Ebert speaks

Film critic Roger Ebert says computer programmers have captured his voice from movie commentary tracks so he can type what he wants to say and listeners hear a voice that sounds like him.

Ebert lost his ability to speak after surgery for cancer. He wrote in Sunday's Chicago Sun-Times that a Scottish company has helped him regain a voice his grandchildren can recognize.

Ebert recorded commentaries for DVD movies before he lost his voice. A Scottish company called CereProc blended digital recordings of Ebert speaking to make his text-to-audio voice.

The voice was heard predicting Oscar winners on a segment of "The Oprah Winfrey Show" that aired Tuesday.

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[9/11/10] Film critic Roger Ebert, who lost his ability to speak and eat after cancer surgeries, said last week that he is returning to television on a movie review show he is producing for public television.

And, Ebert says, the thumbs up and thumbs down reviews made famous with his late partner Gene Siskel will return.

"This is the rebirth of a dream," Ebert said in a statement.

The Pulitzer Prize-winning Chicago Sun-Times film critic is producing "Roger Ebert Presents At the Movies" with his wife, Chaz Ebert. The weekly, half-hour review program will debut in January and be syndicated nationally on public television stations.

Ebert will have his own segment on the show called "Roger's Office," during which he will use his computer voice to review new movies or talk about the state of film.