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. "

Comments

I Robot? Wrong book

[91degrees]

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

The script was already there

[EkiM in De]

I doubt that this is going to be a reasonably faithful adaptation from the book we all know and love:

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.

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.

Didn't we have this debate before?

[LittleGuy]

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.

Re:Mis-casting?

[Amoeba]

Is it just me or does Will Smith seem like a very bad choice for this film?

I'm not so certain. Smith can act in serious roles, it's just that he's more well known for his comedic characters. My initial thought was Will Smith was a bad choice until I hit IMDB to satisfy the voice in my head that said he's never done a serious role well. Where the Day Takes You was a strong non-comedy role of Smith's. Great friggin movie. And though I didn't like Ali much he did a credible job of portraying one of the most well-known sports figures in history.

-Amoeba