wave of online death threats and doxxing. Ten filmmakers have premiered AI-native short films at the Raindance Film Festival in London as part of Lost Canon, a new series produced by Moonmax and built entirely inside CapCut Video Studio. AI film studio Fountain Zero will release Odysseus: The Fall, a 135-minute, AI-generated adaptation of Homer’s Odyssey from Dreams of Violets director Ash Koosha, for rental and purchase on its website later this summer. According to The Hollywood Reporter, a Los Angeles startup is recruiting writers and creators with credits on Sharknado and Doctor Who for a slate of AI-driven films, in one of the clearest signs yet that the technology is moving deeper into mainstream screen production. A German feature film has become the first to use the Auschwitz Memorial’s new digital replica of the former concentration camp, marking a departure from decades of strict rules that had largely barred fiction productions at the site. Ginger Liu is the founder of Hollywood PR consultancy Ginger Media & Entertainment, a journalist and researcher on technology and entertainment, an MFA photographer and filmmaker, and host of the podcast Digital Afterlife: Hollywood & AI Tech

  6. Jul 28

    Entertainment AI Tech News

    Oscars draw firmer line on AI, Art Directors Guild Criticizes Scorsese’s AI Storyboarding Promotion, London Startup Cascade Opens AI-Native Production 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

  7. Jul 22

    Entertainment AI Tech News

    Google DeepMind’s new partnership with A24 signals how AI filmmaking tools are moving into mainstream production, with the focus on storyboards, workflows, and creative support rather than training on studio IP. This episode also covers SAG-AFTRA’s expanded AI protections, Obsidian Studio’s human-plus-AI filmmaking model, legal pressure on Meta over AI training, the proposed No Fakes Act, and backlash in China over AI actors and portrait rights. Google DeepMind’s $75 million partnership with A24 marks one of the clearest signs yet that AI filmmaking is shifting from experimentation to real studio workflow. The deal gives A24 Labs and Google’s researchers a chance to build new tools for filmmakers, including AI-assisted storyboarding, while stopping short of using A24’s film and TV catalog for model training. That makes the collaboration less about replacing creative development and more about shaping how directors, producers, and production teams work inside a studio environment. The broader episode shows that Hollywood is now negotiating AI on multiple fronts at once. SAG-AFTRA has ratified a new contract with stronger protections around synthetic performers and digital replicas, while Obsidian Studio is pitching AI as a production accelerator that still depends on human judgment. At the same time, publishers are suing Meta over AI training, Congress is weighing the No Fakes Act and its impact on digital replicas, and China’s rise of AI actors is triggering backlash over celebrity lookalikes, consent, and portrait rights. Together, these stories point to an industry that is still deciding where AI belongs, who controls it, and what counts as legitimate creative use. 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

  8. Jul 14

    Entertainment AI Tech News

    Hollywood studios drop Sam Altman biopic after Amazon exit, Michael Caine’s AI voice to narrate new Odyssey audiobook ahead of Nolan film, The new AI film battleground is usability, not raw model power, and other news. Hollywood’s response to AI is becoming a business story as much as a creative one, with Luca Guadagnino’s Artificial and the Sam Altman biopic controversy showing how distributor politics, studio relationships, and AI partnerships can shape what reaches audiences. This episode also covers AI-driven entertainment developments including synthetic voice narration, AI art spaces, new filmmaking tools, and the growing use of AI across film, media, and digital storytelling. Hollywood is changing the way it responds to AI-related stories, and one of the clearest examples is the reported distribution trouble around Luca Guadagnino’s nearly completed Sam Altman biopic, Artificial. As Amazon MGM and other major studios step back, the film has become a sign of how commercial ties to AI companies may be influencing what Hollywood is willing to release, especially when the subject is a powerful figure at the centre of the AI industry. That same tension runs through the rest of this episode, from Michael Caine’s AI voice narrating a new Odyssey audiobook to the opening of DATALAND, the world’s first museum of AI art. It also shows up in the rise of AI filmmaking tools designed for real production workflows, not just experimentation, and in the way microdramas are moving into theatrical promotion. Together, these stories point to a bigger shift in entertainment, where AI is affecting film distribution, voice performance, visual art, and production itself. 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

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Digital Afterlife: Hollywood Tech with Ginger Liu explores the latest news in Hollywood's AI-driven tech, artist copyright battles, entertainment policy, and film industry disruption. We explore the latest global startups and research in AI entertainment and media. Entertainment AI Tech News rounds up the latest Hollywood and global news Digital Afterlife News explores visual media, digital afterlife technology, and startups. Ginger Liu, MFA, is the founder of Ginger Media & Entertainment and is a multimedia journalist and researcher. gliumedia.com gingerliu.com https://gingerliu.substack

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