International
Hurricane Sandy wallops ship used in Pirates of the Caribbean
MUMBAI: HMS Bounty, the famous ship that was featured in Hollywood films like Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man‘s Chest has gone down with huge waves churned up by hurricane Sandy off the North Carolina coast.
Only 13 of the 16 people aboard got off the ship safely, initially, and only one of the three washed overboard made it into a raft, Coast Guard Vice Admiral Robert Parker has reportedly said.
The Bounty‘s longtime captain, Robin Walbridge remained missing as night approached yesterday, Lt Mike Patterson, a coast guard spokesman was reported as saying. The body of the second, deckhand Claudine Christian, was found yesterday evening.
The 180-foot, three-mast ship, a replica of the famous British vessel, foundered about 144 kilometres off North Carolina as Sandy‘s fury churned the Atlantic into 18-foot seas, its owner, Bob Hansen, told CNN affilliate KUSA.
Hansen said Walbridge was attempting to head east, away from the hurricane, when the ship began taking on water. “At that time it wasn‘t considered an emergency, even though they had several feet of water inside the boat,” he said.
The ship was built for the 1962 film version of Mutiny on the Bounty, starring Marlon Brando, and appeared in the 2006 blockbuster Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man‘s Chest.
It was once owned by America‘s Cup winner and CNN founder Ted Turner, who acquired it in 1986 along with the rights to the MGM film library.
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.
