Last year, British acting legend Michael Caine signed up to have his voice recreated via software company ElevenLabs.
ElevenLabs specialises in developing speech synthesis software using deep learning – in other words, AI voice recreation. The company made headlines last month when it was announced they’d signed a deal for the late Marvel Comics legend Stan Lee’s voice and likeness.
Now, it has been announced that an AI-generated version of Michael Caine’s voice has been used to narrate a 13-hour-long audiobook based on Homer’s “The Odyssey”.
ElevenLabs’ head of partnerships, Dustin Blank says:
“Our version of it is another retelling of it that we think is really strong – it does justice. He is a national treasure, and his voice means so much to so many people, and we thought that he, as the narrator, would be the perfect person to help tell this story for his part in it, and I think he does.”
Caine also gave a statement, saying: “It was a pleasure to be a part of Eleven Productions retelling of The Odyssey.”
The book comes ahead of Christopher Nolan’s “The Odyssey” film hitting cinemas on July 17th. Caine has been a regular in at least a half dozen Nolan films over the years, but doesn’t appear in the new film.
Source: Variety
