Stars to voice audio books

Some top thesps is going to be adding their voices to Audible.com's new type of audio books. Stars lending their narrative pipes includes Kim Basinger for "The Awakening," Hathaway As Catwoman for "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz," Samuel L. Jackson for "A Rage in Harlem," and Nicole Kidman for "Towards the Lighthouse." Others slated to do include Annette Bening, Jennifer Connelly, Colin Firth, Dustin Hoffman, Meg Ryan, Susan Sarandon, Naomi W and Kate Winslet. Based on Audible, thesps play an energetic role in picking a books they record. Audible.com Boss Jesse Katz hopes the rush of superstar voices will "draw huge new audiences for this effective artform." New audio book productions are scheduled for release online at the begining of 2012. Contact the range newsroom at news@variety.com