BBC Maestro, which I would describe as a British version of MasterClass, has brought the Queen of Mystery back to life to share her writing secrets: Writing with Agatha Christie.
From the course description:
The course has been curated by leading Christie scholars Dr Mark
Aldridge, Michelle Kazmer, Gray Robert Brown, and Jamie Bernthal-Hooker,
who have painstakingly reconstructed Agatha’s philosophy on writing,
using her own words.
For the first time, audiences will
hear Agatha Christie impart her insights on story structure, cast
creation, plot twists, red herrings, and the art of suspense, drawn
directly from her own writings and archival interviews.
According to this Deadline article, the BBC used a combination of AI and actress Vivien Keene to bring Christie to life. The course consists of 11 lessons and 12 exercises, and runs 2-1/2 hours. You can purchase the course as a stand-alone for $89, or subscribe to BBC Maestro for $120 for all-access for a year, which also provides courses from live people including Lee Child, Ken Follett, Harlan Coben, Bill Lawrence, Brian Cox, Sir Tim Rice, Mark Ronson, and that's just in the creative arts. They also offer courses in Food & Drink, Business, Wellness, and Art & Design.
I have two college classes (complete with live professors) going on right now, but I'm thinking once the semester is completed this will be my next course.
I also think it will be interesting to see how people react to the idea of someone like Christie being recreated by AI. AI itself is an extremely touchy issue with a lot of people, especially writers. Given the people behind it and the apparent care put into it, I'm willing to at least give this a shot. I guess I'll find out how I feel about it this summer.