The Estate of Late Actor Jimmy Stewart Agrees to Allow A.I. to Recreate His Iconic Voice for Bedtime Story on Calm App
The late, great actor Jimmy Stewart is known for his roles in It’s a Wonderful Life, Vertigo, and Rear Window, and he’s just as recognized for his iconic voice, which you’re about to be able to hear again, sort of…
The James Stewart estate has signed off on allowing AI voice-cloning technology to recreate the actor’s voice to narrate a bedtime story for the Calm app, titled, “It’s a Wonderful Sleep Story,” which Calm bills as “a heartwarming new holiday tale.”
Kelly Stewart Harcourt, one of Stewart’s daughters, said in a statement, “We are excited for our dad to be the voice of Calm’s latest Sleep Story. It’s amazing what technology can do and wonderful to see Dad’s legacy live on this holiday season in new ways, like helping people find restful sleep and sweet dreams.”
Calm developed the Stewart bedtime story in collaboration with Respeecher, an AI voice-cloning startup whose credits include recreating Mark Hamill’s voice of Luke Skywalker for The Mandalorian and James Earl Jones’ voice of Darth Vader for Obi-Wan Kenobi on Disney+. The story was written and produced by Calm’s creative team.
In recreating Stewart’s voice, Respeecher employed a voice actor who performed the lines and mimicked his speech style. “It was essential, like in all other projects, that the project was done according to high ethical standards and respect, which Respeecher has advocated for many years,” said Alex Serdiuk, Respeecher CEO and co-founder. He added, “James Stewart is one of the most remarkable actors in U.S. history. Recreating his voice with AI was both a huge responsibility and an honor for Respeecher. It was a way to pay tribute to his incredible career and all the good memories he left to people.”
“Jimmy Stewart’s calming voice is one of the most iconic in movie history, and we’re thrilled to see it brought to the leading relaxation app on the market,” said Tina Xavie, chief marketing officer of CMG Worldwide. “Thanks to advanced technology, we all get the joy of hearing Jimmy’s unique voice again.”
The story premieres exclusively on the app on December 5th, and it will be available to subscribers of Calm Premium, which costs $69.99 per year.
via: Variety