Latest news with #narration
Daily Mail
28-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Blake Lively wants to make her kids 'proud' as she promotes Ryan Reynolds' new project amid Justin Baldoni drama
Blake Lively discussed wanting to make her kids proud while promoting her husband Ryan Reynolds ' latest project. The actress, 37, shared a clip from the upcoming National Geographic show 'Underdogs' — narrated and executive produced by Reynolds, 48 — to her Instagram on Tuesday. It comes after Lively — who's embroiled in an ongoing lawsuit with her It Ends With Us co-star Justin Baldoni — recently narrated Nat Geo's 'Secrets of the Penguins', a three-part docuseries which premiered on April 20. 'Narrating Secrets of The Penguins for @natgeo was a highlight of my year,' she wrote on her social media. 'The older we get, the more we work to make our kids proud. Which is exactly why @vancityreynolds is carrying the "shows you can watch as a family" torch with @underdogsnatgeo.' From A-list scandals and red carpet mishaps to exclusive pictures and viral moments, subscribe to the DailyMail's new Showbiz newsletter to stay in the loop. Lively and Reynolds, who've been married since 2012, are parents to daughters James, 10, Inez, eight, and Betty, five, and son Olin, two; She is seen with her daughters in 2021 Lively and Reynolds, who've been married since 2012, are parents to daughters James, 10, Inez, eight, and Betty, five, and son Olin, two. Lively also gushed about producer Sophia Travaglia. 'I couldn't be more proud of producer @sophiatravaglia for making this little idea that could a reality. From ideation, to camping out in the bush with these sweet creatures, to narration sessions, to marketing... to today. The dream producer. The dream team.' Underdogs is set to premiere Sunday, June 15 on National Geographic TV. The five-episode series follows animals on the very base level of the food chain. Elsewhere on her Instagram Blake also joked about her kids not being able to watch her movies. The star shared a clip from an interview with her fellow Another Simple Favor co-stars, Michele Morrone, Anna Kendrick, Henry Golding, Alex Newell, and Andrew Rannells. In the clip the cast are asked to name a scene that 'looks easy but was challenging to shoot.' Henry jokingly named a scene of him masturbating in the shower. It comes after Lively recently narrated Nat Geo's 'Secrets of the Penguins'. She joked that she had to do the project because her kids are not able to watch her other movies Over the clip Blake wrote, 'Also, I had to make Secrets of the Penguins. Because it's not like my kids can watch my other movies.' Blake and Ryan have been busy with a number of projects, in spite of the ongoing legal drama with Baldoni, whom she sued for sexual harassment in December. Last week Lively launched a trio of hair and body scents from her beauty line Blake Brown, and claimed that Ryan 'legitimately uses [the products].' 'I thought he was just being the best and most supportive husband, but he genuinely loves to wear them,' she said. It comes amid Lively's fallout with the godmother to her eldest children, pop superstar Taylor Swift, 35. The singer 'is done' with the actress, a source recently told and their mutual pal Gigi Hadid, 30, is also reportedly cutting ties with Blake. It comes following reports that Lively allegedly threatened to leak embarrassing private texts from Swift unless the pop star agreed to publicly back Lively in her legal feud with Baldoni, 41. Last week, Swift was dramatically subpoenaed in the case, despite attempts to distance herself from the furor. 'There is no recovering from this. Their friendship is done,' the insider said. After Lively filed a lawsuit against her It Ends With Us co-star and director in December, Justin retaliated with his own $400 million filing against her and her husband; Seen on set with Baldoni in 2024 This comes as her lawsuit with Baldoni heads towards its six month anniversary. She first filed on December 31, 2024. It began after she filed a lawsuit against him accusing him of sexual harassment and creating a 'hostile work environment on set.' Justin retaliated with his own $400 million filing against the actress, along with her husband, with the brutal melee now scheduled for a trial on March 29, 2026. All parties have denied the claims.
Times
19-05-2025
- Science
- Times
Audiobook read by AI is the opposite of soothing
When I can't get to sleep I do something strange. I put on an audiobook. A specific one: The Unknown Universe by Stuart Clark. I must have listened to it more than 70 times but I still can't entirely explain the appeal. It's not the most dazzling book on science. And it's not the most famous. It's possible that there's something about trying to understand challenging concepts such as dark energy that is soporific. Or maybe there's something reassuring about the perspective it provides. Why worry about tomorrow's presentation when the entire universe might one day go out like a light? However, one thing I do know is that the soothing human narrator, David Timson, is important. And I know this because I tried a
The Guardian
13-05-2025
- Business
- The Guardian
Audible unveils plans to use AI voices to narrate audiobooks
Audible has announced plans to use AI technology to narrate audiobooks, with AI translation to follow. The Amazon-owned audiobook provider has said it will be making its AI production technology available to certain publishers via 'select partnerships'. 'We are bringing new audiobooks to life through our own fully integrated, end-to-end AI production technology,' reads the announcement on Audible's website. There are two options for publishers wishing to make use of the technology: 'Audible-managed' production or 'self-service', whereby publishers produce their own audiobooks with the help of Audible's AI technology. Both options will allow publishers to choose from more than 100 AI-generated voices across English, Spanish, French and Italian to narrate their books. AI translation of audiobooks is expected to be available later in the year. 'Audible believes that AI represents a momentous opportunity to expand the availability of audiobooks with the vision of offering customers every book in every language, alongside our continued investments in premium original content,' said Bob Carrigan, the chief executive of Audible. 'We'll be able to bring more stories to life – helping creators reach new audiences while ensuring listeners worldwide can access extraordinary books that might otherwise never reach their ears.' However, Audible's announcement has been met with criticism from writers, translators and voice actors. 'This short-sighted scheme reduces what we love about storytelling to the simple delivery of code,' said Chocolat author Joanne Harris. 'In an age of declining literacy, I can't think of anything more likely to put people off listening to audiobooks altogether.' Kristin Atherton, who has narrated more than 400 audiobook titles on Audible, thinks human narrators 'actively sell audio content by being good at their jobs'. 'The art – and it is an art – of a good audiobook is the crack in the voice at a moment of unexpected emotion, the wryness of good comedy timing, or the disbelief a listener feels when one person can convincingly be a whole cast of characters,' she said. 'No matter how 'human' an AI voice sounds, it's those little intricacies that turn a good book into an excellent one. AI can't replicate that.' Stephen Briggs, who voiced some of the audiobooks of Terry Pratchett's Discworld novels, said: 'The use of AI to replace human creativity is in itself a dangerous path,' while actor and audiobook narrator Deepti Gupta said: 'We need to create more, not less, space for Bipoc narrators and these AI tools are a new way to marginalise and colonise the voices that need to be heard.' Sign up to Bookmarks Discover new books and learn more about your favourite authors with our expert reviews, interviews and news stories. Literary delights delivered direct to you after newsletter promotion Nichola Smalley, who translates Swedish and Norwegian literature into English, said though the idea that Audible's new services will enable more books to reach wider audiences is 'alluring', her experience with new developments such as this 'is that they produce a glut of mediocre results that no one really wholeheartedly enjoys'. 'Time after time, generative AI has been shown to produce lowest-common-denominator results, while human translators, while fallible, use their personalities and the serendipity of the human mind to produce unique solutions to linguistic and literary problems, thereby creating art,' she added. Prominent literary translator, Frank Wynne, known for his work translating French and Spanish books into English, said: 'No one pretends to use AI, for translation, audiobooks, or even writing books because they are better, the only excuse is that they are cheaper. Which is only true if you ignore the vast processing power even the simplest AI request requires.' 'In the search for a cheap simulacra to an actual human, we are prepared to burn down the planet and call it progress,' he added. Meanwhile, Anna Ganley, chief executive of the UK's largest writers' body, the Society of Authors, said though this innovation 'will expand the availability of audiobooks and help writers of all profiles reach new audiences', the opportunities offered 'must be transparent both to authors and consumers. Audible's AI tool, and others like it, must not be used as a back door to teach and refine existing AI tools. Authors must be included in the process and not get shut out by tech companies and publishers. They must also be able to choose whether their work is narrated by a human or synthetic voice, and this must be clearly labelled to consumers.' Since last year, Audible has allowed self-publishing authors in the US to use its 'virtual voice' technology turn their ebooks into audiobooks. More than 60,000 of these computer-generated audiobooks currently exist. Founded in 1995, Audible is the longstanding global market leader for audiobooks. Its first comparable competitor arrived in 2023 when Spotify started offering audiobooks to its premium subscribers. Membership, which costs £7.99 a month in the UK, is reportedly at an all-time high.
Daily Mail
11-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
The Project star lands major TV gig after shakeup at the embattled current affairs show
Georgie Tunny is making moves in the TV world. The Project star has landed a new gig narrating the upcoming series of House Hunters Australia. The 34-year-old said she is utterly delighted to be part of the Aussie version of the US show. 'I have been such a fan of House Hunters for years, so when the opportunity came up for there to be an Australian series, I was just excited that I might be able to watch it' she tells Yahoo Lifestyle. 'And now being involved and narrating it, it's a pinch-me moment.' Georgie says that she and her fiance Rob Mills tune into the USA version together at home after growing up watching the series with her family. 'I would force Rob to watch it as well and now he's fall in love with it too,' she said. Georgie's new job comes after staffing changes at The Project after a few years of strife at the current affairs show. In January, Channel Ten confirmed a beloved member of The Project panel will not be returning to the program in 2025, as the network continues to make shock changes to the panel show. Ten confirmed that comedian Michael Hing, 39, would no longer be part of the show this year, after he joined the series in 2023 as a co-panelist. 'For the last two years, we have loved Michael Hing's quick wit and hosting hijinks as a regular on The Project,' the network said in a statement. 'We wish Michael every success for his nationwide stand-up tour and look forward to welcoming him back to the desk between gigs in 2025.' Hing also confirmed the news on social media, revealing he was focused on preparing for his stand-up comedy tour of Australia from February to July. His most recent appearance on the long-running series was in mid-November. The network also revealed that The Project panel would be reduced to three co-panelists on Fridays. 'In 2025, The Project is doing Fridays differently! From late February, join Rove McManus, Georgie Tunny and Susie Youssef at The Project desk every Friday night, as the working week wraps up and the weekend fun begins. 'Expect the same dose of wit, charm and newsy goodness, but with a little more space for those unexpected, spontaneous moments that only a Friday night can bring. It's the perfect end to the week.' The network did not reveal the reasons behind why it was reducing its panel, but it may be a cost-cutting measure that coincides with Rove McManus' pledge to make the Friday episodes less news-focused. McManus has been involved with The Project since it began in 2009, as he helped create the series through his production company Roving Enterprises, which continues to develop it. In October, the veteran presenter made a huge announcement about his future on the hit Channel Ten current affairs show in a rare sit-down interview. The comedian was asked about his upcoming projects during a candid chat with Jordy Lucas and Alexandria Funnell on their That's Showbiz, Baby podcast. Admitting he had many 'irons in the fire', the triple Gold Logie winner then teased that his role at The Project could become permanent. Rove has done numerous stints as a guest presenter on the show over the years and returned once again in 2023, but didn't expect it to become a more permanent gig. 'I kind of stumbled back into it. It wasn't my decision to come back, I was asked and I thought I was just filling in for a couple of months at the end of last year,' he began. 'And then it was like: 'do you want to keep going into this year?', and now we're talking about next year. Channel Ten also announced they will begin uploading entire episodes of The Project to YouTube in 2025. Producers revealed the major change with a post on The Project's social media, including a link to the show's dedicated YouTube channel. 'New for 2025: You can watch The Project in full on You Tube,' the network announcement said. A recent episode featuring segments on the Golden Globes and comedian Akmal Saleh was seen in full on the platform. The long-running current affairs program is known to cut a high profile on social media sharing excerpts and segments to platforms including X and Instagram. The panel show has also undergone an audience decline ever since changing up its format. The ratings woes coincide with growing criticism of The Project's left-wing bias and departures of several high-profile hosts, including Carrie Bickmore, Peter Helliar and Lisa Wilkinson.
