# Steven Ilous

> Steven Ilous is an American entrepreneur, filmmaker and inventor, and the founder and CEO of Feature, an entertainment technology company in Los Angeles.

Official website of Steven Ilous. Facts below are sourced; links point to the primary or press source.

## In his words
"I’ve spent my career on worldbuilding and the technology behind it: performance capture, virtual production, real-time pipelines. Now that AI can make endless content, I’m building what makes it matter."
Short form: "AI can make anything. But it can’t make anything matter."

## Now (October 2026)
Building Smart Content at Feature, and Lollipop Racing’s next season.

## At a glance
- Born: Seattle, Washington
- Occupation: Entrepreneur, filmmaker, inventor
- Company: Feature (The Feature, Inc.), Los Angeles. Founder and CEO since 2021
- Known for: Smart Content, Lollipop Racing, Polis, 2088
- Patents: Patents pending in the United States, Europe and Singapore (WO 2024/233322)
- Music: Classical piano from age 4, then jazz theory
- In film since: 1999
- Also known as: Steven M. Ilous

## Biography
Steven Ilous is an American entrepreneur, filmmaker and inventor, and the founder and CEO of Feature, an entertainment technology company in Los Angeles. At Feature he created Smart Content: video that recognizes genuine attention and rewards it, for brands including Mobil 1, Porsche and Netflix. Feature is venture-backed, represented by WME, and an ACME Collider on the Lot Accelerator participant.

Before Feature he spent more than twenty years in film. He started at Stan Lee Media, was on the motion-capture team for the Matrix sequels, then a senior technical animator at Sony Pictures Imageworks on The Polar Express, and co-developed the FacePro facial-capture system. He developed projects for DreamWorks Animation and Warner Bros. Animation, wrote for Starz, co-created The Life and Times of Jimmy Jaxx for 20th Century Fox Television, and directed Polis, which won New Regency and Defy Media’s PROTOTYPE competition in 2015, and Lollipop Racing: Episode Zero, a 2026 International Motor Film Awards nominee.

He invests in AI and video-game companies and advises startups at the intersection of generative AI and intellectual property rights. Classically trained on piano from age four, he later studied jazz theory. A lifelong photographer, he is completing a series from Myanmar and another from a fourteen-day expedition to Antarctica.

## Pages
- [Home](https://stevenilous.me): overview
- [Lollipop Racing](https://stevenilous.me/work/lollipop-racing): Racing franchise by Feature, 2023–
- [Polis](https://stevenilous.me/work/polis): Short film, director, 2014
- [2088](https://stevenilous.me/work/2088): Teaser, screenplay and graphic novel, 2012
- [Myanmar](https://stevenilous.me/photography/myanmar): photographs, 2012
- [Antarctica](https://stevenilous.me/photography/antarctica): photographs, 2022
- [Timeline](https://stevenilous.me/timeline): the complete dated record, 1999–present, with sources
- [About](https://stevenilous.me/about): biography and press kit

## Timeline (complete, newest first)
- 2026 (Founder): Lollipop Racing: 4th in the SRO Japan Cup teams’ championship [source](https://japancup.co/standings)
- May 2026 (Founder): Lollipop Racing debuts in the SRO Japan Cup with Bingo Racing’s #9 Porsche 911 GT3 R: pole and a Race 2 win at Sugo [source](https://japancup.co/standings)
- 2026 (Film): Lollipop Racing, Episode Zero: nominee, Best Drama Short, International Motor Film Awards [source](https://www.motorfilmawards.com/2026)
- Feb 2026 (Founder): Lollipop Racing, Episode Zero: full episode release [source](https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/following-successful-launch-lollipop-racings-episode-zero-now-streaming--a-first-look-at-the-racing-franchise-of-the-future-302691281.html)
- 2025 (Film): Lollipop Racing, Episode Zero: director [source](https://stevenilous.me/work/lollipop-racing)
- Dec 2025 (Film): Lollipop Racing, Episode Zero, Part Two: release
- Nov 2025 (Film): Lollipop Racing, Episode Zero, Part One: release
- May 2025 (Talk): Avalanche Summit London: talk on Lollipop Racing and Smart Content, with Mobil 1 and Porsche [source](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6YiyWJ5UcUo)
- Nov 2024 (Invention): First Feature patent application published (WO 2024/233322); filed in the United States, Europe and Singapore [source](https://patents.google.com/patent/WO2024233322A1)
- Oct 2024 (Founder): Porsche joins Lollipop Racing with the 911 GT3 RS and 911 GT3 R [source](https://newsroom.porsche.com/en_US/2024/company/Porsche-joins-streaming-series-interactive-game-Lollipop-Racing-37493.html)
- Jul 2024 (Founder): Feature signs with William Morris Endeavor (WME) [source](https://variety.com/2024/biz/news/feature-io-wme-1236082218/)
- May 2024 (Founder): Mobil 1 joins Lollipop Racing as official presenting sponsor [source](https://www.nasdaq.com/press-release/mobil-1tm-celebrates-next-generation-of-racing-as-official-sponsor-of-lollipop-2024)
- Feb 2024 (Founder): Feature selected for the Warner Bros. Discovery and ACME Collider on the Lot Accelerator (inaugural cohort) [source](https://www.wbd.com/warner-bros-discovery-and-acme-innovation-announce-official-cohort-for-accelerator-program/)
- 2024 (Talk): Avalanche Summit LATAM, Buenos Aires: talk, “Lollipop Racing, Transforming Traditional TV” [source](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rooRv-vrg20)
- Apr 2023 (Founder): Feature announces Lollipop Racing, with David Ayer
- 2023 (Talk): Outer Edge LA: speaker [source](https://www.outeredge.live/speakers/Steven-Ilous)
- Jun 2022 (Talk): Palladium Times Square, New York: panel on innovation and creativity in film
- May 2022 (Founder): Love, Death & Robots Volume 3: Netflix fan campaign by Feature, with QR codes in the episodes and on Times Square and Sunset Boulevard billboards; 100 million views, measured by Feature [source](https://hypebeast.com/2022/5/netflix-love-death-robots-digital-scavenger-hunt-news-info)
- 2022 (Photo): Antarctica: photo series [source](https://stevenilous.me/photography/antarctica)
- Oct 2021 (Founder): Feature partners with Ben Mauro on the Huxley franchise
- 2021 (Founder): Founds Feature (The Feature, Inc.), Los Angeles
- 2020 (Film): Drunk Bus: producer
- Jun 2017 (Founder): Founds Monolith, a VR, AR and MR production company, Beverly Hills
- 2017 (Film): Kate: pitch trailer, director; the script was later produced as the Netflix film Kate (2021) [source](https://vimeo.com/228017072)
- 2017 (Talk): TEDxCulverCitySalon: The Hidden Power of Questions [source](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XPLZmEg0Zto)
- Mar 2016 (Film): Apex: attached to direct; bought by Mandalay Pictures [source](https://variety.com/2016/film/news/mandalay-slate-birth-of-a-nation-1201723212/)
- 2016 (Film): Apex: pitch trailer, director [source](https://vimeo.com/218103104)
- 2016 (Film): The Girl Who Would Be King: attached to develop and direct, Legendary Entertainment (from Kelly Thompson’s superhero novel)
- 2016 (Film): ARC: feature film enters development with The Kennedy/Marshall Company [source](https://vimeo.com/96651954)
- 2016 (Film): ARC: R&D and production tests for a new real-time virtual production pipeline, Animatrik, Vancouver [source](https://vimeo.com/200892689)
- 2016 (Film): Poor Boy: executive producer
- Jan 2015 (Film): Polis wins New Regency and Defy Media’s PROTOTYPE competition and goes into development at New Regency [source](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/digital/new-regency-defy-media-announce-765598/)
- 2015 (Film): Polis: Vimeo Staff Pick [source](https://vimeo.com/95826676)
- 2015 (Talk): Art Cafe podcast: guest, with Ash Thorp
- 2014 (Film): Polis: director, co-writer [source](https://stevenilous.me/work/polis)
- Jul 2013 (Film): The Birds, remake of the Hitchcock classic for Platinum Dunes and Universal: director’s pitch and pitch trailer [source](https://vimeo.com/76510947)
- 2013 (Film): World of Warplanes: trailer, Wargaming [source](https://cgpress.org/archives/world_of_warplanes_trailer.html)
- 2013 (Film): The Bloody Beetroots, “All the Girls” featuring Theophilus London: music video, director
- 2013 (Film): Savannah: visual effects supervisor
- 2013 (Talk): NAB Show, Las Vegas: guest, Dell Spotlight Filmmakers, with 2088
- Nov 2012 (Film): 2088: teaser and graphic novel, director and writer [source](https://www.wired.com/2012/11/2088-sci-fi-teaser/)
- 2012 (Photo): Myanmar: photo series [source](https://stevenilous.me/photography/myanmar)
- Aug 2011 (Film): World of Tanks: Gamescom trailer, director, Wargaming [source](https://web.archive.org/web/20240806141756/https://www.btlnews.com/crafts/post-production/in-a-place-post-brings-epic-scale-to-world-of-tanks-trailer/)
- Aug 2011 (Film): Live tour visuals: Kanye West (Lollapalooza debut), Kaskade
- 2011 (Film): Deadmau5, Meowingtons Hax tour: tour film for Ultra Music, director [source](https://vimeo.com/36329414)
- 2011 (Film): Freerunner: visual effects supervisor
- 2009 (Film): Watchmen: visual effects supervisor, Digital Concepts Group
- 2009 (Film): The Toxic Avenger, “Toxic Is Dead”: music video, director
- 2009 (Talk): Gotland University, Sweden: guest lecturer and Gotland Games Awards judge (2009–11) [source](https://game.speldesign.uu.se/guest-lectures/steven-m-ilous-writer-director/)
- 2008 (Film): The Life and Times of Jimmy Jaxx: co-creator and co-executive producer, 20th Century Fox Television [source](https://variety.com/2008/digital/news/tommy-lee-tooned-up-as-jaxx-1117986352/)
- 2008 (Invention): FacePro (later DCG FACE): facial motion capture, Digital Concepts Group, with DJ Hauck [source](https://web.archive.org/web/20160428155838/http://cgim.dbq.edu/cgim/CGW_20080901_Sep_2008.PDF)
- 2007 (Founder): Co-founds Digital Concepts Group, co-president: performance-capture R&D for film and games
- 2007 (Film): Universal Remote and Stiletto: visual effects supervisor
- 2006 (Film): All In and Trapped Ashes: visual effects supervisor
- 2006 (Talk): USC School of Cinematic Arts: guest lecturer, with DJ Hauck
- 2005 (Talk): NAB Show, Las Vegas: guest presenter, Sony Electronics
- 2004 (Film): Bi-Polar: writer, Starz Media
- Aug 2003 (Film): Totally Toto: senior art director, Warner Bros. Animation (an animated series inspired by The Wizard of Oz)
- 2003 (Film): The Polar Express: senior technical animator, Sony Pictures Imageworks [source](https://vimeo.com/39741009)
- 2003 (Invention): Helps create the facial motion-capture technology behind The Polar Express, later used on Monster House and Beowulf
- 2003 (Film): Love Ark (original story) and Get Me Roman Faraday (visual development): DreamWorks Animation
- 2002 (Film): The Matrix Revolutions: motion capture and CG supervisor, Spectrum Studios [source](https://vimeo.com/39663525)
- 2001 (Film): The Matrix Reloaded: motion capture and CG supervisor, Spectrum Studios [source](https://vimeo.com/39663525)
- 2001 (Film): Driven: visual effects sequence designer
- Dec 2000 (Founder): Founds SMI, a creative studio for original film IP, commercials and music videos
- 1999 (Film): Stan Lee Media: senior animator, at 18 [source](https://x.com/TheRealStanLee/status/536255035621920768)

## Awards
- 2026: Nominee, Best Drama Short, International Motor Film Awards, for Lollipop Racing: Episode Zero [source](https://www.motorfilmawards.com/2026)
- 2015: Grand Prize, PROTOTYPE, New Regency and Defy Media, for Polis [source](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/digital/new-regency-defy-media-announce-765598/)
- 2015: Staff Pick, Vimeo Staff Pick, Polis [source](https://vimeo.com/95826676)

## Selected press
- [Variety, 2024: Feature signs with WME](https://variety.com/2024/biz/news/feature-io-wme-1236082218/)
- [Road & Track, 2024: Porsche joins Lollipop Racing](https://www.roadandtrack.com/news/a62559616/porsche-joins-lollipop-racing-video-game-series-with-911-gt3-rs-911-gt3-r/)
- Deadline, 2023: David Ayer and Feature’s Lollipop Racing
- [Variety, 2016: Mandalay Pictures slate: Apex](https://variety.com/2016/film/news/mandalay-slate-birth-of-a-nation-1201723212/)
- [The Hollywood Reporter, 2015: New Regency and Defy Media announce PROTOTYPE winner](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/digital/new-regency-defy-media-announce-765598/)
- [Gizmodo, 2015: Short about a renegade telepath may become a movie](https://gizmodo.com/action-packed-short-about-a-renegade-telepath-may-becom-1684712520)
- [Wired, 2012: 2088 sci-fi teaser](https://www.wired.com/2012/11/2088-sci-fi-teaser/)
- [Computer Graphics World, 2008: FacePro facial animation](https://web.archive.org/web/20160428155838/http://cgim.dbq.edu/cgim/CGW_20080901_Sep_2008.PDF)

## Profiles
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steven_Ilous
- https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q19667289
- https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1159285/
- https://www.linkedin.com/in/stevenilous
- https://x.com/stevenilous
- https://www.instagram.com/stevenilous
- https://vimeo.com/stevenilous
- https://www.themoviedb.org/person/1426427

## Contact
- Partnerships, investment and press: through Feature, hello [at] feature.io
- Press kit (bio, facts, portrait): https://stevenilous.me/about#press-kit
- Feature is represented by WME