International
Tom Hardy on board of a Yakuza Drama, ‘The Outsider’
MUMBAI: The Dark Knight Rises star Tom Hardy has been roped on board to star in the Yakuza drama The Outsider which would be directed by Takashi Miike as reported by Deadline, a Hollywood website.
The Outsider would be Miike‘s first directorial English film venture. Miike has more than 60 Japanese-language films to his credit including Ichi the Killer, 13 Assassins and Audition. The film would be independently financed by Linson Entertainment and Silver Pictures.
The project is based on an original idea by John Linson, who will also produce it along with Art Linson through their Linson Entertainment banner. Joel Silver, Andrew Rona and Steve Richards will produce through Silver Pictures.
With Hardy‘s credits including The Dark Knight Rises, Inception and the upcoming Mad Max: Fury Road he had been chosen for the lead when initially the project was being developed at Warner Bros but Silver acquired the Andrew Baldwin script last November.
The story would be set in the post-WWII Japan which follows an American expatriate who becomes a Yakuza (Japan Mafia) enforcer. Plans are to commence the shooting in Japan early next year.
Silver Pictures‘ long standing deal with Warner Bros deal ended last year, following which it is working on the pre-production of The Gunman, starring Sean Penn and Javier Bardem. Silver‘s thriller Non-Stop, starring Liam Neeson and Julianne Moore, is also slated to release through Universal Studio‘s on 28 February 2014.
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.
