VFX Legend Ed Ulbrich Joins AI Firm Moonvalley to Bridge Tech and Hollywood
Oscar-winning visual effects veteran Ed Ulbrich leaves traditional studios for Moonvalley, aiming to integrate AI ethically into entertainment visual workflows and support creator-friendly tools.
Erik Charlton from Menlo Park, USA, CC BY 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
Ed Ulbrich, whose visual effects work spans blockbusters like Titanic, Benjamin Button, and Top Gun: Maverick, is taking on a new mission—leading strategic growth and partnerships at Moonvalley, a rising AI entertainment company. His move, announced June 18, signals a meaningful shift in how creative talent and tech firms are collaborating around artificial intelligence in Hollywood.
Ulbrich joins Moonvalley’s leadership to help ramp up its film and TV studio charter, Asteria Film. He’ll be responsible for building relationships across Hollywood and ensuring Moonvalley’s AI tools are leveraged responsibly. “What drew me to Moonvalley is their respect for the craft, their use of clean, licensed data, and their focus on empowering creators,” he said. That alignment matters: Moonvalley explicitly uses only licensed visual material to train its AI model, Marey.
In the announcement, Ulbrich drew a parallel between generative AI and the earlier graphics revolution. He reminded reporters of CGI’s rise, noting that rather than kill jobs, it ultimately created hundreds of thousands. The lesson is clear: AI can amplify, not replace, creatives—so long as it is implemented thoughtfully. Moonvalley hopes his pedigree will open doors at top-tier VFX houses, studios, and talent agencies for broader AI adoption across the content pipeline.
Moonvalley’s Marey model is designed to assist in visual effects tasks like background extensions, virtual face aging, motion blending, and scene reconstruction. Asteria Film intends to leverage that tech in live-action and animated projects. With Ulbrich’s arrival, the company is expected to announce pilot collaborations with major studio partners over the next six months.
Why this matters now: following last week’s lawsuit by Disney and Universal against Midjourney, Hollywood’s mood has shifted. Executives, creators, and unions are demanding transparency, consent, and licensing in AI workflows. Moonvalley’s licensed-data-first ethos and high-profile hire speak directly to that pressure—even as studios explore AI in concept art, body doubles, or crowd generation.
When asked about job displacement, Ulbrich offered a familiar but essential note: “I’ve seen this before.” He argued that even when early technologists feared downsizing, the industry adapted and grew instead. He pointed to VFX houses that now employ thousands more CG artists than before the CGI revolution. The next wave, he believes, will be overseen by AI-literate artists who harness technology to express creativity more powerfully.
Inside Moonvalley, Asteria Film is already developing proof-of-concept shorts to showcase Marey’s capabilities. These projects aim to demonstrate production efficiencies, narrative flexibility, and ethical use-cases: for example, recreating background plates without recreating actors or generating face composites only with performer permission.
Moonvalley has raised venture backing from startup-focused investors and counts on Ulbrich to transform that energy into real film and TV credits. “We’re not here to build synthetic actors,” he said. “We’re here to build visual tools for real creators.” How that plays out across Hollywood’s post-strike landscape—especially amid tighter union protection for performers—is worth watching.
Ulbrich’s move also reflects a growing celebrity-tech pipeline: creators like Jon Favreau, Darren Aronofsky, and James Cameron have all partnered with AI or tech firms recently. Ulbrich's entry ups the ante: a VFX leader is bringing his influence to steer AI adoption from the inside—not just consult from the sidelines.
Moonvalley’s next steps, backed by Ulbrich’s experience and Hollywood cachet, may offer a blueprint for AI integration built on creator trust, labor sensitivity, and artistic opportunity. In an industry hungry for tools that enhance rather than threaten, his role may prove crucial in shaping AI’s place behind the curtain.