AI-Generated Jimmy Stewart Narrates Bedtime Story for Calm App (EXCLUSIVE)
05.12.2023 - 04:23
/ variety.com
Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor It’s a wonderful… robot? An AI-generated voice of Jimmy Stewart, the legendary Hollywood actor who died in 1997, reads a new bedtime story on the Calm sleep and meditation app. The voice of Stewart, who starred in films including “It’s a Wonderful Life,” “Vertigo” and “Rear Window,” was recreated for the Calm story using AI voice-cloning technology. The project has the consent of Stewart’s family and his estate (managed by CMG Worldwide).
The AI-generated “It’s a Wonderful Sleep Story,” which Calm bills as “a heartwarming new holiday tale,” premieres exclusively on the app Dec. 5. It will be available to subscribers of Calm Premium, which costs $69.99 per year.
“Well, hello. I’m James Stewart. But, well, you can call me Jimmy,” the AI-generated voice of Stewart says in the story’s intro.
“Tonight, I’m going to tell you a story. It’s a heartwarming story of love, of loss, of hope and of joy. But most of all, it’s a wonderful sleep story.” (Listen to the clip below.) 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 editorial team. “Jimmy Stewart’s calming voice is one of the most iconic in movie history, and we’re
.