Collage will vet AI studios for Hollywood, and one backer already sells a client's film
Ex-UTA agent Dante DeSario's Collage will manage, price and invest in AI studios. Its client roster is unconfirmed by the studios, and AGC Studios, one of its backers, sells client Native Foreign's Critterz.
Dante DeSario spent years at UTA packaging independent films. On Monday he and media investor Michael Lambert launched Collage, a company that will manage AI-native studios, vet and price their work for Hollywood buyers, and invest in some of them along the way. DeSario told Variety he wants to show buyers which studios make human-led work and "who to stay away from."
That pitch rests on trust, so the backer list matters. AGC Studios, named among Collage's investors and advisors, is also the worldwide sales company on Critterz, the feature from Collage client Native Foreign. Overlapping investors are normal at seed stage, and nobody has alleged anything improper. But a broker that vets suppliers is only as useful as its disclosures, and Collage has not said how much it raised or which studios it has already invested in.
The client list is softer than the launch suggests. The company statement Deadline ran names eight clients, while Variety's interview names four of them: Asteria, Native Foreign, Obsidian and Secret Level. As of Tuesday morning, none had announced Collage on its own site or X account, and nobody has said whether being a client means a commission, a retainer or equity.
Collage signs studios with staff and funding, not solo makers. What it changes for everyone else is the question buyers ask, which moves from whether AI is allowed to which AI shop they can trust.
Sources: Variety and Deadline, Oct 19, 2026.
Read the full article: thegenerated.com/stories/collage-ai-studios-management-desario-20261020
