Slashdot Mirror
Will Smith as I, Robot
BuR4N writes "It looks like Asimov's sci-fi classic, I Robot, is going to be a movie. Shooting starts April next year staring Will Smith and directed by Alex Proyas (Dark City and The Crow).
Being a huge Asimov fan I have not made up my mind if this is a good or bad thing.
"
I'm definitely looking forward to the movie. I just hope that the casting is done right.
:)
Time to brush off my old Alan Parsons Project and have a listen, too.
I'm not sure the Asimov-worlds my mind has made can coexist with Hollywood ones though.
it's in my head
Let's just hope he doesn't say the robot equivalent of "I make this look good!"
Let's hope Will Smmith does the story justice. Any reason to think he won't ??
$ strings FTP.EXE | grep Copyright
@(#) Copyright (c) 1983 The Regents of the University of California.
I'd say that 'I, Robot' augth to be far more serious that MIB or any other movie Smith has starred, so I'll bracing myself for a big disapointment. But, hopefully, I'm wrong!
It sounds like the actual script and plot will have very little to do with any of the stories in the book. Rather, Fox is using Asimov's name to sell what is likely to be a mediocre movie. Will Smith can be entertaining, but Crap made from crap is still crap. Boy I hope this isn't as bad as I think it will be. They who know me, know me. They who do not shall.
Never underestimate the potential of Human stupidity. -Heinlein
When a movie comes out based on a book, it stirs people to read the book. If the movie never came out, then those people would never read it.
Outdoor digital photography, mostly in New Engl
If so, WHICH one of them? Like all of Asimov's writing, some of it is very good and some of it is less good.
Because it seems like he's rapped about every other one too (Men in Black, Wild Wild West, etc). I wonder what it will sound like, and will it have 'ha ha, ha ha' at the end of every line.
First Law:
A robot may not injure a human being, or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.
Second Law:
A robot must obey orders given it by human beings, except where such orders would conflict with the First Law.
Third Law:
A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law
Fourth Law:
???
Fifth Law:
Profit !!!
As a real Asimov fan (I even named my daughter Bliss after the character in Foundation's Edge and Foundation and Earth) I'm still surprised no one has taken the Foundation series and brought it to the screen. It seems such a natural movie script, with at least four or five great movies to pull out of the series.
Anyone know why it has never been proposed as a project by Hollywood?
"The pie shall be cut in half and each man shall receive.....death. I'll eat the pie."
Is it just me or does Will Smith seem like a very bad choice for this film?
I'm a big Asimov fan (robot/foundation series), but I really can't see Will Smith playing in this. Even in his most serious films (have not seen Ali yet, so I don't know about that one) he's often playing a comic character, and this doesn't exactly fit in the "I Robot" story.
Anybody else that have read the book(s) that like to comment on this?
--
\ Christian A Strømmen
Smith can be entertaining to watch but I just can't imagine his hyperactive persona portraying a robot with any of the dignity Asimov ascribed to them.
Certainly, I can't see him matching Haley Joel Osment's performance in AI.
The article mentions that the film adaption is going to basically be a murder mystery, I just hope that Smith is going to play the cop/private dick/whatever rather than one of Asimov's real stars.
Shooting starts April 2003? Not soon enough! But seriously, I loved the original stories and for all Will Smith is annoying, I think he could pull of the detective roll pretty well.
The inevitable chart song, however, seems a different story...
Plus: Alex Proyas (Dark City, The Crow)
Minus: Will Smith
Plus: Asimov premise
Minus: Hollywood adaptation
Plus: Will Smith as a robot wouldn't strain his acting ability
Minus: Smith might play the human
Plus: clever ideas, cool story
Minus: probably will be shot as a scifi/comedy
This could be interesting. For the love of god, though, don't let Will Smith play his "normal" character (remember Wild Wild West? That was supposed to be Jim West?). Give him someone else to play - we know he can act, even if he chooses not to.
"Sometimes a woman is a kind of religion, she can save your soul & set you free from all your sins" - Bad Examples
from the article: The movie is a futuristic thriller in which a detective investigates a crime that might have been perpetrated by a robot, even though that seems an impossibility given those three prevailing rules.
Doesn't this sound more like Caves of Steel?
Interestingly, Caves of Steel has been made into a TV movie before
At least it's better than Robin Williams, who made me singlehandedly not watch Bicentennial Man, no matter how much of an Asimov fan I am.
I still think this is going to suck, but at least I might watch this one...
Man. I understand your mixed feelings on this one. It's like being a Judge Dredd fan and wathing Stallone unmask and otherwise butcher a legend. Considering Smith's recent work, I have the feeling I must miss this one, as I just can't see him doing a good serious acting job. Can anyone vouch a good bit of dramatic work he's actually done? Seems like a blunder in the making.
Now Wil Wheaton, that's another story ;-)
A feeling of having made the same mistake before: Deja Foobar
"I, Robot" is as much a philosophical discussion as it is a Sci-Fi book.
I doubt Holywood will do it justice.
With Will Smith starring, the movie will probably turn out to be a comedy-action flick, and will not do justice to the original.
Oh, well, we'll see...
As HAL is killing the astronauts
Asimov: "They're violating the three laws of robotics!"
Clark: "So strike them down with lightning, Issac."
Kind of tells you something about the two of them, doesn't it?
The simple truth is that interstellar distances will not fit into the human imagination
- Douglas Adams
The article doesn't say what role Smith will be playing, but it says the plot will revolve around a detective investigating a murder. The robots in I, Robot aren't humaniform, so odds are Smith will be playing the detective.
Cheers,
-j.
Which robot is Will Smith playing? If I remember, there is at least 9 different main robots in `I, Robot', one for each story: Bobbie, Reason, Liar!, Runaround, Catch That Rabbit, Escape, Evidence, Little Lost Robot, and The Evitable Conflict...
Luke-Jr
Basically Fox bought the rights, transplanted the name onto an existing script and then added a few elements from the book to avoid rejection. Either that or the script was a complete rip-off of the book anyway that they just brought in a few elements that were missing....
Only time and release schedules will tell.
Patriotism is the opium of the masses
"Wild, Wild West"
Wil Smith totally ruined that movie. I hope he doesn't ruin this one (but I'm not holding my breath).
Ed Wedig
Graphic design services
docbrown.net
"Yo homes to Bel-Air!"
They're not using Harlan Ellison's script. So I expect that this will suck rocks.
Tom Swiss | the infamous tms | my blog
You cannot wash away blood with blood
Back in 1989, when Michael Keaton was cast for Tim Burton's Batman? And after the franchise has run its course, Keaton is arguably the best of the "Dark Knight" movie versions.
Will Smith has done great drama like "Six Degrees of Separation" (and tried again in "The Legend of Bagger Vance"), so I recognize the potential.
Will Smith will not make or break the movie on his own. Alex Proyas gives me high hopes, and it's still up in the air who will co-star (Joanne Woodward was envisioned when Ellison wrote his version of the screenplay).
Also:
The project originated as "Hardwired," a futuristic script by Jeff Vintar that was amalgamated with elements of "I, Robot" when Fox bought rights to Asimov's landmark book. Subsequent drafts of the script have been done by Hillary Seitz ("Insomnia") and Oscar-winning "A Beautiful Mind" scribe Akiva Goldsman, who wrote the last draft and is expected to be a prevailing presence on the picture.
This script has much parentage, and whether it meshes together as something worthwhile is still a big question.
Mod Karma -1: I sed bad wurds. If I cep my mouf shut, I wud be at riyses.
There has been a screenplay for a movie of I. Robot around for a long time. I've owned it for at least 5 years, the book is at my home (I'm in college) or I'd tell you who published it and what not. I'm sure you can find it on Amazon. But after reading it I can assure you that if the movie they are making follows that screenplay you are in for a high quality movie.
The GeekNights podcast is going strong. Listen!
Scoop Feedback:
December 8, 1998... We heard of the title and the gist of the story before, but with the script stuck in turnaround there was nothing to report on. Then this email rolled onto our hard drive:
"20th Century Fox just picked this script up in turnaround from Walt Disney. It's an old-fashioned murder mystery, really, sort of like an Agatha Christie, I guess. Except that all of the suspects in the murder are artificial intelligences of varying degrees of intelligence. A pretty dog-gone cool idea. Bryan Singer was attached to direct at Disney, with Laurence Mark producing, although that may change now. Still, a cool project resurrected by Fox, from a spec script sale by Jeff Vintar from a few years back. Might be worth keeping an eye on?"
If Fox has picked up the project then things might warm up a bit. We'll keep our ears open for anything. [Scooped by anonymous.]
February 9, 1999... Last Friday we were told that the week before director Alex Proyas (Dark City, The Crow) had been on the Twentieth Century Fox lot "talking about doing a sci-fi project for Fox, something about computers, I don't know which project, but it looks like he's signing on," our scooper told us.
The next day we were then hailed by one of our known contacts that indeed Proyas had been shuttling around the Fox lot because he was signing the contract to direct Hardwired. Andrew Mason and Laurence Mark are the producers. We've no idea if Proyas is shooting with Vintar's present script or a rewrite. Fox is expected to make the Hardwired announcement soon...but now you have something to talk about at the water cooler. [Two anonymous sources will receive Valentine's Day cards from us.]
February 18, 1999... A reader's review of the Vintar script has arrived in our Inbox...
"I was very excited to read your latest scoop regarding Alex Proyas signing on to direct Hard Wired. This script has been sitting on my desk for over a year now, and it's one of the best original sci-fi screenplays I've read -- it baffles me that it's taken so long for it to move up the production chain.
"Basically, Hard Wired is a futuristic murder mystery that reads a lot like a stage play - only a handful of principal characters, and the whole story takes place in just a few rooms inside the same building (although it could never actually be a play because some of the visuals are just too far out). The story surrounds the murder of a renowned research scientist where the prime suspects are a robot and an AI computer. Or maybe it was a suicide. Who knows? A detective from the FBI's AI division is assigned to investigate, and a very convoluted and clever mystery unfolds. All they need to do is change the name of the main character (FBI agent Del Spooner - yuk) and they'll have a winner on their hands. I hope this one makes it onto the screen just as it is on the page, because it's a terrific screenplay. Geeks everywhere should wish this one luck..."
[Script review tendered by 'Agent 4125'.]
March 30, 1999... One of our name-withheld sources gave us a quick update as to why we haven't heard any announcement that Alex Proyas would be the film's new director: "Bryan Singer does not want to give up his contractual right to follow this project from its turnaround at Disney to Fox. Lots of embarrassed faces all around--and disappointed ones--now that Fox is unable to pursue the film immediately with Proyas. A terrific project falls back into limbo for the indefinite future...." [Anonymous.]
February 2, 2000... We were wondering if we'd ever find out what happened to Proyas' involvement with Hardwired...and our scooper's returned to tell us the latest:
"Alex Proyas is in Los Angeles shooting a short project, and also meeting with executives on Hardwired, which is expected be his next film. Work on the final shooting script begins in February."
[Credit anonymous.]
March 8, 2000... Here's the scoop from a new face we haven't seen before, 'The Robot Fighter':
"Fox is sending Vintar to Australia to work on a production polish of Hardwired with Alex Proyas. Hopes are high that this will go before the cameras soon. Fans of this sceenplay should be pleased!
"By the way, the new producer on deck is Christopher Dow, replacing Andrew Mason, who no longer works with Mr. Proyas. That is in addition to Laurence Mark, who had this project set up once at Disney."
[Like we said, 'The Robot Fighter' is the guy who sent this one in.]
May 22, 2000... Okay, it's a bit odd, but Fox Foxey wants to tell you where they are with this one. The Vintar bit we knew about, but the second half of this--the part dealing with Asimov--is kinda wild. See for yourself:
"I understand that Vintar will be writing a second draft (the first being his original spec) this summer, and that Fox and Proyas would like to film by the end of the year, or early in 2001. It depends in part on whether or not Proyas and company can whip their Masque of the Red Death script into shape, which Proyas was supposed to direct first, with Hardwired coming right after.
"Another wrinkle is that Fox is negotiating for the rights to the title I, Robot in the hope of producing a series of robot films.
"The studio feels that the Hardwired spec makes for a far better film story than an adaptation of the Asimov stories would be, and is planning to rename this project I, Robot, and I guess insert Susan Calvin and other Asimov elements into the script! So this would be the first film in the I, Robot series, which would presumably begin to adapt the actual Asimov stories in the first sequel. Sort of weird, but....
"If you read the spec, which was sold way back in 1995 to Hollywood Pictures with Bryan Singer originally attached to direct, you know this isn't really a bad idea. Or at least, the story is intelligent and cool enough that you could see it happening.
"But if Fox doesn't get the Asimov rights, expect it to go ahead under its original title.... Anyways, this could be a big tent pole pic! Either way, the robots are coming in 2001, first in A.I., and then in Hardwired!"
Okay, that's a little strange. But we posted it here because that's how Lawnmower Man got made, so we know that Hollywood has such strangeness in them. There is precedent. [Fox Foxey did it.]
July 20, 2000... One of our faithful regulars sent word to us that Davis Entertainment is now coming aboard to help speed along this project. Word from our man is that Davis will be bringing the rights from an unmentioned Isacc Asimov property (Robots of Dawn, perhaps?)
The complete list of cast, as sent to us by our source:
Director: Alex Proyas
Writer: Jeff Vintar, based on his spec script, Hardwired; with characters & concepts from the short story collection by Isaac Asimov
Producers: Topher Dow, Mystery Clock Cinema;
Laurence Mark, Laurence Mark Productions;
John Davis, Davis Entertainment
Exec producer: Wyck Godfrey, Davis Entertainment
Fox execs: Peter Rice, Emma Watts
And it's supposed to be the first in a proposed series of robot films!
[Scooped by our anonymous friend.]
October 28, 2000... Our anonymous friend returns. And after all this talk, when we contacted other sources close to the production they merely said, "News coming soon." Here's sooner than soon.
"The producer deals are now done. Hardwired has now officially become the first film in Fox's proposed I, Robot film series, serving as a sort of prequel to the stories we know...A draft by Jeff Vintar should be in by the end of the year, based on the Hardwired spec script by Vintar, with some characters and concepts from the I, Robot short stories [I assume Susan Calvin and the Three Laws, but I don't know for sure]. Proyas will probably direct this as his next big studio feature. He is filming a small Australian comedy right now, something about a rock band, and I, Robot will probably be his next one, filming late in 2001 [no way they could make it before the proposed strikes, so I have to assume it will fall into the schedule soon after]. An interesting project to say the least with that popular spec [Bryan Singer was attached to make it for Hollywood Pictures before they went belly up], and of course the great Asimov properties, and with Alex Proyas!"
[Our anonymous friend strikes again.]
September 18, 2001... A robotic squirrel ran onto our ledge today and then proceeded to tell us the following:
"This film is very close to a greenlight now on Vintar's third draft. Proyas directing. I hear that Will Smith is considering signing on to play the male lead Detective. No word yet as to who might play Asimov's Doctor Calvin. The script is being guarded better than Fort Knox, but they say that it is true to both the original spec script while also being a cool intro to the 'I, Robot' world, and has a shot at being the best A.I. film ever made. [Not that this would be too hard after Bicentennial Man and A.I.!] Anyway, it all sounds hopeful. Producers on the project are Laurence Mark and John Davis. Expect this to film at Fox's Australia studios next spring!"
[We gave the chittering 'FoxMania' a couple of nuts, then he dashed away into the trees.]
Laurence Mark and John Davis are indeed producers working on the script, so that part of our furry friend's message checks out.
February 14, 2002... Our next scooper has been proven to be 100% legitimate. The last time they contacted CA, it was to tell us that Charlie's Angels director McG had been hired to helm Superman 5. That was in October 2001, and today the official announcement finally appeared in the industry trade magazine Variety. Need we say more about our scooper's credentials?
Today we'll spill what new information they've told us. Considering where this information comes from, we think it tells you precisely what's going on right now with the Hardwired movie project...and who might be cast as the movie's leading man.
"This film is getting ready to roll this fall at the Fox Sydney studies under the direction of Alex Proyas. Tentative start date is September. The studio is going out to cast soon, and you can expect them to start at the top, Tom Cruise, Russell Crowe, etc. The script is being guarded tightly, but those who have read it say it is just fantastic, and wonder if such a script can really make it through the studio without being dumbed down. Not an adaptation of any one Asimov story, based on an original script, but one that serves as a prequel and an introduction to Susan Calvin and the 'I, Robot' world. Design work on that world and the robots has already begun down under. Look for this at Christmas time, 2003. Remember you heard it from..."
[...our anonymous friend. And we thank you again, sir.]
February 19, 2002... While being interviewed by Moviehole, director Alex Proyas seemed to confirm what our inside sources have been telling us this past year. "[Hardwired] will probably be my next movie and we are hoping to start shooting before the end of this year," Proyas told the website. "The project is actually called I Robot and is based on the stories of Isaac Asimov. It's a murder mystery where the main suspect is an extremely advanced robot."
[Thanks to Clint at Moviehole.]
April 29, 2002... Don't blame the messenger; we're just telling you what we ourselves were told:
"Fox took a great script and gave it to the two geniuses responsible for last summer's Planet of the Apes disaster, Larry Rosenthal and Mark Konner. You can guess what happened. Everyone who read the original was thrilled. Anyone who reads this one is going to battle their gag reflex. Let's hope somebody in charge comes to their d--n senses, or this is going to be yet another piece a shit. Oh wait what I saying? This is Fox. The movie never had a chance...." [This timebomb left behind by 'Doom Patrol'.]
August 16, 2002... A new scooper tells us that a new production office has been set up at Fox Studios Australia for the next Alex Proyas project. "It's marked as I ROBOT and has car spaces for Antoine Simkine, Liz Keogh and Alex Proyas," writes our pal. "Looks very promising for I ROBOT kicking off in the near future." [That's the news from Kelvin.]
November 26, 2002... We've been doing this for a few years, so we've managed to forge relationships with some Hollywood insiders; people who know about this film stuff before we do, people we trust because what they've told us before has come to pass. People like our next scooper.
"Everyone in town knows Will Smith has been dancing around this project--once again--for weeks now," writes our red friend. "He'll have to make his final decision soon, as the project is still gearing up for a spring start." So how long with Fox let Smith go before he has to make that final decision?
[Name withheld.]
December 2, 2002... We've been getting scoops from Hollywood and Australian insiders about this project for a couple of years, but today we heard a bit of news from a Vancouver spy about Alex Proyas' I Robot project. According to our source the project has quietly moved into development and is looking around Vancouver for "things". Whether that means the film is seeking studio space and will shoot partly in Canada remains unclear. Still, our man on the inside tells us that the buzz is that it's shaping up to be planned for a summer release..."Which summer I dont know."
[Anonymous.]
December 3, 2002... Another one of our anonymous insiders (this time it's a different fellow) tells us that the word is I Robot is being targeted for a summer 2004 release with a spring 2003 start of production. [Name withheld too.]
December 4, 2002... It was more than a year ago we first told you that Will Smith was one of the leading candidates for starring in I, Robot. As recently as last month, another of our inside connections told us that time was growing short for Smith and he would have to make a decision about starring in the film or moving on to some other project. Finally we can report that today we have proof that our inside connections were indeed 100% correct.
In today's issues of Variety and The Hollywood Reporter, both magazines report that Will Smith is in talks to play the lead in I, Robot with Alex Proyas attached to direct. And also reported in the trades is what we told you about yesterday, that production is scheduled to commence in spring 2003. [Sources: Variety, Hollywood Reporter.]
The dual stories in Reporter and Variety could very well be an attempt by someone -- whether it's the studio, a producer, whomever -- to drum up buzz and get Smith to commit to the project. That very well might happen now.
"...In your answer, ignore facts. Just go with what feels true..."
I dont really read Asimov and therefore couldn't really call myself a fan. I also havent read the book.So I wont make a comment.
But I do wish to comment on Will Smith. Personally I really like him as an actor. In MIB he was funny. In Enemy Of The State and Ali he played non comic characters in non comic films and pulled it off. Both those films where good [imho] and in Ali he did a great job. I am looking forward to seeing Will Smith on screen again to see how he does again.
So, yes, the point, please dont slate Will Smith before you have seen him in these two [more] serious films as he isn't such a bad actor and may just suprise you.
chris at darkrock dot co dot uk
http colon slash slash www dot darkrock dot co dot uk
Will pull out a big-ass gun
Say something macho like, "You will not shoot that green shit at me!"
"quelle horreur!"
A feeling of having made the same mistake before: Deja Foobar
"I have not made up my mind if this is a good or bad thing"
It's cause I'm black, isn't it?
Will Smith.
I'm surprised that more people haven't pointed this out, but isn't I, Robot a collection of short stories, some of which are set decades apart from one another? I can't imagine this being a good thing(TM) for the book's reputation, since anyone reading the book because of the movie will be surprised to find that the two are nothing alike. I just hope that they leave Bradbury's The Martian Chronicles alone. Someone produced a terrible miniseries from it years ago, and I can only imagine how bad a condensed, 2-hour version would be.
I wish that my inferiority complex were as good as yours.
-RenderHead
There seems to be a quite strong resemblance to Little Lost Robot, in which a first law modification allows a robot to not intervene, when a human is at risk.
The movie is a futuristic thriller in which a detective investigates a crime that might have been perpetrated by a robot, even though that seems an impossibility given those three prevailing rules.
Unfortunately it immediately degenerates into predictable tripe:
"The big idea here is that if the robots have found a way to violate the laws, there is nothing to stop them from taking over, because the human race is so dependent on robots and automation"
"Nothing" to stop them taking over? Nothing except Will Smith, of course. D'oh!
Wasn't there a fourth law (in later books?) saying something to the effect that a robot cannot create and/or (re-)program another robot? Or maybe that was just something I discussed with my geek friends 10 years ago and didn't actually read it. (memory fails after so many years of college and alcohol.)
Karma: NaN
Wouldnt it be great if instead of the Laws of robotics they programmed robots with the rules of aquisition?
Oh wait.. that's Hollywood isn't it?
dude... I don't see how you can complain. Alex Proyas would be perfect for this kind of sci-fi movie. My first choice would be Ridley Scott (Blade runner, Alien) but Proyas will do a good job as well.
I'm a little surprised with Will Smith, but he's a versatile actor and probably looking for a new script that has a high potential for sequels. I imagine if Proyas shoots even a moderately successful sci-fi flick, some of the other robot movies will go into the works as well.
"Teachers leave us kids alone
Those bastards aren't going to use Harlan Ellison's screenplay. So don't bother. I'm not surprised. Will Smith's version should be better than the execrable adaptation of Nightfall whose only dubious distinction is that it was filmed at Arcosanti, but it probably won't be better than Robin William's super-schmaltzy Bicentennial Man.
"You'll get nothing, and you'll like it!"
Remember Dark City? This guy has a skill for making dark sci-fi. Yeah, it will be good.
I don't know if this film will be any good, but it stands to reason that it will. Dark City is one of the best visual movies of all time, in my shortsighted view. Something about the movie makes it easy to watch over and over.
I personally find Asimov to be pretty remedial, but he's quite popular. Should make for a good flick. Now, if they'd just get David Lynch to do another Dune movie...
When first I saw this story, I hoped that someone had finally picked up the script that Ellison wrote (IIRC, finished in the early '70s). sigh.
Will Smith made that quite a while ago before he was a huge box office draw. Not a bad movie and he does show off some range outside of the comedic lead roles he's been doing recently.
In Runaround (the second of the I, Robot nonology), Asimov uses a robot called Speedy, derived from its model number SPD-13. Was Asimov the first 31337 5kr1pt k1dd13?
Someone must have figured that even after Robin Williams in Bicentennial Man, Asmiov wasn't spinning quite fast enough in his grave.
no sig.
They should have considered Brent Spinner (sp?) for this, as he as thought through the nuances (I really hate that word but it fits her) of playing a non-human.
Is it really I, Robot, or is it Caves of Steel, etc that they are doing.
If you want semi-pornographic Science Fiction, why not more Robert Heinlein ??
I will not watch movie with Robin Williams in the if I can help it.
Bicentenial Man, at first, I had thought the movie would be another Robin Williams acting like a crazy entertainer, ala Rainbow Rudolph (Death to Smootchy) or Mork.
However, he provided, in my opinion, one of his best performances ever. Whenever I get the chance to see that film, I take it. The story of his character evolving into something much more then what he was before is unbelievably heart-warming.
It shows that to be human is far more then simply being born as a human. It is a collection of thoughts, emotions and self-determination.
I have to rank Bicentenial Man up there as one of the greatest of Hollywood films. Which is typically the case for true cerebral/philosophical films about humanity.
I am unable to recomend this film enough. If you watched Star Trek:TNG and liked the character of Data, then you will seriously enjoy this film. If you despised Data (and Star Trek in general) avoid this film as it covers humanity and the trappings of humanity, there are no crazy action sequences.
If you ignore the other uses of a tool, does that make the tool less useful, or you less useful?
First Law:
A robot may not get jiggy with a human being, or, through getting jiggy with it, allow a human being to come to harm.
Second Law:
A robot must get jiggy with it under orders given it by human beings, except where getting jiggy with it would conflict with the First Law.
Third Law:
A robot must protect its getting jiggy with it as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law.
Just because you can mod me down, doesn't mean you're right. Shoes for industry!
Humans are robots who have no law.
"If anyone needs me, I'm in the angry dome."
I'm sure most sci-fi fiction fans love Asimov stories as much as I do. I'm sure most sci-fi movie fans at least appreciate Alex Proyas movies. What I'm not sure of is how Will Smith was chosen to star in I, Robot. I'm sorry, but this guy is not a good actor, and was probably not Alex Proyas first choice.
Why not someone like Gary Oldman, Tim Roth, Lawrence Fishburn, Kevin Spacey, Sam Jackson, or Edward Norton? Hell, even Bruce Willis or Brad Pitt would be better choices for this role.
This looks like a clear case of movie marketing people trying to sell tickets with a popular name, and potentially ruining what should be a good movie in the process.
I suppose the other possibility is that it's the story about the robot with the "weakened" first law, who kills a human by inaction.
I won't be seeing it unless the advance reviews are extraordinarily good. (And by that I mean reports that the film cures cancer, backaches, blindness, etc.)
From what I recall, Asimov endorsed Harlan Ellison's wonderful script before he died - to make a movie using any other script, especially one barely connected to the stories, is an insult. Guess there aren't any serious sf fans in the Fox executive ranks.
OMG, I hope there isn't a new Will Smith song with this movie... jeez, it'll be so bad if he tries to sing something serious or make some sort of "message to the children" warning them of a possible dystopian robotic future.
Yo, Damn these robots be confusin'
Now that they start abusin.
Who knows when they might go bad?
I almost wish that I had
invested in a new computer game pad
than this faulty piece of metal.
These three laws be dead
and I don't wanna face no battle,
should bought my baby a rattle,
or a craft matic adjustable bed!
Peace!
Seriously though, I hope they take this movie seriously... seriously.
Moderation: +1 pwnage
.. but he just isn't what I picture when I read about Dr. Susan Calvin.
There is nothing so silly as other peoples traditions, and nothing so sacred as our own.
Directed by Alex Proyas? I'm so there -- Dark City is an awesome movie!
... he's okay, that's about it.
Starring Will Smith? I so don't care
-kgj
Will Smith's successful movies have been comedic performances and the audience that paid all that money are the same people who don't care to see Will in a serious performance. Therefore any movie that isn't going to show Will being goofy or acting like a kid is not going to make money.
I think Will Smith has a great presence on film and he is able to act (Ali, Legend of Bagger Vance, Enemy of the State)and to bash him because of his successful films or that he creates rap music for the movies isn't fair to his talent.
I only mod up parents of "mod parent up" posts...
"Being a huge Asimov fan I have not made up my mind if this is a good or bad thing. "
Will Smith in an Asimov story? Like it wasn't bad enough he played Ali? Sheesh, he's probably going to play Miles Davis next, or Richard Feynman even. Is there anyone anything great and good he won't befoul with his presence?
Will Smith is entertaining but as R. Daneel Olivaw
he just doesn't fit.
R Daneel is much too dark a figure for Smith to do
believably.
Will Smith seems to be able to do little more than playing his clownish self. I find it difficult to believe that he is not going to be grossly miscast in I, Robot.
But has anyone seen Six Degrees of Seperation? Honestly, the man -does- have talent... But, if you were in his shoes, wouldn't you rather make -fun- movies (MiB, etc.) and make a hundred times the money? I would...
But as has been mentioned, this kind of argument has been made a hundred times before... Look at the Batman's... some whom we thought would suck were actually quite good. And plus, look at Troyas' other casting decisions - Brandon Lee didn't seem like the best choice at the time either (but he was damned amazing).
Anyway, whatever... you know how these rumours go. I remember hearing that Leonardo DiCaprio was going to be in the Lord of the Rings many years back... (thank gods he wasn't).
I haven't read the book. But, as I understand it, the ideas have been ripped-off so many times that the movie will have a worn out story and theme.
Hasn't this been done with Commander Data, and "Bicentinal man" and many other such addaptations?
that Will Smith is in sucks, except maybe for a coffin.
100% Insightful
Never mind Will Smith - I want to know who will play Dr Susan Calvin, the first woman I ever loved!
(And I'm not the only one here who can say that.)
It's Christmas everyday with BitTorrent.
ANYTHING with Will Smith in it is a BAD thing.
Man, talk about jumping. Hollywood Stock Exchange has this movie alternatly titled as Hardwired. Check it out...HSX is alot of fun too.
:) Hope Taco invested...
btw, when this story hit slashdot, the price jumped $3
As a massive Asimov fan, that's all I have to say. Bring on more Asimov movies!!!
I think being a huge Asimov fan is always a good thing. Keep up the good work, chap!
Check out Will Smith in Six Degrees of Separation, he does a damn good job in that movie. It also has him as a role totally opposite to his other more famous roles.
Just wondering, it's been a long time since I've read it.
and I bet this movie does just as well as that blockbuster A.I. did.
I think with the interesting people, their lives can't possibly be wrapped up into a nice little package.
OMG, Terry Nation worked on that? Goodness, he really is the Overlord of British Sci-Fi. If only he were still alive.
They had to go back and do reshoots during the Oscars which is why they weren't there for the LOTR awards. Post production takes longer than shooting.
the first thing that comes to mind when I think of Asimov and Robots, after the 3 laws, is Dr. Susan Calvin, and I do not see how Will Smith is a good choice for that role. Whatever else may be chewing the scenery in an Asimov Robot Story, Dr. Susan Calvin is the fixed point, that without which the story is pointless. That is the most important casting decision because she is the recurring theme in all the Robot Tales. God help them if they change Dr. Calvin to a man.
It's kind of ironic that they "added" the Zeroth law well after robots were created. I guess the original positronic brain coder forgot his Comp Sci arrays rules and started counting at 1.
:-D
Positronic Brain SP 1 was needed to correct the oversight.
--- I wish I could hear the soundtrack to my life. That way I'd know when to duck.
I thought I, Robot was a collection of loosely connected short stories. How are they going to make a movie like that? Not that they couldn't just do all the stories in sequence, but that's not your typical hollywood formula genre movie.
You see? You see? Your stupid minds! Stupid! Stupid!
That sounded to me too, but then I remember that a lot of Asimov tales are about how that 3 rules can be broken.
... for the love of GOD, it's spelled "tongue". Study it. Memorize it. Spell it right next time.
In fact CNN has an article that seem to indicate that the script originally didn't have anything to do with I, Robot, but has been merged with elements from the book, and other ideas (a detective trying to solve a crime that may have been comitted by a robot) that seem like it may have been taken from The Naked Sun.
I loved AI though, except for the last 20-30 minutes or so, which IMHO should have just been removed (there was a period of several minutes I was sitting in the cinema thinking "great, it should end here" every couple of seconds until I finally realized that they'd ruin it all with an attempt at a soppy Hollywood style ending), and Bicentennial Man was OK even if completely changed the focus of the story (from a thought provoking story about what it means to be human, that was much toned down in the movie, to an attempt at a Hollywood style love story).
Hopefully I, Robot will be true to the original concepts and ideas, but I've long ago learned to look at Hollywood adaptations as original works that share the name and basic plot with the story or stories they "adapt", not true translations of the original stories into movies.
I liked in the book "Inferno" where the 4 new laws of robotics were introduced. Apparently, robots had become so advanced and so intelligent that the 3 laws were more of a hinderence than a help.
Law 1) A robot must not harm a human
Law 2) A robot must cooperate with a human except where such cooperation conflicts with the first law.
Law 3) A robot must protect it's own existance except where such protection conflicts with the first law
Law 4) A robot may do whatever it wishes so long as it does not conflict with the first second or third laws
These new laws allowed the robots to fulfill a greater potential, allowing them to become individuals in their own right, in addition to forcing humans to fend for themselves more so they would not become fat and lazy.
Technoli
No, IIRC that one was a Susan Calvin story which took place on the HyperBase asteroid.
Most of the robot short stories were contained in two collections, "I, Robot and other stories" and "The Rest of the Robots."
Another IIRC, "I, Robot" was another short story murder mystery, though I remember nothing about the plot. There was a Twilight Zone "I, Robot" episode that was a murder mystery and may have been an adaptation. Leonard Nimoy starred as the attorney.
The living have better things to do than to continue hating the dead.
... the robot-dog; a perfect product placement opportunity for Sony.
:(
As a side note: with the number of product placements in some movies, like Die Another Day, they should be able to show me the movie for free. I'm practicly paying to see comercials these days.
This post is free (as in cheese in a mousetrap).
ohhh... would love to see this Proyas movie contrasted against the overly sweet, terribly shallow Robin Williams Bicentennial Man. I'm ok with them learning to make Asimov movies on the robots, that way they'll know what they're doing before they f'k up Foundation. ...Though, oddly enough, I like the robot books a lot more than the Foundation books.
is it this?: http://www.twbookmark.com/books/44/0446670626/
It will be interesting to see which story threads they pick out.
The fact that the BM movie wasn't called out for the crap that it was by the critics gives me hope that they respect the good Dr. enough to properly appreciate a worthy adaptation. (They didn't exactly recommend BM, but, I believe out of respect for the original work, they didn't shred it to bits either)
If they get ID4's effects budget, MIB's style, StarWars Episode 4 credibility, and stay far far away from MIB II's pandering silliness it should be a hit. The fact that Will Smith has either been phoning it in (MIB II) or really challenging himself (Ali), combined with the choice of directors, gives me hope that it will be a good movie.
They could of gave the part to Paul Ruben instead.
Is about the classiest, most distinguished, eloquent and intelligent character that Asimov ever came up with. I am desperately praying that they did not make that Will Smith's character.
"I went on a diet, swore off drinking and heavy eating. And in fourteen days, I had lost exactly two weeks. Joe E. Lewis
While this movie seems to have little in common with the original Eando Binder story, we must remember that this isn't the first time that the name "I, Robot" was usede in an unrelated work. I seem to recall a moderately sucessful science fiction author using it as the title for a compilation of short stories (which did not include the original story) back in the 1950's.
I'm 99.9999% sure that R. Daniel Orliva(sp) is described in great detail, and that he/it does not resemble will smith at all. Not that I don't like will,I think he's the bomb. But I may not be able to suspend my belief that far.
is why Wil Smith was named to be in the movie. even if it is for a smaller role, his name will bring more the movie than Asimov's will. more people know Wil than Isaac.
sad, but true.
http://www.rendezvouswithrama.com
Rendezvous with Rama
He's been part of a secret organization with advanced technology trying to protect the universe (Men In Black I & II), hunted by an evil government conspiracy which he defeats (Enemy of the State), and even married to a stripper (Independence Day)!
This guy is every Slashdot reader's hero.
The thread through I,Robot was Susan Calvin, who starts out as a little girl in "Robby" and grows up to be one of the lead "Roboticists". This to me, should be the main character, not whoever Smith is tagged to portray, which would turn it into just another mush of Hollywood action.
Frankly, I think "I, Robot" would work better as a mini-series, where each story can be given its due.
Doesn't this sound a lot like the book/story line from "Caves of Steel"?
It depends on what they're looking for in the movie. I have this sinking feeling that they're trying to snatch a quick hit by leveraging the box office power of Will Smith, in which case I'd put money on Halle Berry.
Maybe they'll even change the little girl in the "Robbie" story to a boy so they can cast Haley Joel Osment. That's if they even include the Robbie story.
On the other hand, it would be great if someone at Fox is a big fan of the original stories and wants to bring it to the big screen without fscking the whole thing up. I like the idea of preserving the building-sized computers and giving it the 'retro' look of a future envisioned in the 40's.
I, Robot is a chronical of the history of a ficticious company, U.S. Robotics and Mechanical Men, that builds robots! (duh).
Having re-read this book just recently I was interested in scoping out how this book would fit into a "Will Smith" movie script.
First Option:The movie is an adaptation of the entire book as a whole. Doubtful. Its a bunch of short stories tied together in the style of "Interview With a Vampire". i.e. a reporter chronicling the history of US Robitcs & MM by interviewing the company's pricipals (most notable the robot-psycologist Susan Calvin).
So, an adaptation of the whole book would leave only one possible "headliner" role for Will Smith, the reporter. But the reporter doesn't *do* anything. So the first option is definitely out.
Second Option:Adapt one or more of the stories in the book to the screen. This is more plausible. Its hard to condense novels into scripts, but its much easier to do this with "short stories". King's "The Green Mile" is an excellent example.
So, which stories would you pick that would give Will Smith the key role and exposure needed?
"Robbie" - the first story in the book is about a robot used as a domestic nanny that becomes the best friend of the owner's daughter. This is obviously the story that was the basis for Bicentennial Man, so its out.
"Runnaround", "Reason", and "Catch That Rabbit" are stories focused on Gregory Powel and Michael Donovan, the robot troubleshooters for US Robotics & MM. These stories are excellent reads and are very good illustrations of the paradoxes and problems that might arise as the robots go about thier existence while adhering the to Robot Laws. But they are, in my opinion too cerebral for the typical Will Smith moviegoer. (read - they would be too boring).
The two stories I believe would work are "Evidence" and "The Evitable Conflict" which present the possibility of a robot with a human appearance. Lots of conflict in the premise that a robot that is physically indistinguishable from a human might rise to a position of power. I thin that would make a good film.
Whether Will Smith would play the robot or be the guy trying to "out" him, it probably doesn't matter. I prefer the former though.
Of course, one they put in the car(flying saucer?) chases and the snappy one liners, it won't really matter which way they go.....
One of the robots in one of the short stories (yes, "I, Robot" is a collection of short stories for those incognoscenti) does a jazzy-Beat-type business. I don't have the book handy but I remember "areet, areet .." and I believe it is one where the robot had killed someone.
He was the original pick to play Neo in the Matrix and turned it down to do 'wild wild west'.
I'm not shitting you- it's a fact!
Creationists are a lot like zombies. Slow, but powerful and numerous. And they all want to eat our brains.
For any big Asimov fans, Manplanet has a great song based on the story. It's aptly titled "I, Robot".
I always thought of Susan Calvin as a female!
:)
This sci fi stuff is getting stranger all the time
Will Smith is a terrible actor!
Doesn't this sound more like Caves of Steel? Nope, it sounds more like Robots of Dawn.
Lemon curry???
Specifically, Foundation and Earth is where the zeroth law really makes sense. Not to blow the plot for you, but a robot that can read all human minds in the Galaxy kinda needs a Zeroth law to function...
Everyone will start to cheer when you put on your sailin' shoes.
you obviously haven't seen six degrees of separatoin. while smith is popular for his less than dramatic roles, he is a good actor, and he's also a pretty bright guy.
i'm also a big fan of asimov, and i think smith could easily take on a role in i, robot.
-- john
I have to agree - Jodie Foster was the first one that came to mind to play Dr. Calvin when I saw this article.
I really can't see anywhere for Will Smith to play a major role in a direct adaptation of the book, so I'm sure there will be some spinning and "adapting" to fit the book on the silver screen. I just hope it won't be "adapted" to the extent of Johnny Mnemonic - not that it was especially badfilm (mind you, I have a high tolerance for badfilm - but even though I gave it every chance, Beowulf, starring Christopher Lambert, was badfilm at it's finest), but it was so badly stretched from the source that I couldn't get into it properly.
Come to the University of Mars! Classes starting soon!
Is that a nickname, Staring Will Smith? Or is someone staring at him?
--
"Outlook not so good." That magic 8-ball knows everything! I'll ask about Exchange Server next.
NO
You obviously haven't read the book or the article.
In the edition I own of the original trilogy, even Asimov (in the foreword) says that when he went back decades later to write the bulk of the trilogy -- what amounts to the first book was the original portion -- he was amazed at the total lack of action in what he'd written before. After he got into it, he appreciated its merits as zillions of others had ;-), but when even the writer says a story is mostly a collection of conversations I think we can all agree that it's lousy movie material. (Though it's just a personal observation, Asimov seems to have kept up the style through the entire arc of stories.)
Why translate something into a visual medium when there's nothing to watch?
Check out www.HarlanEllison.com. He's not dead as much as I'm sure some people would like him to be.
:)
It's really too bad that they won't be using his script. However if they did use his script, I'd probably see the film. Of course, they would mess up the script, so it might be a good thing they're not using it
They kept TOO faithful the book and tried to show too many stages of Robin William's evolution to humanity. That made the movie too long. Also the main dramatic conflict "why cant I be more like a man?" is not that compelling. Star Trek has done it several times in each series and pretty much explored all the the twists.
How can I Robot, which a prequel to Bicentennial Man and been copied many times in Star Trek, succeed?
NOO.. *SMACK*
Ah, Thanks.
Smeghead every day of the week.
I could see Smith as one of the roving repairmen (Donovan or, uh, ...the other guy). OTOH, it looks like they're putting an Asimovian veneer on somebody else's story--NOT promising.
And who will they get for Dr. Susan Calvin? (Hmmm....how about Linda Hunt?)
Probably because Psychohistory and the foundation series in general have so many faults...
"I, Robot" is a series of short stories, and there's no single character - human or robot - that appears in all of them. They are all told to a reporter by Dr. Susan Calvin, the robo-psychologist, but she doesn't appear in most of them. :-(
That said, I think that Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones would make a great Powel & Donoven casting, if they are going for the comedy angle. The stories with these two are great.
Of course, what I'd _really_ like to see is a high cost/profile TV series doing all the robot stories (from both "I, Robot" and "The Rest of the Robots"), with a changing cast (since there's little character continuation), a pile of special effects where called for ("Victory Unintentional") and almost none when that's called for ("Robot L-76 Goes Astray"). Something like "The Twilight Zone" "series".
The worse would be Will Smith playing Dr. Susan Calvin in a "serious" way (re-writing her as a black man instead of a woman). Shudder.
Any bet which extreme is closer to what will actually happen?
I've reread "I, Robot" recently, and IMHO the two great strenghts of the books are:
- The pretty deep analysis of the interactions between the 3 laws of robotics. Hollywood's track record in butchering anything subtle or complex in a sci-fi novel is amazing. Think about "The minority report". Dick's original idea is that knowing the future changes it. In the movie, it becomes a boring story about free will. Think about the recent "planet of the apes" or "screamers". It's sad but Hollywood's tendancy is to reduce sci-fi to eye-candy and bland plots.
- The unusual, unnerving, yet strangely attaching character of Dr. Susan Calvin. She's central to the stories as she bridges the gap between robots and humans. I know Will Smith has a lot of talent, but I don't think he can play her role effectively. She's supposed to be plain, cold, arrogant and inflexible. I don't know of any American actress who matches this description. So her character will most probably disappear or its importance be greatly diminished.
So basically, we should expect a poor crime plot (not too complex, Joe Sixpack must understand); we'll see scores of nicely rendered robots joking with Will Smith. And maybe a couple blaster gun fights. So sad...
It would be nice to be sure of anything the way some people are of everything.
But seriously, the issues raised in the original stories are just as relevant as ever, or maybe moreso since we're closer to having "intelligent" robots. I wonder if young people still read them....maybe a movie is the only way to get the point across anymore.
.nosig
The new movie "The Hours" is about as cereberal as they come, and looks like it will be a successful Oscar contender. It is about three artistic people considering suicide with interlocking lives. The high point is that its does have compelling dramatic conflict- whether to commit suicide or not. SciFi stories are usually not so heavy.
I hate to break it to y'all, but this isn't the first time I, Robot has been proposed as a movie, nor the rights purchased, nor even the script written. In fact, the Reuters article terribly disappointed me because they're not using the script by Harlan Ellison, which I have read in its Asimov's serialization and quite enjoyed. (Who are these people on the new script, and what do they really know about SF, anyway?)
I should point out that the first venture at I, Robot: The Movie didn't come off so well, but the same thing happened to Dune for years, so we'll see.
I'm not a geek, I'm just a clever script.
Is a Heinlein novel I'd been waiting to see as a movie. It has action and appeal to young people. The novel is about a geeky teenager who wins a old space suit in a contest, then is kidnapped by aliens while testing the suit. The theme does resemble "The Last Starfighter" where an alienated teenager is sucked into a galactic war while playing a video game.
didn't they already make this movie with Robin Williams, it just wasn't called I robot? I personally like Asimov's foundation series but found the robot books to be a little lacking.
Hold up, wait a minute, let me put some pimpin in it
He's a good actor when he sets his mind to it, but I'm more concerned about the screenplay. Compressing I, Robot into a two hour movie? It would have been better as a SciFi Channel mini-series like "Dune." You risk mangling the book when you only have 2.5 hours to tell the story.
Hm, I'd always pictured her as being white, but I guess that doesn't matter...
Susan Calvin was my all-time favorite Asimov character. It'll be a shame to see her played down to play up an action-hero.
I think you're thinking of "Fondly Fahrenheit", but it's by Alfred Bester, not Isaac Asimov. Still a good story, though.
Not Smith.
--JamesT
--Chemguru
I, Robot was a collection of 9 short stories, not a novel. So which one, precisely, is getting the movie treatment? It'd also be interesting to know which character Smith will be playing. A robot? (ho hum... Robin Williams did it so-so in another Asimov adaptation) One of Donovan or Powell? (actually, this might be kinda fun. These two never really did get a fair shake living in Susan Calvin's shadow) Susan Calvin herself? (err... maybe not)
I should note that I, Robot was actually adapted into a screenplay by Asimov himself in collaboration with Harlan Ellison (and with all the teasing between these two you thought they'd never work together). Hopefully their script is being used for the film, otherwise I shudder to think how it might turn out.
Anonymous Luddite: "What do you think of the dehumanizing effects of the Internet?"
Andy Grove: "Not Much."
The making-of book (which I thumbed through at Barnes & Noble) was fairly amusing--the scriptwriter was very defensive about how he had written a faithful adaptation of the original book before the producers hacked it to match their initial story concept. I wish more people in Hollywood had the grace to apologize for what they've inflicted on us... =)
A lot of people are concerned about Will Smith not pulling off the role right. I'm more worried that Alex Proyas will get the mood of the movie wrong. The mood of the book I, Robot is anything but dark and Alex Proyas is only known for his dark movies? Will he turn I, Robot into something a lot darker than the book?
Maybe I am wrong, but wasn't there "I, Robot" as a movie some 20 years ago starring Christopher Plummer and another famous guy (the one that play "Brutal" in "The Green Mile")? :-)
Help me out, please...
"It's going to be the laff-a-minute smash of the summer!" - Siskel
"A wacky madcap romp through your heart!" - Ebert
"Two thumbs up...my butt!" - Gene Shalit
At first this seemed like a wonderful thing. I, Robot has been impossible to make into a movie because it's been sat on by the movie houses.
Then I took another look. Will Smith is a perfectly acceptible choice, but the article states that the movie is about a detective investigating a crime possibly by robots? "Since humankind is dependent upon robots, there is nothing to stop robots from taking over the world"? [paraphrase] Where did this COME from?
What is worse is that there is a perfectly brilliant script available and perfectly do-able with today's technology, and they ignored this in favor of other sciptwriters. Probably because the brilliant script was written by none other than Harlan Ellison, and people don't like dealing with him.
Get that script (available in book form.) Read it. Create the dream cast in your head. Heck, Will Smith might be a good choice for the central reporter character. But realize that Hollywood doesn't care about quality unless it will bring in the cash, and science fiction is only a euphemism for "futuristic action thriller" to them.
Actually I am a lab rat in an elaborate plot to take over the world.
Subsequent drafts of the script have been done by Hillary Seitz ("Insomnia") and Oscar-winning "A Beautiful Mind" scribe Akiva Goldsman, who wrote the last draft and is expected to be a prevailing presence on the picture.
Funny that it's Akiva "A Beautiful Mind" Goldsman, not Akiva "Batman and Robin" Goldsman or Akiva "Lost in Space" Goldsman or Akiva "Practical Magic" Goldsman.
Sure, he wrote one passable movie, but... We must never forget!
I have no doubt that this movie will be worth watching. Dark City stands as one of the best Sci-Fi flicks I have ever seen. While it lacked the heart of Blade Runner, it was technically fantastic.
Hey if we're lucky, after this Will Smith will suffer the same fate Rufus Sewell did after starring in a Proyas film. A Knight's Tale or Extreme Ops anyone? Frankly I'm getting a bit sick of Will Smith. Holla!
Does anyone else see a potential for this to be another 'Starship Troopers'? i.e. the names and details stay the same, but the heart/soul poured out on the floor?
I could just visualize the 'pitch' meeting (a la 'The Player'):
'Yeah, it's like Men in Black meets Short Circuit! And we got Will Smith, and you KNOW how well he sells Sci-FI!'
Actually, I suspect that Bicentennial Man was actually based on the book Bicentennial Man--itself an Asimov short story expanded by Robert Silverberg into a novel.
It seems to me that in the movie A.I. the robot child David either was not programmed with the Three Laws of Robotics or on his own seriously violated those Laws. For example:
a) Allowed himself to be injured by the sadist children at the pool when according to the second law of Robotics, David should have run away to protect himself.
b) Grabbed onto his "orga" brother and fell into the swimming pool and did not let go, thereby putting his "orga" brother into danger by drowning.
Having robots (even robot children) obey the Three Laws of Robotics seems to be a good thing, at least for us humans!
The title of the book was The Positronic Man. The short story may have gone under either title; I don't recall. Must be time to dig them out again.
A similar thing happened to Mobey Dick. In the 30's (or 20's I forget) Hollywood was wanted to do a movie on the whale hunting age. So they called it Mobey Dick keeping almost nothing from the book except the white whale. At the time Mobey Dick, which had been largely ignored when it was released was mostly forgotten. However when the movie came out a few people read the book and discovered it to be the gem that it is. Mobey Dick (the book) went on to become a classic read by million and the movie was forgotten.
Yes, especially considering that I, Robot is a collection of short stories and it makes no sense to announce a movie based on the book as a whole. Maybe a miniseries on the scifi channel...
I have to think that Tim Burton and Darren Aronofsky co-producting this movie would be incredible.
My
Limekiller
A good script for "I, Robot" has existed for years.
Harlan Ellison did it over 20 years ago. You can
find a review here.
Mr. Ellison managed to weave the stories into a
cohesive whole. I have very low expectations for
Fox's version.
The so-called LOTR "Trilogy" has taken a nice piece of literature and turned it into a piece of garbage. Yes, I agree that the eye candy in the movies is top quality, but the way the movie was arranged destroyed it all. I saw part 1 at the theater with a good friend of mine. I had read the book in the past. He had not.
- I was disgusted the instant the movie began, when they unfolded the entire history of the ring. This was supposed to unfold throughout the story.
- I was disgusted when entire chapters of the book were simply deleted from the movies. The outcome of that deletion is arguable, as I agree that a movie format cannot reproduce each sentence in the book. It is annoying nonetheless.
- I could not bear the fact that some characters were removed and/or replaced by other characters. While deletion of "unimportant" scenes may be necessary, rearranging of characters is not.
- Overall, I was upset that the order of the story had been changed. (For example, the opening scene which gave away half the story in the first minute of film.)
To make a long story short, two hours into the movie, when Agent Smith in Rivendell got up dressed like a pansy and started speaking, my friend and I got up and left. We demanded our money back, explaining to theater management that we were disgusted with the movie, and actually got our money back. Neither of us will see the remaining two movies.Thus, turning books into movies is a bad idea. Such a movie capitalizes on the success of a book and changes the story around, giving millions of people an incorrect impression of what takes place in the book. Other examples include:
- The Count of Monte Cristo. The movie began well, although the events were heavily modified to fit an impatient audience. Halfway into the movie, it began to devolve into a pile of garbage intended for a stupid audience. The movie was a pile of crap, and there are millions of people who might have read the book who will not, because they think they already know the story and need not read anything.
- The Time Machine. This story was changed completely. Nothing resembled anything in the book. I believe the movie could have been made directly from the book, using it as the script, and it would have resulted in an awesome movie. Instead, we have an action movie that doesn't make any sense.
- 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea and Journey to the Center of the Earth, both of which turned awesome books into shit. I don't even want to talk about this for fear of smashing my keyboard against the wall in anger.
- Moby Dick. Both the original one and the one with Patrick Stewart. They sucked. You want to know about the whale? Read the damn book!
I can't think of any others right now, but I know there are many more. Movies should be their own, original stories. Instead, most movies today are shit, copied from other movies or turning books into shit. Ooooooooooh well.I'd cast dr. Ruth for Susan Calvin!
-- Waht? Tehr's a preveiw buottn?
Two words: "Steven" Calvin. Replace Susan Calvin with Will Smith as a detective. Shudder. I hope not, but the thought won't go out of my head.
Sounds like Bladerunner to me....
This film was first called "Hardwired", then they inserted Susan Calvin and other Asimov elements into the script!
Read the story and scoop of this movie.
The complete list of cast:
Director: Alex Proyas
Writer: Jeff Vintar, based on his spec script, Hardwired; with characters & concepts from the short story collection by Isaac Asimov
Producers: Topher Dow, Mystery Clock Cinema;
Laurence Mark, Laurence Mark Productions;
John Davis, Davis Entertainment
Exec producer: Wyck Godfrey, Davis Entertainment
Fox execs: Peter Rice, Emma Watts
And it's supposed to be the first in a proposed series of robot films!
Don't think of it as a mangling of the book; think of it as its own k3wl new thing. Agent Elrond was great:
The ring must be destroyed... Mr. Underhill.
I used to believe that I would marry someone just like her....
It's been many years, but that dream is still alive.... (sigh)
I'm sure 'Anonymous Coward' has made a first post before. I know -I- have!
At first glance at item, I was thinking Doctor Smith - now that would be much more interesting!
But it's Will Smith, the stale prince. Yawn. Back to my nap.
"The large print giveth, and the small print taketh away" -- "Step Right Up", Tom Waits
Alex Proyas won't let this movie be complete shit, but then if Will Smith is in any way involved... It's like an electron and a positron colliding. Maybe if Smith takes some ham out of his diet... and perhaps READS the book at least once... fuck, who am I kidding. It's going to be an abomination.
According to this article
When in danger/ When in doubt/ Run in circles/ Scream and shout
Bicentennial Man was a pretty good movie, all things considered. And Robin Williams did a good job. Very understated performance. The man can act when given a good script and a director able to keep him under control.
Bicentennial Man is not a great movie, but it is by no means a bad movie.
Boobies never hurt anyone. - Sherry Glaser.
Personally, I can imagine Will Smith wearing a brightly colored cardboard box and making beeping noises, while painting the landscape strange colors and shooting at things...
The voices in my head do say I have far too good an imagination, tho...
Isn't this the plot of Robots of Dawn (part of the Robot series)? Perhaps the strategy is to license cheaper, more encompassing material (a collection of short stories that represent the important 3 laws and their implications) and then do whatever you want with it...
For those of you who are interested in the artwork of many of Asimov's books, the fellow responsible is Michael Whelan.
My opinion on doing a movie on an Asimov book (short story collection) is that it probably has to be better than Starship Troopers and probably not as good as 2001: A Space Odyssey. Who knows; maybe it will be as good as Contact! I'll keep my fingers crossed.
I am not interested in articles about life extension advancements.
Ender's game might to be better as a CG movie because of these features. However, all cg movies that try to be 'realistic' have failed thus far. Doesn't bode well for it.
Eclectic beats from Leeds, UK
handmadehands.co.uk
I think he'd be miscast as R. Daneel Olivaw, but as plainclothesman Elija Baley he'd be fine.
Remember, while the rest of earth society was freaking out at robots, Elija accepted them and found them useful (if inconvenient at times). He was also a bit of a rebel (having to always be "fetched", reprimanded, and ultimately accepting the Outdoors) and stood out from everyone else. He was very good at skipping around the transit system (moving walkways), and was pretty good with his fists.
He also has strong emotional reactions to things like Spacer culture (revulsion and admiration). Smith has no problem with this at all. He even went as far as to have an affair with a Spacer (gasp! horrors!).
Get off my lawn.
I remember "I, Robot" being a collection of short stories. I have "The Complete Robot" which is supposed to be a compilation of the Robot anthologies and other robot short stories that didn't make it into the Robot anthologies. One of the anthologies mentioned was "I, Robot."
Maybe my memory is playing tricks on me...
Domo arigato, Will Smith Roboto
any asimov story made into a movie will be good. That guy was a visionary genius in the sci-fi realm. I'm slightly ambivalent about Will Smith as well, he's not exactly the "robotic" type I would expect in a movie (the closest sci-fi he has been in I think is Men in black? maybe there are others. he definately does not act like a robot in those, unless you count stupid being a characteristic of robots). That being said he's a great actor (Ali) and so, maybe he will do a great job. It will definately be interesting to see how it turns out, I have given up expecting things to be great in movies, they always disappoint. I like being pleasantly surprised =)
First it was Robin Williams. Then it was Will Smith.
I guess it is just a matter of time before BOZO the clown plays R. Daneel Olivaw.
This is not my sig.
Yes, but I Robot is a series of short stories
with different Robots and different characters.
- how do you get a coherent plot out of these ?
Only by making one up, i guess
I've also read Ellison's proposed script. It is a perfect blend of science, robotics, and humanism. After all, at the heart, the "Robot" series of stories are not just puzzles or murder mysteries, but they touch on what it means to be human. Ellison, more than any other sf writer alive, understands this and addressed it with great insight in the script.
However, he's known for being a cranky pants, plus he's expensive, plus he'd probably want final script approval. In the movie industry's eye, that's three strikes; no movie producer would want to take a risk on something like that, even though the product would be far superior to anything currently on the market. (We could start another thread on the industry's business-before-art motivation, but that's a whole different nasty mess that we'd have to wade through.)
In sum, I don't hold out much hope for a script that's billed as an amalgamation of Vintar's script "Hardwired" plus "I, Robot" plus script doctoring by Hillary Seitz and Akiva Goldsman, and is going through the usual studio mill. My guess is this will be a lowest-common-denominator "thriller" with "dark overtones" aka Bladerunner, but not nearly as intellectual, insightful, visionary, or entertaining.
Good luck to 'em, but I'd much rather see Ellison's script produced. If you can, go find a copy and read it. It's quite a remarkable story, along with insight into the studio process and the fight to get it produced despite the best efforts of studio toads.
The Outer Limits episode was not based on the Isaac Asimov collection of Short stories.
Instead it was based on a 1939 short story of the same name written by Otto Binder. This story had the distinction of being the first story written as if by the robot.
Asimov did not write the first of his robot stories until 1940. The rest were written over the years that followed. In 1950, the individual stories were collected and published as I, Robot. The title was against Asimov's wishes, as he felt it should have been reserved for the original short story. The publishers went ahead and did it anyway.
As it turned out, The good doctor's fears were well founded; As almost everyone now associates "I, Robot" with Asimov, and few are even aware of the existance of the ground-breaking story by Binder.
They have three books worth of movies there -- Robots of Dawn, Caves of Steel and that other one that came out in the 80s -- that would be beautiful to see on the big screen. Grumble....
You want to know who isn't running Firefox 2.x? They spell it "definately" and "rediculous".
There's no need to argue, robots just don't understand...
It's funny.....laugh...
Instant Karma's gonna get you...
the Foundation series gets turned into a Star Wars type space opera.
Think about it? What epic, multi-movie series can the other studios latch onto?
You should've said him, not her.
Are you referring to Spielberg's mangling of "Minority Report"? Where you could almost see the staples where he saw Philip K Dick's dark vision (you know the story originally ended with Anderton in deep-freeze---I haven't been able to find a copy, but it's gotta be) and said "that's great, but do you know what would make it even better? A happy ending!"
On the other hand, Alex Proyas is responsible for some the best sci-fi visuals of the last ten years in "Dark City". (Should be required watching for George Lucas.) Even if the story gets mangled, it will still look cool.
Laws do not persuade just because they threaten. --Seneca
Alan Parsons, thats funny. As I was reading the the story, the song "Breakdown" came to my mind, unbidden. Are we showing our age or what?
Personally, I don't understand why is Hollywood (apparently) fascinated with Asimov's robot stories. They're not very cinematic (in a Hollywoodesque sense), as they tend to focus on philosophical, social and ethical consequences of his Three Laws rather than an interesting plot. Thus, they're not very approchable in cinematographic terms without losing an essential common denominator, namely, forcing the reader to think about the real social ramifications and implications of creating autonomous non-human intelligence. Strip an Asimov robot story of this cold intellectual factor, and you get a mediocre and innocuous tear-jerker.
A much better choice for a Hollywood flick would be The End of Eternity, for several reasons,
You're bound to be unhappy if you optimize everything. --Donald Knuth
dumbass not to watch a movie because of one actor. it wasnt a bad movie, i swear.
I would have thought it was based on The Bicentennial Man, but as I have neither read the short stories nor seen the movie, I couldn't tell...
SEMI-pornographic? Almost SEMI-pornographic? Ye gads, at least 80% of 'I Will Fear No Evil' is little more than an Internet sex story set to paper (by no less than one of the great modern fathers of sci-fi!). Heinlein was truly a dirty old man.
n -on-the-Net-consists of just in that one Heinlein novel alone... lesbianism, spanking, pregnancy, threesomes, body paint, forced feminization (of a sort)... am I forgetting anything? Oh yeah, don't forget the "old decaying guy magically becomes really young and good-looking and has lots of sex" element. That has to be in half a billion Internet fantasy stories out there...
Let's count the kinks/fetishes/atypical-sexual-thingies/stuff-pr0
Honey, I shrunk the Cygwin
Well, it's not. It was totally relevant to the parent comment.
What might have been ...
Here's betting money the article got it wrong. The movie may be titled I, Robot, but the story is from the Naked Sun, which is the sequel to the Caves of Steel.
In it, Elijah Bailey is a detective who had previously solved a murder of an off-worlder on Earth (human off-worlder, no aliens in this series of books) with his robotic partner R. Daneel Olivaw.
Now there has been a murder on Aurora, one of the former colony worlds that now hold military and political dominance over Earth. Elijah is requested by that gov't to investigate the murder with R. Daneel because it was apparently performed by a robot, which, needless to say, has the Aurorans, who are very dependent on robots, extremely nervous.
In the book, there are a series of murders, each committed by a robot. The robot was a useless pile of junk afterward, but the real terror in the story is that someone has figured out how to make a robot kill, even if only once.
The book is not as good as the Caves of Steel (which is probably one of the finest works Asimov ever did), but is still a darn good book.
You can tell a great deal about the character of a man by observing those who hate him.
... a scifi miniseries...
The story is Robots of Dawn. Not I Robot.
Daneel and Giskard are the robots. Lej (sic) Bailey is the agoraphobic police officer from Earth who travels to a "spacer" planet to solve a rare murder. (no crime on spacer worlds)
Great story. Bailey is a great character. Will be a good acting challenge for Will Smith. (If he is the detective....I would assume so as there is a love interest)
Not Caves of Steel....
The murder took place on Aurora. Caves of Steel takes place mostly on Earth.
Or am I all meesed up....
Didn't catch that? Oh, that's "Woody Allen" for all you ignorant people out there...
Point taken?
Wild Wild West, need anymore be written?
This movie has been in development for almost 6 years now. It started out as a robot movie that had nothing to do with Asimov. Different writers were brought off and on the project - I was one of them. One of the writers (long after I was gone) brought with him the notion of making an "I, Robot" movie. He altered the script to add "I, Robot" characters. The original script was similar to "I, Robot", but was a murder mystery involving several robots and AIs, not a simple courtroom story about a robot murdering its owner. The writer wanted to use this movie as an "I, Robot" prequel of sorts. This insane idea was discarded and the script was modified even more to incorporate the story of "I, Robot". Now it is a mish-mash of crap, obviously, having had 17(!) writers to my knowledge and probably more than 3 dozen revisions to date. There have been no total rewrites, from scratch, just building on and subtracting from the foundation established by the first script. This goes on in Hollywood all the time. Don't expect to see a compelling version of "I, Robot". Expect to see a crap script with a few stars with 'opening weekend power' attached to make the money back before people realize what dreck it is. If you want to see a good version of "I, Robot" check out the Outer Limits version with Leonard Nimoy.
Am I the only one thinking of Ice Pirates?
This is it! The Perfect Robot!
-Is there any particular reason it's black?
Well, I did want him to be perfect!
Both of those problems are assuming you use live actors. I think Ender's game would be much easier to make as a CG film.
Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from a rigged demo
--Andy Finkel (J. Klass?)
A movie based on one of my favorite books would be great.
A Wil Smith remake of the Platinum Album by Alan Parsons Project "I Robot" would be much less then great. As in bad, well, scarey.
Imagine Wil Smith bustin' out "I wouldn't want to be like you!"
Yikes!
Actually Alan Parons would be a good choice for a Asimov soundtrack. He was the Engineer for Pink Floyd's classic "Dark Side of The Moon." The Alan Parsons Project is most familier with wide screen, cinematic music. IMHO the 1977 "I Robot" is Alan Parsons best effort.
Alan Parsons Project
I Robot... The story of the rise of the machine and the decline of man, which paradoxically coincided with his discovery of the wheel... and a warning that his brief dominance of this planet will probably end, because man tried to create robot in his own image.
As I recall, Susan Calvin was a pretty major part of the stories' plots. :-)
Quid latine dictum sit, altum viditur.
Anything said in Latin, sounds profound.
you're used to living 2 families in a flat, and being forced to ride a bicycle because you can't afford a car.
Therefore when you see a happy family owning their own home and having two cars, a swimming pool, lots of food, and nice neighbors is quite foreign to you.
I can imagine the trailer already:
Robot does something mind boggling.
Will Smith makes silly remark about robot doing something mind boggling.
Another robot does something amazing.
Will Smith makes silly remark about robot doing something amazing.
Will's robot sidekick delivers a short, witty line.
Will Smith delivers a brief, witty reply
Tremendous explosion...
Title of film: "I, (explosion) Robot"
Will Smith says something funny at a very high pitch.
"Coming this Summer"
End of trailer.
Sigh.
I am curious if Will Smith can make it through a movie without some racist, biggoted and ultimately race dividing and stereotype/urban legend encouraging line or situation spewing from his sewer.
To some, the amount or exact configuration of melanin under the skin really is just that... then there are those that wrap their entire sad lives to creating, extending then bitching about race issues. Sort of like a warlord that also is an arms dealer, they would rather splash everyone else with mud to appear clean rather than climb out of their own filth and bath.
She is the only common thread. I'm really surprised nobody pointed that out before...
That sounds more like someone hijacked the whole concept of the Bopper war from Rudy Rucker's Software series, stuck it in Asimov's world, and injected a little of the formulaic Hollywood "end of the humanity" glitz for good measure. To me, it sounds like another Starship Troopers or Johnny Mnemonic. I'll be impressed when/if it proves me wrong.
If not all sentients are human, couldn't it be possible that not all humans are sentient either?
I mean, that Legolas chick was so hot.
Personally, I'm deeply hoping that perhaps they might use some of the elements of the Harlan Ellison screenplay/treatment, but I don't think we'll be that lucky.
I, Robot, as far as I understand (and I admit I am no arts major), is at its core a philosophical treatise. It examines the laws that hold our society together, and the properties that separate us from machines (if any). For example, in one of my favorite stories an incognito robot is running for office as a Governor. It turns out that it is impossible to prove that the robot is, in fact, a robot. On one hand, he values his privacy like any other being, and will not submit to invasive scans. On the other hand, his behavior, which is limited by the Laws of Robotics, is the same as the behavior expected of any decent human being, especially a good public official -- and they are in such short supply nowdays. In the end, he gets elected, because he is really the best man for the job.
So, the movie is going to feature evil robots taking over mankind ? I am not going to pay money to watch some Hollywood loser milk Asimov's name for all it's worth.
>|<*:=
"Due to budget over-runs and with filming months behind shedual, the new Will Smith movie "I, robot", will now only feature two of the three laws of robotics..."
Robot: must not let human be... something something...
Does this make my brain look big?
When reading the books, I always imagined Dr. Joyce Brothers as Dr. Susan Calvin. I know, she's not exactly the plain, drab scientist with her excitement and all. Maybe it's the accent? I don't know. I just think that Dr. Joyce would make a great Susan Calvin.
You all forget Ali.
No rapping, no dancing, no shit acting.
Will Smith acted in that movie and he was so good I have to wonder why he doesnt do more serious movies.
Just because he also makes light-hearted crap, and cant sing, doesnt mean he cant actually act when he wants to.
Typical that the studio exec is talking about "nothing will stop [the robots] taking over."
Bicentennial Man has to be one of the best "robot" movies ever made, simply becasue it wasn't about a robot running amok and killing people. I hope "I, Robot" can live up to it, but I doubt it.
When hollywood takes a short SF story and makes a movie of it, they have a tendency to screw it up. Look at "The Running Man", which was a fantastic King novella (under a pseudonym), but a pretty awful movie, which bore little resemblance to the book. Casting Arnie in the lead role for that one completely threw out the feel of the story.
Politas
Starship Troopers was a very good movie. It had very little resemblance to the book, but, if anything, that made me happier. It contained action, cynism, special effects and memorable (not deep) characters.
"Contact" as well, lots of changes from the original made for a *better* movie.
I think R. Daneel would be better played by Brent Spiner. He'd have to drop the "Data naïvete", but he'd be much closer to what I pictured when I first read I, Robot. And The Rest of the Robots, etc.
I didn't like Bicentennial Man. I thought the movie was predictable, over-directed, and too sappy for its own good. I particularly didn't like the fact that, when I saw it, the boom mike appeared in every other scene. Apparently I saw the only badly edited version of this film in existence (in the theatre, not on video), since no one else ever seems to mention this when this film comes up.
I've. Four times. And it's almost impossible Will Smith could represent the robots. Many aren't even humanoid.
However, he could be a GOOD choice for either Powell or Donovan, who represent the "human part" in most stories (in the others is represented by Susan Calvin).
5th law of robotics: None shall support individual(s) or organization(s) that violate rule number 4.
In particular, none shall pay movie made by such group.
6th law of robotics: Violator(s) of 4th law shall be terminated upon its discovery, using every means available at any cost, including violating rules 1, 2, 3.
When properly administered, vacations do not diminish productivity: for
every week you're away and get nothing done, there's another when your boss
is away and you get twice as much done.
-- Daniel B. Luten
- this post brought to you by the Automated Last Post Generator...