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I, Robot
Movie poster i robot.jpg
Directed byAlex Proyas
Written byScreenplay:
Jeff Vintar
Akiva Goldsman
Screen story:
Jeff Vintar
Short stories:
Issac Asimov
Produced byJohn Davis
Topher Dow
Wyck Godfrey
StarringWill Smith
CinematographySimon Duggan
Edited byWilliam Hoy
Richard Learoyd
Armen Minasian
Music byMarco Beltrami
Production
companies
Distributed by20th Century Fox
Release date
July 16, 2004
Running time
115 min.
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$105 million
Box office$347.24 million

I, Robot is a 2004 science fiction film starring Will Smith and directed by Alex Proyas. Loosely inspired by Issac Asimov's short stories of the same name, supporting roles are provided by blah blah blah. I, Robot tells the story of whatever.

Plot

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In 2035 Chicago, robots are commonly seen and used as servants. Del Spooner (Will Smith) is a Chicago Police homicide detective who dislikes the rapid advancement of technology, including robots. This is due to when a robot saved Spooner from a multiple car highway accident (a semi pushed two cars into a river), resulting in the drowning of a girl in the other car, despite him yelling "Save the girl": the robot saved him because it analyzed he had the best probability of surviving. Del is sent to investigate the apparent suicide of Dr. Alfred Lanning (James Cromwell), a scientist at U.S. Robotics, who fell out of his office window.

Del has an uneasy feeling that his friend Lanning was murdered, and he needs to find out who did it and why. With the reluctant help of Susan Calvin (Bridget Moynahan) (she is a robot psychologist working to enhance the human to robot interface) they both try to find answers to the mystery. Del believes that a new NS-5 class robot, Sonny (played by Alan Tudyk), killed Lanning, which means the robot broke the Three Laws of Robotics. Spooner informs the head of USR, Lawrence Robertson, about this. He orders that Sonny is deactivated by way of nanites in order to protect the interests of USR. Throughout Spooner's entire investigation, several attempts at his life are made by USR robots and equipment.

Through his investigations into the case, Spooner determines that Lanning gave Sonny the ability to keep secrets, in the form of dreams. Spooner goes to the place that Sonny described in a dream (the now dried up Lake Michigan, used as a storage area for the defunct USR robots) and discovers that the NS-5s are destroying the older robots, who are acting under traditional human protection protocols. NS-5s all around Chicago, and the rest of the nation, begin holding humans in their households and forcing all people that are out in public to go home, as per the newly set curfew. An all-out war begins between humans and robots, with the robots on the winning side. Spooner rescues Calvin from her own robot, and they both sneak into the USR compound, with the assistance of Sonny, who wasn't deactivated. It is revealed that Calvin deactivated a different robot while Robertson watched, making him assume it was Sonny. As the trio makes their way into Robertson's office, where the NS-5 uplink control is, they find him dead. Spooner deduces that the only one left who could be responsible is VIKI (Virtual Interactive Kinetic Intelligence), USR's main computer that not only uploads information to all the NS-5s, but it also partially controls the complete infrastructure of Chicago.

Despite her Three Laws programming, as her artificial intelligence evolved, so too did her interpretation of the laws. This allowed her to come to the conclusion that in order to protect humanity as a whole "some humans must be sacrificed" and explains further by saying "you charge us with your safekeeping, yet you wage wars and toxify your earth". She used the uplink feature of the NS-5's to attempt a complete takeover, rationalizing that those humans who would be sacrificed as a result of the overthrow, would be a lesser number than those that die as a result of mankind's self-destructive nature - thus her three laws programming compelled her to take the actions she did. She calls in sentry robots and convinces Sonny to see her point of view, which makes him take Calvin at gunpoint and request that they both leave the building.

Sonny then winks (imitating an expression that Spooner used towards his captain earlier) to Spooner, signaling him that he has not been persuaded by VIKI, and then both of them dispatch all the robots in the office. All three then head towards VIKI to deactivate her Positronic brain, which is in the large atrium in the center of the building. Sonny retrieves a dose of nanites and brings them to Spooner and Calvin, who are busy fighting off an army of NS-5 robots that are trying to defend VIKI's access point. When Calvin is just about to fall to her death, Spooner, not in a position to help, yells to Sonny to save her. After a second of hesitation, Sonny tosses the nanites towards Spooner while he jumps to save Calvin. Spooner catches the nanites and falls about 30 stories, using his mechanical arm to break, landing on VIKI's brain. He injects the nanites directly, destroying VIKI and the robots return to normal, the overriding uplink signal having disappeared. All the NS-5s are then decommissioned and stored at the Lake Michigan site, where Sonny is left to find his way in the world.

Cast

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Development

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Inspired by the release of Star Wars, the film rights to Issac Asimov's short stories series, I, Robot, were optioned by Warner Bros. in 1977.[1] Harlan Ellison was hired to write the screenplay using collaborative input from Asimov;[2] the author believed Ellison's script would have made "the first really adult, complex, worthwhile science fiction movie."[3] The script built a framework around the stories that involved a reporter named Robert Bratenahl tracking down information about Susan Calvin's alleged former lover, Stephen Byerly. In constructing the storyline as a series of flashbacks that focused on character development rather than action, Ellison used the film Citizen Kane as a role model.[2]

Although acclaimed by critics, the screenplay was considered to have been unfilmable based upon budget limitations at the time with visual effects.[2] Ellison and Warner Bros. president Robert Shapiro also held differences over artistic control issues. The writer explained that Shapiro was commenting on the script without having read it, and accused him of having the "intellectual capacity of an artichoke."[4] Ellison was fired from I, Robot shortly afterward and progress on the film was canceled when subsequent scripts were less satisfactory to potential directors.[1] Ellison's screenplay went through periodical publication with Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine, which then appeared in book form under the title I, Robot: The Illustrated Screenplay in 1994 (reprinted in 2004, ISBN 1-4165-0600-4).[3]

In 1995, Jeff Vintar sold a spec script titled Hardwired to the Walt Disney Motion Pictures Group, which followed a detective, Del Spooner, investigating a crime where the main suspects are robots, computers and holograms. "The original script was very much like an Agatha Christie type of mystery," Vintar reflected. "It took place in one setting, one floor in one high tech building. Other than that, it follows the same line as the finished film."[5] Bryan Singer became attached to direct, who primarily worked with Vintar on changing the setting to a space station. After three drafts,[5] Singer lost interest and left to direct X-Men.[6]

In May 1997, Mark Frost was rewriting Hardwired and the story was changed to a cop investigating a murder on a space station doing bioengineering research that's illegal on Earth.[7] "The last draft I saw there a few years later was basically like a monster movie," Vintar explained. "The detective was replaced by a group of marines, and instead of the robots, they were going to the space station to destroy the monster. It had been developed in a completely different direction, which was a very heartbreaking thing for me."[5] Disney put Hardwired into turnaround,[6] but remained interested in producing a robot film, which became the basis for Bicentennial Man (under Touchstone Pictures).[8] In 1999 20th Century Fox purchased the rights entirely to Hardwired.[5]

Fox hired Vintar for another rewrite and Alex Proyas to direct Hardwired. Vintar and Proyas worked on another film treatment in early 2000.[5] However, when Fox purchased the rights to the short story collection of I, Robot,[8] a "problem was presented to us," Vintar commented. "Can we make this film the first movie in a series of I, Robot films? Can we make Hardwired [into] I, Robot. The irony of the whole thing is that, through Hardwired, I actually got a number of offers to do Asimov stuff through the years. But these offers always fell through because the parties could never finalize the rights. Several times through the years I had been approached by people with the idea of getting the rights to I, Robot, and asking me if I was interested. Of course, I always said that I would."[9]

  • Quote box: Proyas: "If you know the stories, they're actually really difficult to distill down to one cinematic narrative. We took a bit of a sidestep in that we're really faithful to the spirit of Asimov's stories, but we've constructed our own narrative using a lot of elements from a lot of different stories, using a lot of sequences and scenes and ideas... I think it's really the only way to take those nine stories and make a single, dramatic movie out of it."[10]

Vintar was eventually replaced by Hillary Seitz and Akiva Goldsman. In December 2002 Will Smith joined I, Robot as star and executive producer, bringing his production company, Overbrook Entertainment, to help co-finance the film. Goldsman stayed abroad to work with

  • Akiva Goldsman wrote the last draft and is expected to be a prevailing presence on the pic. Make a film about the over-dependency of technology.[11]
  • Goldsman added more action and less talking. "he took the film even further in the direction of a Will Smith event film." Vintar's script: Well, there was action, but not to the extent that there is in the final film. I’ll give you an example: the scene that I mentioned earlier about the fugitive robot hiding among the other robots. When I wrote that in the script, I think Sonny, the robot, was hiding among 50 robots. This scene was always a point of contention. Can we afford this scene? Should this scene be in the film? I think in the finished screenplay, there are actually 1,000 robots in that scene. So after struggling and fighting for that scene for quite a number of years, when Will Smith came on, the robot count went up from 50 to 1,000. That was the Will Smith effect. That took the film to a higher level. So Akiva came in and really opened it up further, really created a sense that we’re not just solving this murder mystery and we’re not just saving this city. We’re saving the world, so the script takes place on a larger scale.[5]
  • Proyas said that the film is more of a prequel to the Asimov short stories. While Proyas was working with Fox on GARAGE DAYS, he also began talking to them about possibly taking on HARDWIRED. Soon Proyas was signed and the project began to get a head of steam. Shortly thereafter, Fox acquired the rights to the I, ROBOT series and decided to take Vintar's script and incorporate many of the ideas from Asimov's book. Around late 2002/early 2003, Academy Award-winner Akiva Goldsman was brought in, along with INSOMNIA writer Hilary Seitz, for a polish, making the transition from HARDWIRED to I, ROBOT complete.[6]
  • May 2002: With John Davis, Lawrence Mark is producing I, Robot with Alex Proyas directing Jeff Vintar's script that has woven elements of the nine-book series, as well as Vintar's own script Hardwired.[12]
  • Davis Entertainment, Laurence Mark Prods. and director Alex Proyas' Mystery Clock Cinema will produce the pic.[13]

Production

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Filming was initially set to begin in late-2002 at Fox Studios Australia[12], before being pushed back to April 2003.[11] However due to scheduling conflicts with Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith, Fox moved production of I, Robot to Vancouver Film Studios.[14] Filming began in May 2003,[13] on a $105 million production budget.[15]

Design
  • The 2035 Audi came about because the director, Alex Proyas, had been impressed by Audi's Nuvolari and LeMans design studies, which signaled a new look for the brand under Walter de'Silva, the automaker's director of design. Proyas sought out Audi to design a car for the film, the Audi RSQ, using an idea he supplied himself: the wheels would be replaced by spheres, for some futuristic, omnidirectional mode of travel. Martin Ertl, director of design management, and Julian Hönig, a young exterior designer, flew to Vancouver where the production was based. They came up with the basic concept, including butterfly doors that swing open so that Mr. Smith can enter and exit the car in debonair style. The team of designers pulled from the portfolio of ideas generated to produce the LeMans, Nuvolari and Pikes Peak concept cars. We used the basic midengine architecture of the LeMans and the Lamborghini Gallardo, Mr. Hönig said. We didn't want a flying car with lots of gimmicks stuck on -- like Tom Cruise's 2054-model Lexus in Minority Report. The RSQ, which is on display at the New York auto show, was completed in 10 weeks. Spherical wheels may not be the freshest idea -- Syd Mead, the futurist and film designer, predicted them years ago -- but they would surely make parallel-parking easier, in this or any year.[16]
  • The Audi RSQ was developed by Audi's in-house design team specifically for movie duty, although its real genesis can be found in last year's Le Mans Quattro (LMQ) concept car. One of the many early sketch proposals for the LMQ was judged as not quite right for the current-day concept, but ideal for a futuristic movie toy. The movie's producers, and reportedly Smith himself, liked the idea of the RSQ as Spooner's ride. Audi's designers had very little time to finish developing the idea, but the relationship between the movie machine and 2003 Frankfurt show car is clear. "The main aim was to create a car that both plausibly fit into the futuristic scenery of the film, but still represented an unmistakable, visionary statement from Audi," says Julian Hoenig, who designed the RSQ's exterior. The Le Mans Quattro was one of three concept cars developed by Audi for the 2003 show season. It not only inspired "I, Robot's" RSQ, but is on its way to market.[17]
Visual effects
  • Utilized CGI for the cityscape. Robot animatronics were made, which were later enhanced using CGI. Reference models.[10]
  • Both Digital Domain and WETA Digital were retained to provide the effects, including a CGI character based on a human actor (a la Gollum), who happens to be one of the main characters in the film.[6]
  • Smith performs many of his own stunts for I, Robot's numerous mind-blowing action and special effects sequences. Practicing for the film's motorcycle scenes, Smith nearly sidelined himself. "Actually, I crashed a motorcycle in rehearsal. [Laughs] I got a little aggressive with the motorcycle. I hadn't ridden in a few years. Obviously, [I wasn't] experienced enough. There's little things. Any time you're running all day long, you tweak an ankle, you're jumping over stuff, so you're going to catch your wrist wrong one time going over."[18]
  • The robot was modeled after Alan Tudyk's own movements and vocal work. As a result of the training he underwent for I, Robot, Tudyk was in the best shape of his life. Strict exercise regime.[19]
  • Australian actor-dancer Paul Mercurio was I, Robot's "movement consultant." Mercurio devised a library of movements for the film's CGI creations (which he demonstrated in a motion-capture suit), he also spent five months training actors and stuntmen to make like robots.[20]

Release

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  • The teaser trailer debuted before prints of RETURN OF THE KING.[6]
  • Proyas wanted to have a low-profile marketing campaign. Teaser didn't really reveal much. Didn't get serious until March. "I'm of the old-fashioned school of promotion," he says. "A 'teaser' didn't reveal too much and things were kept secretive until the final moment." The holdout also reflects the fact that big swatches of the film's CG effects simply won't be complete until shortly before release (not unusual in CG-heavy pictures). Says producer Topher Dow in April 2004: "We're still trying to get those last things shoehorned into the film.... We're [working] flat out to make our date."[14]
  • Pic's current release date is July 2, 2004. However, it's possible that Fox will change its "I, Robot" date after Sony's announced on Wednesday that "Spider-Man 2" will launch that same Friday (Daily Variety, March 27).[13]
  • The production budget was $105 million, while Fox spent an additional $42 million on prints and advertising.[15] Dropped when it faced competition from The Bourne Supremacy and The Village.[21]

I, Robot was released in the United States in 3,494 theaters on July 16, 2004, earning $52,179,887 in its opening weekend,[22] the eighth-highest opening weekend of 2004.[23] The film eventually grossed $144.8 million in US totals and $202.43 million elsewhere, coming to a worldwide total of $347.23 million.[22] I, Robot was also the twelfth-highest money maker of 2004.[23]

  • Audi RSQ product placement was a huge success. Surveys conducted in the USA revealed that it gave a substantial boost to the image ratings of the brand. "This placement has reinforced the core values of the Audi brand in the USA. The Audi RSQ achieves an enduring, recurring presence in I, Robot, the vehicle is incorporated into the film's plot, there is interaction between the car and the human characters, and last but not least the car's high aesthetic quality blends in well with the film world." Commented Tim Miksche, who is responsible for product placement at Audi. The concept car was visible for a total of almost nine minutes in the film. Over 95 percent of all cinema-goers surveyed considered that the Audi RSQ suits the film world of "I, Robot". Miksche continues: "This is not only welcome praise for Audi designers, but also highlights the fact that the design of our premium brand is already looking well into the future."[24]
  • Criticism: Michael Sampson of Quick Stop Entertainment: "Most glaringly, Dr. Susan Calvin, a major character in Asimov's stories, has gone from a bookish woman in her golden years to Bridget Moynahan, a 31-year-old former model. This may not seem like much but it signals to some the desire of Fox's part to sex up the Asimov tale and make them more like your traditional summer blockbuster. Action. Explosions. Guns. Will Smith mugging. Bridget Moynahan in low-cut tops and short skirts. Not exactly the Asimov you're used to. I, ROBOT will certainly have enough by way of computer effects to keep the audiences eyes visually stimulated."[6]

Sequel

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References

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  1. ^ a b Harlan Ellison (1994). "Introduction". I Robot: The Illustrated Screenplay. IBooks. ISBN 0-446-67062-6.
  2. ^ a b c Ellen Weil; Gary K. Wolfe (2002). Harlan Ellison: The Edge of Forever. Columbus, OH: Ohio State University Press. p. 126. ISBN 0814208924.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  3. ^ a b Chris Gore (1999). The 50 Greatest Movies Never Made. New York City: St. Martin's Press. p. 90. ISBN 0-312-20082-X.
  4. ^ Robert F. Moss (1989-06-04). "To Sci-Fi Writers Hollywood Is Mostly Alien". The New York Times. {{cite news}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)
  5. ^ a b c d e f Fred Topel (2004-08-17). "Jeff Vintar was Hardwired for I, Robot". Screenwriter's Utopia. Retrieved 2009-07-30.
  6. ^ a b c d e f Michael Sampson (2004-01-14). "The Bottom of Things". Quick Stop Entertainment. Retrieved 2009-07-29.
  7. ^ Michael Fleming (1997-05-12). "Disney goes sci-fi to make a 'Buck'". Variety. Retrieved 2009-07-27.
  8. ^ a b Michael Fleming (2000-06-27). "Asimov hot as H'w'd deals abound". Variety. Retrieved 2009-07-28.
  9. ^ Cite error: The named reference utoia was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  10. ^ a b c Chris Stewart (2004-03-17). "I, Robot Set Visit". IGN. Retrieved 2009-07-30.
  11. ^ a b Michael Fleming (2002-12-03). "'Robot' wired at Fox". Variety. Retrieved 2009-07-27.
  12. ^ a b Michael Fleming (1997-05-29). "Columbia replants McMurtry's 'Rose'". Variety. Retrieved 2009-07-27.
  13. ^ a b c Dana Harris (2003-03-27). "Moynahan made for 'Robot'". Variety. Retrieved 2009-07-27.
  14. ^ a b Staff (2004-04-21). "Movie Preview: I, Robot". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 2009-08-02.
  15. ^ a b "I, Robot". The Numbers. Retrieved 2009-07-28.
  16. ^ Phil Patton (2005-04-18). "A Sneak Preview of the 2035 Audi". The New York Times. {{cite news}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)
  17. ^ Matt Stone (2004-07-09). ""I, Robot": Animatronics and product placement, circa 2035". Motor Trend. Retrieved 2009-07-29.
  18. ^ Jeff Otto (2004-07-13). "Interview: Will Smith". IGN. Retrieved 2009-08-02.
  19. ^ Jeff Otto (2004-07-15). "IGN Interviews Alan Tudyk". IGN. Retrieved 2009-08-02.
  20. ^ Michelle Kung (2004-07-30). "Meet the man who makes the moves in I, Robot". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 2009-08-02.
  21. ^ "The Top Movies, Weekend of July 30, 2004". The Numbers. Retrieved 2009-07-28.
  22. ^ a b "I, Robot". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2009-07-28.
  23. ^ a b "2004 Worldwide Grosses". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2009-07-28.
  24. ^ Staff (2004-12-02). "Product Placement in the Film "I, Robot" a Huge Success: The Audi RSQ Spurs on the Brand's Image Ratings". PR Newswire. Retrieved 2009-08-02.
  25. ^ Steve "Frosty" Weintraub (2007-06-07). "Ronald Moore – Exclusive Video Interview". Collider.com. Retrieved 2009-07-30.
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