According to Fortune, the Hollywood model of work—where specialized teams assemble for specific projects then dissolve and reconfigure for new ones—is becoming increasingly feasible for corporations as AI handles the logistical complexities that once required permanent bureaucracies. A Gartner survey from early 2025 found that 61 percent of HR leaders had completed or were in later stages of AI implementation, with recruiting agents and AI-driven candidate matching as core use cases. The model represents the next evolution in work decoupling that began with the gig economy, which already comprises 36-40 percent of the U.S. workforce. As agentic AI systems manage knowledge, vet talent, and assemble teams, companies can adopt this fluid approach that was previously impractical due to coordination challenges and knowledge management failures.
Table of Contents
The Hidden Infrastructure Revolution
What Fortune’s analysis doesn’t fully explore is the massive infrastructure shift required to make this Hollywood model work at scale. The real breakthrough isn’t just AI matching talent to projects—it’s the emergence of what I call “organizational middleware.” This includes standardized skill verification systems, universal project credentialing, and interoperable reputation platforms that allow workers to carry their verified accomplishments across organizations seamlessly. Unlike Hollywood, which developed agencies, unions, and standardized contracts over decades, corporations need to build this ecosystem from scratch. The companies that will win in this new landscape aren’t necessarily those with the best AI, but those that create the most trusted verification and coordination systems.
The Dark Side of Dynamic Teams
While the Hollywood model promises agility, it introduces significant risks that the optimistic analysis overlooks. The most concerning is what organizational psychologists call “transactional relationship decay”—the erosion of trust and social capital that occurs when teams constantly form and disband. In traditional organizations, the water cooler conversations and informal mentoring that happen outside formal projects create organizational glue. In a purely project-based model, who ensures knowledge transfer beyond what’s captured in knowledge management systems? Who maintains cultural continuity? The model also creates winner-take-all dynamics where top performers command premium rates while average workers struggle to find consistent work.
Beyond the Hollywood-Industrial Complex
The comparison to Hollywood’s evolution is insightful but incomplete. Hollywood succeeded with this model because it developed supporting institutions—talent agencies that manage careers, unions that protect workers, and standardized contracting systems. Corporations adopting this approach will need to build similar ecosystems, but with one crucial difference: they’ll be competing in a global talent market without geographic boundaries. This creates both opportunity and instability. Workers in Kansas will compete directly with talent in Bangalore and Berlin, potentially driving down wages while increasing access to global opportunities. The companies that thrive will be those that create the most attractive “talent experience” rather than just efficient matching algorithms.
Agentic AI Reality Check
The concept of agentic AI systems managing team assembly sounds promising, but we’re significantly overestimating current capabilities. Today’s AI can match skills to projects reasonably well, but understanding team chemistry, cultural fit, and the nuanced interpersonal dynamics that make projects successful remains beyond reach. The most successful implementations I’ve observed use AI for initial matching but keep humans heavily involved in final team composition decisions. The notion that artificial intelligence can fully replicate the intuition of experienced managers who understand how different personalities work together is premature by at least 3-5 years.
The New Career Architecture
Perhaps the most profound implication is what this means for career development. In the traditional corporate ladder model, progression was relatively clear—you moved up through defined roles with increasing responsibility. In the Hollywood model, career paths become portfolios of projects. This creates exciting opportunities for horizontal movement and skill diversification but eliminates the structured mentorship and progressive responsibility that golden age corporate careers provided. We’ll need entirely new systems for professional development, where workers actively manage their skill portfolios and reputation capital across multiple organizations simultaneously. The most successful professionals will be those who treat their careers as constantly evolving startups rather than linear progressions.
The Realistic Implementation Roadmap
Based on my analysis of early adopters, successful implementation follows a phased approach rather than a wholesale transformation. Companies start by applying the model to innovation projects and special initiatives while maintaining core operations in traditional structures. They build internal talent marketplaces that allow employees to work on cross-functional projects while maintaining their home base. Only after establishing these hybrid systems do they expand to full project-based models. The companies struggling are those attempting big-bang transformations without the supporting infrastructure. The winning strategy appears to be evolutionary rather than revolutionary—building the plane while flying it, but with clear checkpoints and fallback positions.
