The "Transforming Hollywood 6: Alternative Realities, World Building and Immersive Entertainment conference," co-hosted by the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television (TFT), USC Annenberg School of Communication and Journalism and USC School of Cinematic Arts, is set for Friday, May 8 from 9:00 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. at TFT's James Bridges Theater.
The conference is presented by the Andrew J. Kuehn Jr. Foundation, with additional support from Havas Media Group and entertainment news outlet Variety. Created by TFT professor Denise Mann, head of the UCLA TFT Producers Program, and USC Provost’s Professor of Communication, Journalism and Cinematic Art Henry Jenkins, the sixth installment of the annual conference focuses on ways in which artists, advertisers, entertainers, journalists, scientists and others are making use of new technologies such as Oculus Rift and Morpheus goggles to create immersive storytelling worlds. In addition, panelists will discuss our historical fascination with these futurist scenarios, many of which have been spun into now-familiar tropes by prescient science fiction authors. Today, more and more of these futuristic imaginings are available for purchase, part of a new “Internet of Things,” that include designer wearables, such as Apple Watches, which seed consumer desire while offering corporations unfettered access to our daily lives.
The conference brings together key creative and corporate decision-makers who are shaping the industry, along with academics who are placing the ongoing changes in the industry into larger historical and cultural contexts. Academy Award-winning producer Jon Landau ("Titanic," "Avatar" franchise) will be a special guest at the conference and will discuss virtual production, intellectual property expansion strategies and his work with filmmaker James Cameron.
Find more information and get tickets here.