The Industry: week of 2026-10-19
Disney absorbs Character.AI talent as WGA East shields scripts and Collage backs AI-first studios
WGA East offers members Cloak protection for scripts
WGA East began offering members free access to Cloak, software intended to create versions of documents that AI models cannot read while people still can. The guild says the partnership emerged from its AI Task Force and is meant to help writers circulate scripts to industry recipients with greater confidence.
- 2026-10-20: WGA East began offering members free access to Cloak, which it says creates copies of files that AI models cannot read but humans can. deadline.com indiewire.com
- 2026-10-20: The guild said non-members can add Cloak protection when registering a script through its website for $10 beyond existing registration fees. indiewire.com
Disney deepens its Character.AI connection amid bankruptcy
Disney’s reported pursuit of certain Character.AI assets now coincides with a substantial hiring move and the appointment of former Character.AI CEO Karandeep Anand as Disney’s first CTO. The available records indicate a stalking-horse asset bid that could be surpassed, while Disney says Anand will oversee company-wide technology, data and AI platforms.
- 2026-10-20: Disney announced that former Character.AI CEO Karandeep Anand would join as Senior Executive Vice President and Chief Technology Officer, a newly created role overseeing enterprise technology, infrastructure, data and AI platforms; Disney said a number of Character.AI technical team members were expected to join. thewaltdisneycompany.com
- 2026-10-22: After Character.AI filed for bankruptcy earlier in the week, Disney reportedly agreed to offer jobs to at least 60 employees, described as a majority of the workforce, while Character.AI had previously said Disney agreed to acquire some assets for $20 million through a stalking-horse bid. techcrunch.com
Collage launches to represent and invest in AI-first studios
Collage launched as a Beverly Hills management and investment company aimed at helping AI-first production companies navigate Hollywood. Founded by former UTA agent Dante DeSario and Michael Lambert, formerly of UTA’s independent-film group, the company said Black Bear and Fundamental Films backed an undisclosed seed round.
- 2026-10-22: Variety reported that Collage launched as a management and investment company for AI-first production companies navigating the Hollywood pipeline, founded in July by Dante DeSario and Michael Lambert. variety.com
- 2026-10-22: Collage said it had completed an undisclosed seed round backed by Black Bear and Fundamental Films and had five full-time employees plus roughly a dozen part-time staffers. variety.com
Report renews scrutiny of Midjourney and studio IP
VN.ai issued what was described as its first quarterly report examining 15 popular AI models for their handling of studio intellectual property, with Midjourney characterized as the worst offender in the report’s framing. The account revisited Disney and NBCUniversal’s prior allegation that Midjourney was a “bottomless pit of plagiarism,” while saying the company allegedly had not changed its practices more than 18 months later.
- 2026-10-19: Deadline reported that VN.ai had produced its first quarterly report examining how 15 popular AI models performed on flouting studio intellectual property, and said Midjourney allegedly had not cleaned up its practices more than 18 months after litigation accusations from Disney and NBCUniversal. deadline.com