Mario’s New Voice Actor Announced by Nintendo After Charles Martinet’s Departure

Strange Ranger have announced that they are breaking up, some 14 years after first forming in 2009. The indie rock band shared news of their disbandment on social media yesterday (October 31), noting that their most recent album, ‘Pure Music’ – which arrived in July of this year – would be their last.“’Pure Music’ will be the last Strange Ranger album,” they wrote alongside text of their active years as a band.

The Finals has responded to the criticism from fans and actors over the use of artificial intelligence to create voices for its characters.After a few voice actors noticed an affectation to the callouts from the commentators, a podcast episode featuring two of The Finals audio designers affirmed that these voices were the result of text-to-speech (TTS) software.“Trying to imagine how an audio professional could possibly think this sounds good,” said an actor of a compilation of the commentators’ callouts.Now, Embark Studios has supplied a statement to IGN justifying the inclusion of artificial intelligence at this point in The Finals‘ development.“We use a combination of recorded voice audio and audio generated via TTS tools in our games, depending on the context,” said a spokesperson.“Sometimes, recording real scenes where actors get together – allowing character chemistry and conflict to shape the outcome – is something that adds depth to our game worlds that technology can’t emulate.“Other times, especially when it relates to contextual in-game action call-outs, TTS allows us to have tailored voice over where we otherwise wouldn’t, for example due to speed of implementation.”In the open beta, those voices are the product of a “mix of professional voice actors and temporary voices from Embark employees” put through TTS software.“Making games without actors isn’t an end goal for Embark and TTS technology has introduced new ways for us to work together.”The Finals is in development for PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X|S.

Opening arguments in a workplace civil case pitting actor Robert De Niro against his former executive assistant, Graham Chase Robinson, will begin this afternoon in a federal courtroom in Manhattan, with De Niro himself expected to testify today under direct examination by one of Robinson’s lawyers. 

Leigh-Anne Pinnock has revealed that the remaining members of Little Mix had to seek therapy after Jesy Nelson exited the group. Pinnock made the revelation in her new memoir Believe, an excerpt of which was published in the Sun. The book was released this week (October 26).

Most international TV networks and news agencies were unable to provide live coverage or video updates out of the Gaza Strip overnight due to communication outages as Israel stepped up its military campaign on the Palestinian territory.

Black Honey have released an angsty, grunge-pop inspired new single ‘Lemonade’ and announced a run of shows for 2024.The song is the band’s first new music since they released their recent album ‘A Fistful Of Peaches’ in March and sees them confront the idea that sometimes there’s nothing positive to gain from a bad situation.“I think we all got sold this ‘dream big’ concept. I’m having an existential realisation that we are just playing a game that’s designed to make rich people richer.

Spotify gave an early peek at its two-week-old Audiobook rollout with chief executive Daniel Ek telling investors, “It’s early days, but we feel good.”

Kim Kardashian is setting some limits in her love life, and one of them seems to be related to her time with Pete Davidson.

Danny Brown has dropped his first solo single in four years ‘Tantor’, as well as revealing details of his highly-anticipated album ‘Quaranta’ along with live dates.The Detroit rapper’s last solo release was his fifth album in 2019 with ‘uknowhatimsayin¿‘, which was executively produced by Q-Tip. Since then, he has dropped two collaborative albums, ‘TV62’ and this year’s ‘SCARING THE HOES, VOL. 1’ with Bruiser Brigade and JPEGMAFIA respectively.On October 17, Brown surprised fans with the Alchemist-produced track ‘Tantor’ and an accompanying music video.

As week four of Married at First Sight got underway this week, viewers at home were introduced to a new pair of lovelorn singles who were hoping to find the match of their dreams with a little help from the show’s experts. Thirty one year old Sean from Durham was paired up with 36 year old Mark from London on Tuesday's episode, 17 September, but during their introductory segments it was clear that there was a very distinctive difference in personalities between the two, with highly strung groom Mark even admitting his mum still did all his cooking and cleaning, despite his age.

Surpassing 10 years of developing emerging writers, CAPE (Coalition of Asian Pacifics in Entertainment) has selected its latest CAPE New Writers Fellowship class. The new cohort completed the program last spring prior to the WGA strike and the class Of New Writers Completed Program Prior To Start Of WGA Strike.

Rick and Morty Season 7 premiered and the voice actors taking over the lead roles have been revealed.

Strictly Come Dancing’s Neil Jones has landed a new role away from the BBC show after he failed to land a celebrity partner for the series.The 41 year old has been confirmed as the first ever face of the male beauty brand Shakeup Cosmetics. Neil was announced as the first ambassador as the company launched their Age Def-Eye Instant Lifting Eye Cream.

Veteran British actor Sir Michael Caine has confirmed he has retired from acting after the release of his latest film. Sir Michael, 90, told the BBC: “I keep saying I’m going to retire. Well I am now.” “I’ve figured, I’ve had a picture where I’ve played the lead and had incredible reviews… What am I going to do that will beat this?” The Oscar, Golden Globe and Bafta-winning actor has an extensive filmography, including classic films ranging from Zulu and The Italian Job to more recently in Interstellar and The Dark Knight franchise, alongside Christian Bale.

Bella Ramsey‘s wish for voice notes on Threads has come true!

Mario and Luigi are officially getting a new voice actor!

Nintendo has found its new Mario. Kevin Afghani will take over the role of the red-capped plumber from longtime Mario voice actor Charles Martinet, who announced his retirement in August. Afghani announced the news on X (formerly Twitter).

Jaden Thompson The Polish video game developer CD Projekt SA has used artificial intelligence to replicate the voice of the late Polish actor Miłogost Reczek, who died in 2021. His voice will be simulated in “Phantom Liberty,” an extension of the dystopian video game series “Cyberpunk 2077.” Per Bloomberg, the company reached out to Reczek’s family, which gave permission to recreate his voice using AI.

Savannah Chrisley is grateful for the new man in her life — especially while going through tough times with the sudden death of her ex-fiancé.

Baldur’s Gate 3 actors Samantha Béart and Neil Newbon have pulled together Spotify playlists that reflect their respective characters.Spoilers for Baldur’s Gate 3 follow.In the game, Béart played Karlach and Newbon played Astarion, two characters who have won over scores of fans for their personalities and arcs across the sprawling storyline.As a result of her heart being replaced with an infernal engine, Karlach is slowly dying. In spite of this, she remains compassionate, comical and fiercely defensive of those in need or those who have the odds stacked against them.Astarion, on the other hand, is initially manipulative and self-serving and it is difficult for players who are sticking to a good alignment to get him to like their character.