Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1544083
20 cgw j a n u a r y • f e b r u a r y • m a r c h 2 0 2 6 OUTLOOK 2026 Hollywood's in trouble. Now's the time. BY ELIOT MACK CEO & FOUNDER, LIGHTCRAFT TECHNOLOGY h ollywood is in trouble. Must be Tuesday! It's no secret that Hollywood is spinning right now. Thou- sands are out of work, theaters are struggling, and audiences are tuning out. Even in the best of times, storytelling is hard, and that is before you add in social media, video games, streaming, and now AI. As Buffy the Vampire Slayer once noticed, some problems are recurring. The problems that nearly killed the studios in the 1960s (expensive attempts to re-create the magic of 1965's The Sound of Music) echo into the present-day saturation of sequels and re- makes. The reason this keeps happening is because risk is terrifying when the stakes are large. At $150M+ per picture, everyone starts to play it safe. Even Pixar. It is standard, MBA-style thinking to op- timize and refine what previously worked, but entertainment is not like most consumer products. The drive towards safe, predictable stories has run its course with people, and they are sick of it. Risk is what entertainment requires, and risk is where the true rewards live for the audiences, studios, and the storytellers that call this industry home. This becomes readily apparent when some- thing new comes out and sticks the landing; e.g. KPop Demon Hunt- ers. (Sony infamously had so little faith in the project that they sold the show, the sequels, and the soundtrack to Netflix.) The upside of the 60s turmoil was the rogue's gallery of talent that streamed into studios and created work that would define decades of entertainment. The current turbulence now makes change possible at every part of the process yet again, from what gets greenlit to how films are created in the first place. But what parts should be changed? How do you keep the magic intact? AI prompting can certainly generate imagery, and while that might be part of the mix, it doesn't solve for the creative insights needed to actually make something of value. To break through, you need something with a human connection. That's what appeals to audiences, and it doesn't come from a boardroom. It comes from filmmakers, writers, directors, DPs, actors, and all the crew mem- bers who know how to bring something on a page to life. But since studios are on their back feet, it's up to artists to grab the reins and take control of both their artist intent and their equi- ty in the project. In the last few years, new tools—some AI-driven, some not—have been hitting the market that will finally help them to do this. (We're building a few of them.) Films that would have been impossible to create before with- out massive teams or resources now have a path. And what you'll start seeing in 2026 is more people taking the leap, using tools that amplify their capabilities so they can pitch, shoot, and deliver on ambitious ideas without the cost structures that have historically limited productions. The key is keeping what works intact. Think about every great movie you've seen. A lot of the magic comes down to story and performance, and it doesn't take much to get that core essence in place. You just need a story, actors, a camera, and a director. The part that takes a lot of money (at the low end) is building the back-