International
Transformers 4 likely to be shot in Thailand
MUMBAI: Bosses at Marvel, Warner Bros., 20th Century Fox and Disney are considering to shoot the fourth edition of Transformers in Thailand.
It is because of this, location managers from Marvel, Warner Bros., 20th Century Fox and Disney were in the country this week scouting for exotic shooting locales as part of a new promotional tour sponsored by the Thai government.
Ilt Jones, location manager for all three of the Transformers movies, has just wrapped up a tour of Thailand where he explored Bangkok as a potential shooting location for Transformers 4. It is said that it was all part of a new promotional exercise titled the Inbound Roadshow Familiarisation Tour that was hosted by the Thailand Film Office, a government body tasked with boosting foreign shooting in the tourism and lens-friendly Southeast Asian nation.
A select group of veteran Hollywood location managers took part in the one-week tour of Thailand‘s exotic locales. "We‘re very pleased with the turnout," said Scott Rosenberg, managing director of AMW International, the PR firm that organised the trip with the Thai government.
Lori Balton, acting president of the Location Managers Guild of America, participated in the Thailand excursion, along with location scouts working for Warner Bros., 20th Century Fox, and Disney. A handful of Indian, Korean, and Japanese directors and producers were also in the country for the tour.
Designed to generate enthusiasm for working in Thailand among the industry set who matter most, the weeklong trip, which began last Monday, took the location pros to the historical ruins of Ayutthaya, through Bangkok‘s frenetic streets and canals, to a festival celebration in the northern city of Chiang Rai, and a cave kayaking in Phang Nga Bay-among other uniquely Thai points of interest.
"We‘re visiting Thailand‘s many amazing locations, but also showing the VIPs our crews, studios, labs, and equipment-everything a major international production needs," said Ms. Worateera Suvarnsorn, a spokesperson for the Thailand Film Office. "Usually we do outbound trips to the festivals and film markets to promote Thailand; this time we decided to try bringing them here."
The trip concluded with a visit to the restaurant at the top of Bangkok‘s State Tower where a climactic helicopter scene of The Hangover 2 was filmed.
International
Utopai Studios unveils 4K three-minute video generation for PAI platform
New Story Agent and editing tools aim to streamline AI-led filmmaking workflows
MUMBAI: Utopai Studios has announced a major upgrade to its PAI storytelling AI platform, introducing what it claims is an industry-first capability to generate three-minute videos in 4K resolution, alongside enhancements to its Story Agent feature.
The update, rolling out from April 15, expands the platform’s capabilities across the filmmaking process, from early concept development to post-production. The company said the new features are designed to help filmmakers maintain continuity across characters, scenes and visual styles, a key challenge in AI-driven storytelling.
At the heart of the release is a next-generation model that enables more structured narrative development, allowing creators to move more seamlessly from idea to execution. With tools such as multi-shot sequencing and multi-turn editing, the platform aims to give both studios and independent creators greater control over complex storytelling workflows.
Commenting on the launch, Utopai Studios co-founder and CTO Jie Yang said, “The next phase of AI in media will not be defined by isolated tools, but by systems that can carry story, continuity and collaboration across the full creative process.” He added that the update is a step towards enabling more practical, end-to-end narrative development at a professional level.
Echoing this, Utopai Studios co-founder and chief scientific officer Zijian He said, “Generative video is opening the door to a new production model, where creative ambition is less constrained by traditional cost and complexity.” He noted that the platform combines multimodal models with iterative editing to give creators more speed, control and consistency.
The company said PAI is already being used in professional film and television productions, particularly in Hollywood, for tasks such as pre-visualisation, scene design and post-production refinements. The latest update adds features including improved voice options, character consistency, unlimited editing and more flexible asset management.
Utopai also emphasised that its models are not trained on copyrighted material, positioning the platform as a cleaner alternative for creators and rights holders navigating the evolving AI landscape.
As AI continues to reshape content creation, Utopai’s latest push signals a shift from standalone tools to integrated systems, aiming to make high-quality filmmaking faster, more flexible and increasingly accessible.
