From DH:
I don't, in theory, have much against Will Smith. He's charming, he's cute-ish, he was The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air ("I got in one little fight and my Mom got scared / She said you're moving with your Auntie and your Uncle in Bel-Air"), and Six Degrees of Seperation is one of my favorite films (that's due to Stockard Channing, though, not so much him).
But I felt burned by I, Robot - as Alex Proyas' return to sci-fi after directing the truly awesome Dark City, what a let-down; I think Proyas probably felt burned, too, by a dumb script and Smith's star-meddling.
I've not seen Ali, but Smith did look and sound the part; so I can't judge if that was his last quality film... but everything else he's known for, in all his days as a "movie star", is tripe. (Though I will admit I've watched Independence Day more than I'd like to... but, but, Jeff Goldblum!)
Anyway, I loved Richard Matheson's book I Am Legend. It's both a terrifying and intelligent read. And yes, it already got turned into a (fun) schlockfest with Charlton Heston once. So the precedent exists for the story to be dumbed-down and Hollywood-ized... and I'm not really that attached to the psuedo-science in the book, they can jettison all... well, most of that... if they just make it scary. The book is leave-your-lights-on-all-night scary; I don't want some cheesy CG-enhanced crappy treatment of this book. I want a balls-out fright fest. This story has that, as of yet, unrealized filmic potential.
Hiring the director of Constantine troubles me, because while I liked Constantine more than I probably should have (but, but, Tilda Swinton as the Arch-Angel Gabriel... and Peter Stormare as Satan!) it was all about using crappy CG way too much. This is a story that screams for old-school special effects; I want Rick Baker or Tom effin' Savini doing the make-up and gore - truckloads of gore - for this; I don't want some show-offy shot where we zoom through a CG wound; I want to feel battered and bruised and bloodied by it.
So... I'm hesitantly optimistic... just that it's getting made, really. I'm hopeful they don't fuck it up. It's obviously too early to tell. Fingers crossed. It could be worse... Arnold Schwarzenegger was supposed to play the part a few years back. Yikes!
"Will Smith will star in the long gestating Warner Bros. sci-fi thriller "I Am Legend", and its expected to be his follow-up project once he wraps work on Sony's "Tonight, He Comes" superhero flick reports Ananova.
Based on the classic by Richard Matheson, and a post-apocalyptic New York. "I Am Legend" is about the last healthy man following the release of a virus that decimates the population. To survive, he must battle mutants that wreak havoc during the night.
Akiva Goldsman ("A Beautiful Mind", "The Da Vinci Code") is penning the adaptation which will be directed by Francis Lawrence ("Constantine"). Shooting is scheduled to begin in New York early next year."
I don't, in theory, have much against Will Smith. He's charming, he's cute-ish, he was The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air ("I got in one little fight and my Mom got scared / She said you're moving with your Auntie and your Uncle in Bel-Air"), and Six Degrees of Seperation is one of my favorite films (that's due to Stockard Channing, though, not so much him).
But I felt burned by I, Robot - as Alex Proyas' return to sci-fi after directing the truly awesome Dark City, what a let-down; I think Proyas probably felt burned, too, by a dumb script and Smith's star-meddling.
I've not seen Ali, but Smith did look and sound the part; so I can't judge if that was his last quality film... but everything else he's known for, in all his days as a "movie star", is tripe. (Though I will admit I've watched Independence Day more than I'd like to... but, but, Jeff Goldblum!)
Anyway, I loved Richard Matheson's book I Am Legend. It's both a terrifying and intelligent read. And yes, it already got turned into a (fun) schlockfest with Charlton Heston once. So the precedent exists for the story to be dumbed-down and Hollywood-ized... and I'm not really that attached to the psuedo-science in the book, they can jettison all... well, most of that... if they just make it scary. The book is leave-your-lights-on-all-night scary; I don't want some cheesy CG-enhanced crappy treatment of this book. I want a balls-out fright fest. This story has that, as of yet, unrealized filmic potential.
Hiring the director of Constantine troubles me, because while I liked Constantine more than I probably should have (but, but, Tilda Swinton as the Arch-Angel Gabriel... and Peter Stormare as Satan!) it was all about using crappy CG way too much. This is a story that screams for old-school special effects; I want Rick Baker or Tom effin' Savini doing the make-up and gore - truckloads of gore - for this; I don't want some show-offy shot where we zoom through a CG wound; I want to feel battered and bruised and bloodied by it.
So... I'm hesitantly optimistic... just that it's getting made, really. I'm hopeful they don't fuck it up. It's obviously too early to tell. Fingers crossed. It could be worse... Arnold Schwarzenegger was supposed to play the part a few years back. Yikes!
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