Wonder Project, Luma Launch AI Hybrid Filmmaking Co.
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- Wonder Project and Luma launched Innovative Dreams, a new company backed by Amazon Web Services that blends production services, R&D, and post-production/visual effects under one roof
- Jon Erwin, CEO of Innovative Dreams and co-founder of Wonder Project alongside Netflix alum Kelly Merryman Hoogstraten, says the 'real-time hybrid filmmaking' method combines performance capture, virtual production, and VFX infused with generative AI to widen access beyond A-list filmmakers
- The Old Stories: Moses, starring Ben Kingsley and O-T Fagbenle, is the first project shot entirely on the new virtual-stage workflow; it debuts on Wonder's Prime Video subscription service before moving to Prime Video later this spring
- Luma raised $900 million in Series C funding last November from investors including Andreessen Horowitz and Saudi Arabia's Private Investment Fund, and is contributing tools like its recently unveiled Luma Agents to the venture
- Innovative Dreams operates a dedicated R&D lab and virtual production stage at MBS Media Campus in Manhattan Beach, CA, with founders explicitly aiming to 'bring more productions back to American stages' and anchor work in Los Angeles
Why it matters: By embedding generative AI into a full virtual-production pipeline rather than treating it as a post-production add-on, Innovative Dreams is targeting mid-budget projects at a moment the source describes as 'a period of austerity' for studios, with unions actively negotiating AI protections. The company's explicit goal of bringing productions back to American stages — anchored by a Manhattan Beach facility — directly counters runaway-production trends while giving AWS a creative-tools foothold in Hollywood.
