💡 Creative Synergy Between Hollywood and Artificial Intelligence

Christian Hetrick

Christian Hetrick is dot.LA's Entertainment Tech Reporter. He was formerly a business reporter for the Philadelphia Inquirer and reported on New Jersey politics for the Observer and the Press of Atlantic City.

💡 Creative Synergy Between Hollywood and Artificial Intelligence
Image Source: Toonstar.com

🔦 Spotlight

Executives in the media and entertainment industry are betting that AI can be a positive force by augmenting human creativity in addition to increasing efficiency. These companies range from brand new startups like Strada, an AI-enabled cloud platform with tools for production and postproduction to more established AI-powered companies including Invisible Universe, developing family friendly franchises on social media, and Toonstar, developing irreverent adult franchises on web3. This is not to mention the incumbent Hollywood studios who are snapping up AI talent while their hands are full with a striking workforce worried about AI.

We had the opportunity to delve into how ToonStar uses AI and web3 to create community-driven franchises.✍️🤝🤖

🏃♀️ Quick hits

The Founder: John Attanasio and Luisa Huang are both Hollywood veterans. Prior to launching Toonstar, John spent nearly fifteen years developing franchise properties and driving innovation at Warner Bros. and DreamWorks where he held roles in marketing, business development, digital content creation and tech commercialization. Luisa also spent over a decade at entertainment behemoths such as Disney and Warner Bros. holding a variety of roles in strategy, consumer products, business development, and digital content creation.

The Company: Today, Toonstar is an interactive story studio focused on creating entertainment franchises through community-driven storytelling. In essence, it bridges the creative minds in the writing room with everyday fans, inviting them to actively participate in the content creation process. This unique process is made possible through technology, namely Web3, blockchain, and AI.

LA Connection: Toonstar is headquartered in Los Angeles and is deeply integrated with the Los Angeles entertainment ecosystem given the extensive industry experience of its founders.

Toonstar, founded about eight years ago by Disney, Warner Bros., and Dreamworks veterans John Attanasio and Luisa Huang, operates as an interactive story studio. Its main focus is on building entertainment franchises through community-driven storytelling. Essentially, Toonstar connects writers with everyday fans, allowing them to actively participate in content creation. This unique collaboration is made possible through technology, including Web3, blockchain, and AI.

The Role of Blockchain and NFT in Franchises:

Toonstar uses blockchain technology and NFTs (Non-Fungible Tokens) as a key part of its approach. They distribute NFTs representing characters in their franchises to the community. NFT owners can then shape their character's backstory, with more NFTs giving greater voting power in deciding the story's direction. The creative process at Toonstar is similar to traditional studios, where writers create scripts for each episode. However, there's a twist - each episode ends with a cliffhanger, and the community decides what happens next. These choices are presented for voting, sometimes with full creative freedom. Toonstar's machine learning tools facilitate this interaction, blending fan input with professional storytelling seamlessly.

The Role of AI in Franchises:

At first, AI mainly sped up episode creation behind the scenes. But gradually, it moved beyond that and became part of the community-facing aspect. In "Space Junk," Welbecca became the first AI-voiced character, serving as both a character and a tool to help NFT owners develop their characters and stories.

The upcoming Toonstar franchise, "Fortun3," goes even further in integrating AI. It includes an AI-powered simulation game that blends with the episodes, adding a real-time dimension to the storytelling, coinciding with the FTX trial.

Exploring Toonstar's Franchises:

Toonstar has made its mark with past franchises like "The Gimmicks" and "Space Junk." "Gimmicks" was the first interactive TV series in the Web3 realm, co-produced with Mila Kunis, featuring a comedic storyline about wrestlers. "Space Junk," created by Dominic Russo, explored humor among space garbage collectors.

Toonstar is not oblivious to the fact that anything related to blockchain is out of favor with the public, in fact, it is the subject of their next franchise. "Fortun3" is inspired by the FTX implosion, mixing elements of "South Park," "Silicon Valley," and "BoJack Horseman," and will feature T.J. Miller from "Silicon Valley."

While entertainment titans are in the midst of a hiring frenzy still trying to grapple with how best to incorporate generative AI into their business practices, Toonstar is one of many creative businesses driving progress by innovating their way past the enormous barriers to entry in standard production companies. As the entertainment industry evolves, Toonstar's dedication to inclusivity and innovation is creating opportunities for new voices and unique storytelling experiences. 🎭🎬🌟

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🤝 Venture Deals

LA Startups

  • Afterparty, a fan connection and monetization platform for creators, raised a $5M Funding Round led by Blockchange Ventures, joined by Acrew Capital, Act One Ventures, Tamarack Global and Wilson Sonsin. - learn more
  • Bevz, a software platform for independently operated and small chain liquor/convenience stores raised a $3.1M Funding Round led by Dynamism Capital and Golden Section Ventures with participation from Stage 2 Capital, Hustle Fund, Bridge Investments, Tiller Partners, Irish Angels and others.- learn more
  • Gametree, a cross-platform gamer social network and universal gamer login system, raised a $1.75M Seed Round. - learn more
  • Estate Media, a personality driven real estate media company, raised a $1.65M Funding Round from investors including Powerhouse Capital, Upstate Shredding CEO Adam Weitsman and others. - learn more
LA Funds
  • WndrCo participated in a $100M Series B for Writer, a three-year-old San Francisco startup that uses LLMs trained on extensive online text datasets to improve corporate content creation. - learn more

📅 LA Tech Calendar

Friday, September 22nd

Monday, September 25th

  • Tech Networking - Studio City🗽 - Join other tech enthusiasts at an exceptional gathering, attracting diverse professionals from all corners of the tech industry, including investors, founders, marketers, sales experts, engineers, and more.

Wednesday, September 27th

Thursday, September 28th

🗽 - Free

📙 What We’re Reading

  • Deloitte AI Institute's new Generative AI Dossier reveals key business-ready use cases for Generative AI Deployment. - read more
  • See how compensation at startups has changed significantly in 2023 in Carta’s State of Startup Compensation, H1 2023 Report. - read more
  • Listen to (or read) an engaging conversation between Minnie Ingersoll, Partner at TenOneTen, and Adrian Fenty, founding managing partner at MaC Venture Capital and former mayor of Washington, DC. In this episode, Adrian dives into the intersections of government and technology. - listen here
LA Tech Week 2025: Sunday’s Event Lineup

Here's the Sunday, October 19th lineup for LA Tech Week 2025, organized by location so you can easily explore events that fit your goals and schedule. Dive in and see what’s happening near you!

ARTS DISTRICT

3:00 PM

BEL AIR

3:00 PM – 7:00 PM

BURBANK

6:30 PM – 9:30 PM

CULVER CITY

9:00 AM – 5:00 PM

4:30 PM – 7:30 PM

INGLEWOOD

10:00 AM – 2:00 PM

  • Spinovation: The Future Is Femme, The Future is Frequency: See Details Here
    Sonder Impact, Black Women Spin, Sip & Sonder

KOREATOWN

12:00 PM – 3:00 PM

MARINA DEL REY

12:00 PM

  • Sunday Tech Brunch
    Sawubona

MID CITY

9:00 AM – 11:00 AM

  • Women in Cleantech Hike and Network: See Details Here
    Women in Cleantech and Sustainability

SANTA MONICA

9:00 AM

10:00 AM

3:45 PM

4:00 PM – 7:30 PM

  • OFF THE HOOK Santa Monica Seafood Festival: See Details Here
    Spin PR Group, City of Santa Monica, Tech St.

6:00 PM

7:00 PM

  • Pritam: A Musical Legend - Live in Concert: See Details Here
    American South Asian Network

7:00 PM

  • Building AI workflow editor in React with Workflow Builder SDK: See Details Here
    Workflow Builder

7:00 PM

8:00 PM

  • Unlock Apple's Corporate Advantage for your Startup!: See Details Here
    iStore by St. Moritz

TOPANGA CANYON

3:00 PM

  • Dreamore Hike and Picnic: LA Tech Week: *Invite Only*
    Dreamore

VENICE

10:00 AM – 12:00 PM

  • Coffee, Walk, and Schmooze: See Details Here
    JFE (Jews For Entrepreneurship) Network

VIRTUAL (LA)

10:00 AM

  • Level Up with LinkedIn: A Student’s Guide to Networking & Opportunities (Virtual Event): See Details Here
    FIMAC

10:00 AM

WEST ADAMS

1:00 PM – 3:00 PM

For updates or more event information, visit the official Tech Week calendar.

Enjoy LA Tech Week 2025!

Download the dot.LA App


LA Tech Week 2025: Saturday’s Event Lineup

Here's the Saturday, October 18th lineup for LA Tech Week 2025, organized by location so you can easily explore events that fit your goals and schedule. Dive in and see what’s happening near you!

BEVERLY HILLS

2:00 PM

CENTURY CITY

7:00 PM – 10:00 PM

CULVER CITY

9:00 AM – 5:00 PM

10:00 AM – 11:30 AM

1:00 PM

DTLA

7:00 PM

  • {MiniMax x Nakid x SkyPortalx}: TECH/MOTION/MUSIC/ART: See Details Here
    MiniMax (Hailuo AI)

10:00 PM – 2:00 AM

EL SEGUNDO

10:00 AM

  • Venture on the Green: *Invite Only*
    BLCK VC

4:00 PM

INGLEWOOD

7:00 PM

  • Valar Atomics, Durin and Discipulus Ventures - Night With A Nuclear Reactor: See Details Here
    Valar Atomics, Durin, Discipulus Ventures

MARINA DEL REY

8:30 AM

12:00 PM – 3:00 PM

5:00 PM

  • LOST iN Sunset Sail: Navigating the Tides of the Creator Economy & Media: See Details Here
    LOST iN

PASADENA

9:00 AM

PLAYA VISTA

2:00 PM – 4:00 PM

SANTA MONICA

7:00 AM

9:00 AM

  • Pedal & Network: Tech Cyclists @ LA Tech Week 🚵: See Details Here
    Instafill.ai

9:30 AM

  • Getty Center Guided Tour & (Optional) Photography Scavenger Hunt: See Details Here
    NEW MOON Impact Productions

10:30 AM – 11:30 AM

11:00 AM – 2:15 PM

12:00 PM – 5:00 PM

1:00 PM – 5:00 PM

1:30 PM

  • Self-Defense in Court and the Streets: See Details Here
    Santa Monica Striking, Luri Inc.

2:00 PM

  • SMARTUP 500: THE FIRST AT TECH WEEK LA - Launching the world’s first Startup Ranking: See Details Here
    Smart Times

2:00 PM

  • NLPs (No Lame Panels) The Creator X Founder Rooftop Party: See Details Here
    Startup Village, Sanctuary

3:00 PM – 4:00 PM

4:00 PM – 6:30 PM

  • Just Do It?: Helping Founders Perform Like Olympians: See Details Here
    Elite Psychology Group

5:00 PM

6:00 PM

6:00 PM – 9:00 PM

6:00 PM

6:00 PM – 9:00 PM

  • The Future of Hospitality: Poetry, Provenance & Passports: See Details Here
    Villa Kitchen, Airble, We Speak Dance, Techstars San Francisco

7:00 PM

  • 🚀 Investor x Founder Open Mic Pitches: See Details Here
    Feathr, Los Angeles Fun Events

7:00 PM

  • Life is a Pitch - LA Edition: *Invite Only*
    DeepMyst

TOPANGA CANYON

5:00 PM – 8:30 PM

  • Walk&Jam: Use AI to make art while hiking Topanga Canyon: See Details Here
    Formhaus llc, Wonderland Immersive Design

TORRANCE

1:00 PM – 4:00 PM

  • Crunches & Conversations Presented by The Differentials and KIS Training Studios: See Details Here
    The Differentials, KIS Training Studios

VENICE

1:00 PM – 4:30 PM

  • Beyond the Language Barrier: Exploring AI's Next Frontier: See Details Here
    Medusa AI

VENICE BEACH

8:00 AM – 12:00 PM

  • SŨRFED Club @ Venice Beach: Founders, Creators, Investors share the waves: See Details Here
    SŨRFED Club, Go Vitamins

WEST ADAMS

9:30 AM – 10:45 AM

  • Funders Shaping Democracy, AI & Media: See Details Here
    New Media Ventures, New Rising Ventures

WEST HOLLYWOOD

4:00 PM

6:00 PM – 8:00 PM

9:30 PM

  • Vibe Check Comedy Show, Tech Week Edition! @ Hollywood Improv: See Details Here
    Vibe Check Comedy

For updates or more event information, visit the official Tech Week calendar.

Enjoy LA Tech Week 2025!

Download the dot.LA App


LA Tech Week 2025: Friday’s Event Lineup

Here's the Friday, October 17th lineup for LA Tech Week 2025, organized by location so you can easily explore events that fit your goals and schedule. Dive in and see what’s happening near you!

ARTS DISTRICT

8:30 AM – 12:00 PM

  • Power Day: Ideas, Pitches, Connections: See Details Here
    Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator (LACI)

6:00 PM

  • WEB3 GAMING IS DEAD - Happy Hour: See Details Here
    Plassa Capital, Yee-Haw Monster Trucks

BEVERLY HILLS

10:00 AM – 11:00 AM

1:00 PM – 2:00 PM

2:00 PM – 3:00 PM

3:00 PM – 4:00 PM

4:00 PM

6:00 PM – 9:00 PM

  • So you went viral, Now what? (pt II): See Details Here
    Verci, Study Fetch, TechSpace

8:00 PM

  • Private Pool: GP x LP x FO: *Invite Only*
    Visionlist Commons , Bay Area Innovest

BRENTWOOD

8:00 AM

  • Founders & Investors Hike: See Details Here
    Salehpour Legal, Technology Founders of America

CARSON

11:45 AM

  • Lightspeed x SVB Porsche Experience: *Invite Only*
    Lightspeed Venture Partners, SVB

CULVER CITY

8:00 AM – 6:00 PM

11:00 AM

1:00 PM

  • Surf Parks & Wave Pools: From Doja Cat to Mark Zuckerberg: See Details Here
    Surflytics

8:00 PM – 12:00 AM

EL SEGUNDO

11:30 AM – 2:00 PM

5:00 PM – 8:00 PM

HOLLYWOOD

10:00 AM

  • AI, Revenue, and Reality: How Fortune 500s Work With Startups That Ship: See Details Here
    Sunrise AI, OpenTable

12:00 PM – 2:00 PM

  • Unplugged: LA Tech Week Recharge Experience with TAY × Checked Out: See Details Here
    TAY Fitness, Checked Out

9:00 PM

INGLEWOOD

8:00 AM

  • TCSI Presents: Caffeine & Connections: See Details Here
    The Cyber Security Intellects Nonprofit

LONG BEACH

7:00 AM

MALIBU

10:00 AM

  • Great Leaders Podcast & Profiles: See Details Here
    NEW MOON Impact Productions, Origin Studios

12:30 PM

MARINA DEL REY

9:00 AM

  • Keeping Your Freedom as a Founder: Real Talk on Funding: See Details Here
    Lighter Capital

10:00 AM – 1:00 PM

  • D-Wave Research Day & Hackathon!: See Details Here
    USC Information Sciences Institute, D-Wave

4:00 PM – 6:00 PM

  • The Sky is Not the Limit: All About Aerospace: See Details Here
    Sunstone Management, USC Viterbi Startup Garage

PASADENA

10:00 AM – 1:00 PM

11:30 AM – 1:30 PM

  • Deep Tech Entrepreneurship Pillars of Pasadena Tech: See Details Here
    Innovate Pasadena, Pasadena SBDC, City of Pasadena

PLAYA VISTA

9:00 AM

12:00 PM – 2:00 PM

  • Vision to Venture - AI Media Showcase powered by Google AI: See Details Here
    Google

SANTA MONICA

7:00 AM – 8:30 AM

  • Signal Run : RTC x Wildwood VC: See Details Here
    Run Tech Club, Wildwood Ventures

7:30 AM

8:45 AM – 10:45 AM

9:00 AM – 11:00 AM

  • Slash Burn Rates & Scale Your Startup: See Details Here
    Arizona Commerce Authority (ACA)

9:00 AM

  • Driving a Digital Ecology Relay: What is at Stake: See Details Here
    The PORT GLOBAL, GLOBAL PORTAL INSTITUTE

9:30 AM – 11:30 AM

10:00 AM – 1:00 PM

  • The Enduring Value of Inclusive Capital: See Details Here
    Founders Registry. Nervana

10:00 AM – 12:00 PM

10:30 AM

11:30 AM – 1:00 PM

  • Advisors to Investors Lunch: Venture Capital for enterprise leaders: See Details Here
    Collinear Capital, Worlds

12:00 PM

  • Powerhouse Capital & a16z speedrun Investor Lunch Mixer: See Details Here
    Powerhouse Capital, a16z, speedrun

2:00 PM

  • Where Robotics Meets Heart - Embedding Family Values in a Future with AI: See Details Here
    Trove, Puerto Rico Blockchain Association, MindfulBytes

2:00 PM

3:00 PM

3:00 PM

3:00 PM

  • Workshop: Create An Enterprise Chatbot and Unlock the 70% of Data Data You’re Not Using: See Details Here
    Aparavi

4:00 PM

5:00 PM – 10:00 PM

5:30 PM

5:30 PM – 9:30 PM

6:00 PM – 8:30 PM

  • USC Alumni Founders & Investors: See Details Here
    USC Alumni Entrepreneurship Network, Techstars

6:00 PM

  • Social Currency Series/Greenlit presents PitchPop: See Details Here
    Social Currency Series, Greenlit

6:00 PM – 9:00 PM

6:30 PM

6:30 PM – 10:00 PM

6:30 PM

  • Lets get the LA Bioeconomy brewing: See Details Here
    Founders, Friends & Fermentation, Saku Biosciences

7:00 PM – 11:30 PM

7:00 PM – 10:00 PM

7:00 PM – 10:00 PM

7:00 PM

7:00 PM

  • Liquid Equity 2: The Premiere Gathering for Founders, Creator
    Coeus Collective

7:00 PM

7:00 PM

  • For the Love of Tech | Speed Dating for Tech Professionals: See Details Here
    Feathr, Los Angeles Fun Events

7:00 PM

SOUTH LA

3:00 PM

TORRANCE

9:00 AM – 11:00 AM

  • The Future of Space & Security Panel: See Details Here
    Northwood Space, Anduril Industries, Impulse Space, Astranis

VENICE

9:00 AM – 10:45 AM

9:00 AM – 11:30 AM

11:00 AM

11:30 AM – 2:30 PM

12:30 PM

  • Creative Partners: Human + AI Storytelling: See Details Here
    Othelia, Primordial Soup

2:00 PM – 3:45 PM

5:00 PM

  • EarthHouse: Critical Minerals, Mobility & Modern Power: See Details Here
    The Strategye Group, Alpha Sierra One

6:00 PM – 9:00 PM

6:00 PM

  • Pizza+Soda: *Invite Only*
    Schmoozd , The KINN

7:00 PM

VENICE BEACH

2:00 PM – 6:30 PM

5:00 PM

8:30 PM – 2:00 AM

VIRTUAL (LA)

2:30 PM – 4:00 PM

3:00 PM

  • Government of Alberta: ProcurementAsCode // Done in 60 Seconds: See Details Here
    Government of Alberta

4:00 PM

  • Stop Hitting Yourself 🥊: See Details Here
    Stop Hitting Yourself, HOWDY, Company Policy, Snowbird Global

WEST HOLLYWOOD

3:00 PM – 6:00 PM

6:00 PM

WESTSIDE

5:00 PM

5:30 PM – 8:30 PM


For updates or more event information, visit the official Tech Week calendar.

Enjoy LA Tech Week 2025!

Download the dot.LA App


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