R.I.P. James Earl Jones (Star Wars, Lion King, etc.)

#135

Author: Your Name
Date: Tue, 10 Sep 2024 09:22

182 lines
9372 bytes

    James Earl Jones, Distinguished Actor
    and Voice of Darth Vader, Dies at 93
    -------------------------------------
    James Earl Jones, the prolific film, TV and theater actor
    whose resonant, unmistakable baritone was most widely
    known as the voice of "Star Wars" villain Darth Vader,
    died Monday morning at his home in Dutchess County, N.Y.,
    his rep confirmed to Variety. He was 93.

    After overcoming a profound stutter as a child, Jones
    established himself as one of the pioneering Black actors
    of his generation, amassing a bountiful and versatile
    career spanning over 60 years, from his debut on Broadway
    in 1958 at the Cort Theatre - renamed the James Earl Jones
    Theatre in 2022 - to his most recent performance in 2021's
    "Coming 2 America." For that film, Jones reprised his role
    as King Jaffe Joffer from the 1988 Eddie Murphy comedy
    "Coming to America" - one of several roles, along with
    Darth Vader, that Jones revisited, including the voice of
    King Mustafa in Disney's animated feature "The Lion King"
    in 1994, the 1998 direct-to-video sequel and the 2019
    remake, and CIA deputy director Vice Admiral James Greer
    in three Jack Ryan movies, 1990's "The Hunt for Red
    October," 1992's "Patriot Games" and 1994's "Clear and
    Present Danger." 

    Among his more than 80 film credits, Jones' other notable
    movies include as a B-52 bombardier in Stanley Kubrick's
    1964 Cold War satire "Dr. Strangelove" (his feature film
    debut), as the first Black president of the United States
    in 1972's "The Man," as the fearsome villain in 1982's
    "Conan the Barbarian," as a reclusive author in 1989's
    "Field of Dreams," as a blind former baseball star in
    1993's "The Sandlot," and as a minister living in apartheid
    South Africa in 1995's "Cry, the Beloved Country."

    Jones was nominated for four Tony Awards, and won two, in
    1969 for playing boxer Jack Johnson in "The Great White
    Hope" (which he reprised on film in 1970, receiving his
    only Oscar nomination), and in 1987 for originating the
    role of Troy Maxson in August Wilson's Pulitzer
    Prize-winning drama "Fences." He was nominated for eight
    primetime Emmy awards, winning twice in 1991, for
    supporting actor in the miniseries "Heat Wave," about the
    1965 Watts riots, and for lead actor in the drama series
    "Gabriel's Fire," about a wrongfully imprisoned ex-cop who
    becomes a private detective. It was the first time an actor
    won two Emmys in the same year.

    Jones earned a Kennedy Center Honor in 2002, the Screen
    Actors Guild Life Achievement award in 2009, an honorary
    Oscar in 2011 and a lifetime achievement Tony Award in 2017.
    His Grammy award in 1977 for spoken word album makes Jones
    only one a handful of actors to receive an EGOT.

    Jones' looming yet ultimately affable presence and rich
    speaking voice made him a natural for Shakespeare, and he
    played some of the great roles, such as Macbeth and Othello,
    for Joseph Papp's American Shakespeare Festival. Jones
    narrated several documentaries, from 1972's "Malcom X" to
    the 2007 Disneynature doc "Earth," and, famously, he intoned
    the tagline "This is CNN" for the cable news channel.

    His television credits, which number over 70, including many
    movies and miniseries such as "Roots" and "The Atlanta Child
    Murders," recurring roles on "L.A. Law," "Homicide: Life on
    the Street" and "Everwood," and guest roles on shows like
    "The Simpsons," "Picket Fences," "Law & Order," "Frasier"
    and "House." 

    As for his most famous role, Jones was paid $7,000 to lend
    his voice to Darth Vader in 1977's "Star Wars: A New Hope,"
    but he declined screen credit for that film and its sequel,
    1980's "The Empire Strikes Back," out of deference to the
    actor who played the role on screen, David Prowse. By 1983's
    "Return of the Jedi," however, Jones had become fully
    synonymous with one of the most memorable and terrifying
    villains in cinema history, and received credit for his work.
    He returned to lend Vader's voice again for 2005's
    "Episode III - Revenge of the Sith" and 2016's "Rogue One:
    A Star Wars Story," but for the 2022 Disney+ series "Obi-Wan
    Kenobi," Jones instead authorized Lucasfilm to use archival
    recordings and AI technology to recreate Vader's voice.

    When asked in 2014 by the New York Times about how he'd kept
    his career alive for so long, Jones' response evoked the kind
    of plainspoken humility that he had so often brought to his
    performances as well.

    "The secret is never forgetting that you're a journeyman
    actor and that nothing is your final thing, nothing is your
    greatest thing, nothing is your worst thing," Jones said.
    "I still consider myself a novice."

    James Earl Jones was born in 1931 on a farm in in Arkabutla,
    Miss. His father, Robert Earl Jones, left home soon after to
    pursue his own acting career (the two more-or-less reconciled
    when the younger Jones was in his 20s, and they even performed
    together). When Jones was 5, he moved with his maternal
    grandparents to Michigan. The shock of the relocation induced
    a stammer so severe that he often could communicate only in
    writing. It wasn't until high school when he started to
    overcome his stutter, when his English teacher, upon learning
    that Jones composed poetry, encouraged him to read his writing
    aloud in class.

    As an undergraduate student at the University of Michigan,
    Jones initially set out to study medicine, but wound up more
    interested in drama. His first stage role was a small part in
    the 1957 Off Broadway production "Wedding in Japan." He took
    side jobs to supplement occasional theater work in Broadway's
    "Sunrise at Campobello," "The Cool World" and "The Pretender."
    He also appeared in summer stock.

    In 1960, Jones joined Papp's New York Shakespeare Festival.
    The following year he made his first serious impact in a
    landmark Off Broadway production of Jean Genet's "The Blacks"
    as the protagonist Deodatus. Afterwards, for Papp, he played
    Oberon in "A Midsummer Night's Dream," the first of many
    heralded Shakespearean turns. His masterful 1964 performance
    as Othello for Papp was moved Off Broadway, where the
    production ran for almost a year. 

    Jones' first big break into cinema came by way of Papp's
    production of "The Merchant of Venice," in which Jones played
    the Prince of Morocco to George C. Scott's Shylock. When
    Stanley Kubrick came to see Scott, whom he was considering for
    one of the leads in "Dr. Strangelove," the film director was
    so impressed that he cast Jones in the film, too. In 1966,
    Jones had the title role in "Macbeth" at the New York
    Shakespeare Festival, again to great acclaim. He also booked a
    recurring role on "As the World Turns" in 1966, marking the
    first time a Black actor had a continuing role on a daytime
    soap opera

    Still, he was almost one of Broadway's best-kept secrets until
    1968, in Howard Sackler's "The Great White Hope" as Jack
    Johnson, the first Black man to win the world heavyweight
    boxing championship. The Tony, the acclaim and its timing in
    the late '60s propelled Jones into the spotlight at a time
    when it was difficult for Black actors to secure quality roles.
    But the actor, however, has said that the accolades he received
    for for both the play and its film adaptation did not do that
    much for his career.

    It wasn't until 1977, when Jones' voice terrified audiences for
    the first time as Darth Vader, that things truly began to shift
    for him. That same year, Jones also appeared in ABC's "Roots"
    playing the author Alex Haley, whose genealogical novel of the
    same title inspired the groundbreaking miniseries. He never
    quite became an outright star in the classic sense of the word,
    but the back-to-back successes that year did ultimately make
    Jones a household name, whose presence connoted a stature and
    gravitas to projects that might otherwise be lacking.

    Theatre is where Jones most frequently was a box office draw in
    his own right - and well into his 80s. He returned to Broadway
    in 2005 for a production of "On Golden Pond" opposite Leslie
    Uggams, drawing another Tony nomination. In 2008, he played Big
    Daddy in a production of Tennessee Williams' "Cat on a Hot Tin
    Roof" that featured an all-Black cast including Terrence Howard,
    Anika Noni Rose and Phylicia Rashad. 

    Two years later, he returned to Broadway in a revival of
    "Driving Miss Daisy" opposite Vanessa Redgrave; the
    production's move to London in 2011 meant he had to miss the
    Honorary Oscars ceremony in Los Angeles. Instead, Sir Ben
    Kingsley surprised Jones with his statuette in person after
    he'd concluded a matinee performance of the show. 

    Jones was first married to actress-singer Julienne Marie. His
    second wife of 34 years, actress Cecilia Hart, died in 2016. He
    is survived his son, Flynn Earl Jones.



<https://variety.com/2024/film/news/james-earl-jones-dead-darth-vader-lion-king-1236138656/>

Re: [NEWS] James Earl Jones gave permission for AI voice recreations

#137

Author: BTR1701
Date: Mon, 09 Sep 2024 20:45

84 lines
4572 bytes

In article <vboekc$2or7a$1@dont-email.me>,
 Your Name <YourName@YourISP.com> wrote:

>     James Earl Jones' Darth Vader Has Already Been Immortalized With AI
>     -------------------------------------------------------------------
>     James Earl Jones died Monday at the age of 93. But long before he
>     did, he gave Lucasfilm permission to recreate his iconic Darth
>     Vader voice for shows like Obi-Wan Kenobi.
>
>     If anyone could make the Dark Side sound good, it was James Earl
>     Jones. The actor, who died Monday at the age of 93, provided the
>     voice for Darth Vader in more than a dozen Star Wars properties,
>     from A New Hope to Star Tours. He made the Force sound ominous in a
>     way that made it appealing. With his passing, it feels as though all
>     the power and gravitas and respect he brought to the character is
>     gone.
>
>     It's not. It's in the hands of AI.
>
>     A few years ago, when Jones provided a few lines of dialog as Vader
>     for The Rise of Skywalker, he'd expressed interest in wrapping up
>     his time as the Sith Lord, according to Vanity Fair. Lucasfilm, in
>     need of a way to continue the character - and particular to
>     continue having a version of the character's voice as it sounded in
>     those early Star Wars movies - turned to a Ukrainian company called
>     Respeecher that used artificial intelligence to make a recreation of
>     the Vader voice based on Jones' past performances. (The actor signed
>     off on the use of his archive to train the speech model.)

>     Jones' passing marks a pivotal moment in the future of AI-generated
>     performances. During last year's prolonged Hollywood actors' strike,
>     one of the biggest sticking points between the Screen Actors
>     Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, or
>     SAG-AFTRA, and the studios was whether or not studios needed to
>     secure permission to use a past performance to train AI models.
>     Ultimately, SAG won guardrails around the use of AI in recreating
>     performances. Now the question is: How will those play out with
>     Darth Vader?
>
>     It's a particularly interesting question when it comes to voice
>     acting specifically. The full recreation of vocals may feel further
>     along than the full recreation of whole performances, but they also
>     feel more poignant.
>
>     When Paul McCartney used AI to help fashion a Beatles song from
>     tapes made when the Fab Four were still alive, the results felt
>     haunted. When OpenAI released a demo of its voice assistant Sky and
>     Scarlett Johansson believed it sounded much like the voice she used
>     in Her, she was "shocked, angered, and in disbelief" that the
>     company "would pursue a voice that sounded so eerily similar to
>     mine." OpenAI denied she was the inspiration but paused the demo.
>     Video game voice actors are on strike right now to get protections
>     for their vocal performances. Voices, it seems, are currently at
>     their highest value.
>
>     Ultimately, what will now happen to the Darth Vader voice is not
>     really a question of rights-Jones gave permission - but rather one
>     of emotion. Will Lucasfilm, or its parent company Disney, want to
>     produce future Star Wars shows or movies featuring AI Vader
>     following Jones' death?

Wasn't that the whole point of securing the rights from Jones and
creating the AI version in the first place? If Jones's death makes it
'too creepy' or something to use the AI in new projects, then what was
the point of doing it all in the first place?

>     With a character as iconic as Vader, should there be a point at
>     which fans let go?
>
>     From Audrey Hepburn selling Dove chocolates to hologram Tupac,
>     posthumous performances have been a part of pop culture for years.
>     But unlike Audrey and Pac, Jones is in on the plan; he is
>     seemingly the first celebrity to have allowed his iconic presence
>     to be recreated with AI before his passing. What will likely
>     decide how well AI Vader goes over is how it's handled. A Darth
>     Vader feature film may not be as warmly received as, say, a Force
>     ghost cameo

A Force ghost cameo would have Hayden Christiansen's voice, not Jones's.

>     or a flashback. It'll be a test to see how welcomed
>     the character will be now that the man behind it is gone.

As a fan, I wouldn't have any problem with it at all since I know Jones
gave his blessing and was presumably well paid for it.

[NEWS] James Earl Jones gave permission for AI voice recreations

#136

Author: Your Name
Date: Tue, 10 Sep 2024 15:32

84 lines
4329 bytes

    James Earl Jones' Darth Vader Has Already Been Immortalized With AI
    -------------------------------------------------------------------
    James Earl Jones died Monday at the age of 93. But long before he
    did, he gave Lucasfilm permission to recreate his iconic Darth
    Vader voice for shows like Obi-Wan Kenobi.

    If anyone could make the Dark Side sound good, it was James Earl
    Jones. The actor, who died Monday at the age of 93, provided the
    voice for Darth Vader in more than a dozen Star Wars properties,
    from A New Hope to Star Tours. He made the Force sound ominous in a
    way that made it appealing. With his passing, it feels as though all
    the power and gravitas and respect he brought to the character is
    gone.

    It's not. It's in the hands of AI.

    A few years ago, when Jones provided a few lines of dialog as Vader
    for The Rise of Skywalker, he'd expressed interest in wrapping up
    his time as the Sith Lord, according to Vanity Fair. Lucasfilm, in
    need of a way to continue the character - and particular to
    continue having a version of the character's voice as it sounded in
    those early Star Wars movies - turned to a Ukrainian company called
    Respeecher that used artificial intelligence to make a recreation of
    the Vader voice based on Jones' past performances. (The actor signed
    off on the use of his archive to train the speech model.)

    Ultimately, Respeecher's work, completed amidst Russia's invasion of
    Ukraine, ended up in Obi-Wan Kenobi, and what, if any, Vader
    performance that comes in the future could now depend on its AI.
    (Reps for Respeecher and Lucasfilm did not immediately return emails
    seeking comment.)

    Jones' passing marks a pivotal moment in the future of AI-generated
    performances. During last year's prolonged Hollywood actors' strike,
    one of the biggest sticking points between the Screen Actors
    Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, or
    SAG-AFTRA, and the studios was whether or not studios needed to
    secure permission to use a past performance to train AI models.
    Ultimately, SAG won guardrails around the use of AI in recreating
    performances. Now the question is: How will those play out with
    Darth Vader?

    It's a particularly interesting question when it comes to voice
    acting specifically. The full recreation of vocals may feel further
    along than the full recreation of whole performances, but they also
    feel more poignant.

    When Paul McCartney used AI to help fashion a Beatles song from
    tapes made when the Fab Four were still alive, the results felt
    haunted. When OpenAI released a demo of its voice assistant Sky and
    Scarlett Johansson believed it sounded much like the voice she used
    in Her, she was "shocked, angered, and in disbelief" that the
    company "would pursue a voice that sounded so eerily similar to
    mine." OpenAI denied she was the inspiration but paused the demo.
    Video game voice actors are on strike right now to get protections
    for their vocal performances. Voices, it seems, are currently at
    their highest value.

    Ultimately, what will now happen to the Darth Vader voice is not
    really a question of rights-Jones gave permission - but rather one
    of emotion. Will Lucasfilm, or its parent company Disney, want to
    produce future Star Wars shows or movies featuring AI Vader
    following Jones' death? Will people respond positively to them?
    With a character as iconic as Vader, should there be a point at
    which fans let go?

    From Audrey Hepburn selling Dove chocolates to hologram Tupac,
    posthumous performances have been a part of pop culture for years.
    But unlike Audrey and Pac, Jones is in on the plan; he is
    seemingly the first celebrity to have allowed his iconic presence
    to be recreated with AI before his passing. What will likely
    decide how well AI Vader goes over is how it's handled. A Darth
    Vader feature film may not be as warmly received as, say, a Force
    ghost cameo or a flashback. It'll be a test to see how welcomed
    the character will be now that the man behind it is gone.



https://www.wired.com/story/james-earl-jones-darth-vader-death-artificial-intelligence/>

Re: R.I.P. James Earl Jones (Star Wars, Lion King, etc.)

#169

Author: mummycullen@gmai
Date: Sat, 28 Sep 2024 20:38

162 lines
5730 bytes

 > > > > In article <vboekc>,
 > > > >  Your Name <YourName> wrote:
 > > > >
 > > > > James Earl Jones' Darth Vader Has Already Been Immortalized
With AI
 > > > >
-------------------------------------------------------------------
 > > > > James Earl Jones died Monday at the age of 93. But long
before he
 > > > > did, he gave Lucasfilm permission to recreate his iconic
Darth
 > > > > Vader voice for shows like Obi-Wan Kenobi.
 > > > >
 > > > > If anyone could make the Dark Side sound good, it was James
Earl
 > > > > Jones. The actor, who died Monday at the age of 93, provided
the
 > > > > voice for Darth Vader in more than a dozen Star Wars
properties,
 > > > > from A New Hope to Star Tours. He made the Force sound
ominous in a
 > > > > way that made it appealing. With his passing, it feels as
though all
 > > > > the power and gravitas and respect he brought to the
character is
 > > > > gone.
 > > > >
 > > > > It's not. It's in the hands of AI.
 > > > >
 > > > > A few years ago, when Jones provided a few lines of dialog as
Vader
 > > > > for The Rise of Skywalker, he'd expressed interest in
wrapping up
 > > > > his time as the Sith Lord, according to Vanity Fair.
Lucasfilm, in
 > > > > need of a way to continue the character - and particular to
 > > > > continue having a version of the character's voice as it
sounded in
 > > > > those early Star Wars movies - turned to a Ukrainian company
called
 > > > > Respeecher that used artificial intelligence to make a
recreation of
 > > > > the Vader voice based on Jones' past performances. (The actor
signed
 > > > > off on the use of his archive to train the speech model.)
 > > > >
 > > > > Jones' passing marks a pivotal moment in the future of
AI-generated
 > > > > performances. During last year's prolonged Hollywood actors'
strike,
 > > > > one of the biggest sticking points between the Screen Actors
 > > > > Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists,
or
 > > > > SAG-AFTRA, and the studios was whether or not studios needed
to
 > > > > secure permission to use a past performance to train AI
models.
 > > > > Ultimately, SAG won guardrails around the use of AI in
recreating
 > > > > performances. Now the question is: How will those play out
with
 > > > > Darth Vader?
 > > > >
 > > > > It's a particularly interesting question when it comes to
voice
 > > > > acting specifically. The full recreation of vocals may feel
further
 > > > > along than the full recreation of whole performances, but
they also
 > > > > feel more poignant.
 > > > >
 > > > > When Paul McCartney used AI to help fashion a Beatles song
from
 > > > > tapes made when the Fab Four were still alive, the results
felt
 > > > > haunted. When OpenAI released a demo of its voice assistant
Sky and
 > > > > Scarlett Johansson believed it sounded much like the voice
she used
 > > > > in Her, she was "shocked, angered, and in
disbelief" that the
 > > > > company "would pursue a voice that sounded so eerily
similar to
 > > > > mine." OpenAI denied she was the inspiration but paused
the demo.
 > > > > Video game voice actors are on strike right now to get
protections
 > > > > for their vocal performances. Voices, it seems, are currently
at
 > > > > their highest value.
 > > > >
 > > > > Ultimately, what will now happen to the Darth Vader voice is
not
 > > > > really a question of rights-Jones gave permission - but
rather one
 > > > > of emotion. Will Lucasfilm, or its parent company Disney,
want to
 > > > > produce future Star Wars shows or movies featuring AI Vader
 > > > > following Jones' death?
 > > > >
 > > >
 > > >
 > > > Wasn't that the whole point of securing the rights from Jones
and
 > > > creating the AI version in the first place? If Jones's death
makes it
 > > > 'too creepy' or something to use the AI in new projects, then
what was
 > > > the point of doing it all in the first place?
 > > >
 > > > With a character as iconic as Vader, should there be a point
at
 > > > which fans let go?
 > > >
 > > > From Audrey Hepburn selling Dove chocolates to hologram Tupac,
 > > > posthumous performances have been a part of pop culture for
years.
 > > > But unlike Audrey and Pac, Jones is in on the plan; he is
 > > > seemingly the first celebrity to have allowed his iconic
presence
 > > > to be recreated with AI before his passing. What will likely
 > > > decide how well AI Vader goes over is how it's handled. A
Darth
 > > > Vader feature film may not be as warmly received as, say, a
Force
 > > > ghost cameo
 > > >
 > >
 > >
 > > A Force ghost cameo would have Hayden Christiansen's voice, not
Jones's.
 > >
 > > or a flashback. It'll be a test to see how welcomed
 > > the character will be now that the man behind it is gone.
 > >
 > BTR1701 wrote:
 >
 >
 > As a fan, I wouldn't have any problem with it at all since I know
Jones
 > gave his blessing and was presumably well paid for it.


The primary goal of securing such rights is often to preserve and
extend the legacy of the individual, allowing their presence to
continue in new projects even after their passing. However, the
emotional impact on audiences and the ethical implications can
complicate this intention. Some people might find it unsettling or
disrespectful to use an AI version of a deceased person, which can
lead to hesitation or backlash.

In essence, while the technical and legal groundwork might be in place
to use the AI, the human elementhow people feel about itplays a
crucial role in determining whether its appropriate to proceed.
Balancing respect for the individuals legacy with audience sentiment
is a delicate task.


This is a response to the post seen at:
http://www.jlaforums.com/viewtopic.php?pg3581561#673581561

Re: R.I.P. James Earl Jones (Star Wars, Lion King, etc.)

#170

Author: Paul S Person
Date: Sun, 29 Sep 2024 08:45

173 lines
6286 bytes

On Sat, 28 Sep 2024 20:38:41 +0000,
mummycullen@gmail-dot-com.no-spam.invalid (MummyChunk) wrote:

>
> > > > > In article <vboekc>,
> > > > >  Your Name <YourName> wrote:
> > > > > 
> > > > > James Earl Jones' Darth Vader Has Already Been Immortalized
>With AI
> > > > >
>-------------------------------------------------------------------
> > > > > James Earl Jones died Monday at the age of 93. But long
>before he
> > > > > did, he gave Lucasfilm permission to recreate his iconic
>Darth
> > > > > Vader voice for shows like Obi-Wan Kenobi.
> > > > > 
> > > > > If anyone could make the Dark Side sound good, it was James
>Earl
> > > > > Jones. The actor, who died Monday at the age of 93, provided
>the
> > > > > voice for Darth Vader in more than a dozen Star Wars
>properties,
> > > > > from A New Hope to Star Tours. He made the Force sound
>ominous in a
> > > > > way that made it appealing. With his passing, it feels as
>though all
> > > > > the power and gravitas and respect he brought to the
>character is
> > > > > gone.
> > > > > 
> > > > > It's not. It's in the hands of AI.
> > > > > 
> > > > > A few years ago, when Jones provided a few lines of dialog as
>Vader
> > > > > for The Rise of Skywalker, he'd expressed interest in
>wrapping up
> > > > > his time as the Sith Lord, according to Vanity Fair.
>Lucasfilm, in
> > > > > need of a way to continue the character - and particular to
> > > > > continue having a version of the character's voice as it
>sounded in
> > > > > those early Star Wars movies - turned to a Ukrainian company
>called
> > > > > Respeecher that used artificial intelligence to make a
>recreation of
> > > > > the Vader voice based on Jones' past performances. (The actor
>signed
> > > > > off on the use of his archive to train the speech model.)
> > > > > 
> > > > > Jones' passing marks a pivotal moment in the future of
>AI-generated
> > > > > performances. During last year's prolonged Hollywood actors'
>strike,
> > > > > one of the biggest sticking points between the Screen Actors
> > > > > Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists,
>or
> > > > > SAG-AFTRA, and the studios was whether or not studios needed
>to
> > > > > secure permission to use a past performance to train AI
>models.
> > > > > Ultimately, SAG won guardrails around the use of AI in
>recreating
> > > > > performances. Now the question is: How will those play out
>with
> > > > > Darth Vader?
> > > > > 
> > > > > It's a particularly interesting question when it comes to
>voice
> > > > > acting specifically. The full recreation of vocals may feel
>further
> > > > > along than the full recreation of whole performances, but
>they also
> > > > > feel more poignant.
> > > > > 
> > > > > When Paul McCartney used AI to help fashion a Beatles song
>from
> > > > > tapes made when the Fab Four were still alive, the results
>felt
> > > > > haunted. When OpenAI released a demo of its voice assistant
>Sky and
> > > > > Scarlett Johansson believed it sounded much like the voice
>she used
> > > > > in Her, she was "shocked, angered, and in
>disbelief" that the
> > > > > company "would pursue a voice that sounded so eerily
>similar to
> > > > > mine." OpenAI denied she was the inspiration but paused
>the demo.
> > > > > Video game voice actors are on strike right now to get
>protections
> > > > > for their vocal performances. Voices, it seems, are currently
>at
> > > > > their highest value.
> > > > > 
> > > > > Ultimately, what will now happen to the Darth Vader voice is
>not
> > > > > really a question of rights-Jones gave permission - but
>rather one
> > > > > of emotion. Will Lucasfilm, or its parent company Disney,
>want to
> > > > > produce future Star Wars shows or movies featuring AI Vader
> > > > > following Jones' death?
> > > > > 
> > > > 
> > > > 
> > > > Wasn't that the whole point of securing the rights from Jones
>and 
> > > > creating the AI version in the first place? If Jones's death
>makes it 
> > > > 'too creepy' or something to use the AI in new projects, then
>what was 
> > > > the point of doing it all in the first place?
> > > > 
> > > > With a character as iconic as Vader, should there be a point
>at
> > > > which fans let go?
> > > > 
> > > > From Audrey Hepburn selling Dove chocolates to hologram Tupac,
> > > > posthumous performances have been a part of pop culture for
>years.
> > > > But unlike Audrey and Pac, Jones is in on the plan; he is
> > > > seemingly the first celebrity to have allowed his iconic
>presence
> > > > to be recreated with AI before his passing. What will likely
> > > > decide how well AI Vader goes over is how it's handled. A
>Darth
> > > > Vader feature film may not be as warmly received as, say, a
>Force
> > > > ghost cameo
> > > > 
> > > 
> > > 
> > > A Force ghost cameo would have Hayden Christiansen's voice, not
>Jones's.
> > > 
> > > or a flashback. It'll be a test to see how welcomed
> > > the character will be now that the man behind it is gone.
> > > 
> > BTR1701 wrote:
> > 
> > 
> > As a fan, I wouldn't have any problem with it at all since I know
>Jones 
> > gave his blessing and was presumably well paid for it.
>
>
>The primary goal of securing such rights is often to preserve and
>extend the legacy of the individual, allowing their presence to
>continue in new projects even after their passing. However, the
>emotional impact on audiences and the ethical implications can
>complicate this intention. Some people might find it unsettling or
>disrespectful to use an AI version of a deceased person, which can
>lead to hesitation or backlash.
>
>In essence, while the technical and legal groundwork might be in place
>to use the AI, the human elementhow people feel about itplays a
>crucial role in determining whether its appropriate to proceed.
>Balancing respect for the individuals legacy with audience sentiment
>is a delicate task.
> 
>
>This is a response to the post seen at:
>http://www.jlaforums.com/viewtopic.php?p=673581561#673581561
>

IIRC, the film /Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow/ did something
like that.

Probably without the AI, though.
-- 
"Here lies the Tuscan poet Aretino,
Who evil spoke of everyone but God,
Giving as his excuse, 'I never knew him.'"

🚀 go-pugleaf

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