EXCLUSIVE: Storyd Media Group, run by former ICM lit agent Todd Hoffman, has formed a strategic partnership with AI company Vitrina in a move aimed at giving clients a more sophisticated view of the global entertainment supply chain.
SMG launched its intellectual property platform, StoryScout, in 2018 and expanded globally three years later. StoryScout's initial buy-side clients included Sony Television, New Line, and Range Media. The exclusive IP StoryScout offers spans true stories, life rights, journalism, comics, graphic novels, books, podcasts, video games, and more. In building the service, Hoffman drew on his background representing writers and media outlets including The New York Times, 60 Minutes, and New York Magazine, as well as his experience working with The Marshall Project, The Guardian, The Washington Post, and NPR at SMG.
Vitrina uses AI tools to track all upcoming film and TV projects, the companies associated with each project, and the key decision makers involved. Reports monitor trends in film and TV development, production financing, commissioning, and licensing.
Hoffman told Deadline that he is well aware of industry concerns about the use of AI in some areas, especially following the 2023 strike, but sees the partnership with Vitoria as an example of the technology's benefits.
“This is the right use of AI,” he said. “It's only used to connect people and provide information about businesses around the world. I saw Vitrina as the perfect complementary tool to our service. With StoryScout, people can find great stories they want to produce. Then, with Vitrina's help, they can find companies, even executives, that are likely to buy that project. Given these unsettling and uncertain times, producers have to get smarter. Vitrina + StoryScout seemed like a natural partnership.”
Hoffman believes the collaboration will be of interest to production companies, studios, networks and other stakeholders involved in the early stages of the film and television lifecycle.
“At Vitrina, we are committed to providing our users with the most comprehensive information and insights. Our partnership with Streed Media Group will enable us to deliver even greater value by integrating select IP into our solutions. This collaboration is a natural extension of our mission to connect and empower the global entertainment industry,” Vitrina CEO Atul Phadnis said in a statement to Deadline.
Since its founding in 2013, SMG has sold more than 350 projects to the film and television industry. Current and past projects based on client IP include Modern Love (Amazon), Alex Gibney's The Crime of the Century (HBO), Clint Eastwood's The Mule (Warner Bros.), Insatiable (Netflix), and the upcoming The Afghanistan Papers (Paramount+).
