Since I Am Legend hit theaters back on December 14th, it’s grossed around $228 million, according to Box Office Guru. Will Smith is a huge draw and movie goers went out in droves to catch this film.
Apparently, it did so well that Warner Brothers is seeing $$$ in their eyes and have gotten I Am Legend author Richard Matheson to sign off on sequel rights to the movie.
According to the source of this rumor, (ShockTilYouDrop) this doesn’t necessarily mean a sequel WILL be made, it just gives Warner Brothers the rights to one if they find a good script or feel it would be wise move.
I’m not going to get into the obvious reasons why this is a horrible idea based on the way the first movie finished. The fact is that it’s sad to me that Hollywood apparently is so short on movie ideas, especially science fiction plots, that they resort to sequels on movies that really shouldn’t have them.
Mark Harris of Entertainment Weekly wrote an article an issue or two back about this topic, which is why it was on my mind when I saw the news about an I Am Legend sequel. The article was titled “Is science fiction out of ideas?” and raised some interesting points.
The thing is, not only is this idea for a sequel bad, but I Am Legend is already a movie that’s been made THREE TIMES now, just under different names. That’s part of the reason why I had hoped it would be more like the book, because at least that would have FELT original.
Heck, even a series I love, Battlestar Galactica, is taken from an old TV show. You can’t get away from it.
Harris writes:
It’s one thing to revere and refresh a genre’s history; it’s another to live obsessively in the past, especially if science fiction’s whole purpose is to extrapolate elements from today’s world to create a future we’ve never imagined. When it comes to spaceships, giant monsters from afar, cloning, and robots, we’ve now been there, done that, remade it, added new CGI, seen the director’s cut, played the videogame, read the fan fiction, and bought the collectibles. Where do we go from here?
That’s a good question. I have no idea. I think it lies in the hands of the writers of stories to come up with some new ideas that will take what we have and flip it upside down. Harris makes this point as well, saying he just wishes a “great writer or director with no affection for the genre would let his imagination run wild…”
He adds:
It happened 40 years ago, when Stanley Kubrick, following his own ice-cold muse and his fascination with science itself, decided he wanted to create something that ”extended the range of science fiction,” a genre that didn’t particularly impress him. What nerve! The result was 2001: A Space Odyssey, which changed the game so completely that in movies, the sci-fi genre immediately vanished for a few years while everyone surveyed an irrevocably altered landscape.
2001 must have blown people’s minds! What a great moment in movie history.
My imagination isn’t built for thinking of a way to fix something like this, but I’m very much behind the idea.
Personally, I think what makes good science fiction is a unique story. The Matrix was a movie I think that fits the bill a little bit here. At least technically it took future science fiction movies to a new level with the cameras and technology it developed to make the film.
But more than that, the story hadn’t been seen or done before (to my recollection) and it was a great, UNIQUE experience.
Another movie that I loved in this way was Dark City, a film people usually haven’t heard of but was fantastic and different. Keifer Sutherland is one of the stars of the movie alongside Jennifer Connelly.
I remember seeing it and thinking “That was so different than the stuff I usually watch in science fiction, and it was so wonderful to experience.” Why can’t they make more movies like that?
While I Am Legend certainly has a plot that should be cool enough to define as unique, it’s been done before and the writers still were too scared to end the movie the way Matheson ended the book.
Now THAT would have been something that made people think. Something different.
What do you think? Is the genre stale? Can you think of any good unique sci-fi films?
I have one more that I will bring up a bit later today or tomorrow, a movie recommendation that fits the definition of science fiction and unique.
The Matrix was original…except for where it was like Dark City…which came out first…
LOL
I only saw Dark City once, so maybe I need to go back and see the similarities between the two.
First off I don’t consider I am Legend to be sci fi. Second, I think a good sequel could be developed, but the better question is why?
As you said the movie is done, it had a good ending and IMO should be left alone.
As for the sci fi genre, it’s stale because Hollywood is too lazy to do any real digging. There are hundreds of great sci fi stories out there sitting on bookshelves waiting to be great movies. But Hollywood really doesn’t care about that tho, they are interested in one thing and one thing only $$$$. And they want to make it as easy as possible. That’s why sequels are so popular. If it made money once, let’s lock a couple writers in a room and then crank out the sequel.
That’s one reason why I really like and admire actors like George Clooney, Matt Damon, and Sean Penn. They go out of their way to find quality original material and bring it to the screen. At least they do more than most.
There are a ton of great sci-fi stories out there. i remember in high school reading one about a guy who travels to the future (ok, been done before) but gets trapped there. He has a disintegrator gun but its silent, he gets attacked by whatever mankind cavemen ther are, but they always keep attacking him because the weapon is silent. He eventually figures out sound is what scares them off and ends up using the gun as a hammer to build his house… Why not tap into the many many sci-fi stories out there?
I kind of see that Scott, but sci-fi/supernatural stuff kind of melds into one thing I think. It’s not sci-fi, but it’s also “in the future” and therefor an an air of that around it.
Plus, I mean, it was like a zombie movie after awhile, which I guess might be more horror than anything, but still.
Good points all around you guys, there are some great stories out there that could be told.
Scott – You realize that Matt Damon has been in two trilogies right?
There are definitely TONS of good sci-fi (not fantasy which I don’t really like) stories out there going all the way back to like the 30s and 40s (might need some tweaks for the science part but still good stories). Even when Hollywood finds them they don’t know what to do with them. A great example is how they turned “Mimsy Were the Borogoves” into “The Last Mimsy”…which was not even on the same level…
Great short story sci-fi is what made me want to be a filmmaker when I was younger. At the time I hoped no one would ever stumble onto all the great stories I was finding because I wanted to make them all into movies… Now I’m thinking of sending some books to the studios in the hopes that SOMEONE gets a clue…
Jason -I knew someone would pick up on that. Like most actors he makes a variety of movies. I just think he makes better choices than most.
You guys are missing the point. The key thing about an I Am Legend sequel is $228 million. That’s it. If Warner Bros. thinks it can do another film and approach that number (especially in this strike-filled climate), you better believe they’re going to explore the idea. It’s actually a no-brainer and has NOTHING at all to do with whether there are original ideas anymore. Nothing at all.
Matt Damon does make good choices and has been in some awesome, unique films.
I think most good ideas for movies tend to come from books and stories, so I agree with Jason, people in Hollywood need to read a bit more.
I don’t think we’re missing the point Michael, I think we’re just saying that it sucks.
Oooh, we can make a totally unoriginal sequel of a movie where the ending kind of doesn’t leave it open to a sequel, just because we can make more money.
It’s just sad.
Highly unnecessary in my opinion.
I would agree with Scott on his take that this is not sci-fi. I would put it in the horror category – more along the lines with 28 Days Later. It’s not a blood-n-guts or slasher flick, but it doesn’t necessarily need to be for it to carry the horror label.
Unfortunately I think Michael is correct – regardless of whether it is good judgment or in the best interest of the overall classic story all that Warner Brothers cares about is the box office $$$, therefore they will do what it takes to strike gold again, even if it means eating their own young…
I’d like to see one done based on When Worlds Collide and it’s sequel After Worlds Collide. Of course, this one was done as a B-movie back in the 50’s (”When worlds collide, said George Pal to his bride, I’m gonna give you some terrible thrills”) but it really deserves a better treatment.
We had close calls with Deep Impact and Armageddon but Earth survived. Earth doesn’t make it out of this one. It gets smacked by a planet the size of Neptune. The remains of the human race have to take up housekeeping on a dead world and discover its mysteries while dealing with all too human social problems.
There is plenty of human drama potential in both stories although I could see Hollywood screwing this up in some way.
I’m still waiting for the sequel to Titanic since that was such a “smashing” success…
Wow Frank, that sounds pretty sweet.
Both Titan AE and Hitchhikers guide to the galaxy both vaporize earth as well…..
And don’t forget they vaporize Alderaan in Star Wars
If someone would just vaporize Hollywood…
Yeah right. If Hollywood were “vaporized”, society as we know it would collapse. COLLAPSE!!
Your society perhaps. I do believe, and please, correct me if I am wrong, but societies have lasted for thousands of years before Hollywood was around. Which leads me to believe that Hollywood needs society much more than society needs Hollywood.
I think I’d be alright…although I’d have nothing to write about anymore
Yeah…they’ve got these things called books. Made from paper and they have words printed on them – you might have heard of them before…?
Other than that you could always write on stuff that you like that has either been canceled or gone out of fashion before its time.
If they vaporized Hollywood we would be stuck with only movies from Bollywood, and that my friend is not going to fly on the Cap’ns ship!
Books, heh. I always like how people say “Don’t judge a book by its cover…” Really? How do you buy your books? Walk into a bookstore blindfolded, run into any random shelf, reach your handout and BAMMO, exclaim “I got to have this one!!!”?
I might try that actually…with my luck, I’ll get a book on how to select books for reading material.
“Wow! I really love the typeset in this book. Is this Courier New? No way! I have to buy this book!”
Jason A Clark’s last blog post..Writers Guild Awards Screen Nominations For 2008 Announced
LOL..ok, typeset might be the better selection choice… I like that Jason!!
“Hey – isn’t this the book that was edited by so-in-so? I love their editing work, they always do such a great job! I’m buying it.”
[...] This week we’ve been talking a little about science fiction and time travel, first the book Replay which I reviewed and then the idea that science fiction as a genre is running out of good ideas. [...]
Ok so if someone did come up with an original idea for a movie and was not a writer where one you go to get started….
Had this one in my head and partly on paper for a while and every so often i see a program or film that reminds me i still have not seen it done
its based around a familier saying
thats all i’m saying
Write it and try to get it in the hands of someone who can do something about it. A long shot, but you gotta try.
Can this movie truly be called “I am legend”?
Anyone who says that Warner Bros. picture : “I am Legend” was anything but an unimaginative make a quick buck approach to movie making don’t know what they are talking about. The movie was in no way based on the book by Richard Matheson. In fact it did not deserve to be called “I am legend”. It should have been called “Alone in New York”, I think I’m the last man, The Plague, or the Omega Man (remake), but definitely not “I am legend”. The first 2 movies/adaptation of the Richard Matheson novel had the decency not to name the movie “I am legend”. By naming the movie I am legend it makes it very difficult (and very unlikely) that someone will get the opportunity to make a truly great adaptation of the novel. It is a good thing that the “Lord of the Rings” trilogy was made by Peter Jackson and not Mr. I don’t have an original thought andf not imagination Goldman.
You can’t make a sequel after the main charater dies. Yes, a prequel would be amazing. How does Robert Neville survive all the chaos in New York? How does he become the last man in NY? What’s his reaction after his family crashes in the helicopter? How does he found out he’s immune to the disease? How did he get on the cover of time magazine? There were so many questions left unanswered in the flash backs that there is plenty of room for a prequel!
Its the movies, noone ever truly dies… heck just ask Freddy Kruger… the dood wont stay down!!
It was stupid to kill off the Virologist Robert Neville in the first place, Virologist do not grow on trees, and that vial is not the cure, it was in the bag of saline solutions and in the files that he had. There is no way for Anna to have gotten the cure to the camp and she did not know what to tell the people at the camp how to recreate the cure! So Robert Neville has to live or man kind is dead. And the Darkstalker will not last more then a few more years either, they are eating up everything that they can find. Either Robert Neville to save all of man kind or all is doomed
Anna gave a vial of blood that is not a cure! It take time and information to find a cure, and she did not have the data, just the vial of blood! Also we did not see Neville die we saw an explodsion. I had written a short story as to how he could have survived the blast, when the darkstalker came in the room they knocked in the door, he could have used that door as a sheild from the blast after he pushed the Alpha male back into the groupp of other darkstalkers!