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Spielberg (And Kubrick)'s A.I.
Ainonymous Coward writes " A teaser trailer was released for Steven Spielberg's A.I. For those who know, Stanley Kubrick had been working on this film for nearly 20 years; it is based on the Brian Aldiss short story Supertoys Last All Summer Long. Here is
the trailer (Quicktime).
The link comes from Ain't it Cool. Putting aside the obligatory Kubrick lamentation, I'm looking forward to this one. " I wish I could see this thing... I'm really excited about this movie.
The trailer would have been better if it had featured even ONE scene from the movie. This does little more than announce that the movie will be coming out. Why did I take the time to download this?
This trailer is to the movie as vaporware is to actual software.
Yea, unfortunately you're absolutely right. It's a sad commentary on American taste when "Steven Spielberg's AI" will bring a bigger audience than would "Stanley Kubrick's AI".
You're right. Only us dumb Americans loved the following movies:
Jaws
Indiana Jones Trilogy
The Color Purple
E.T.
Saving Private Ryan
Jurassic Park
Close Encounters of the Third Kind
Empire of the Sun
Schindler's List
Just because Spielberg is capable of more than one movie a decade and is not a control freak doesn't mean he's any less of an artist or kick-ass director.
-thomas
"And like that
AI-nonymous Coward? What, joke too subtle?
.sig: Now legally binding!
uhh....it took over 4000 years to put man on the moon.
Nah, it took 20 years to put man on the moon.
It took 4000 years for man to figure out he wanted to go there.
"And like that
I expect that it's going to spur a lot of debate about conciousness and what it means to be alive.
My guess is that that's exactly what Spielberg and Kubrick intended...
Spielberg has hired Stan Winston to do the FX on this one though, which I'm sure means a big pile o' CGI poop.
One-ton tomato
I haven't forgotten Full Metal Jacket. G_d hasn't been that merciful to me.
"AI" is simply the sequel to "Daryl". This time around, Daryl gets the girl... and his revenge!
cpeterso
...when it was called D.A.R.Y.L.
Humes are just weak little monkey boys.
cpeterso
I guess Diablo 2 is worth the Windows bootup for him but the AI trailer isn't.
I assume you mean RealPlayer plays it in a small window - this can be stretched, even to full screen (using RealPlayer on a Windows machine), but, with this preview, you aren't missing much (some CG, but basically an animated version of the poster). There are other related downloads, such as desktop wallpaper.
BTW, could you put an extra "<BR>" or two in your sig? Too often, I read one of your comments and think the sig is part of what you are saying, that you are basically saying the person you are responding to has an incorrect opinion. I think one of your questions to an interviewee got posted that way, so it looked like you were asking a question while calling him an idiot. Of course, seeing his responce, that might have been what you were doing...
That's gotta be a troll.
Are you forgetting Full Metal Jacket, or did you dislike it?
One of the best war movies ever, IMHO, and definitely Kubrick's best movie. Can't watch the others over and over.
The preview looked good, and with Haley Joel Osment as roboboy, it will probably be up to Kubrick's standards. He is one of the best child actors in a LONG time, and should be able to handle the emotional subleties of that role very well.
Now I just wish Card would get off his ass and make Ender's Game...
Maybe if we're lucky, crowds will see the Spielberg name and think "Oh, A.I.? That must be like E.T.! Let's go see it!"
Yea, unfortunately you're absolutely right. It's a sad commentary on American taste when "Steven Spielberg's AI" will bring a bigger audience than would "Stanley Kubrick's AI".
Maybe slashdotters should show some spine for a change and boycott the movie which will be released by the industry litigating the DeCSS case. /. pretend to care about free speech and then proceed to drool uncontrollably over a hyped up film...
It is just pathetic to see
I wonder if it starts out in Black and white, then moves to technicolor(tm) half way through. As long as it gets to digital by the end of the movie.
Did anyone else think the music in the trailer was vaguely reminiscent of the Blade Runner theme?
Ironic that what will most likely be his last film project (he's dead, after all) will wind up being about just the opposite.
Can't wait to see it.
--
Trailers are typically made with music that has nothing to do with the final movie's actual soundtrack. Witness a recent trailer (can't remember which movie it was for) using some of the music from Braveheart.
[ home ]
With more and more vital functions of our nations government, banking infrastructure, and military defense relying on machines to perform increasingly complicated tasks, one must wonder what precautions the government is taking to prevent the machines from turning against us. I realize that this seems a bit absurd to most people, but just look at how quickly computer science is advancing. We may not have a machine with the processing power to act as a conscious being right now, but the day that we will is much sooner than you think.
We need a strong, powerful government as proposed by such sensible leaders as George W. Bush to implement measures to ensure that a scenario will remain just fiction. I am calling for immediate government regulation and supervision of all artificial intelligence research programs. Take my advice, when the time comes for the robots to take over, you'll either be enslaved by your mechanical masters, or you'll be ground up for axle grease if you resist.
-atrowe: Card-carrying Mensa member. I have no toleranse for stupidity.
I wanted to look at the trailor, but I'm a bit worried that a film about Artificial Insemination might not be appropriate to download and watch in my office.
Agreed...Although Kubrick has made many beautiful (if not disturbing) films, he has never managed to reach a large audience (the masses). Not to say that I am complaining, as you have usually never heard of the best films of the year.
Lets hope the Internet solves many of the distribution problems small film makers have. It is amazing to see how many GREAT film get made, but never get released because some BIG-WIG at Paramont decides the masses would like or see the movie.
That is all!
-Ryan
"But would a trailer like that capture the hearts of the audience at large?
Why not? The "masses" aren't any one kind of moviegoer. They don't "need" a murder or chase scene...you'll notice many movies have those elements, because it's what sells. Now, is this because it's what the audience wants or what the studios think the audience wants? People will go to the movies no matter what. They'll tend to see something that at least partially sparks their interest, but they'll go if the studios put out crap or art, because they like to see a movie.
The Good Reverend
At least the online trailers for Lord Of The Ring & Star Wars were worth downloading.
Rader
What was not to like about Bicentennial Man? I thoroughly enjoyed that movie. Am I missing something here?
Knowledge is like ignorance.. too much can be just as bad as not enough.
beautiful trailer - looking forward to the movie...
- Dost thou think because thou art virtuous, there shall be no more cakes and ale?
"mechanical masters" ?
Let's see....
Television [cable/antennae/satellite]
Video Games [playstation, nintendo, sega]
Computers [intel, apple, m$, sun, and the applications that run on them.]
Cars.
Appliances [microwave, toaster, coffee pot]
Odds are your livelihood is going to suffer a great deal were you deprived of at least one of these. Odds are greater still that one of these items is essential to your survival [computers for most of us, a car for the rest of us], hence obligating you to maintain said device at the expense of other niceties.
There's no need for some Master System to slap the chains on us- we've already done it, eyes wide open and of our own free Will.
As for the issue of AI- the so-called "moral question" shouldn't be an issue. In the course of creating an artificial intelligence, we've learned a lot about the construction and programming of computers, and a great deal about the human mind [as AI is a convergence of the two fields]. The creation thereof would be a step more important to the human race than setting foot on the Moon, and I fully support any research in that direction.
Remember kiddies, Skynet can only take over the world if we LET IT. Keep such a system as a standalone, don't give it web or security access, and we'll be fine as long as science uses its head.
Maybe that is why I get more flamebaits and trolls then I really think I deserve. Good adivce. Yes, I meant small as in by default it plays in a smaller window than the Quicktime versions.
Cypherpunks: Civil Liberty Through Complex Mathematics. Those who live by the sword die by the arrow.
Although, ... I do think that Schindler's List and SPR are SS's two best films. Only in comparison to Kubrick do they falter.
(I am admittedly a Kubrick nut, but I do try to back up my comments. My first comments doesn't back anything up though, since it would take a god damn dissertation!)
Speilberg uses so much of the aforementioned merchandising, et al. that the rest gets buried, but those are some good examples of his more Kubrickian efforts.
No, but you can bet your a** everything will be delivered in a FedEx Box.
If the love interest was to reach the women you wouldn't have movies like Entrapment, where the gorgeous young Catherine Zeta-Jones falls for some fossilized old guy like Sean Connery, since we all know that could never happen in real life.
But dude. It's a movie. We'll see if Stevie bastardizes it, but perhaps you should give it a chance before shooting it down. If anything, I think Spielberg is doing honor to Kubrick by at least making an attempt. If it's going to be good or not is unknown, but let's not go so far as to call Spielberg a "second rate charltan." ET. Close Encounters. Saving Private Ryan. Sure, some of his others sucked, but if you look at his history you'll see that action movies aren't his strongpoint... but he's damn good with drama (these are all MY opinions, mind you).
Give the man a chance, if we go to see a movie that Kubrick had a part in then we're doing him honor by wanting to see it. I also would like to ask you where EXACTLY did you get the information that Kubrick specifically didn't want any of his movies finished? Or are you merely assuming all of this? A visionary like Kubrick WOULD want to finish his own work, but I think more importantly after his death he would want his work to be seen instead of sealed away into obscurity.
I've seen the previews for AI a couple of times now, and it does look quite interesting. I'm SURE it will be better than Bicentennial Man.
...All I can say is that my life is pretty strange...
Let's squash some urban legends here:
1) For a long time, there were rumors that Kubrick was considering filming _AI_ with the same boy actor from Jurassic Park (the kid who says, "Hey, this is UNIX!"), filming scenes months or years apart as the boy aged. From what I've been able to find, this rumor referred to another, dropped project that Kubrick had in mind, a Holocaust story called _The Aryan Papers_. Kubrick decided not to do _AP_ after _Schindler's List_ became The Holocaust Picture of the Decade.
2) To my knowledge, Kubrick first started actively toying with developing the story for _AI_ in 1989, after he had taken a break after _Full Metal Jacket_. The "20 years in making" thing is, as far as I know, Taco foaming at the mouth. However, Kubrick was known to kick ideas around in his head for as long as 30 years (_Eyes Wide Shut_/_Traumnovelle_), it just might be that he didn't talk to scriptwriters and WB before 1989.
2b) Soon after Kubrick died, the _New Yorker_ carried a "Talk of the Town" piece by someone who had worked with Kubrick on the story/script for _AI_ in the early 90s; apparently Kubrick went through a lot of writers, and worked at a very leisurely pace, meeting with the writer(s) once or twice a year.
3) As Kubrick died quite suddenly (my theory is that a combination of stress and fatigue made him vulnerable to heart attack while laughing at the last line of _EWS_), it is improbable that he handed Spielberg the script and said "You are the HAL's last hope...make...this...movie." However, Kubrick frequently talked with other directors, especially those who used F/X well (Jim Cameron), so it's quite likely that he had "talked AI" with Spielberg. Despite some of the things slashdotters are saying about him today, I think Spielberg is a decent enough man to think to himself, "Would Stanley _really_ have wanted me to do this movie?"
[No Text]
It took less time to put men on the moon.
-- yawn. --
There's an animated GIF on that Quality Dreamworks page scrolling multiple Kubrick film posters - brilliantly, they've misspelled "The Shining" as "THE SHINNING."
.lx
Perhaps it's a Simpsons reference. I doubt it.
Once again: It's Rich in Quality.
--
Ready to fight for your OS?
John C. Worsley - Artist, Musician, Coder
Portfolio
to know that Dubbya would be in office at the begin of the new millenia. Just kidding folks! It's a joke, you know, AI, Dubbya, etc. Ahem.
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"We're sorry, but the website you're trying to reach has been disconnected."
Sometimes it puzzles me that AI is a hot topic right now. Why so much fuss, don't people realize that AI is being used right now, every day? This isn't some far flung theory, AI is working wonderfully. There are many industries that require AI to function.. farming for example! Sure AI needs to be controlled, I can see that, and yes, it could be dangerous if it gets of hand. There is an easy solution to this though, we need to teach our kids that sex is better than AI.
I implore you! Educate your kids now on the dangers of Artificial Insemination.
Since when is the purpose of a "love interest" to "pull in women"? Are you stupid? If love interest pulls in anyone, it's gentlemen like myself, who hope to catch a glimpse of booty. And booty is hard science if ever there was such a thing. Don't be a snob.
duh - ull
---
This
working on Eyes Wide Shut.
The only way for SS to redeem himself here is to make a film like he has never made before, devoid of merchandising and marketing hype, as well as the unnecessary eye candy that he and his masses of sheep (most of the movie watching world) love so much. He will not. I've read many of SS's comments on Kubrick and it is amazing that such a talented director still does not understand how to interpret SK's vision(s), by means of avoiding singular reasoning.
It is typical of SS to not give Kubrick higher billing for what are his inspired ideas. In fact, just from the mood of this teaser/trailer, it is clear to me that the film is already lost, and if Kubrick is/can be watching, he is certainly laughing with frustration.
If I wasn't at work right now I would have time to write up a short novella about how 99.9% of so called "movie buffs" can't understand Kubrick's genius, and never will.
What I can tell you is that it disappointing and typical of the masses to flock to an inferior film, constructed with menial intelligence and maximum technology to prove simple points that were only supposed to be the tip of the iceberg. SS doesn't see beyond the tip of this glacial mound, because he is at the limit of his intellectual capacity.
Go Ravens!
The 'block' was that Kubrick wanted the characters to age 'naturally', so he was filming a bit every year as the actors aged.
Do not taunt Happy Fun Ball.
Did we learn nothing from Terminator and the Matrix? Those who don't learn from the future are doomed to inherit it.
Ceci n'est pas un sig
you almost had me going for my shotgun...
- Dost thou think because thou art virtuous, there shall be no more cakes and ale?
I believe it is true that Kubrick spent time contemplating Schnitzlers Traumnovelle as a subject for a movie since 1967 or so, which came to be Eyes Wide Shut. The Napoleon thing was in the seventies and I guess it turned out to become Barry Lyndon (for the subject of Napoleon being too ambitious ?). Obviously Kubrick was always a multitasking environment by himself.
Just tried to watch a Quicktime movie with a fairly recent Winebuild (20001222) and the older player from Quicktime 3 (new codecs though),and it really works. Funny thing is I have never been able to double the size in Windows, but now it works great! It doesn't shut down cleanly though.
We take a girl out for dinner before getting laid, but that doesn't mean we like eating first.
The English habit of saying "We" rears its ugly head.
People preferring Spielberg over Kubrick appear to be watching with their eyes wide shut
With a short story that nuanced and disturbing, what the hell do we need the movie for?
"How many light bulbs does it take to change a person?" --BMcC-->
This is the second time that this movie has been mentioned on /. but I have yet to see anybody mention the 1985 movie DARYL. Sorry if this is redundant but the similarities should be mentioned. I'm still looking forward to the movie as Kubrick and Spielberg are amazing but the story has been done before.
CParticle
Yea you are right the driving force behind one of the longest economic expansions ever (the computer industry) is not worth getting worked up over. Also you will notice that you are looking through the statement with a strong "I_see_a_rant" filter. Rob said he wished he could see this. I feel the same way about a number of QuickTime videos that come out. He did not say anything about M$. How you got from "I wanna see the trailer" to "M$ sucks" I'll never know. For many of us it is important it is how we feed our children and have our fun. Name something that matters more.
Cypherpunks: Civil Liberty Through Complex Mathematics. Those who live by the sword die by the arrow.
Oh, come on now. No one goes into a robot movie expecting car chases, unless it's Robocop, or Terminator. They expect to see the robot rip people's arms off. That's what I WOULD expect to see in a Robin Williams/Isaac Asimov robot story, I know that much!
Actually, strike all this. I guess a lot of violent robot movies do contain car chases after all. After all, they get to completely run over the hero or bad guy, who just gets right back up.
Then there was Steve Austin, the REAL one, who got into car chases WITHOUT THE CAR. Now THERE is a real man who kno, um well, a partial man, anyway.
I am for the complete Trantorization of Earth.
Well said, Chorder.
It's interesting that Kubrick saw in Spielberg something better than what many harsher critics have seen: an artless craftsman dependent on syrup.
Personally, I greatly respect Spielberg's gifts in narrative, even if I suspect his view of human nature (and tendency to yolk every story into a happy ending).
Yet now there is something new to consider. Much is made of Spielberg and Kubricks' independence, their safe remove from the Hollywood system. And yet with AI, Spielberg has cast that off, and chosen to labor under that most grueling of all masters -- not the money men, but the memory, work, and inspiration of one of film's true masters. What a burden and what an honor to have the late, great Stanley looking over your shoulder from Olympus as you bring his final project to fruition!
If that does not change an artist, nothing will.
Well, once again I stand corrected. That was a Kubrick movie? Of course I haven't seen it since it was released on video, which has been quite awhile ;-) Back that I never really paid much attention to details like who directed the movie, I just watched what looked good :)
;-)
Oh well, I guess I should change my stance to "I really hated some Kubrick films"
-Space for rent
... that his name is not D.A.R.Y.L..
I'm starting to become convinced that Hollywood producers will never produce a worthwhile technical flick.
20 Years in the making means in all like-li-hood it's 20 years out of date. I'm not trolling here, it's just the way things work. You can work on a technological movie for as long as you want, but once you reach a certain time-frame you have to do one of the following.
1) Update all your information, and waste your footage. Making 20 years about as useful as 5.
2) Make your techno-movie only work in a certain time-line, ie: its a techno movie about technology from the past (not very likely) or:
3) The most common solution to producing a techno movie that meets the demands of artistic license and the motto, "make me money because Akira Kurosawa's dead now" is to make the movie (from the beginning) focus on vague, general idealogies inherent in Technology of one type or another. Movies of this nature, in a nutshell, suck.
If this movie is just another 'Data the pale Ensign' story, then its been done. It was done in Terminator back in the 80s. It was done by Gene Roddenbury... whatever, it's just old.
If this story is about technology, and where we are realistically headed, what we have to question about our research and what we do: Then the information is outdated, sure we could predict AI 20 years ago; but if what we knew of AI 20 years ago is the basis of the plot, then I for one have already seen that story. Either way we as consumers of Spielbergs Crap for the Masses are losers. David Wong on the other hand will probably give it a full two stars
Ace
Of all the movies I've seen in my lifetime that were based on books rather than screenplays, I'd say this one ranks about fourth or fifth as to how well it preserves the flavor and plot of the original story.
Sure, they through in a little sex, and sure it was juvenile. But hey, Hollywood *will* be Hollywood.
The Web is like Usenet, but
the elephants are untrained.
if i had a project that i'd been working on for 20 years and i was getting up there in age, i'd sure talk to a friend about continuing it should something happen to me..
"Leave the gun, take the canoli."
this is just a placeholder till i send back my real sig from the future.
Kubrick would never have let a clip of his movie be leaked by the studio who gave him carte blanche because of his legend (not Sony whom he did not work for of course). His obsessive and highly secretive filmaking process which also whetted the anticipation for his work is sorely missed.
You can read the story Supertoys Last All Summer Long At:u pe rtoys.html
http://members.xoom.it/nessuno2001/kubrick/ai/s
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If you ever drop your keys into a river of molten lava, forget 'em, because man, they're gone. -- Jack
With the single exception of "Dr. Strangelove" Kubrick didn't do a single film that was worth watching more than once, and except for Dr. S and 2001, none of his films are worth watching even once. Having Spielberg do it might be an improvement, but he's gotten so big-headed with his status as an 'auteur' that I'll wait for somebody I trust to go see it first.
The movie followed the book to closely: (1) too heavy on ideas, (2) too short on action, (3) way too many subplots (and duration). Many families with kids walked out early and I got a sore butt.
Speilberg won't make these mistakes.
Hey, if you're going to play that game, you'll have to go back to at least 1865, if not earlier. Don't you diss on my boy Jules Verne !
ObAI: I have trouble with most AI movies. They usually start with the premise that this is the first AI ever built, that it was built in secret by a small team, and that either it's in a perfectly human body, or we're attaching a whole lot of guns to it and we're sure it won't go berserk. That does bad things to my suspension of disbelief.
True, up to a point. Kubrick accepted a deal from Warner Brothers: shoot a film with Cruise and Kidman first, and the money for AI would follow. AI's projected budget was very high, and Kubrick had not made money for anyone in some time...
;)
The choice of Traumnovelle was not accidental --he'd considered adapting it since the 1970s -- but he didn't merely "decide to adapt Traumnovelle first" and then do AI. We take a girl out for dinner before getting laid, but that doesn't mean we like eating first.
Actually, my wife (read: very non-geek, not into computers or techonology at all) was intrigued by the trailer simply because it wasn't a might-as-well-not-go-see-the-movie-because-you-jus t-saw-most-of-it-here trailer. We both are sick and tired of knowing what will happen during the entire movie simply because we sat through a trailer or teaser.
P.S. Kubrick movies ALWAYS have the best trailers... he always did his own.
The Englishman Who Came to a Concert
"Any connection between your reality and mine is purely coincidental." -Slashdot
Anther little known fact is that Science Fiction writer Ian Watson, author of The Embedding and many other excellent novels, worked with Kubrick on the script.
Never express yourself more clearly than you are able to think. --Niels Bohr
CmdrTaco said: "I wish I could see this thing..." My suggestion: Why don't all of us Quicktimeless users send messages to Sony asking them to put the trailer up in a more accessible format (MPEG, perhaps?)
I actually think that this book is really boring. I'll be happy to send it to anyone who's willing to pay for the S&H. I have the Warner Books hard cover edition, circa 1993. Mint condition--I couldn't read past the 20th page. No dust cover, though. It's been on my shelf since.
Send me an e-mail if you want the book.
Ehttp://eugeneciurana.com | http://ciurana.eu
CmdrTaco is not one of those people. He has talked about spending time playing "Diablo II" on occasion, which would certainly require him to boot into Win9x. The notion that he "can't" see this trailer because it's in Quicktime is nothing but stupid posturing. He's full of shit. If he really wanted to see it as much as he obviously wanted to play Diablo II, he would boot into Win9x and watch it.
Free Hans!
Spielberg makes mass market crap. Kubrick, like him or not, made artistic movies, some of which even made ya' think - and even if they didn't, they were beautiful. Spielberg can only manage to pander to the "masses," and line his pockets with lowest-common-denominator crap.
Read a quote somewhere (paraphrasing horribly, I'm sure): "If you don't make The People think, they'll hate you. If you make The People think, they'll hate you. But if you make The People _think_ they're thinking, they'll love you." Thus, the love of Spielberg.
Besides, without Kubrick's rare and independent concepts and visions, does anyone think this won't just be a rehash of the most basic aspects of Bladerunner or the like?
I wish I could see this thing aswell...but not just the trailer
I wish I could install a sorenson codec from Debian stable (not non-free)...but it's not going to happen
I wish I could go into the cinema to watch this...but it's not going to happen
I wish I could buy or rent a DVD or Video when it is released...but it's not going to happen
In fact I will see this film when:
- I'm in a friends where they are watching it
- One of my local free to air stations shows it
I guess I'll see the trailer before then though just to make it a bit more painful.Never underestimate the dark side of the Source
How do you all play the cool games? In WINE?
Like it's been stated before: Its time the Slashdot crew wratched up its professionalism and drop the anti-MS crusade once and for all.
due to bandwidth limitations i haven't been able to view the trailer yet, so i don't know if these robots were the ones from the video. but this is the story i heard from someone in the film/music-video biz, and it's pretty interesting anyway.
anybody know anything more specific or contradictory or...?
This Like That - fun with words!
"What? No explosions or car chases! That sucks!"
Actually it was in the late 60s and early 70s that Kubrick researched "Napolean". I had never heard of it until I read this Salon article about it. It's too bad, just tragic really, that he never made the film.
Free Hans!
Well, when some people believe in something, they actually stand by it. It's called having convictions.
I play all the cool Loki games. I don't use WINE.
/. gained it's popularity in part because of it's anti-Microsoft stance. They should not "drop the crusade" - maybe you should try going to a historically Microsoft-friendly place if you want to feel more at-home.
Look out honey, 'cause I'm using technology; Ain't got time to make no apology
The last two or three movies I've seen have had this very same trailer at the beginning. I doesn't show any of the movie either.
I'd rather a trailer be slow than have it give everything away. Geez, now there is probably some marketing guy reading your comment splicing together a trailer with the special suprise ending. Gotta get peoples attention. Thanks alot.
Kubrick is dead. Nothing we can do can bring him back. What we can say is only an inadequate expression of what we carry in our hearts. Words pale in the shadow of grief; they seem insufficient even to measure the brave sacrifice of this great director. Their truest testimony will not be in the words we speak, but in the way he led his life and in the way he spent his life -- with dedication, honor and an unquenchable desire to explore this mysterious and beautiful universe through the lens of his camera.
The best we can do is remember Stanley; remember him as he lived, bringing life and love and joy to those who knew him and pride to a nation of cinema goers.
The way not to remember Stanley is to give his unfinished films to Spielberg to finish. What's done is done, and what's passed is passed. When Kubrick died, he never wished for others to bastardize his work. He was a visionary, one of the best directors of this century (and consequently, of all time), and to entrust his vision with a second-rate charlatan like Spielberg would be like giving Schubert's unfinished symphony to Yanni to complete. There are some things never to be done in this world.
Anyone who gives pays Sony's admission price to see this film is committing an abomination against Kubrick's art. AA Milne didn't intend Winnie the Pooh to be Disney's cash cow, and Kubrick didn't intend A.I. to be finished after his death. It mocks his death and mocks the life he led which we cherish so dearly.
What you do has consequences. The way you treat wronghoods in this world has important meaning for how others will commit wrongs anew. You know in your heart what is best, so don't debase it by giving in to oppression, however small it may seem or however insignificant it may appear. No evil is too insignificant to go unnoticed. We must respect Kubrick's wishes, because if we do not, then we cannot claim to have respected Kubrick himself. That is all.
Read the rest of this comment...
I you want to see the trailer, get yourself a computer that will let you watch it. I'm sure you can afford it, and we're all tired of hearing you whine about quicktime trailers. If you're worried about the Slashdot readers thinking less of you, consider two points:
1. After years of being assulted by your poor spelling, grammer, and the general flaimbait nature of your posts, we couldn't possibly think any less of you.
2. Who cares what slashdot readers think of you, anyway?
Well I have Quicktime here, but for some reason, it didn't want to work. So, for those who need it, here is the AI movie trailer for RealPlayer
Here are some other related nuggets.
"Super-Toys Last All Summer Long" - By Brian Aldiss (AI is based on this short story)
"Frog Crisis" - A multi-part animated series, also based on Aldiss' story, by Greg Hyland [Creator of the Lethargic Lad comic]
"We don't stop playing because we grow old. We grow old because we stop playing."
It's small but you can find a copy that will play on RealPlayer here.
Cypherpunks: Civil Liberty Through Complex Mathematics. Those who live by the sword die by the arrow.
HERE
Free Techno/Jazz/DNB/MI Music by guys obsessed with monkeys!
I would believe that, if every second word that Taco typed wasn't spelled wrong. I thought of "AI" when I saw it, but it seemed a little too clever for him to think of.
--
Just to name a few of the dozens of movies he's directed.
"Mind, as manifested by the capacity to make choices, is to some extent present in every electron." -Freeman Dyson
I believe you're thinking of Bjork's video for All Is Full of Love, directed by the amazing Chris Cunningham.
(all i found of the video was a low-quality 30-sec. clip, but i didn't look that hard...)
#define F(x) int main(){printf(#x,10,#x);}
F(#define F(x) int main(){printf(#x,10,#x);}%cF(%s))
honestly, it depends on the film. Kubrick put years of effort into the pre-production aspects of it, and had it pretty much done. My understanding is that he had *everything* planned as to how to film it.
p.s. you might not want to say that to anybody that ever poured their heart out into a script
#define F(x) int main(){printf(#x,10,#x);}
F(#define F(x) int main(){printf(#x,10,#x);}%cF(%s))
I had the exact same reaction.
He decided to adapt Traumnovelle first, and it became Eyes Wide Shut. However, days after completing that project, he died.
I'm sure you meant "days after completing his first cut of that film, weeks or perhaps months before completing it to his (notoriously exacting) satisfaction, he died." It's OK, typos happen.
I am glad Spielberg chose to make this film, it has the potential to be great. His take on it will be necessarily different. I'm sure I would have preferred Kubrick's, but the public seem to prefer Spielberg's style -- he has more heart (usually so much that everything gets gooey and starts to squish) and every bit of the cinematic flair, if not the relentless cerebrality of Kubrick's best.
I think I just invented the word "cerebrality". It pleases me.
Kook9 out.
didnt even read the above post, but seeing its title reminded me what a poor piece of trash Eyes Wide Shut was... blech. To quote the theme song from its trailer: "I saw a bad bad movie..."
I don't know, just the fact that it stars Haley Joel Osmene turns me right off...
I'll bet most of the actors predicted for the original roles are dead by now. Hmm A Sci-fi movie starring George C Scott, Walter Mathou, and Charlton Heston(oh wait we just wish he was dead).
Oh well, you can't go wrong with Kubrick, even Barry Lindon was partially interesting..
I have no gate key
They stuck me in an institution, said it was the only solution, to...protect me from the enemy, myself
No, he spent the last twenty years researching the films he wanted to make, as opposed to spending the Hollywood average of 20 minutes.
He did a lot of work on a project about Napolean in the 80's, but then decided against for lack of whatever it would take to make a good enough movie out of it. Then he spent the rest of his time researching for "AI", with a short (5 year?) break to put "Eyes Wide Shut" together exactly as it needed to be, only to have it edited at the last minute after his death.
I've heard that he had extensive talks with Spielberg about "AI", so I'm not completely aghast that such an opposite filmmaker (Kubrick != Spielberg) is taking the helm. Kubrick probably realized what one of the above trolls did, that "AI" may have to be a story about humanization and hence material for the biggest sappiest money-makingest (though still directorily free) director in Hollywood. At least that's what I hope, cuz if Spielberg wasn't right for this project, all I have left in my Kubrick waitlist is a glimmer of hope for an unedited "Eyes Wide Shut" DVD and the off chance that Criterion will ever finish their "Spartacus" DVD with some semblance of Kubrick's final cut in there.
-Not So Annonymous Kubrick Devotee
whassum matters cmdrtac-y wac-y hissums widdle winux machine can't view the widdle quicktime?
And I mean come on... Our presidential debate, and nobody is even allowed to address their opponent. "Debate" my red American butt. Look at the Brits in parliament! If they have something to say, they bloody stand up and speak their mind! It's great to watch, anyone who hasn't is really missing out. Dubya says some idiotic thing, and we all try and play along, "He's not REALLY a moron... Seriously... No, he really got to where he was on his own merits, HONESTLY.. Give him a chance.. YES HE DOES have a mandate...." Over there, you make an idiot of yourself and the whole place erupts in laughter, and you have to actually *defend* yourself and your ideas. Hey, the Brits may be a bunch of pansies, but GEEZ, what have we become?! In the words of.. that guy, in.. that movie... "I weep for the future."
Hey, I'm proud of my country. But DAGNABBIT, BRING BACK THE BRITS on Junkyard Wars! Geez!
Ok, that's kinda out of my system now.. Um.. What were we talking about? AI? Um.. Well the site is Slashdat (the past-tense of the verb "to Slashdot", of course) but is it just the same trailer they had in the theaters months ago? It didn't show jack squat about the movie.. Oh well. I'm sure I'll see it anyway.
And what's this "I wish I could see this thing.. I'm really excited about the movie," Taco? What a hypocrite. Get a life already!
Hmm... "Get a life.." The irony....
The streets shall flow with the blood of the Guberminky.
I can just imagine the human race subjegated by Eliza.
US>We want our Freedom
AI>Why do you want our Freedom?
US>Umm... you have your freedom, but where's ours?
AI>I'll ask the questions, How was your day today?
US> *sound of 9mm slide being pulled back, a sharp explosion, and something a split second later that sounds like wet oatmeal hitting concrete*
Best Movie Ever
I saw a movie named DARRYL o something, was about a kid with a silicon based brain who escape from the lab and start to relate with real people.
The movie was centered into his feelings.
I'm talking about the '80s... I wonder what has this movie of novel.
(I'm sorry about the spelling)
I really think this sucks. Kubrick was the guy who took years to finish his movies. Now not even two years after he's died, Spielberg, the king of fastfood movies, finishes his next film in two years. This is sacrilege !
a dults ?Is the soundtrack yet another from John Williams ?
Is the producer Jerry Bruckenheimer ? Does Tom Hanks play in it ? Does it have an happy end ? Are there stupid kids-with-the-cute-pet-dog-that-are-smarter-than-
Actually, you're right. Never saw it, though I have been meaning to for quite a while. I have the trailer for it, looks quite bizzare, and from what I hear it's quite a classic.
Is it out on DVD? I'll have to look for it, my roomate says it was great.
-Space for rent
Yes, a review would be good, and anybody who finds a source for this book in the US or UK, let us all know...
In a similar vein, "Slant" by Greg Bear, is a weighty tome, but includes some excellent AI storylines, and to keep the true Slashdotter happy, there's a whole heap of nano-technology thrown in with some excellent medical-nano and war-machine-nano to keep you happy, with an underlying plot about the mental development of two entirely different and both quite incerdible AIs.
--
Enjoy Y2K? Roll-on Year 2037!
Yeah! When I saw ads for Schindler's List and Saving Private Ryan, I thought "Those must be like E.T.! Lets go see it!"...
Just because you can mod me down, doesn't mean you're right. Shoes for industry!
Ok, I may get flame bait for this, but I don't care:
I learned of AI during the January edition Of Wired '97. This is something I have been waiting for for 5 years, and am not going to let anyone spoil it for me. I hope Stanley get the lifetime achement this year at the oscars. It would be perfect. 2001? Even Aurthor C. Clark said it should be this way.
On a personal note, I watched Eyes wide shut in the the theater and loved it. Three hours without blinking. It was Episode I all over again.
This is a possible great movie, and look at Spielberg's movies from a movie maker's standpoint. He may make commercial films, but deep down, he want's to make great movies. That is why AI will probally be great.
Score me as I want, but you need to look at all of Kubricks movies from a standpoint of "How the hell did he do that?"
PS: I am not going to watch Barry Lindon yet, and am not going to until I'm on my death bed. I still want one thing to look forward to.
Alas, poor clippy, I loath him so.
One thing that irked me when I first saw the A.I. poster in the theatre was that Kubrick was listed only as a producer. I mean, come on, he had worked twenty years on the damn thing... (and not even a real producer- A Stanley Kubrick Production- he's not a damn production company.)
After an argument with a friend, I realized that it actually made some sense though... Kubrick was the genesis of the project, he got the rights to the story and started the initial work... I dunno, I just think he deserves a little more.
And to all the people making the Bicenntenial Man cracks... Robin Williams is narrating this one. Can't keep the good boy down.
// Jay Laney
Now this is definately good news. Too bad I can't use quicktime here, I have to wait till I get home to watch the trailer. ;-)
I've always been big in AI, my first programming experiences were with modifying some of the simpler games on my old apple ][e
It'd be interesting to see how deep into AI the movie goes; I doubt that it'll go into anything even remotely like what they teach in the AI intro classes, but hopefully they'll still keep it accurate enough to keep those who know what it's all about happy. Nothing's more annying than a movie that gets just about everything wrong, (*COUGH*Hackers*COUGH*The Net*COUGH*)
Also curious about what effect Spielburg's taking the reins will have on the overall outlook. I hated just about all of Kubrick's films, with the exceptions of 2001 and The Shining, but it's also hard to see a movie like this coming from Spielburg. It's definately got my attention...
-Space for rent
Anyone dissing Spielberg is displaying ignorance. He is one of the 10 best American directors ever. This is measured by the effectiveness of his conveying his story by motion pictures, at which he is absolutely masterful. Some of his earlier choices of stories are less than adult, but his ability to engage the ensemble of hundreds of artisans in the direction of his artistic vision is unmatched. Watch the Color Purple, Duel, Jaws, Saving Private Ryan and Schindler's List again. It admittedly lacks the art house subtlety of Kubrick's work, but very few people found Kubrick's stories accessible because of their themetic complexity. I gather from some of the posts that the vast majority of people do understand that the director is a traffic cop for the hundreds of artists. Kubrick's style was to fiddle and faddle and tweak endlessly before shooting began, usually in the form of tests,research and notes. All of this should be available to the next director, presumably Spielberg, who will probably use almost all of it. It may be a once in history opportunity for someone of Speilbergs skills to learn what Kubrick was doing and improve all his future films. As for the notion that it won't be a real Kubrick film, so what? What are we deprived of? The two hours we spend watching it if it busts?
Is this movie gonna be like D.A.R.Y.L.? I loved that movie. Especially the part where he was flying the SR-71 across the U.S.
Data Analyzing Robot Youth Lifeform
Execute? [Y/N] _
Why not invest in this movie? Go here to put your HSX dollars in it and become stinking rich.
Remember, this is both Kubrick and Spielberg we're talking about here. Kubrick has the great story touch, Spielberg the great Box Office Touch(tm).
-Cyc
/.'s 10 Millionth
hmmm..I wonder how many actors they went through the entire production time.
One question though:
Who gets the product placement rights? Will it be Intel? Will he say "Intel inside"?
Will Sun make a comeback and have the child say "I am his Sun"
Maybe Moto can steal a march and have him say, "Well, it was a RISC to build me, but I think it was a success".
A sig?!? I don't think so.....
Were Kubrick alive and making it, I would look forward to it. Spielberg, however, does not have the talent that Kubrick had in his little finger.
The signs already are bad: Spielberg got one of his favourite cute, towheaded child actors to play the lead, no doubt tugging the heart-strings of the audience in the syrupy, shallowly emotive style that is Spielberg's trademark.
Spielberg is a master of marketing and mass entertainment, but he is not an artist. His films are throwaway schlock. Even his "serious" films, like Saving Private Ryan and Amistad, don't say anything challenging or thought-provoking, but just mouth simplistic platitudes.
There is no way that AI will be even one tenth of the film Kubrick had in mind. Chances are it will be as banal and dumbed-down as the rest of Spielberg's output.
Please do me a favor, if you see A.I., let me know if it has any of Kubrick's interminably long "signature" shots (you know, where the camera points at the same goddamn thing for two minutes straight.) I wanted to kill myself during A Clockwork Orange...
---
evil adrian
evil adrian
The book "The Turing Option" by Harry Harrison and Marvin Minsky would also make a good movie. It is a book using Minsky's theories and ideas of AI with a great storyline. Mr. Minsky wrote me and said that at one time it was under option to be made but interest was lost (no money). If anyone wants a good read find this book. It is out of print but you should be able to find it used. Mr. Minsky also has extra chapters at his personal
/. in a few weeks.
web page.
If there is interest, I am rereading the book and would do write a review for
When Spielberg started out, he was really a horror/sci-fi director. He made that short film based on the Richard Matheson story, Jaws, Close Encounters, etc. No matter how successful Spielberg has become, I believe that his roots still lie in what major media would call B-movie schlock.
I was so focused on his upcoming adaption of Philip K. Dick's "The Minority Report" that i didn't realize Spielberg was actually doing A.I. I knew Kubrick was thinking of having Spielberg do the movie from the previously prepared storyboards, but that was the last i heard of it until now.
A.I. sounds cool (damn quicktime. i want to see the trailer, too), but as a newly-initiated PKD fan, i'm looking forweard to "The Minority Report" more.
#define F(x) int main(){printf(#x,10,#x);}
F(#define F(x) int main(){printf(#x,10,#x);}%cF(%s))
> such sensible leaders as George W. Bush Ha ha.
Easy does it!
This comment has been submitted already, 276865 hours , 59 minutes ago. No need to try again.
A little-known fact about A.I. is that Kubrick was initially working with Chris Cunningham on it. Cunningham (a film prodigy who designed creatures for Clive Barker's Nightbreed at age 16) is best-known for directing several music videos, including ones for Aphex Twin (Come to Daddy and Windowlicker), Bjork (All is Full of Love), Madonna (Frozen), Squarepusher (Come on My Selector), Portishead (Only You), Leftfield (Africa Shoxx), and several Auteurs videos.
Cunningham was working with Kubrick on A.I. for about a year and a half, and now he's working on a film version of Gibson's Neuromancer. Personally, I can't think of anyone who I'd rather have work on Neuromancer, especially since I'm sure Cunningham would kill anyone who even suggested he make it like that POS Johnny Mnemonic. It's too bad that he didn't continue work on A.I., as his artistic style could have doubtless made it a mind-blowing experience.
---
4-star general in a one-man army.
Quoth CmdrTaco:
Indeed.. Well, considering the fact that the new Linux distributions are coming with XFree86 4.0, which has built-in YUV->RGB conversion support through the XVideo extension, I think it may be yet again time to campaign for a QuickTime client for Linux. Maybe something will happen once MacOS X comes out, since it's based on BSD. I suppose I shouldn't hold my breath..
--
i recall reading (not sure where, though) that Kubrick had already done a lot for A.I. himself, and just about all that was left was the transferrence of his ideas to film, via the whole filming process, plus casting, scouting and all that mess. he even had storyboards done (a rarity for kubrick.)
in the mid-90's he found himself in a position where he had to make a choice. There were two movies he wanted to make: an adaption of Arthur Schnitzler's Traumnovelle, and A.I. He decided to adapt Traumnovelle first, and it became Eyes Wide Shut. However, days after completing that project, he died.
However, before he died, he decided to pass the film, storyboards, and all of that on to Spielberg for him to complete the work on what had been his project for so many years. It *was* his intention for the film to be completed, and he realized he couldn't do it. He just chose somebody else to work on it in his place.
#define F(x) int main(){printf(#x,10,#x);}
F(#define F(x) int main(){printf(#x,10,#x);}%cF(%s))
Lessee... the original story had what, one character? This movie has 9, 10, whatever people cast?
Voice-over by Robin Fucking Williams?
If you're looking forward to watching an over-hyped mediocre-talented director butcher what would have been a great work, then you'll be in for much amusement.
However, if you're a fan of Kubrick, or decent filmmaking in general, then hang your head in shame and hope Stanley's not too occupied rolling over in his grave.
It'll be a sad day when this fluffed up butchered crap hits the screens.
jack's bicycle is music to my ears
Why would we be "lucky" if crowds flock to this movie. I'd prefer that they bugger off and stay home so I can sit where I want.
Do I really want to improve the chances that some jackass will be kicking the back of my seat?
Could someone please convert that trailer into MPEG? Everyone does not have a QT viewer...
--The knowledge that you are an idiot, is what distinguishes you from one.
do i sense a double standard. "QT movies are where I will make my stand against the evil Windows claims Commando "hipicrito" taco....errr...Diablo 2 does not count...excuse me...thats like my dad telling me between puffs that smoking will kill me...
Alas -- not even Diablo II is worth keeping Windows in my house...errr...if I wanted to play games I could buy a NIntendo or PS2 or Dreamcast...But for my tastes...xmame works fine thank you...
(+1 Funny) only if I laugh out loud.
Submitted but rejected. I saw a poster for a movie this weekend that had some pretty detailed rendering of the character faces. The trailer looks like it might be an entertaining movie. Check it out at www.shrek.com.
LetterJ
Head Geek
The Glass is Too Big: My Take on Things
CmdrTaco's spell check must be broken again.
Or he doesn't care.
Get some pride in your damn site, Taco.
I'm pretty sure I saw this teaser last fall.
I am really getting tired of people insulting the intelligence of the average person. The average person might not try when they don't have to or care about computers, but people like intelligent movies. The sixth sense is the ninth highest grossing movie of all time. The usual suspects is a modern classic. The matrix has action, but also questions reality. Star wars is about the conflict between good and evil and is on an epic scale. Fight Club is about separation from the norms of society with ties to budist philosophy. There are many many movies that are succesful because they are intelligent and many that are not because they are blatant explosion saturated and without real sustanence. Do you really think that you are that different from everyone else?
This Wiki Feeds You TV and Anime - vidwiki.org
Note that "cerebral" is not a synonym for any of those qualities.
News for Nerds. Stuff that Matters? Like hell.
The original Brian Aldiss short story, Super-Toys Last All Summer Long is avalible from Wired. It was originally published as part of the Kubrick / AI hype back in '97 when I read it on dead tree. I've been looking forward to the movie since then, and will see it even if Speilberg ruins it, just out of respect for the original. If you're into AI / Scifi / Futurism, you owe it to yourself to give it a read.
"Laugh hard, it's a long way to the bank." --TMBG
I saw the trailer for this while waiting for Cast Away to start.
It just looked like a remake of D.A.R.Y.L.
The music was neat, very Pink Floydish. And I liked the way they did the title at the end.
Maybe if we're lucky, crowds will see the Spielberg name and think "Oh, A.I.? That must be like E.T.! Let's go see it!" And the sad thing is I'm not trying to be funny.
www.HearMySoulSpeak.com
Here is a mpeg of the A.I. trailer.
For better or worse, the AI-enhanced candidate was sent home to a state he didn't carry.
There's a bit from "Insider" at This Site. It explains how Haley Joel Osmond is starring in the movie, and offers a brief and slightly higher resolution clip from the teaser.
-Erik