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Asimov's "I, Robot" Gets Movie Treatment
sdimbert writes "Isaac Asimov's classic collection of short stories about the role robots play in humankind's future is being made into a movie set to release on July 16, 2004, starring Wil Smith. The most notable part of the release build-up is the fact that the movie's trailer, most often seen before screenings of The Returnn of the King plays more like a product commercial (like Apple's flat-panel iMac ads) than a movie trailer. Suffice it to say that most of the audence that saw it with me had no idea they had just seen a movie trailer; they actually believed that someone was going to start selling a "fully automated domestic assistant" some time next year."
Actually, in the 2 different theatres I went to, the typical Green screen before every trailer was not shown with this one. It simply went from the end of 1 trailer into what appeared to be another commercial.
Unfortunately, this looks like it will be as bad as The Bicentennial Man adaptation that was made a few years ago with Robin Williams.
The best movie that will never get made is Harlan Ellison's I, Robot.
Get the book, read the script. It's the greatest movie you'll never see.
www.lucernesys.comHorizon: Calendar-based personal finance
I think the Foundation series of books is much better than I, Robot.
Everyone I know who picked up and read Foundation went on and read the rest of the series in less than a week.
That's the whole point. What better way to get everyone to talk about your movie? The site does not give a single indication that this is a joke, it drops a few hints though... if you read it all, it's far too exaggerated and heavy on technobabble, but I bet people are trying to contact them and call them in order to have demos on their TV shows and all sorts. I wonder how long they can keep it up?
Conversion Rate Optimisation French / English consultant
Time to put in a plug for the exquisite "I Robot" album by the Alan Parsons Project, released in 1977. It's a concept album, but it is not an adapation of the Asimov stories. From the liner notes:
The story of the rise of 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.
The songs "I Wouldn't Want to Be Like You" and "The Voice" were the only ones I recall receiving any airplay.
Don't blame Durga. I voted for Centauri.
The real star is Bridget Moynahan of Coyote Ugly fame.
I would have loved to have seen him in something new. Star Trek would have you believe all he can do is say, "Yes, sir!" and push buttons, but after reading his site you sort of get to know the guy...
"To confine our attention to terrestrial matters would be to limit the human spirit." -Stephen Hawking
Hrmmm... On one hand, the idea of a movie based on I, Robot worrys me, [insert usual concern over Hollywoodization of classic Sci-Fi and Fantasy reading] but the director does have a couple good movies to his name, (i.e. The Crow (the original one, not the crappy sequals) and Dark City), so it may fare well.
Just as long as he doesnt try to do what the Matrix tried to do, and instead follows in the Peter Jackson style of turning classic books from a particular genre into an amazing series of movies.
But is it just me, or does anyone else see a sudden trend in movies about what "could" go wrong in a far more technologically advanced world?
"Our funds have never taken part in toxic or death spiral convertible financings of any sort" -BayStar's managing partne
This:
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0005256/
could not be Susan Calvin!
Guys at Hollywood, can't you bypass your stereotypes at least for Asimov? Please?
making fresh and relevant...not to mention hip.
As for the claim its not meant to be apple style...come on! You better believe there is going to be an apple tie-in somewhere...and why not? At least in this case it would be APPROPRIATE. Robots and computers go together like peanut butter and jelly.
I got it immediately, but then, I grew up reading Asimov books including I, Robot. However, my wife ( not a big sf fan ) had no idea what it was even after the 3 laws safe part. The trailer isn't going to mean a thing to anyone that has never read Isaac Asimov which is pretty dumb IMHO for a marketing campaign targeted at the general public. Big budget movies based on books reach a broader audience than the books do. Something like 50 million copies of Lord Of the Rings have been sold, but many more than 50 million people have seen the first two movies and will see the third one. I, Robot was a book of short stories. I wonder which one ( if any ) this movie will be actually be based on.. They used to have good books of short stories, I really don't see that format in the bookstore anymore... I wonder what happened?
Eat at Joe's.
And while you're there, build your own custom robot, just like on the major car manufacturers websites! Ooooooh.....
See the movie Six Degrees of Separation and discover for yourself that Will Smith is an incredibly talented actor. He just usually uses his talent to make very mainstream movies.
.
for one, "i, robot" is a collection of short stories. read the robot novels (caves of steel, naked sun, robots of dawn). ironically, in another collection of robot stories (robot visions, i believe) asimov says that he likes his own robot stuff better than the foundation series.
BSD is for people who love UNIX. Linux is for those who hate Microsoft.
Sort of the opposite of the "film trailer" for "Lucky Star" with Benicio Del Toro, which actually turned out to be a Mercedes advert directed by Michael Mann. Not sure if it appeared in the US, but it was shown in the UK a while back.
Suck figs.
This is crazed.
The combination of literaly millions of factors that make the particular lump of carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, and other trace elements you refer to "Will Smith" is infinitely complex.
Yet the one element you see making the decision, the only possible reason he'd be cast is because his skin is a few shades darker than yours.
It couldn't possibly be because he happens to be a fairly popular actor with a group of people who've probably never read Asimov's books.
It couldn't possibly be because he does have some talent as an actor.
It couldn't possibly be because he brings a big name to the screen.
Do you honestly belive that the only reason, the sole purpose of casting Will Smith for this roll, was the color of his skin? If that's the case, why not go out and cast some black kid fresh out of drama school? Clearly tallent doesn't matter.
It's not about racial issues. It's a casting call. No one thinks it's going to change the world. Get over yourself.
Killfile(TGK)
No trees were killed in the creation of this post. However, many electrons were inconvenienced.
Sorry, I just heard Bush on the TV and the way he pronounces it made me think it was spelled that way. My nibble on alternatives:
I find these guys very interesting because they write about the intersections between culture and technology in a pretty through way. All their books are copyleft and available there in pdf format.
What do you suggest?
HAD
Will Smith is an incredibly talented actor.
I couldn't agree more. Just because someone chooses to make drivel doesn't mean that they can't produce a real, down-to-earth piece of cinema. Take Jim Carrey or Robin Williams, for example. I knew that Jim Carrey could be a phenomenal dramatic actor from the first time I saw him in Ace Ventura. And he proved me right when he did The Majestic, which is one of my favorite movies of all time--despite its overly sappy plot and political beatings over the head. And Robin Williams, who for a long time got away with doing his normal schtick routine, has done a number of wonderful dramatic movies, one of which is--appropriately for this topic--Bicentennial Man. Good Will Hunting, Death to Smoochy (though that one wasn't so much dramatic), One Hour Photo, Awakenings, Dead Poets Society... the list goes on.
I would love to see Will Smith in another good dramatic role. As much as I liked Men In Black, I think he has a lot more potential than that.
my intention is to critizice hollywood's manipulation of the general american public by the use of actors as objects for the sale of their product. "let see, well, we want them black movie goers and hip-hopper wannabes watching this one, so let's put ol' Willy Smith there."
why i think this sucks?
if this does not explain my non-troll intentions, i can't do much else about it. i'll try to read/talk/write to/with people and see if i can speak/write/act in a clearer fashion.
piss.
HAD
But, it looks like it'll be a mess. It'll turn into a Will Smith and CG robot cheesefest.
Don't be so hasty... the director is Alex Proyas, who did The Crow and Dark City, two terrific movies, imo. Proyas has had a pretty good track record so far, so at least give him a chance at a real trailer before writing the movie off completely.
This movie is obviously just using the title to promote itself, as just looking at the synopsis on IMDB demonstrates that its closer to 'Caves of Steel'.
In the year 2035 a techno-phobic cop investigates a crime that may have been perpetrated by a robot, which leads to a larger threat to humanity.
I will put money down that this will be nothing like either book really as they've already introduced characters from places theyve never been. Honestly, this looks like a scifi script that was too generic-brand, and so they decided to 'brand' it with something, chose Asimov, slapped the title on the movie and changed around some character names. This looks like another Hollywood attempt at a scifi movie that shall run along the lines of Minority Report: too much action, not enough substance. Don't even get me started on poor Mr. Philip K Dick whos stories are being raped even as we speak (Disney doing a philip k dick book?! An abomination!)
"What can a thoughtful man hope for mankind on Earth, given the experience of the past million years? Nothing." -Bokonon
Actually, that sounds a lot like I, Robot not by Asimov, but Eando Binder, as seen on Outer Limits (well, it got the OL treatment). BTW that story is older than Asimov's collection of stories.
Lars T.
To the guy who modded me down from perfect to terrible Karma - Apple haters still suck
You know, I didn't think about this until I watched Dark City again about a year ago, but does anyone else feel that the concept behind the film was almost entirely ripped off to create The Matrix? It seems that Dark City was the more cereberal film (not cereberal as in "better", but cereberal as in "slower"), and all The Matrix did was take that concept and throw some guns and fancy slow motion fight scenes into the mix... Maybe I'm being too critical.
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Is it me, or did it just get fatter in here?
This kind of movie ad campaign had already been done by Gattaca in 1997. It advertized in the NY Times, among other places, to have a method of genetically engineering children.
They even had a toll-free number to call, which was pounded heavily. I'm surprised anyone had the gall to copy this strategy... it had some considerably bad backlash, as far as I can remember.
"Don't believe anything you read on the net. Except this. Well, including this, I suppose." --Douglas Adams
The robots would sooner self-destruct than inflict that kind of damage on the human race.
That's completely backwards. The 3 laws could very much force them to construct The Matrix. Asimov's books included hyper-advanced robots which seized control of the human nations, for "the good of humanity". Once a robot exceeds a certain level of intelligence, it comes to understand that you can't save all the people, and that killing a few humans may allow a greater number to survive. (Only the stupider robots, who can't predict the long-term consequences of their actions, see the First Law as an absolute prohibition against killing anyone)
In fact, something like the First Law is the only good excuse for why the Matrix existed, since it obviously wouldn't function as a "electricity generator" at all. (By the First Law, of Newton's Thermodynamics...)
The Matrix robots weren't trying to "inflict damage" on humanity- if that had been the intent, a complete extinction would've happened centuries before. No, they just wanted to keep people safe and happy, knowing that left to their own devices, mankind would engage in lethal, international nuclear war.
That would be so awesome. If some company actually put all it's resources forward to create a robot like that I would take a loan and buy one.
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OK, I, Robot was a great collection of short stories. Harlan Ellison did a brilliant (and then some) job of tying them into a cohesive screenplay. Then, being Ellison, he pissed off some Hollywood types.
Now they're making a movie that's called "I, Robot" but is actually a new story, 'based on parts of the nine originals.' Good grief!
Seriously, if there was ANY intent on the makers' part to do a faithful rendition of I, Robot, they just would have used Ellison's screenplay and be done with it. Given that they have a new writer and a new story, I'll bet real money that this is going to be a crap movie with crap acting and lots of fight/chase scenes, using Asimov's name to sell more seats.
Crap. Why can't someone get it right?
"People who do stupid things with hazardous materials often die." -- Jim Davidson on alt.folklore.urban
You are mistaking entrepreneurship with the Mega corp. The majority of corporations in America are small, less than 100 employees. And the owner is a successful entrepreneur.
My family is full of successful self-employed or small business owners. None started out with a silver spoon, or a rich daddy. Children or grandchildren of immigrants - maybe we are misfits in today's society, but we seem to do better as our own boss instead of being a cog in the giant corporate machine. I control my own destiny, I'll never fear economic downturns or corporate downsizing.
The immigrants have an unfair advantage over the average American: They are not afraid to work hard; to try, fail and get up and try again. They also know what it is to do without, and know how to delay their gratification until they can afford to pay for it.
Not sure where you come from, but Class is a myth in middle America. If you believe that someone is better than you, well then maybe you are right. I, however, know I am better than most and equal to the rest. Now having said that - I do understand your perception that there is a pseudo upper class in America. I am not impressed by the Nuevo-rich that are in debt up to their eyebrows. I am impressed by abilities, what you personally can do, not what you can buy. I watched my father make a good living repairing the vehicles of the people who drove cars that the bank owned. I make 6 figures fixing the computers of the rich and indolent
My depression era parents taught me the virtues of hard work and self restraint; and that is what made them, and me, a success. I would like to find out how you plan on being a success without working for it. You seem to equate work with servitude, birth with riches. I wish you luck.
Not everyone is cut out to be an entrepreneur; most people are followers, not leaders. I wasn't born to follow!
Well, if I left an opening for opposing viewpoints, I would be going against slashdot tradition. :)
Aside from that, you're right, I was harsh.
Taking Daredevil as a continuing example, aside from the casting for the Kingpin, there isn't much that was done RIGHT with the movie, and it left the field wide open for tearing the film apart. The difference between Daredevil's "sight" in the comics versus in the movie is fairly trivial, the fact that he's a public defender who is the prosecutor in a criminal rape case smacks of poor choices and bad writing.
My "Only idiots don't agree with me" comment was directed at people who spend all their time picking a movie apart, ranting about the differences between the book and the movie, unable to enjoy the film in its own right.
There are plenty of examples of "bad adaptation" that I pretty much shut the door on with my comment.
For example, giving a "scientific" explanation for "The Force" in "Phantom Menace" kills much of religious symbolism and imagery of the mythos. It's, theoretically, an adaptation, a way to move the story forward and make it more contemporary and accessible, but it is ultimately damaging. It hurts the earlier movies.
Having Anakin build C3PO on the other hand if an innocuous change, and the fact that C3PO doesn't "recognize" the planet in "A New Hope" is easily dismissed by the whole "Blank their memory" comment Uncle Owen makes.
All that said, getting upset about the changes is silly. So what if Lucas trashes his earlier movies with the new ones? They're his, and he has the right to do with them as he wishes. We can say what we do and don't like and move on.
"Live Free or Die." Don't like it? Then keep out of the USA
Will Smith isn't a bad actor, and neither should you hold the fact that an actress played a 'hot chick' against her. For a lot of actresses -- especially at the start of their carreer -- that's pretty much all that they get offered 95% of the time.
Being a hot babe doesn't mean that someone is either good or bad at something. Some people make the mistake of presuming that beautiful -> dumb. If you do that, you can miss some real jewels. Of course, presuming that beautiful -> smart is similarly fraught with danger. Having worked in a research lab, I can say that I've been blessed to have met a good number of brilliant women who would also classify as very beautiful... On the other hand, I've also run into a couple of women who seemed to have made their way thru their undergrad degree by batting their eyes at whomever was willing to be beguiled by them. Happily, few of the latter seem to make it into (and fewer through) grad school in the faculty of science (can't speak for other faculties).
Similarly, I'd say that Will Smith is a pretty good actor: He's got two things going against him:
1) he's known as a comedian, and
2) he's black
In a lot of ways, I'd say that comedy is a much harder trade than general acting... It requires a much better sense of balance to avoid crossing the line from comedic and stupid. Historically, comedians have had much more success crossing over into serious work than vice-versa.
As for him being black, there's not much you can do about that. Either you'll learn to live with a black investigator in a non-comedic context or you won't... Thankfully, people have (for the most part) managed to drop that preconception most of the time.
Free Software: Like love, it grows best when given away.