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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."

21 of 522 comments (clear)

  1. Apple ads? by AtariAmarok · · Score: 5, Funny

    Maybe Apple plans to come out with an iRobot.
    Sorry, Dean Kamen.

    --
    Don't blame Durga. I voted for Centauri.
    1. Re:Apple ads? by Genady · · Score: 5, Funny

      It's quite easy to see that this is not a rip off of an Apple ad. The anouncer most obviously isn't Jeff Goldblum. Feh. You Apple obsessed people will see Apple in Apple everything (oh yeah... Apple)

      --


      What if it is just turtles all the way down?
    2. Re:Apple ads? by the+Man+in+Black · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Asimov does not make any mention of black characters in I Robot. Why does film-whore-house need to include a black character?

      So if race isn't specified, the casting should default to white?

      Here you go, troll. Here's a cookie. Do you like cookies?

  2. Actually Believed? by GeekLife.com · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Did you take a poll? The big green screen that stated "THE FOLLOWING PREVIEW..." made it pretty clear to folks in our theater.

    It was a good preview, but give RotK fanatics more credit than that.

    1. Re:Actually Believed? by mazesoft · · Score: 5, Interesting

      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.

  3. Fully automated domestic assistants by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    We already have ""fully automated domestic assistant". See Real Doll.

  4. The Missing (Trailer) Link by GeekLife.com · · Score: 5, Informative
  5. Target Audience by Amarok.Org · · Score: 5, Insightful
    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.

    Something tells me that these people probably aren't the target audience of the film anyway.

    --
    -- "Other than that, how was the play Mrs. Lincoln?"
  6. I feel lawsuit by moehoward · · Score: 5, Funny

    iApple will sue, saying they have an iTrademark on iXXX where XXX = noun.

    Please do not mark this as a dupe to the first post.

    iThank you.

    --
    "If you want to improve, be content to be thought foolish and stupid." - Epictetus
  7. I thought it was a product by Stile+65 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    My friend and I were watching ROTK and saw the ad. We both thought it was a product, and the name idea was swiped from Asimov. iPod, iPaq, iRobot - maybe like an inside joke for those who get it.

    The website also makes it look like a commercial and like you can start ordering those robots starting in the summer of next year.

    How exactly do they expect people who have never read anything by Asimov to catch on that this is a movie? I've seen people I know linking to the website in their journals and saying something like "I want one of these."

    --
    I claim first use of "Error No. 0B" - or "No. 0B error." It'll be the new ID 10T!
  8. Re:movie title misleading? by Tango42 · · Score: 5, Informative

    Caves of Steel was a novel, I, Robot was a series of short stories. They are both based on Positronic Robots, with the 3 laws of robotics, but they are different stories. Caves of Steel is set much futher in the future, for a start (in fact some of I, Robot is set in the past now, because Asimiov was too optimistic)

  9. That's not a link, dumbass, that's just a URL. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

    This is a link. AC so I'm not a karma-whore.

  10. iTaly by AtariAmarok · · Score: 5, Funny

    The country of iTaly, knowing it is a matter of time before Apple's lawyers turn their eye on them, is making moves to official change their name to "Olive Garden" (hoping to still attract tourists wanting to sample the famous cuisine).

    --
    Don't blame Durga. I voted for Centauri.
    1. Re:iTaly by ebuck · · Score: 5, Funny

      Gee, and I thought that iTaly was Apple's new accounting software with the Venice plugin for utilites, the Florence payroll system, and the Sicily add on for evading taxes.

  11. Aha! by leomekenkamp · · Score: 5, Funny

    "Your Plastic Pal Who's Fun To Be With!"

    Ehhm...

    Sorry, wrong book, wrong movie.

    --
    Wenn ist das Nunstueck git und Slotermeyer? Ja! Beiherhund das Oder die Flipperwaldt gersput.
  12. Very clever marketing, in fact by fruey · · Score: 5, Interesting
    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...

    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?

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    Conversion Rate Optimisation French / English consultant
  13. Re:Shitty Trailers and shittier commercials by Anomalous+Cowbird · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Why does it seem that movies are making trailers look more and more like commercials?

    I hate to disillusion you, but . . . movie trailers are commercials!

  14. Re:What? No trailer link? by aardvarko · · Score: 5, Funny

    "No Encoding." Yeah, you've got this whole video thing down pat.

  15. Re:Battery debacle by Snarfangel · · Score: 5, Funny

    They do. Just replace "human being" with "corporate officer" and "robot" with "worker."

    --
    This tagline is copyrighted material. Please send $10 for an affordable replacement.
  16. Re: You laugh... by A55M0NKEY · · Score: 5, Informative

    But I think battery life is one of the main reasons we don't see more robotic gizmos for sale. That vacuum cleaner disc that they sell on TV looks like it wouldn't hold more than a cup of dirt, and probably has less power than a dust buster. But if it were equivalent to my 12 amp dirt devil upright, then it would look interesting. Batteries are the stumbling block. Blind people already keep their houses 'just so' so that they can use robot-like algorithms to find stuff. ( i.e. the refrigerator is 10 steps to the left of the bedroom door, follow the wall right 3 1/2 steps turn left open a door, one step ahead is the kitchen table, feel it, the fridge is directly behind the secondof four chairs. Quadraplegics might keep their houses Asimo-friendly so that it would be able to fetch things out of the fridge for them or whatever. You could have a simple 'bot for kids that moves any item with a 'toy' rfid tag from the floor to a toybox.
    If there were decent batteries, one might see an Asimo type 'bot around the house or even a segway-style stair climbing vaccum cleaner with decent amps right now.

    --

    Eat at Joe's.

  17. It's really "The Caves of Steel" by ForemastJack · · Score: 5, Informative

    I browse at +3, so if someone's mentioned this, sorry. But it's clear from the IMDB entry that this is not an adaptation of Asimov's I, Robot, but rather Asimov's The Caves of Steel. Here's what IMDB says:

    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.

    That's good, as far as I'm concerned. Lije Bailey was one of Asimov's better characters, and it's the introduciton of a certain R. Daneel. But the imdb credits also list a "Dr. Susan Calvin" as a character -- she's from I, Robot...hm...

    Oh, hell, who knows what they doing. I'll wager that the end product bears no resemblence to anything Asimovian.

    On the other hand, Bridget Moynahan is in the movie, and there ain't nothing wrong with that.