The Hollywood talent agency that represents Tom Hanks is starting an app studio

Former vice-president Joe Biden reads the news on Biden's Briefings, a podcast and connected speaker "skill" (Photo: Chris Ferenzi) LOS ANGELES -- The Creative Artists Agency, one of the most powerful talent agencies in Hollywood, just launched a new "start-up studio" to develop apps for its celebrity clients, initially focused on audio for the connected-speaker market. The agency's Creative Labs has two companies in its portfolio already: Ground Control, which offers daily news updates from former vice president Joe Biden on Amazon's Alexa-activated speakers and Google Home and a trivia game from baseball great Buster Posey of the San Francisco Giants. And it has Belletrist, an arts community aimed at millennial women that was co-founded by actress Emma Roberts. Labs is working with comedian Mike Epps on a new audio game that will be introduced by the end of the year. CAA, which represents such superstars as Tom Hanks and George Clooney, is also a longtime co-founder of tech firms, including the comedy site Funny or Die, and Moonshark, which created apps for celebrities like Hanks and Jennifer Lopez.