On July 2, 1997, at the age of 89, James Stewart died of a heart attack at his home in Beverly Hills. He left behind a hundred films for which he won two Oscars: one for ‘The Philadelphia Story’ and another honorary one in 1985. And now, 33 years after his last role in ‘An American Tail: Fievel Goes West’, the actor is going to come back to tell you a bedtime story.
The IAndiscreta Window
It will be on the Calm app, which has recreated the actor’s voice to narrate ‘It’s a Wonderful Sleep Story’. They haven’t done it without permission, of course: it has the family’s approval, who, at this point, will be looking for another way to monetize their fame even if it means doing digital necromancy.
“Hello. I’m James Stewart. But, well, you can call me Jimmy. Today I’m going to tell you a story. It’s a comforting story of love, loss, hope, and joy. But above all, it’s a wonderful bedtime story”. That’s how this tale between ‘Black Mirror‘ and the exacerbated capitalism by which a few are very excited and many others can’t help but grimace thinking about a rather terrifying future begins.
You can disguise yourself however you want: a tribute to the actor, made with the highest professional ethics possible, a memory of Hollywood myths… And it’s all true. And at the same time, it’s absolutely false. In any case, paying subscribers (because this, in the end, is anything but free) of the app can now enjoy James Stewart in a role he never accepted thanks to AI. Ethics, if anything, we’ll leave for another time.
