\n\tVariety\u2019s Entertainment & Technology Summit gathered top executives, marketing leaders, technologists, entrepreneurs and creators across film, television and gaming on Thursday for a full day of keynote speakers, panel discussions and networking opportunities.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n\tIndustry insiders from Warner Bros. Discovery, Meta, Paramount+, Vizio, Netflix, Fox Entertainment and more shared their insights on current trends, tools and strategies that are revolutionizing the entertainment industry during the event held at the London West Hollywood hotel.<\/p>\n
\n\tThere were keynote conversations with Matt Duffer and Ross Duffer, who spoke for the first time about their four-year deal with Paramount as well as the future of \u201cStranger Things\u201d as it enters its final season this fall on Netflix.<\/p>\n
\n\tLater on, \u201cF1: The Movie\u201d producer Jerry Bruckheimer joined the stage for a discussion about his legacy, a potential follow-up to the racing film, \u201cTop Gun 3\u201d and a new \u201cPirates of the Caribbean\u201d installment.<\/p>\n
\n\tGabrielle Union was also honored with Variety\u2019s inaugural Entrepreneur Impact Award for her accomplishments in co-founding Proudly, a sustainable baby care brand with products designed for infants of color.<\/p>\n
\n\tAdditionally, conversations included panel discussions on leveraging content creators and influencers for digital campaigns, expanding on new and existing fandoms through live experiences, virtual reality reshaping entertainment, integrating AI to elevate human creativity, among other topics.<\/p>\n
\n\tRead below for a few of the key takeaways from the 2025 Entertainment and Technology Summit:\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\t\tExpanding Entertainment: VR\u2019s Role in Shaping New Audience Experiences\t<\/p>\n
\n\tSarah Malkin, director of entertainment content for Meta\u2019s Reality Labs, discussed how virtual reality is changing the way audiences experience live entertainment. \u201cWe are watching VR enable and empower a whole slew of new experiences that are often very complementary and additive to the fandom that people already have for entertainment that they love,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\n\tAs VR works to enhance the consumer experience, Malkin said the main hurdle that they still face is developing a universal headset that doesn\u2019t intimidate audiences who are unfamiliar with the technology.<\/p>\n
\n\t Despite the challenge, Malkin said that the huge success within the gaming community inspired them to expand their entertainment catalog into sports, concerts, films, TV and other entertainment experiences.<\/p>\n
\n\tAdditionally, Malkin talked about their recent partnerships with creators like filmmaker James Cameron and film producer Jason Blum of Blumhouse Productions. \u201cWe see it [VR] continuing to complement other forms of entertainment to have a new way of experiencing, providing tools for storytellers and consumers and an economy around that.\u201d<\/p>\n
\t\tThe Booming Live Experience Economy\t<\/p>\n
\n\tLive experiences experts from Funko, Ernst & Young, Warner Bros. Discovery and Pinterest explored how the increased consumer demand for live experiences has become critical to the entertainment industry.<\/p>\n
\n\tJudy Lee, global head of experiences at Pinterest, emphasized the importance of bridging the gap between world-building and fandoms to create deeply immersive real-life experiences that resonate with audiences at the core.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cFandom and authenticity are so important to audiences,\u201d Lee said. \u201cI think that [quarantine] left a gap for people and a hunger to connect and feel something. I\u2019ve learned that these younger generations blur the lines between the physical and digital worlds.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\tShe continued, \u201cTo them, they think digital is real. That is their life. That is authentic, and they\u2019re much savvier than people who aren\u2019t digital natives. They crave authenticity, transparency and main character energy.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\tSimon Robinson, COO of WB Studios and Head of Global Experiences, added that they key to creating successful live experiences is keeping it authentic to the brand.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cThe key to success is not just a commercial experience,\u201d Robinson said. \u201cIt\u2019s about the extension of the brand. Everything in the experiential world should be a brand deposit, not a chance to rip money out of someone\u2019s pocket.\u201d<\/p>\n
\t\tGroundbreakers of Creative Marketing\u00a0\t<\/p>\n
\n\tMarketing leaders from Neon, NBCUniversal, Walt Disney Studios and Warner Records talked about how word-of-mouth remains impactful and the ways they use content creators and influencers as part of their marketing strategies to deliver buzz for their campaigns.<\/p>\n
\n\tMargaret Walker, executive vice president of entertainment marketing at NBCUniversal, said that she leverages their talent to build exceptional content, build fandom and drive loyalty and community.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cIt\u2019s really important when finding creators to work with to find a creator who will most authentically resonate with the audience you\u2019re trying to reach and authentically loves our brand,\u201d Walker said.<\/p>\n
\n\tDustin Sandoval, senior vice president of digital marketing at Walt Disney Studios, spearheaded the campaign strategy for \u201cFreakier Friday\u201d and credited its success to creating one-of-a-kind moments that naturally went viral among the audiences that the content creators and influencers serve.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cYou create opportunities and moments for content creation,\u201d Sandoval said. \u201cIt happened organically, and all of these moments sparked and just hit everyone\u2019s FYP in a positive way. The film, hitting $150 million globally recently, was just a big success, and we\u2019re very proud of the campaign.\u201d<\/p>\n
\t\tLeveling Up in the Entertainment Industry: AI to Unlock New Creative Frontiers\t<\/p>\n
\n\tJason Chen, Desert Eclipse CEO, founder and executive producer, shared how he has integrated AI in his studio to shorten the production timelines for feature films and animations.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cWe\u2019re putting the artists first,\u201d Chen said. \u201cWe go in from a writer\u2019s perspective and use technology to allow creators and filmmakers to open up those books of ideas that you would think would never be possible.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n\tHe shared an example of using AI to shorten variation shots for CG modeling or motion tracking to ultimately reduce animation production timelines down to 12-18 months.<\/p>\n
\n\tShahrzad Rafati, founder and CEO of RHEI, said she uses AI in her workflow to elevate human creativity and streamline the creative process. \u201cThe amount of content that we\u2019re putting out there is far more educational, entertaining and higher quality,\u201d she said. You\u2019re allowing everyone to achieve their full potential for creativity.\u201d<\/p>\n
\t\tBehind the Scenes with Zeam, featuring John Stamos and Jack Perry<\/strong>\t<\/p>\n \n\tAfter launching in 2009, Jack Perry, founder and CEO of Zeam, discussed how he\u2019s expanding his platform beyond supporting the live streams of local broadcasters to venture into live event streaming.\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cWe\u2019re trying to lead by example on the content side, so we can show what could be leaning very heavily on pop-up live.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\tAs a way to push the envelope of technology, Perry has worked with John Stamos to crowdsource creatives for more content opportunities that run 24\/7 on Zeam. <\/p>\n \n\tThe duo has joined forces to take their streaming on the road with destination content in music and comedy, ultimately extending their reach by becoming more of a consumer-facing brand.<\/p>\n \t\tTV Industry Transformed\u00a0\t<\/p>\n \n\tEvan Adlman, executive vice president of commercial sales and revenue operations at AMC Networks, talked about the current challenge of the TV landscape is figuring out how to get their content in front of as many viewers as possible due to the current model being extremely fragmented. <\/p>\n \n\tHowever, Adlman emphasized the importance of fandom to combat the industry issue that networks are facing.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cThe way that we\u2019re trying to capitalize on that is to make it easier for clients, advertisers, and our partners to understand what true fandom is versus passive viewing. And passive viewing doesn\u2019t exist as much as it used to.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tDespite fragmented viewership, inability to measure across different platforms and other disruptions, the panel of industry leaders mentioned their excitement for the future of advertising and finding new ways to create the best viewer experience.\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\tSean Booker, head of media and entertainment sales at Vizio, noted that shoppable TV is up next for the future of advertising and TV.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cShoppable TV will be huge in the future,\u201d Booker said. \u201cTV is the heartbeat of the home. The ability to transact on your TV and things like that will clearly come to the forefront in the near future.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n \t\tChampions of Sports Culture Across Platforms\u00a0\t<\/p>\n \n\tWhen it comes to scaling success on a broadcast network, Robert Gottlieb, president of marketing at Fox Sports, shared an example of how crucial it is to get core fans to engage outside of the sporting events that they\u2019re familiar with by finding their passion point.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cIndyCar is the fastest racing on earth,\u201d he said. \u201cThey\u2019re faster than F1 and NASCAR. That\u2019s a compelling, interesting truth to people who are interested in motorsports. So we\u2019ve built off of that.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\tCarlos \u201cOlek\u201d Lewenstein, president of global sports at Televisa Univision, emphasized the importance of utilizing multiple social platforms as a marketing tool.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cIf you have a sports property and you\u2019re not unfolding into every single platform, you\u2019re leaving money on the table because the leagues are charging you for that platform anyway.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n \t\tStorytelling Entrepreneurs\t<\/p>\n \n\tSarah Foster, executive producer of \u201cNobody Wants This,\u201d shared how authentic storytelling laid the framework for her Netflix show and is what she has found resonates with audiences the most. <\/p>\n \n\t\u201cWhen I was writing the \u2018Nobody Wants This\u2019 pilot, I wasn\u2019t writing a rom-com, and I wasn\u2019t trying to bring rom-coms back or tell a different kind of story,\u201d she said. \u201cI just wanted to tell a story that was meaningful to me.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tShe continued, \u201cIt was not following an act structure or an A\/B story that I had learned in college. It was really just the story I wanted to tell.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tMatt Rogers, host of \u201cLas Culturistas,\u201d spoke about creating the podcast in 2016 with Bowen Yang and how their \u201cLas Culturistas Culture Awards\u201d started as a joke during one of their segments before transforming into a live awards show that aired on Bravo in July.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cIt was to make us have fun, laugh and involve everyone in a big tent of fun because we need that. My job and purpose are to just make people laugh and smile.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tWhen asked about what stories they would like to see next, Nicole Byer said a love story and Jake Shane brought up a comedy, in which he would lead. Sarah and Erin Foster want to explore relationships more, whereas Benito Skinner would like to see more stories about friendships.<\/p>\n \n\t(Pictured top: \u201cTherapuss\u201d host Jake Shane, actor-comedian Benito Skinner, \u201cLos Culturistas\u201d host Matt Rogers)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Variety\u2019s Entertainment & Technology Summit gathered top executives, marketing leaders, technologists, entrepreneurs and creators across film, television and…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":89076,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[261],"tags":[291,289,290,18,19,17,82,56851,58267],"class_list":{"0":"post-89075","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-artificial-intelligence","8":"tag-ai","9":"tag-artificial-intelligence","10":"tag-artificialintelligence","11":"tag-eire","12":"tag-ie","13":"tag-ireland","14":"tag-technology","15":"tag-variety-entertainment-and-technology","16":"tag-variety-entertainment-and-technology-summit"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/89075","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=89075"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/89075\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/89076"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=89075"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=89075"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=89075"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}