International
Googie Withers expires at 94
MUMBAI: British actress Googie Withers, best known for her role in Alfred Hitchcock‘s The Lady Vanishes has expired. She was 94.
Born Georgette Lizette, Withers in the then British India, she was given her lifetime nickname by her Indian nanny. Her family moved back to Britain where she began acting at the age of 12.
While she was a dancer in a West End Production in London, she was offered work in 1935 as a film extra in The Girl in the Crowd. Soon after starting work, director Michael Powell fired one of the female leads leading to her stepping into the role.
Withers appeared in dozens of films in the 1930s and 40s, but was probably best known for her role as Blanche in The Lady Vanishes in which she acted opposite Margaret Lockwood and Michael Redgrave.
In 1958, Withers moved to Australia with her husband, Australian actor John McCallum.The couple co-starred in ten popular films together, and lived in Sydney until McCallum died last year when he was 91.
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.
