The Empire Club of Canada
Friday, September 11, 2026
Cinema is entering a new frontier where algorithms sit alongside directors, producers and performers, quietly reshaping what stories are told and how they reach the world. “AI and the New Rules of Cinema: Experience, Economics & Ethics Behind the Camera” brings together the people designing that next era of entertainment to ask what artificial intelligence really means for the audience experience, the business of content, and the ethics of storytelling when code becomes part of the creative team. In a city that has become a global crossroads for film talent and AI innovation, this conversation offers a rare, front-row look at how the entertainment ecosystem is evolving before our eyes: from premieres and red carpets to production pipelines, investment decisions and the trust between storytellers and th`1e public.
On September 11, 2026, the Empire Club of Canada and the LA Times Studios convene studio and streamer executives, institutional public policy leaders and creative voices to examine the choices that will define cinema’s next chapter, and the role Canada will play in the global entertainment ecosystem. Moderated by Anna Magzanyan, President of LA Times Studios & NantGames, the conversation will feature Tammy Frick, Chief Executive Officer of the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television, and Shamier Anderson, Co-Founder and Co-CEO of Bay Mills Studios, Canadian Actor and Producer.
Together, they will explore the intersection of innovation and the creative process as AI reshapes the audience experience and the economics of development, production and distribution—and as it raises questions about authorship, artistic voice, talent, rights and public trust.
Taking place during a pivotal moment in the global film calendar, this is an opportunity for leaders across industry, technology, investment, government and the creative sector to engage with one of the defining questions of the moment: how can AI expand the possibilities of cinema while preserving the human creativity, integrity and accountability that give storytelling its value?
Tammy Frick is the Chief Executive Officer of the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television, the largest non-profit professional arts organization in Canada with a membership of more than 4,000 emerging and established English and Francophone industry professionals.
Prior to her role with the Academy, Tammy held a successful 27-year tenure as Executive Director of the Cinéfest Sudbury International Film Festival where she spearheaded the development of the festival into a full-service film organization. Tammy was also the driving force behind the introduction of the Laugh Out Loud (LOL) Sudbury Comedy Festival in 2007, and has served on the board of directors of several organizations, including as a founding member of Northern Ontario’s Music and Film in Motion (MFM).
Tammy was honoured with a Crystal Award for Outstanding Achievement in Business by Women in Film & Television – Toronto in 2019.
Anna Magzanyan serves as President of LA Times Studios and NantGames, where she is driving the organization’s evolution into a modern, multi-platform powerhouse. Magzanyan oversees Business Publishing, which includes a variety of content verticals, while also leading a dynamic slate of new media initiatives featuring a network of content creators and contributors, including 24/7 video streaming, premium podcast production and large-scale live events. In addition to these growth areas, she also directs advertising sales and client solutions across all Los Angeles Times businesses and affiliates.
Previously the publisher and CEO of the Los Angeles Business Journal, Magzanyan has a proven track record of driving revenue and audience growth. She rejoined The Times in 2020 as chief of staff to the executive chairman after holding executive roles at The Hollywood Reporter and iHeart.
Magzanyan began her career in agency marketing working with global brands like Ketel One and Crystal Cruises. Her leadership has been recognized with the Corporate Woman of the Year award (2011) and two Los Angeles Times’ Publisher’s Awards for her work launching The Envelope portfolio and the Tribune Pre-Print Initiative.
Shamier Anderson is a multi-hyphenate artist making bold moves both in front of and behind the camera.
His film work spans major studio fare and acclaimed independents. Most notably in John Wick: Chapter 4 opposite Keanu Reeves as ‘Tracker.’ The film dominated the global box office upon release, opening to a franchise-record $137.5 million worldwide, shattering the series’ previous opening weekend record, and ultimately grossing $447 million globally, earning rave reviews and becoming the most successful installment of the franchise. Other film credits also include a leading role in Bruiser, directed by Miles Warren, which debuted at TIFF, holds a 100% Rotten Tomatoes score, and was distributed by Hulu; Bruised for Netflix alongside director and star Halle Berry; Stowaway for Netflix opposite Anna Kendrick and Toni Collette (playing the title role); Tin Soldier and City Of Lies, both directed by Brad Furman, opposite Jamie Foxx and Robert De Niro, and Johnny Depp respectively and most recently in IFC’s The Luckiest Man In America, which premiered at TIFF, opposite Paul Walter Hauser and now streaming on multiple platforms.
On television, Anderson starred in Prime Video’s Goliath alongside Billy Bob Thornton and led the acclaimed ensemble of Apple TV’s expansive multi season series, Invasion, created by Simon Kinberg.
Most recently, Anderson headlined and executive produced the bold limited series Hate the Player: The Ben Johnson Story under his Bay Mills Studios banner, with New Metric Media. A satirical reimagining of the rise and fall of disgraced, world-record-breaking Canadian Olympic sprinter Ben Johnson, the series is told through an exaggerated, comedic, and absurdist lens and it premiered on GameTV and Paramount+ for Canada in March of this year.
A Toronto International Film Festival darling, Anderson has had multiple films featured at TIFF, was previously named a TIFF Rising Star, and will see his directorial debut, Call Me Tim premiere at the 2026 edition as a part of their Short Cuts Programme. Call Me Tim is a mockumentary style comedy that Anderson also wrote, produced and stars in.
He is the co-founder of The Black Academy, launched to celebrate Black talent in Canada and co-created The Legacy Awards on CBC—the multi Canadian Screen Award nominated and winning ceremony was the first nationally broadcast awards show honoring Black Canadians—which recently evolved into The Legacy Lounge, an in-depth, conversation series spotlighting honorees and the legacies they are building. The four-part series premiered all episodes on CBC Gem, followed by its CBC’s YouTube channel weekly roll-out and then on CBC TV beginning in January and February of this year.
Anderson has been inducted into Canada’s Scarborough Walk of Fame, honored with the Key to the Canadian Consulate in Los Angeles for championing underrepresented talent and communities and most recently was honored with the Career Achievement Award at the Toronto Black Film Festival.
Anderson splits his time between Toronto and Los Angeles.
