AI software company Metaphysic has appointed visual effects expert Ed Ulbrich as its chief content officer and EVP of production. With 30 years of experience in the VFX, film, TV and advertising production industries, Ulbrich will oversee all production, new business opportunities and content partnerships, with specific responsibilities including group level and hands-on strategic, creative, operational, and financial management.
As an experienced professional innovating how content is made using artificial intelligence, Ulbrich will support Metaphysic as it approaches new projects and expands product and service offerings.
“The advent of generative AI has rapidly transformed how Hollywood will produce films and television, and Metaphysic has established itself as a trusted partner in navigating this new paradigm in entertainment,” said Thomas Graham, CEO of Metaphysic. “We are thrilled to welcome Ed to Metaphysic to support our efforts and tap into his wealth of experience in the industry, forward-looking insight and unmatched technical knowledge across the imaginative worlds of film, television, music, advertising, live-entertainment and AI.”
Ulbrich has been at the forefront of Hollywood’s evolution into the next chapter of VFX, with his work spanning across major entertainment studios such as Marvel Studios, Paramount Pictures, The Walt Disney Studios, Warner Bros. Pictures, Netflix, and more. Prior to joining Metaphysic, Ulbrich was CEO of Digital Domain, an Academy Award-winning VFX and technology company, and president and general manager of VFX at Deluxe Entertainment Services Group, a global VFX studio. He has led and managed Academy Award-winning teams and collaborated with some of the most talented film, television, music, and advertising professionals on Hollywood’s most iconic blockbuster films including Top Gun: Maverick, Avengers: Infinity Wars, Black Panther, Suicide Squad, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and Titanic. He also produced the epic sci-fi movie Ender’s Game and spearheaded the groundbreaking “Tupac Shakur Hologram” project at Coachella for Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg, which earned industry accolades.
“Metaphysic is expanding creative horizons for filmmakers, artists, studios, and brands in ways previously unimaginable, and it’s doing so on a remarkable scale,” said Ulbrich. “The caliber of our output is truly breathtaking, and our technological prowess is unparalleled. Witnessing legendary filmmakers collaborate with our teams to leverage this transformative technology is nothing short of astounding. It’s exciting and an honor to join this exceptional global collective of visionaries, creatives, and technologists.”
Harvey Weinstein hit with new sex crime charge in New York
Harvey Weinstein pleaded not guilty Wednesday to a new sex crime charge in New York, as he awaits retrial in his landmark #MeToo case.
Details of the new allegations were not immediately available. He was charged with committing a criminal sex act.
The jailed ex-movie mogul has long maintained that any sexual activity was consensual.
Prosecutors revealed last week that Weinstein had been indicted on additional sex crime charges that weren't part of the case that led to his now-overturned 2020 conviction. But the new indictment was sealed until his arraignment.
Prosecutors have said that the grand jury heard evidence of up to three alleged assaults — two in hotels in the Tribeca neighborhood and one at a lower Manhattan residential building. The purported incidents took place from the mid-2000s to 2016, prosecutors said.
But it's not clear whether any of those allegations underlie the new indictment.
While bracing for the new charges, Weinstein also is awaiting retrial after New York state's highest court this spring overturned his 2020 conviction on rape and sexual assault charges involving two women. The high court, called the Court of Appeals, ordered a new trial, which is tentatively scheduled to begin Nov. 12.
The Court of Appeals ruled that the then-trial judge unfairly allowed testimony against him based on allegations that were not part of the case. That judge's term expired in 2022, and he is no longer on the bench.
Prosecutors have said they'll seek to fold the new charges into the retrial, but Weinstein's lawyers say it should be a separate case.
Weinstein, who also was convicted in 2022 in a Los Angeles rape case, remains behind bars while awaiting his New York retrial.
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