International
Polanski lawyers request to end case soon
MUMBAI: Lawyers of Roman Polanski have filed an appeal in a California appeals court saying that the 33-year-old sex case and its lengthy delays have been an assault on the state‘s judicial system.
The court should order an investigation of judicial misconduct in Polanski‘s original case and the filmmaker should not have to pay for it, they contended. The 76-year-old has mounting debts and has no way to earn a living while in custody, his attorneys observed.
The defense made their latest plea in response to arguments from prosecutors who say Polanski must return from Europe to face sentencing. The defense argued that the director should be sentenced in absentia to time served. The papers were filed in the California 2nd District Court of Appeal.
Polanski was arrested six months ago on a fugitive warrant from Los Angeles and is under house arrest in Switzerland.
He had served part of a 90-day period in prison ordered by the judge for a “diagnostic study.” His departure was prompted by the judge‘s private statements that he planned to renege on the agreement that the study would be Polanski‘s full sentence, according to documents filed in the case.
The original prosecutor in the case recently gave closed door testimony to that effect, the lawyers have said.
Defense lawyers Chad Hummel and Bart Dalton said that the misconduct allegations should not be buried just because the trial judge is dead and some participants are no longer in the district attorney‘s office.
Polanski, who has directed films like The Pianist and Chinatown fled the US in 1978 after pleading guilty to unlawful sexual intercourse with a 13-year-old girl.
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.
