International
Tony Curtis no more
MUMBAI: Tony Curtis, who entertained us in his films like Some Like It Hot and The Sweet Smell of Success expired Wednesday night in Nevada of cardiac arrest. He was 85.
Cutis, leading man of more than 140 films including Spartacus had received an Academy Award nomination for The Defiant Ones released in 1958.
Born Bernard Schwartz in New York, Curtis got off to a rocky professional start. In one of his first major roles, playing an Arabian in Son of Ali Baba released in 1952.
Two of his most enduring performances came in Some Like It Hot in which he teamed up with Jack Lemmon, playing cross-dressers opposite Marilyn Monroe and The Sweet Smell of Success in which which he played a fawning press agent.
In his Oscar nomination film The Defiant Ones Curtis played a racist prison escapee chained to a black man played by Sidney Poitier.Some of his other notable films include Houdini, Trapeze, Operation Petticoat, The Boston Strangler, The Vikings and The Great Imposter.
When leading roles in film dried up, Curtis struggled with cocaine and alcohol abuse. He eventually overcame those problems and transformed from leading man to character actor, taking roles on TV.
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.
