Utopai is launched with ‘Cortés’ and SCI-Fi project ‘Space’ by Nick Kazan
Utopai Studios has debuted as a Hollywood film and television studio, Rebranding from Cybever, known for its 3D world creation and video money. The company works together with Sales Outfit K5 Intl. And previsualization powerhouse Opsis.
Utopai is led by Co-Ceos Cecilia Shen, Cybever’s CEO and co-founder, and media entrepreneur Marco Weber, who becomes a partner in Utopai and moves from acting chairman of Cybever to the Co CEO Rol. The Utopai core team includes Jie Yang, co-founder of Cybever and Chief Technology Officer, who will continue to serve as CTO of Utopai; Production designer Kirk Petruccelli as Chief Creative Officer; And filmmaker Martin Weisz as Chief Workflow Officer.
Utopai will arise and produce his own series of high -profile projects.
The first is ‘Cortés’, written by Nick Kazan, who was Oscar-nominated for ‘Reversal of Fortune’ and also wrote ‘Fallen’ and also wrote ‘at a short distance’. ‘Cortés’, which takes place in 1519, follows Hernán Cortés as he defies impossible opportunities to conquer a nation.
“Cortés” is released in two films on each 100 minutes, produced by Weber (“The Thirteenth Floor”, “Igby Goes Down”) in addition to Kazan, and directed by Kirk Petruccelli, a production designer on “Blade”, “The Patriot” and “Midway”.
“I have been trying to tell this story for more than 30 years. It was always impossible: too big, too expensive, just always ‘too’,” said Kazan. “Finally, I found a home and creative partners with the talent and vision and a technology with which cinema visitors can testify in some form events that took place more than 500 years ago.
“The facts of that time (the arrival of the Spaniards, the fighting, the ultimate fall of the amazing city of Tenochtitlan) are rich and complicated, and many are disputed. Our goal is to tell one story – not the story, because there are many sides.
The second production is the SCI-Fi series project “Space”, a show with eight episodes that will take place in the future and described as “” Top Gun “Meets” War of the Worlds. ” ‘All episodes are written by Vanessa Coifman (‘ Fireflies in The Garden ‘,’ Undentable ‘) and Weisz (‘ The Hills Have Eyes’), with Weisz Directioning.
The series follows a group of young pilots in charge of defending the earth against an alien threat. Weber and Coifman serve as executive producers.
“With project ‘Space’, we will try to creatively push the envelope in the SCI-Fi-genre, using our world construction technology with which we can build a breathtaking universe and fill it with an extraordinary story and characters,” said Weisz.
“Although this would have a considerably higher investment in the traditional film making process, we are lucky not to have that pressure. Our innovative team simply enjoys the daily increasing opportunities, as well as the freedom, to go to places where others could not go forward, free the entire production process when we go.”
Utopai has formed an exclusive joint venture with K5 Intl., The sales company behind films such as Kevin Costner’s “Horizon: An American Saga” and “Anon” by Netflix, directed by Andrew Niccol and with Amanda Seyfried and Clive Owen.
According to this agreement, all Utopai Productions will be displayed exclusively by K5 Intl. Under the brand Utopai x K5, with series in premiere at MipCom in October and feature films that debut in the American film market in November.
“We are pleased to work with Cecilia and Marco on this crucial and exciting time, when the world is undergoing the most important technical revolution that humanity has ever encountered,” said Daniel Baur, CEO of K5 Intl. “We love their passion for filmmakers and their deep understanding of the use of advanced technology.”
Utopai is also a strategic agreement with Previsualization Powerhouse Opsis, who has worked on ‘Game of Thrones’, ‘Captain America’ and ‘Wicked’.
“We have followed Video-Video AI from the start, and the early results of Utopai were downright more extraordinary than everything beyond,” said Henrik Fett, CEO of Opsis. “Our coordinated vision has made this an ideal partnership. This is not about handing over the keys to AI, but using it as the time -saving tool that it is intended. By combining our proven visualization pipeline with generative tools, we are expanding creative opportunities while we keep control with the filmmakers.”
