"...but I can't appear in a SF film adaptation faithful to the source material!" Posted by Architraz Warden (Member # 4285) on :
As much as I railed hard against "I, Robot" here and other places, after seeing it a few times I decided that it was at the very least a faithful attempt to meet the spirit of the robot novels. Some parts were unnecessary deviations, but as a whole it fit.
The books and two films already made concerning I Am Legend have already set an incredibly wide spread in terms of adaptation. Same place, similar premise, completely different stories. The fact they are naming the film* "I Am Legend" implies that they'll stick closer to the original content than the two productions since I believe (then again "I, Robot" botched that, though it was a late change). I still hold out hope this will continue that trend nicely.
*The implication I'm trying to make here is that the origin of the "I Am Legend" phrase should be the product of the same cast of characters as appeared in the original.
Posted by JonHecht (Member # 9712) on :
I am very much looking forward to this book. Besides, I, Robot was based on a story called I, Robot... just not the Asimov one.
Posted by Puffy Treat (Member # 7210) on :
Well, I, Robot was based on a spec script called 'Hardwired' that they later funneled a bit of the plot of that original 'I, Robot' story into along with some of Asimov's more famous characters and the Three Laws.
Architraz: I hope they at least keep the bitterly ironic twist that leads to the title, yeah. Posted by Architraz Warden (Member # 4285) on :
quote:Originally posted by JonHecht: I am very much looking forward to this book. Besides, I, Robot was based on a story called I, Robot... just not the Asimov one.
I'm attempting to recall the original I, Robot story... I've read Asimov's collection too many times since I read the original. Everything Asimovian is items that were tacked on (US Robotics, the robot warehouse, Calvin, the three laws) except for the final 'twist' (and the irony that the movie killed the robot who grasped the Zeroth Law while he was a hero in the books).
Oh well, now back to your regularly scheduled "I Am Legend" topic.
Posted by Puffy Treat (Member # 7210) on :
Hmmm. A new version of the second trailer was posted after midnight, complete with new scenes and a slightly more wistful, gloomy focus.
Slightly. Posted by JonHecht (Member # 9712) on :
""I, Robot" is a science fiction short story by Eando Binder (nom de plume for Earl and Otto Binder) about a robot named Adam Link. It was published well before the unrelated and more famous book I, Robot by Isaac Asimov."
This is the I, Robot that the movie was based on.
Would link you to the wiki page on it, but it has parens in it and this board doesn't like parentheses.
Posted by Architraz Warden (Member # 4285) on :
His work is the one Asimov's collection was named after, much to Asimov's disappointment if I recall. Which is why it's funny the name "I, Robot" wound up with Asimov's Estate (at least I think it did, this was a sticking point with naming the movie such).
But original script or not, I still think it's equal parts Asimov and Binder. The original was seen from the robot's point of view while the new one is from and outside viewer's in some cases, and from Spooner's the rest. Sonny really wasn't the main character. It's not even the same story from another side (similar yes, same no). I still maintain that VIKI is a distinctly Asimovian character, and there certainly wasn't such a creation in Binder's.
Posted by Architraz Warden (Member # 4285) on :
quote:Originally posted by Puffy Treat: Hmmm. A new version of the second trailer was posted after midnight, complete with new scenes and a slightly more wistful, gloomy focus.
Slightly.
Definitely more polished than the one they had up yesterday, but it seems to reveal less of the plot...
Posted by SteveRogers (Member # 7130) on :
I loved the book. Despite obvious changes, I'm excited for the movie. I think it looks fairly well done. And Will Smith is a great actor. So, I think I'll probably pay money to see it.
Posted by SteveRogers (Member # 7130) on :
And the book club at my school recently read this as our selection. The discussion lacked because not many people were able to make the meeting. But most people seemed to get something from the book regardless of whether they liked it or not.
Posted by Carrie (Member # 394) on :
I saw a commercial for it tonight that was far longer than anything I'd seen for the movie yet.
I don't know if I want to see it. I like the idea and I think it could be alright; that said, I don't deal well with animal deaths. At least, I'm assuming that's what happens to that lovely German Shepherd...
Posted by 0Megabyte (Member # 8624) on :
My friend, when she saw the trailer, described it as "a little bit Children of Men, a little bit Dawn of the Dead, and a little bit Descent."
She knows nothing of the book, but... yeah. It does have a bit of the feeling of those movies, doesn't it?
At least the trailer.
Posted by BlackBlade (Member # 8376) on :
One of the reasons I'm glad this film is being made is that a few months ago Orson Scott Card complained that they wanted to make I believe it was Graff white in the Ender's Game movie and said that no African American can lead a movie on his own. Card cited Will Smith as a counter example and this would be his third movie I can think of where he leads by himself.
Posted by scholar (Member # 9232) on :
But what are the odds of getting Will Smith?
Posted by BlackBlade (Member # 8376) on :
quote:Originally posted by scholar: But what are the odds of getting Will Smith?
I was thinking more in terms of Will Smith is good for paradigm bustin. Not necessarily a good Graff.
Posted by Belle (Member # 2314) on :
Possible spoiler for those who haven't read the books about the lovely German Shepherd, though I doubt it will spoil the movie since the odds are good that what happens in the book does NOT happen in the movie. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * If the film is faithful to the book (doubtful) then the dog will buy the farm. There is a dog in the book, though it's a very minor character, and it does indeed die, but it isn't captured and eaten by vampires as it appears to be in the trailers - it dies of the disease. * * * * * * * End spoiler
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
I assumed from the trailer that it contracted the disease and turned into a vampire dog, which'd be even worse.
I saw it as a little bit of "Cast Away" mixed with maybe "Blade," and "28 Days Later."
Posted by 0Megabyte (Member # 8624) on :
Having read the book now, I find the ending bitter and terrible and painful, but, of course, fitting.
I wonder if they'll keep something like it.
Posted by Rakeesh (Member # 2001) on :
I doubt it. Like The Mist. Man, that ending was terrible. In fact, the last twenty minutes or so, it's as though someone went about sabotaging it.
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
My best friend saw The Mist and it sounded like your average slasher monster flick, but the ending sounded particularly harsh...and considering the genre, maaaybe a little bit funny. But then I have a hard time not finding most movies like that to be comedies in disguise.
Posted by Belle (Member # 2314) on :
How does the Movie "Mist" end? I've read the King short story, so I know how it ends. Is the movie different?
No need to worry about spoiling me, I don't do scary flicks, but you may want to put in spoiler warnings for others if you can answer me.
Posted by Puffy Treat (Member # 7210) on :
At the very least, they need a way to explain the title. Without using the book's ending, it doesn't make much sense.
Posted by Puffy Treat (Member # 7210) on :
The Mist was never one of my favorite King stories, so I had no intention of seeing the film. However, someone did spoil the ending for me:
The guy shoots his son and the other survivors in his car so that the monsters won't make them suffer. No bullets left, he gets out of his car and screams for the monsters to come and get him.
The mist lifts. It's the military coming, not monsters. They've destroyed the creatures, have been rescuing/picking up survivors.
He killed them all for nothing, was actively leading them away from help and safety.
Basically, the same ol' gruesome twist ending a zillion EC Comics and Twilight Zone episodes have used before. Whee.
Posted by Chipmunk (Member # 7975) on :
Carrie wrote:
quote: that said, I don't deal well with animal deaths
Ditto.
Would someone who's seen it kindly post a no-details gruesomeness rating? Thanks in advance. It's been almost 3 decades, and I still haven't recovered from the squishy scene in "Saturn 3".
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