International
Fox to bring animated King Kong
MUMBAI: 20th Century Fox has decided to bring the most popular ape back in an animated avatar. King Kong is returning in a modern-day setting.
The tale, which was screened last by director Peter Jackson and Universal Pictures in 2005 starring Naomi Watts, Jack Black and Adrien Brody, generated $550mn at the box office. It was the fourth highest grossing film in Universal Pictures history. It also won Academy awards for Best Visual Effects, Best Sound Mixing and Best Sound Editing.
Going by the popularity, Fox decided to bring an animated version of the film for which Christian Magalhaes and Bob Snow will write the script. This time, the story will be from the ape‘s point of view. King Kong, the true villain who dies trying to protect his love will be seen verbally expressing his heartbreak in the animated version.
At present, when sequels and prequels are making news, restructuring a classic film from the original villain‘s point of view qualifies as unconventional thinking. The 1993 original was remade in 1976 and 1986.
The animation remake will be produced by Shawn Levy‘s 21 Laps and Ted Field‘s Radar Pictures.
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.
