OpenAI’s feud with Scarlett Johansson could cost Hollywood AI deals.

OpenAl is sticking to its story that it never intended to copy Scarlett Johansson’s voice when seeking an actor for ChatGPT’s “Sky” voice mode.

This all “feels personal," the voice actress said, "being that it’s just my natural voice and I’ve never been compared to her by the people who do know me closely.”

This comes at a time when many studios are otherwise intrigued by the idea of using AI for things like digital effects but remain, after a long history of avoiding copyright conflicts, hesitant to connect with any company potentially viewed as stealing artists’ work without consent, Reuters reported.

  • Flying Squid
    27•6 months ago

    I’m guessing probably because she was never cast as the friendly-sounding voice of an AI, what with that being something people associated Scarlett Johansson’s voice with?

    I’m guessing that the multiple people who took over for Bug Bunny’s voice after Mel Blanc died were not compared to Mel Blanc before they took on the role.

    • @[email protected]
      19•6 months ago

      I’m guessing she won’t say otherwise because if her voice is canceled she probably won’t get paid as much.

      • Flying Squid
        21•6 months ago

        Maybe, but she also may not have even known that she had that quality when she was hired. Casting directors don’t necessarily tell you why you got a role. I did VO for quite some time. Sometimes I knew I was being hired to sound like someone else- generally a fictional character, but occasionally to dub in some dialogue when an actor was unavailable if I could do a good enough impression- but who knows about any of the other times? I’ve never been compared to Dan Aykroyd, but maybe someone thought I sounded enough like him that I got hired for a role which they wanted a voice like his for. They wouldn’t have told me and I wouldn’t have asked.

      • @[email protected]OPM
        7•6 months ago

        Voice actors are usually paid for the work they do, not the performance of the final product.

    • @[email protected]
      -4•6 months ago

      Is that something people associate her with? Everything I’ve seen her in she sounds pretty dry to me. Even when she’s being nice in a role. I can’t think of an example where she sounded “friendly”.