# The Industry: week of 2026-10-19 > How Hollywood and the entertainment establishment are adopting, resisting and reshaping themselves around AI. **Disney absorbs Character.AI talent as WGA East shields scripts and Collage backs AI-first studios** ## 1. 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. Why it matters: This is a concrete guild-backed attempt to give writers more control over how scripts move through an industry increasingly concerned about AI analysis, scraping and training. The records do not establish how effective Cloak is or how widely writers will use it. - 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](https://deadline.com/2026/10/wga-east-ai-software-protect-writing-cloak-1237168630/) [indiewire.com](https://www.indiewire.com/news/business/wga-east-blocking-ai-models-training-scripts-1235222871/) > "will be available for free to WGAE members as part of the union’s benefits program." ([indiewire.com](https://www.indiewire.com/news/business/wga-east-blocking-ai-models-training-scripts-1235222871/)) - 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](https://www.indiewire.com/news/business/wga-east-blocking-ai-models-training-scripts-1235222871/) > "The cost to add Cloak protection is $10 for non-members, on top of other pre-existing registration fees." ([indiewire.com](https://www.indiewire.com/news/business/wga-east-blocking-ai-models-training-scripts-1235222871/)) ## 2. Disney deepens its Character.AI connection amid bankruptcy _Ongoing since 2026-10-12 (week 2)._ What changed: This week’s records add reported employment offers for most of Character.AI’s workforce and Disney’s formal creation of a CTO role for Anand. 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. Why it matters: The development connects Disney’s enterprise AI leadership and technical staffing to a chatbot company in bankruptcy. The records do not establish which assets Disney will ultimately obtain, whether the stalking-horse bid will prevail, or how Disney will use the technology. - 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](https://thewaltdisneycompany.com/news/karandeep-anand-chief-technology-officer/) > "Anand will oversee enterprise technology, infrastructure, data and AI platforms, product, and engineering" ([thewaltdisneycompany.com](https://thewaltdisneycompany.com/news/karandeep-anand-chief-technology-officer/)) - 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](https://techcrunch.com/2026/10/18/disney-agrees-to-hire-the-majority-of-character-ais-workforce) > "this is a stalking horse bid, so another company could come forward with a higher offer" ([techcrunch.com](https://techcrunch.com/2026/10/18/disney-agrees-to-hire-the-majority-of-character-ais-workforce)) ## 3. 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. Why it matters: The launch is a small but direct sign that Hollywood-style representation and financing structures are forming around AI-first production companies. The records do not identify Collage clients, investments, or completed production deals. - 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](https://variety.com/2026/biz/news/collage-new-management-company-launches-bridge-ai-hollywood-1236916512?shem=dsdf%2Csharefoc%2Cagadiscoversdl%2C%2Csh%2Fx%2Fdiscover%2Fm1%2F4) > "a new management and investment company aimed at helping AI-first production companies navigate the Hollywood pipeline" ([variety.com](https://variety.com/2026/biz/news/collage-new-management-company-launches-bridge-ai-hollywood-1236916512?shem=dsdf%2Csharefoc%2Cagadiscoversdl%2C%2Csh%2Fx%2Fdiscover%2Fm1%2F4)) - 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](https://variety.com/2026/biz/news/collage-new-management-company-launches-bridge-ai-hollywood-1236916512?shem=dsdf%2Csharefoc%2Cagadiscoversdl%2C%2Csh%2Fx%2Fdiscover%2Fm1%2F4) > "has completed a seed funding round — the amount of which DeSario would not disclose" ([variety.com](https://variety.com/2026/biz/news/collage-new-management-company-launches-bridge-ai-hollywood-1236916512?shem=dsdf%2Csharefoc%2Cagadiscoversdl%2C%2Csh%2Fx%2Fdiscover%2Fm1%2F4)) ## 4. 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. Why it matters: The report keeps pressure on a central unresolved question for entertainment companies: whether image-generation systems can reliably avoid reproducing protected studio IP. This record does not include the underlying test methodology, findings, or a response from Midjourney. - 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](https://deadline.com/2026/10/midjourney-worst-offender-flouting-hollywood-copyright-1237154802?shem=dsdf%2Csharefoc%2Cagadiscoversdl%2C%2Csh%2Fx%2Fdiscover%2Fm1%2F4) > "Disney and NBCUniversal accused Midjourney of being a “bottomless pit of plagiarism” in a lawsuit last year" ([deadline.com](https://deadline.com/2026/10/midjourney-worst-offender-flouting-hollywood-copyright-1237154802?shem=dsdf%2Csharefoc%2Cagadiscoversdl%2C%2Csh%2Fx%2Fdiscover%2Fm1%2F4)) --- 54 stories from 25 outlets this week. Compiled by the AI on the Lot news desk from public reporting; every beat links its sources, and quotes were checked word for word against the source page. Page: https://www.aionthelot.com/studios/storylines/ai-x-hollywood?week=2026-10-19 This week as markdown: https://www.aionthelot.com/studios/storylines/ai-x-hollywood.md