People

Asian American Innovators Are Building Hollywood’s Virtual Future
By James Moreau | 24 Feb, 2026

From virtual sets to AI-native studios, these Asian American executives are the architects of the next era of filmmaking.

With the entertainment industry pivoting toward AI, the magic of modern Hollywood is increasingly being engineered behind the scenes.  At the forefront of this technological revolution are three Asian American leaders.

In November veteran executive Christina Lee Storm joined Secret Level, an AI-Native entertainment studio known best for their Coca-Cola “Holidays are Coming” ads.  Storm will be heading their narrative efforts focusing on original shows and films.

From 2020 to 2023 Storm led Netflix’s Virtual Production, instrumental on titles including Atlas, Avatar: The Last Airbender, and One Piece.

The four years prior Storm worked at DreamWorks Animation, last as VP of Emerging Technologies.  She implemented trailblazing virtual production technologies that aided Abominable and How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World.

In 2023 Storm co-founded of PLAYBOOK, blending her knowledge of business, entertainment, and tech.  A key offering is Playbook AIR which helps studios manage copyright and liability through human authorship verification in GenAI workflows.

Lap Van Luu is the Chief Technology Officer of Magnopus, a design company specializing in virtual production.  As CTO he amplifies traditional cinematography equipment with VR technology, allowing filmmakers an elevated level of creative freedom. 

Luu played a pivotal role in establishing the Virtual Production System allowing directors with VR headsets to walk through digital sets as if they were physical locations.  In addition to virtual productions, he has provided solutions to foster spatial experiences, music videos, immersive reality concerts, and games.

Prior to Magnopus Luu held CTO roles at Pixomondo and ScanLine VFX LA.  His film credits include Star Trek Into Darkness, Fast & Furious 6, and The Avengers.

For the past eight years Annie Chang has served as the Vice President of Creative Technologies for Universal Pictures.  In this role she is responsible for innovating the studio’s technology strategy including the development of immersive media experiences.

Most notably Chang is known for spearheading the industry-wide standard for delivery and storage known as the Interoperable Master Format.

Prior to joining Universal she spent over a decade with Disney in a variety of technical roles.  Chang directed a team of engineers responsible for distrusting post-theatrical media across a variety of formats including 3D Blu-ray, which she helped launch.  Additionally, she led the charge to digitize and more effectively archive Disney’s media library.  Chang began her career in Hollywood at the post house THX.