In an era where AI can help make films about anything and everything, Utopai Studios has landed on farts.
The AI production company will produce an animated feature-film adaptation of “The Most Serious Fart,” a 2023 children’s book written by “Not Another Teen Movie” screenwriter Mike Bender and illustrated by Chuck Dillon that was inspired by Bender’s Lyme disease diagnosis amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The book follows Siegfried, an “exceptionally serious” fart determined to change flatulence’s global perception while finding a sense of belonging along the way.
Bender will write and direct the movie, which will be produced by “Flight Risk” producer Russell Hollander. While Utopai’s slate of projects is primarily made up of AI-generated productions, “The Most Serious Fart” — which the studio is priming for a theatrical release — will employ AI solely as a tool used by a team of human animators and illustrators, whom the studio will reveal at a later date.
Bender said he was drawn to Utopai after a series of Hollywood animation studios “just weren’t able to take a risk on an original and offbeat story,” prompting him to reach out to the studio and meet with its CEO and co-founder, Cecilia Shen. Utopai’s investment in him as a director and desire to retain Dillon throughout the production process won him over, permitting him to direct an “extremely personal” project while maintaining “the integrity of the look and feel of the book,” Bender said in a statement.
“Utopai’s approach is allowing filmmakers like me to tell more original stories in a time where there are fewer major studios making fewer films and therefore taking less risk,” Bender said. “Thankfully, as proof by the box office, audiences are craving original films from disrupting companies like Utopai. My hope is to make something that ultimately brings more joy into the world, and maybe, just maybe, convert a few serious farts.”
“We were drawn to ‘The Most Serious Fart’ because beneath the comedy is a universal story about wanting to be understood,” Shen said in a statement. “Mike believed in this project long before he found a studio prepared to fully support his vision. We believe Siegfried can become a major global franchise, and we look forward to bringing this film to audiences in theaters around the world.”
”The Most Serious Fart” is the latest in Utopai’s stable of literary adaptations, an area many AI studios have invested in as they seek to produce proofs of concept of their models. The studio last month announced a partnership with the Chinese production company Huace to produce a fully AI-generated adaptation of “Journey to the West: The Lost Five Hundred Years,” an origin story of the 1592 Chinese mythological book. That series will be produced using Utopai’s AI storytelling platform PAI.
The studio’s supporters also include NBA stars Carmelo Anthony and James Harden, with Anthony investing in the firm through his production company Creative 7 and joining Utopai as a strategic partner.
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