Antonio Banderas to Star in 'Cortes' From AI Studio Utopai

Who's the latest famous name to endorse an AI studio? Antonio Banderas. The Oscar-nominated actor will play Hernán Cortés in 'Cortes,' a new film from Utopai Studios directed by Paul Mignot ('Vain and Sad') and written by fellow Oscar nominee Nicolas Cazan ('Upheaval of Fortune'). The film is currently in production in Paris and centers on Banderas […]

The latest celebrity to endorse an AI studio? Antonio Banderas

The Oscar-nominated actor will star as Hernan Cortes in Utopia Studio's Cortes, a new film directed by Paul Migno ("Fat and Sad") and Oscar-nominated co-writer Nicholas Kazan ("Reversal of Fortune"). Currently in production in Paris, the film focuses on Cortés Banderas as a glory-hungry soldier in 1519 who leads an expedition to the Yucatan. Related Stories 'Artificial' Review: Luca Guadagnino Makes Real Sequel to 'The Social Network' - A High-Tech Drama Documentary, Starring Andrew Garfield and Yura Borisov in 'Godzilla Minus Zero' Review: Godzilla and King Ghidorah in 'The Great Battle of Ghidola' in 'The Great Battle for Yesterday'

“After landing on the shores of present-day Mexico, he meets Marina, an enslaved native woman and gifted linguist essential to his progress,” the film's logline reads. "As Cortés turns fragile alliances, faith, and fear into tools of victory, Marina witnesses his transformation from a daring outlaw to a self-anointed messiah." Popular in Variety

The film is a co-production between Utopai and Ex Machina Studios, a new production company dedicated to "advancing episodic and feature-length cinema through an ethical and artist-first integration of artificial intelligence." Both studios will finance the film; Utopai will lead sales and distribution in the US, Canada, Asia, the Middle East and Africa, while Ex Machina will lead sales and distribution in most of Europe, Latin America, Australia and New Zealand.

"Kurtz is exactly why Utopai Studios was built," Utopai founder and CEO Cecilia Shen said in a statement. "Our job is to build the production around that vision. Nicholas has written a great script, Paul has a clear cinematic vision, and Antonio puts the necessary humanity at the center of it. We want to give them the ability to make the movie they want to make."

"A historical epic works best if you believe in the people at the center of it," added Ex Machina CEO and co-founder Marco Weber, former CEO of Utopai and producer of Cortes. Antonio gives us a Courtesy who can be commanding, complex and deeply human, while Paul has a clear vision for the brilliant script that Nick wrote.

Banderas is the latest Hollywood veteran to align himself with a company focused on artificial intelligence, a seal of approval that the film industry remains divided over the technology's presence in the production workflow.

Courtesy was one of the company's first planned projects following Utopai's rebranding as an entertainment studio last year, though production designer Kirk Petrucelli is set to make his directorial debut instead.

Utopai has collected a wide range of projects for a start-up studio. It's working on an AI-assisted feature-length adaptation of The Most Serious Fart, a 2023 children's book written by No More Teen Movies screenwriter Mike Bender. It also partnered with Chinese production company Huace to produce a fully AI-based adaptation of Journey to the West: The Lost Five Hundred Years, the original story of the 1592 Chinese mythological book. "Kurtz," "The Most Serious Fart" and the live-action film "Half Moon" are slated for release next year.

Banderas takes his turn as Anthony Bourdain's mentor, Jose Vatel, on A24's "Tony." He is repped by NuCo Media Group and Greenberg Glusker.