International
Oscar shoulders co-hosts in 82nd Academy Awards poster
MUMBAI: The 82nd Academy Awards co-hosts Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin have landed on the shoulders of the Oscar in the official poster of the 8 March telecast on Star Movies.
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has announced that the poster is now available for purchase.
The 27×40-inch colour poster is printed on premium quality, Forest Stewardship Certified paper. LA-based creative shop Omelet is responsible for the concept and execution of the design, which features tuxedo-clad Martin and Baldwin on the shoulders of a giant Oscar statuette. “You’ve Never Seen Oscar Like This” is the year’s campaign slogan.
Meanwhile For the first time, Academy Award winners will be able to have their Oscar statuettes personalised with engraved nameplates on Oscar Night® at the Governors Ball, the official celebration immediately following the 82nd Academy Awards.
In preparation for the night, the Academy will create 197 nameplates, one for each 2009 nominee in every category. The engraving will include the nominee’s name, category, film title and year. After the winners have been announced, the unused nameplates will be recycled.
Academy president Tom Sherak says, “An Oscar statuette just isn’t complete until a nameplate is attached. The Governors Ball is the perfect place for Oscar winners to add that final touch as they celebrate their accomplishment and the year’s movies.”
Previously, Academy Award winners were asked to bring their Oscars® to the Academy in the weeks following the ceremony, at which time the nameplates – engraved only after the winners were announced – were affixed to the statuettes.
At the Governors Ball, which will be take place at the Grand Ballroom on the top level of the Hollywood & Highland Center, Academy Award winners will be invited to enter a specially designed area where Academy technicians will affix the personalized nameplates to each Oscar.
R.S. Owens, the company which manufactures the Oscar statuettes, will produce and engrave the nameplates for the Academy.
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.
