Author: Shelton Bumgarner

I am the Editor & Publisher of The Trumplandia Report

The Evolution of Hollywood: From Production Powerhouses to AI-Driven IP Holding Companies

The hypothesis that Hollywood studios will eventually transform into IP holding companies, where AI agents leverage licensed intellectual property to create personalized, bespoke content for users, is no longer a matter of distant speculation. As of early 2026, the entertainment industry is already in the midst of this structural metamorphosis. The convergence of generative AI (such as OpenAI’s Sora 2), decentralized distribution, and a shift in consumer behavior toward hyper-personalization has set the stage for a fundamental reimagining of what a “studio” actually is.

1. The Shift in the Core Asset: From Films to Foundations

In the traditional studio model, the primary asset was the finished product—the 120-minute feature film or the 22-episode television season. In the emerging AI-driven landscape, the core asset has shifted to the foundational intellectual property: the characters, the lore, the world-building, and the digital likenesses of the actors.

AspectTraditional Studio ModelAI-Driven IP Holding Model
Primary FunctionPhysical production and distributionIP stewardship and licensing
Core AssetFinished media (MP4, DCP)Digital assets, lore, and character weights
ProductionHuman-led, multi-year timelinesAI-driven, real-time, or near-real-time
Creative ControlCentralized (Director/Producer)Decentralized (AI-guided, User-influenced)

Recent developments in 2025 and 2026 show that studios like Disney and Warner Bros. are increasingly viewing their libraries as “training sets” and “licensing foundations.” For instance, Disney’s reported move in late 2025 to hand over its most valuable characters to AI models for licensed use marks a pivotal moment where the studio prioritizes the utility of its characters over the scarcity of its films.

2. The Rise of Personalized and Bespoke Narratives

The concept of “bespoke versions” for users is already manifesting in platforms like Fable Studio’s “Showrunner”, which allows users to generate custom episodes of animated shows from simple text prompts. Even more telling is the recent launch of the Disney+ “Magic Feed” in March 2026. This feature, which initially focused on vertical video clips, is widely seen as the precursor to a system where users can generate personalized AI scenes within the Disney ecosystem—such as a version of Star Wars where the user themselves is a Jedi, or a Marvel movie with a customized plotline.

“The ‘Magic Feed’ won’t just show you clips from existing movies; it will show you personalized AI-generated scenes… this is the first step toward user-created artificial intelligence videos within a walled garden of premium IP.” [1]

3. The Economic Transformation: Licensing as the New Box Office

As studios become IP holding companies, their revenue models are shifting from high-risk, high-reward box office releases to a more stable licensing and subscription-based model. In this scenario, the studio acts as a “Rights OS,” providing the legal and creative framework for AI agents to operate.

  • IP Licensing Fees: Charging AI platforms (like OpenAI, Runway, or specialized “Showrunner” apps) for the right to use specific characters or worlds.
  • Bespoke Subscriptions: A premium tier of streaming services that allows for a certain number of AI-generated “bespoke” episodes or scenes per month.
  • Data Monetization: Using the data from millions of user-generated versions to understand what audiences truly want, which then informs the creation of “canonical” entries in the franchise.

4. Challenges: Talent, Law, and the “Soul” of Cinema

Despite the economic logic, this transition faces significant headwinds:

  • Talent Resistance: The 2025 backlash against AI avatars like Tilly Norwood and the ongoing concerns from SAG-AFTRA highlight a deep-seated fear that human actors will be replaced by digital clones. Studios must navigate complex “right of publicity” laws to license actor likenesses for personalized content.
  • Legal Battles: Landmark lawsuits in 2025 (e.g., Disney/Universal vs. Midjourney) demonstrate that studios are willing to fight aggressively to ensure they, and not tech companies, control the AI generation process.
  • The Loss of Shared Experience: If everyone is watching their own bespoke version of a movie, the “water cooler” moment of shared cultural experience risks disappearing. Critics argue that “bespoke” content may lack the artistic intent and cohesion that only human creators can provide.

5. Conclusion: The Hybrid Future

The most likely outcome is a hybrid model. Hollywood studios will not entirely stop producing “canonical” high-budget human-led films, as these serve as the “anchor points” for the IP’s value. However, the vast majority of consumer engagement will likely shift toward AI-driven personalized content.

In this future, a studio’s success will be measured not by its ability to manage a film set, but by its ability to maintain the cultural relevance and legal integrity of its IP. The studio becomes the “gardener” of a fictional universe, while AI agents and users are the “explorers” who create an infinite number of paths within it.

References:
[1] Inside the Magic, “Mickey Goes TikTok: Why Disney+ Vertical Video is the Secret Key to User-Created AI Videos,” March 2026.
[2] The Trumplandia Report, “The Ultimate Fate of Content Creation in the Age of AI Agents,” March 2024/2026.
[3] Variety, “Media Predictions 2026: Odyssey Dominates,” December 2025.

The End Of Pax Americana

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

It definitely seems as though the old post-WW2 liberal order is…dying. It definitely seems as though we in a new era where anything is possible. I keep expecting that Trump will drop a MOAB or tactical nuke on Iran sometime soon.

I watch the little cartoon history videos called “History Matters” and it definitely seems like this would be the part of the video that was a precursor to Something Big. I don’t know what that Something Big is going to be, but it’s probably going to happen this year.

My fear, of course, is that there’s a major terrorist attack in the USA, or Trump uses some combination of the SAVE Act and a forced “nationalization” of elections to attempt to turn the USA into a “managed democracy.” And THAT, in turn causes a civil war or revolution.

But hopefully that’s not what’s going to happen.

And, yet, I do think this year is going to be far more turbulent that any of us could possibly expect otherwise.

The SAVE Act Is Bad News

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

There’s a reason why Trump is so hysterical about passing the SAVE Act: he knows that’s how he can finally consolidate power. The SAVE Act is some serious Jim Crow bullshit.

It would be the worst piece of voter suppression, maybe in forever.

And, yet, here we are. It definitely seems like there is momentum for it to pass. And, as such, the USA is posed to become a zombie “managed” democracy like they have in Hungary, Turkey and Russia.

But we voted in Trump a second time, I guess that is what we should expect. It will be interesting to see if Trump uses the passage of the SAVE Act as a sign he can run for a third term without people really getting as nearly upset as they should.

Only time will tell on that one, I guess.

Fuck Trump, fuck ICE and fuck the SAVE Act.

We’re Getting Closer To AI Celebrity Porn Tipping Point

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

In fits and starts, we’re reaching a point where open source AI image generators are getting good enough that they can generate high-quality celebrity porn. We aren’t there yet by any stretch of the imagination.

Right now, I’m seeing a lot of pretty good fakes of well-known actresses in one-piece bikinis. Some of them are so good that you can barely catch that they are AI-generated.

But once we reach the tipping point where people can generate unfettered AI celebrity porn, watch out. Things are going to go a little nuts on social media until someone, somewhere figures out how to tamp it down.

Or, who knows, maybe being awash in high quality AI generated celebrity porn will become the new normal. I hope not, but that’s a real possibility.

Update On My WIP For March 12th, 2026

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

I continue to cruise through the third act of the latest draft of this scifi dramedy WIP. One issue I’m facing is the scenes of late just aren’t long enough. I’m struggling to get them to be two pages, which is annoying.

My “comp” novel.

I plan on fixing that issue when I do “color correction” as part of the next draft of the novel. It won’t really be a full new draft, but rather just a lot editing because my ability to get anyone to beta read this thing is up to debate.

I continue to not read the comp novel for my novel, “Annie Bot.” I know I should, but I just can’t bring myself to do it. Just the idea that there is a novel — especially what appears to be a feminist screed — that is so similar to my novel rattles my cage.

I have read a few pages and I already am being too hard on myself for my lousy writing. And, yet, I have to — have to — get over myself and read that novel so I can properly refer to it in my query letter.

I am also beginning to have a growing sense of unease about the querying process. This is, in a sense, the farthest I’ve ever gotten when it comes to this process of traditional publishing because I know if I actually put the work in this novel is query-level good.

There continue to be some structural problems with the novel that I’m going to have to do open heart surgery on the document to fix. That’s going to be a real pain in the ass because I’m ready to take things to the next level — seeing if I can get someone to be a beta reader.

But I’m so flat broke and generally don’t know anyone willing to be a firm but fair beta reader that, lulz, I’m going to have to lean on AI to be my “manuscript consultant” for as long as possible.

Already, AI has pointed out that my hero is way too passive. That’s one of the structural issues I’m going to have to fix.

If Microsoft Was Smart, They Would Literally Transform Windows 12 Into The OS From ‘Her’

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

As I understand it, the next edition of Windows — Windows 12 — is meant to be “fully agentic.” I have no clue what that would mean in real terms, but I do think that all jokes about “Clippy” aside, there is one way to integrate AI into Windows: completely re-imagine what Windows is.

Instead of a desktop, you would have an Knowledge Navigator-like interface. Maybe power users could use an XR headset to “see” their desktop. But, in general, the Knowledge Navigator route is the way to go.

By doing so, Microsoft would not only be throwing their lot in with AI, they could even dominate the space. Millions of people would be forced to use AI in ways they never ever even imagined.

Do I think this is going to happen?

Probably not. It’s still too soon. But it’s coming, I think. Even if the AI bubble bursts, at some point, we’re all going to have Knowledge Navigators instead of the traditional desktop UX.

I’m Mildly Nervous About The Safety of The Oscar’s Ceremony

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

I remember Bob Hope joking at an early 1980s Oscar’s ceremony that if a bomb were to go off there that Pisa Adora (sic?) would be the greatest actress in the world.

With that in mind, I’m mildly nervous about the fate of the upcoming Oscars. It would be just the type of thing for Iranian sleeper cells to attack.

I also have a very elaborate fear that someone might try to take over SNL while it was on air one week. That seems like the makings of a pretty good movie plot, come to think of it.

Anyway, hopefully I’m wrong. Hopefully everything will work out peaceful and safe that will be that.

A WIP Update

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

Things are going pretty well with the scifi dramedy novel I’m working on. Even though at least one of the AIs I’m using balks at the term “dramedy” for the novel. But that is the general goal of the work — I want it to be very much in the same vein as “Her.” Though, admittedly, the Megan Fox vehicle “Subservience” is, in a way, a better comp movie. But my novel is more like if Subservience met The Enteral Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (in my dreams.)

I’m currently in the third act and hope to wrap up this draft in a few weeks if I can stop drifting towards my goal and get my ass in gear. I have something pretty special in play here and it’s just a matter of doing it.

Once I get this draft of the novel finished, I’m going to take a VERY DEEP BREATH and do some structural open heart surgery on it. It’s going to be a serious fucking pain, but it has to be done.

I keep getting nagged by the AIs that I use that my hero is too “passive.” And there are some other issues that simply have to be addressed.

I am a bit annoyed that in the second half of this draft my scenes just are too short. That, too, is going to be something I’m going to really give a lot of thought to. Your scenes are supposed to be, in general, on average 1,000 words.

Though, I will note, that that’s just a rule of thumb. I feel a little uneasy that my scenes in general seem shorter than what they should be. But I think my style on a structural basis is closer to Stieg Larsson than anything else.

Anyway, today I hope to knock out a few scenes and wrap up an complete chapter. That’s the goal, at least. I keep worrying about what literary agents will think of me as a person when they do due diligence on me.

Are they going to think I’m too nuts to take on as a client? I really worry about that. I’m the first to admit that I have some pretty gaping character flaws, but, in general, I mean well.

Or, as the late Annie Shapiro would say, I’m a “delusional jerk with a good heart.”

This novel is very cinematic, if nothing else. Too bad I would be nearly 60 if the absolute best happened and I sold this novel, it became a success and then was adapted into a movie.

That fact continues to give me something to mull.

It Will Probably Be A Dirty Bomb

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

If Iran attacks the US in the homeland, it probably will with some sort of dirty bomb. They have the means, motive and potentially opportunity do do such a thing.

I know a dirty bomb is a plot point from Blade Runner 2049, but, lulz, it’s a real possibility.

It’s just the type of fucked up shit that Trump would need to declare martial law or to just in general doing something like cancel the 2026 elections.

That’s where all of this is going, I think. And when Trump does that, then we probably have a civil war and or revolution of some sort.

Good luck.

Something Mysterious Is Going On In Silicon Valley

by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner

I keep seeing chatter and buzz on Twitter about something big going on in Silicon Valley that has given everyone there pause for thought. I’m at a loss as to what it might be.

I suppose AGI or ASI, maybe?

But that would not account for how dire the vibe is coming out of the Valley. It’s all just so mysterious and weird. People are talking like they’ve seen something that will mean the end of the world.

Who knows. But it is interesting that it’s happening in the context of all the weirdness in the Middle East right now. Ugh.