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Will Smith as I, Robot

Posted by Hemos on from the gettin'-jiggy-wit'-the-'bot dept.

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. "

6 of 528 comments (clear)

  1. Why no Foundation? by droopus · · Score: 5, Interesting

    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."
  2. Speaking of the 3 laws of robotics. by AltGrendel · · Score: 5, Interesting
    I liked the story of Asimov and Clark attending the opening to 2001.

    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?

    --
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    - Douglas Adams

    1. Re:Speaking of the 3 laws of robotics. by kin_korn_karn · · Score: 5, Interesting

      Asimov seemed to think that robotics/AI could lead to a purer form of humanity. Clarke knew that AI was fundamentally flawed since it was a human creation. I like the spirit of the first, but the second is true as of right now.

  3. Re:Disapointment by sg_oneill · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I dunno.

    I think theres two options in making this film.
    If its authentic to the book, its worth remembering that the book have a sense of humor. Plus with stuff like "positronic brains" and computers the size of buildings , I suspect a tounge will need to be put in the cheek.

    *OR* we can completely shuffle the thing and kill positronics etc, and have a dead serious.... and perhaps boring.... film.

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  4. You have got to see... by cnelzie · · Score: 5, Interesting

    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.

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  5. How to make a Will Smith moview of I, Robot by qubertz · · Score: 5, Interesting

    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.....