International
Up among Genesis Award nominees
MUMBAI: Disney/Pixar‘s Up is one of three features along with DreamWorks/Nickelodeon‘s Hotel for Dogs and Overture/Smokehouse‘s The Men Who Stare at Goats that have been nominated for Genesis Awards.
Presented by the Humane Society of the United States, the 24th annual awards, to be handed out on 20 March at the Beverly Hilton, recognize films, TV shows and news reports that spotlight animal-protection issues.
In the feature documentary category, Oscar nominees The Cove and Food, Inc. will compete against The End of the Line.
“This is truly a benchmark year for feature and documentary films, with animal-protection messages breaking through to mass audiences and garnering Academy Award recognition,” said Beverly Kaskey, senior director of the Hollywood office of the HSUS and executive producer of the awards.
“The Cove which earned its director Louie Psihoyos a DGA award, is proof that even a tough animal issue like Japan‘s dolphin slaughter can resonate with audiences when it‘s the basis of thrilling, cinematic storytelling.”
Two animated series came up in the TV comedy category: An episode of Family Guy titled Dog Gone and a South Park instalment dubbed Whale Whores. Rounding out the group is the Monk episode Mr. Monk and the Dog.
On the TV drama series side, an episode of “Bones” titled “The Tough Man in the Tender Chicken” will compete with multiple episodes of “The Closer.”
Among TV talk shows, Ellen DeGeneres earned a nom for focusing on Jonathan Safran Foer‘s book “Eating Animals,” and Larry King was included for a show on Alaska‘s aerial wolf hunt.
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.
