At Comic Con, filmmaker Francis Lawrence revealed that he was working to develop an I Am Legend prequel. Then came rumors that the prequel was actually a sequel, and somehow Will Smith would still be involved. It really didn’t make much sense. Thankfully our friends at Collider got the chance to clear up the rumors while talking to Will Smith at the Seven Pounds junket — It’s a PREQUEL.
“We’re still trying to work through a couple of bumps in the story,” said Smith. “It’s essentially the fall of the last city – the last stand of Manhattan. The movie would be… within the body of the movie D.C. and then Manhattan would fall as the last city. It’s a really cool idea trying to figure it out… there’s a reason why we have to take a small band and we have to get into D.C. So we have to make our way from New York to D.C. and then back to New York.”
A couple days ago we were talking about how World War Z might be the first large scale zombie film, but it now looks like Smith and Lawrence are planning the same type of thing. It spans two cities! How cool is that?! Sure, we know where Smith’s character is likely to end by the time the credits roll, but it might be a fun roller coaster ride. And for those wondering, Smith also confirmed that the dog would return, but as a puppy.
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According to a scooper at AICN, the I Am Legend prequel might no longer be a prequel. The original idea was for the film to take place “several years before the original film” and follow Will Smith’s character Robert Neville as he fails to save a small pocket of survivors. I’ll admit, I was never a huge fan of the prequel idea, because we know where it will eventually end up. But Warner Bros was insistent in making the movie with Will Smith, and that was the idea he developed. But now rumor has it that the film will be a direct follow-up to the original film. Problem is, [possible spoiler alert] Smith’s character is killed at the end of the first film. So how would this be possible?
Not that anyone really cares, but the Teen Choice Awards apparently took place tonight. I mean how can you take any award show seriously that has a category like “Choice Bromantic Comedy” and where Step Up 2: The Streets can win Best Dramatic Film of the year?! The show will air on Monday at 8:00pm et/pt on FOX, but we have the list of movie related winners below.
Action Adventure: The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian
Drama: Step Up 2: The Streets
Chick Flick: 27 Dresses
Bromantic Comedy: What Happens in Vegas
Comedy: Juno
Horror/Thriller: I Am Legend
Action Adventure: Hancock
Summer Movie Comedy: Get Smart
Actor – Drama: Channing Tatum, Stop-Loss
Actress – Drama: Keira Knightley, Atonement
Actress – Action Adventure: Rachel Bilson, Jumper
Actor – Comedy: Ashton Kutcher, What Happens in Vegas
Actress – Comedy: Ellen Page, Juno
Actor – Horror/Thriller: Will Smith, I Am Legend
Actress – Horror/Thriller: Jessica Alba, The Eye
Villain: Johnny Depp, Sweeney Todd
Breakout Female: Ellen Page, Juno
Breakout Male: Drake Bell, Superhero Movie
During Comic Con, filmmaker Francis Lawrence revealed to Shock Till You Drop that he is thinking of making a prequel to the Will Smith sci-fi thriller I Am Legend.
“Yes, yes, absolutely, we’re actually trying to crack that, Francis told Shock. “We’re trying to figure out some ideas for it.”
The original film has made over $580 million worldwide, and who knows how much on home video. Even Smith’s recent critically slammed Superhero comedy Hancock went on to gross over $380 million worldwide. And Lawrence believes that Smith would reprise his role of Dr. Robert Neville for the prequel, which would pretty much guarantee a green light. I mean, if you ran Warner Bros, would you say no to guaranteed money?
But the real question is, would an I Am Legend prequel have a story that is worth telling. I thought Legend was one half a great movie, and one half a bad movie. The elements I liked involved Smith alone in a post apocalyptic New York. The parts I hated were the more scientific elements of the plot and the entire third act. It seems to me that a prequel would be more of the latter, but who knows… The first film focused on a character who had already figured everything out, knew to stay indoors before dark and was hardened by the whole experience. It might be interesting to watch the moment where everything went wrong, and see how Smith’s character had to adapt to the changes, and the mistakes he made along the way.
[flv:http://bitcast-a.bitgravity.com/slashfilm/trailers/gtamoviescenes.flv 420 278]
Movie Scenes Recreated in GTA4 by Mentok
The Pitch: Mentok recreated famous movie scenes in Grand Theft Auto 4. Films include Godfather, Goodfellas, Reservoir Dogs, I Am Legend, American History X, and Fight Club.
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It was big news that I Am Legend went through a series of reshoots. One of the big changes was the film’s ending, which was reshot to give the film a more commercial conclusion. The special edition DVD hits store shelves on March 18th, and the alternative ending has been leaked onto YouTube.
I’d be interested to hear what you guys think, so please post your thoughts in the comments. I feel that this is a much better conclusion, aside from the voiceover driving sequence which book ends the footage. Also, can anyone please explain to me how they drove out of Manhattan if all the bridges were destroyed… Am I missing something? It’s also worth noting that a few seconds of this alternative ending was included in one of the early trailers. I was really weirded out when I didn’t see it on the screen in December, as it seemed like a rather creepy sequence.
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Over the weekend we got a ton of emails from readers who saw I Am Legend. You see, during the opening sequence in an abandoned Time Square, a huge billboard is visible advertising a Batman vs. Superman feature film which will hit theaters on 05-15-10. Fans have started to speculate that this could be the Justice League movie. As we’ve told you before, director George Miller recently announced that the Justice League film was still on the fast track, but would be released under a new title. And rumor has it that a fight between The Dark Knight and The Man of Steel is a main focal point of the Justice League script.
But don’t get too excited, producers are saying that the poster in the movie is a completely fictional creation. The sight gag was an addition to the film by screenwriter/producer Akiva Goldsman, who was originally attached to a Superman vs. Batman screenplay that never got produced. So calm down – there isn’t going to be a Batman vs. Superman movie just yet. A very cool easter egg indeed.
photo: Tuna
You can watch the first three minutes of I Am Legend on Yahoo! Movies. It’s a pretty cool sequence with Will Smith and his dog Sam driving around trying to hunt deer in an abandoned New York City. Sadly, the animal effects you see in this clip are the best they get in this adaptation. Some of the creature effects later on in the story are horrendous (Van Helsing bad). But this video clip showing the first three minutes of the film gives you a good indication of the first half of this film. Plus the abandoned New York stuff is really cool. Check it out.
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