"I Am Legend" -- Will Smith to act as Robert Neville.

[GmanJoe]

Oh no. Not Will Smith AGAIN! He\'d be the last guy I\'d cast for that role. I just can\'t seem to take him seriously enough. Especially for this role.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0480249/

For those of you not familiar with this old Vampire classic, it\'s about the "last man on earth" (inspiration for Last Man on Earth, Omega Man, Night of the Living Dead etc). His home is his fortress. Fortified with nails, wooden planks and garlic. By day, he goes out to kill the vampires, as many as he can. He\'s gotta siphon gasoline, gather canned goods etc. He also has to keep making more wooden stakes. At night....they come out of their graves and call out Robert.

from the Neville Borthers?

I\'m gonna read that.

I thought about making a thread on this movie a couple months ago, but I didn\'t think anyone here would have heard of I am Legend.  I guess you proved me wrong.

I dread this so much.  This is a really great novel, and I don\'t see how they can capture the mood with Will Smith playing the main character.  His wife and daughter succumed to the plague months ago, and he had to throw them into a vast cremation pit.  This character is truly damaged and on the verge of a complete mental collapse.  This cannot be Will Smith kicking zombie ass and saying "Awww, hell Nawwww..."  This character doesn\'t even know why he\'s bothering to stay alive.  There\'s really not much left of him.  He rambles around like a zombie during the daylight fixing the defenses on his house, then gets drunk at night and plays music to drown out the sounds of the undead beating on his walls.  Will Smith cannot play this character.

Furthermore, they are setting the story in New York or something. That is completely wrong.  The novel is set in Los Angeles, and it should stay that way.

I\'m really not looking forward to this.

[Viper_Fujax]

I probably have an advantage and have never heard of the book.

I heard will smith was good in ali so i think he can pull off more than we think, more than just comedic/serious at best (irobot).

After being surprised as hell at jamie foxx doing serious roles and doing a great job, like in collateral (its not because of something dumb like \'because theyre black\'..they have the same MO in acting..at least to me) i try not to lump anyone into certain genres once the movie starts.

And cored..i dont think you\'ll like it even if it ends up being decent just because you love the novel so much. I mean..it even bugs you that its in a different city that has the same city feel. For you it\'d probably be better with a lesser-named actor but..meh

Furthermore, they are setting the story in New York or something. That is completely wrong.  The novel is set in Los Angeles, and it should stay that way.

I\'m really not looking forward to this.

Obviously Kalifornia isn\'t exciting enough

I thought about making a thread on this movie a couple months ago, but I didn\'t think anyone here would have heard of I am Legend.  I guess you proved me wrong.

I\'ve heard of the novel but I\'ve never gotten around to reading it.

AWW HELL NAAAW

Obviously Kalifornia isn\'t exciting enough

Obviously that\'s NOT the reason.  There is no reason, and that\'s the problem.

What happened is the director or producer is from New York, and they just feel more comfortable shooting over there.  "To hell with Richard Matheson, who was one of the great television writers of all time.  We\'ll just change it because we feel like it...."

And btw, Will Smith has gotten too much credit for his supposed dramatic roles.  Why would you take a great story and a well developed intriguing character like this, and cripple yourself by casting Will Smith?  People will always be saying "Will Smith can really act!"  Guess what?  When they say that about you, it\'s not a compliment.

Besides, he\'s black.

Obviously that\'s NOT the reason.  There is no reason, and that\'s the problem.

What happened is the director or producer is from New York, and they just feel more comfortable shooting over there.  "To hell with Richard Matheson, who was one of the great television writers of all time.  We\'ll just change it because we feel like it...."

And btw, Will Smith has gotten too much credit for his supposed dramatic roles.  Why would you take a great story and a well developed intriguing character like this, and cripple yourself by casting Will Smith?  People will always be saying "Will Smith can really act!"  Guess what?  When they say that about you, it\'s not a compliment.

lol I was kidding but you\'re really getting worked up.

He\'s right though.

[GmanJoe]

Being a good actor and being right for the role are two different things. New York? Are they trying to turn this into 28 Days Later????? Jeeebus.

[GmanJoe]

http://www.gothamist.com/archives/2007/01/23/get_ready_for_i.php
http://www.gothamist.com/archives/2007/01/24/i_am_legend_tak.php


Yep. New York City.




Escape from New York + Vampires = I Am Legend