Until the recent announcement of the Will Smith/Alex Proyas collaboration scheduled for release in 2004, numerous attempts had been made to adapt Isaac Asimov’s classic story-cycle, I, Robot, to the motion picture medium. All efforts failed. In 1977, producers approached multiple-award-winning author Harlan Ellison to take a crack at this “impossible” project. He accepted, and produced an astonishing screenplay that Asimov felt would be “The first really adult, complex, worthwhile science fiction movie ever made.” That screenplay is presented here in book format, brought to scintillating life by the illustrations of artist Mark Zug. After you read it, then decide: Is this not the greatest science fiction movie never made?
Customer Reviews
Interesting, but needs a few more drafts:
While there seems to be a lot of potential in Harlan Ellison’s treatment of the classic Isaac Asimov Robot stories, I think a few more drafts would be in order, if not a complete rethinking of the concept, before it would be ready for production. In his interesting and informative introductory essay, Ellison states that he constructed the framing device of reporter Robert Bratenahl’s search for robot guru Susan Calvin as a means of avoiding an episodic structure, but since this story frame itself is rather episodic, he compounds the problem rather than defeating it. I haven’t read the original stories yet, so I don’t know whether this is a viable alternative, but I found myself wondering whether some of them could have been combined or opened up to provide a more organic, smoother story arc.
Having said this, I also want to acknowledge that this is a script for a true SCIENCE FICTION film, not one of the the horror films and action films dressed up with androids and aliens that we usually get from Hollywood. That alone is this script’s greatest stength.
Oh, what might have been!:
I Robot: The Illustrated Screenplay will appeal to fans of both Ellison and Asimov. Ellison does a masterful job, using Asimov’s stories as a springboard for his script. That script is a thing of beauty, a synthesis of the two authors–Ellison preserves and celebrates Asimov’s work even as he puts his own distinct mark on the material. The result stands as a tribute to Asimov’s overwhelming contribution to science fiction, and to Ellison’s skill and professionalism as a scriptwriter. Kudos are also in order for the the outstanding illustrations provided by the talented Mark Zug, which compliment and enhance the text.
Surpasses the produced film on so many levels.:
I’ve enjoyed reading many screenplays before, but this is one of my all time favorites. The favorite when it comes to Sci-Fi (although Harlan Ellison would most likely perfer Speculative fiction). The Screenplay is many things:
An adult Speculative Fiction tale.
A merging of Issac Asimov’s i,robot stories.
A story that touches you on an emotional level.
Here’s what it’s not:
An action thriller.
A movie with a hip actor who will explain to us that black people don’t like cats.
A long commercial for Converse and Audi.
This is a mature tale in the vain of sci-fi classics. It’s the ten percent of “Sci-fi” Sturgeon wanted people to point to when they point to the genre. After seeing how much the produced version was dumbed down, it’s doubtful this film could be made. It would be a great film, at least critical acclaim wise, but with the belief that movie patrons are idots who need an explosion ever five minutes, it’s doubtful.
Fascinating–the “I, Robot” movie that WASN’T filmed:
This screenplay should be said to be “inspired” by the book _I, Robot_, since it takes the world described in Asimov’s short story collection and extends it in all manner of ways. Four of Asimov’s short stories appear in this book in one form or another, usually as flashbacks. The story, though, is of one reporter’s quest to find robopsychologist Susan Calvin, who, in her later years, has isolated herself almost completely from the outside world. The reporter tries every avenue possible to learn more about his subject as he pursues the goal of actually interviewing her.
This is a screenplay, not a novel. Reading it takes some getting used to; it uses abbreviations freely (”CU” for close-up, etc.) and is formatted as the movie script that it is. There are color plates of illustrations based on the screenplay (perhaps from a storyboard for the proposed film?). They are numbered by scene so that the reader can find the part of the action the picture is depicting. There are also occasional black and white drawings in the main text. The illustrations are quite evocative and set the scene well.
The story is a fun read, but near the end it gets a little weird (a metaphysical contest is a little hard to decipher). But overall, I liked this take on the book and wonder how it would have looked as a movie.
A blockbuster we’ll never see…:
With the release of the new I, Robot movie, there are probably a lot of people confused by the different versions of I, Robot that exist. If you are a fan of Isaac Asimov’s works, then you should probably steer clear of the new movie starring Will Smith. Published accounts I have read have indicated that the studio acquired the rights to the I, Robot stories and then took an already existing script (having nothing to do with Asimov’s stories) changed some character’s names, and added the three laws of robotics. Hardly, does justice to some of the most famous science fiction stories ever written.
However, years ago, Harlan Ellison did write a screenplay for an I, Robot movie, that does keep to the spirit of the Asimov stories. In fact, in this reviewer’s opinion, this screenplay ties the stories together and adds a level of emotion that make it more powerful and memorable than Asimov’s original book version. The character of Susan Calvin is, little by little, given real depth - and her saga will bring a tear to your eye on more than one occasion.
Despite the fact that it is written as a screenplay, making it somewhat more awkward to read than straight prose, once you begin to read, it is impossible to put down. I read it in one sitting, in the time it took to…well…watch a movie.
Upon completion, part of me was sad that this was not the version that was filmed, for it would have been a classic movie. But, I am grateful that this illustrated screenplay version exists. Do yourself a favor and buy it. As you read, it will become your own personal blockbuster, whose images will remain in your heart and mind long after the lights come up in your local theater. And we have Harlan Ellison to thank for it.
