Omega Man and "I Am Legend" (1 Viewer)

[joshEH]

That's Warner Bros. for you...renowned as perhaps the greatest "star-fucking" studio in the industry for their exclusive worship of A-list actors and directors, where other studios are much more willing to take chances on less-proven talent in comparable projects.

This was primarily why -- among other things -- we were staring down the prospects of Nic Cage/Jude Law/Josh Hartnett at various points in the role of Superman, and why they refused to finance a big-screen Babylon 5 flick (a major WB tentpole TV and DVD property) unless the entire ensemble were recast with big-name "movie stars."

Long-in-development properties like I Am Legend have only had stars the caliber of Ahnuldt and Will Smith (and purportedly Depp) attached, and there's asymptotic-zero chance (read: "none") that they'll ever change their minds on something as high-profile as this. They want to maximize their chances at the box-office for a certain price, and folks like Smith and Depp are about the closest thing there is to a guarantee of the film "opening" big its first weekend.

 

[DavidPla]

I don't think that's very fair to say that WB won't cast unknowns. Case in point, this summer's "Superman Returns". And Christian Bale wasn't exactly a household name for "Batman Begins" either.

 

[Malcolm R]

Given the grosses, they may be regretting they did.

 

[Greg.K]

If so, more's the pity.

 

[Norm]

I'm sure Jon Peters is saying. Darn I knew we should have kept Nick Cage.

 

[dana martin]

first of all with such a great story once agin this is going to get F'ed up, nothing against will smith, but really someone at the studio should read the damn book. i was thinking about this and came up with a great casting idea but the studios would never buy it, the Chief from Battlestar Glactica (Aaron Douglas ), good actor not a household name, but the story would get told, then about the script, read the crap one that is on the net, their is a more faithful one on the net as well that keeps them vampires, and i swear they will kill this if they try to make this an action picture, it need to be more film noir, in the way it is handled, i actually would rather see and indie version , at least they would get it right, why dont they just call it what they are doing " the Omega Man"

if they really wanted to do this right Mattheson wrote a damn script, film that the way he did it, just like the comic fanboys are finally getting the point across, if this doesnt go over well someone in hollywood will say that horror isnt a good market anymore

 

[Norm]

Are they thinking we could have a franchise like Blade.

 

[JediFonger]

maybe...

except with will smith one-liners..... like MIB... oh boy.

 

[AlexCremers]

I find Will Smith very distracting. He will not allow for the movie or the director to become the star. Really, the "unknown actor" thing worked very well for me in Danny Boyle's "28 Days Later", a more or less comparable movie. Scott's "Alien" also worked because of its lack of big movie stars. That film became instantly huge ... with a bunch of nobodies. "Star Wars" is another fine example that you don't need a Will Smith or a Bruce Willis to reach a broad audience. To tell you the truth, if Will Smith does star, I'm out.

 

[Raasean Asaad]

Blade 4: I am Legend

 

[Norm]

I just wonder what type of movie they are going for. Is it going to be serious or comedic. With no Ridley Scott I was worried, & with the casting of tongue in cheek Will Smith. I'm most likely going to bail on this. With Depp now involved it going to get an audience of his fans which means some of PotC fans will be there.

 

[JediFonger]

will smith&jack sparrow's homo-erotic adventures in a house of horrors. people'd still pay to see that. =).

 

[joshEH]

However, Christian Bale was already a known quantity when he was cast in Batman Begins, with an established track record (and some fair bankability) in features, if not necessarily commanding $20 million per film like Nicolas Cage. He'd already made his mark in the world of major motion pictures, which is usually the chief criterion used by the Warner execs in these matters.

In the case of Superman, though, it's precisely why the casting of Brandon Routh -- and the consideration of non-"star" actors for the role in general -- was such a big thing for Warner Bros. to even undertake, given their attitude these past few decades on the development of their summer tentpoles. For other studios, it would've been nothing special, but Warners have always been far more elitist (some would even say "snobby") than the other majors on stuff like this.

 

[Radioman970]

Will Smith sounds okay to me. I love the Price version the best. I have my doubts that Smith's version will change my mind.

 

[doug zdanivsky]

Will Smith????

God, give me strength!!

I'd almost rather see Arnold do it..

Almost..

What character will Depp play?

PS

Speaking of Bale..

He would do a decent job as lead, ala machinist..

 

[DavidPla]

Some new set pics...

http://www.aintitcool.com/node/31103

 

[EricW]

did Depp drop out? i don't see his name listed in the IAL imdb page, nor is the movie listed on his profile page.

 

[DavidPla]

I think the casting of Depp turned out to be false.

 

[Andres Munoz]

I just saw The Omega Man for the first time last night and I must say I was dissappointed. Maybe I'm spoiled by more recent films like 28 Days Later or even the Romero's films but I just was not impressed at all by The Omega Man.

The "mutants" were not threating at all. And the whole thing is just so dated.

For those of you who saw this back in the 70's when it came out...was this movie considered ground-breaking back then? What were people saying?

 

[Andres Munoz]

By the way, after seeing Will Smith in "In the Persuit of Happyness", I think he can pull off a dramatic role. But it all depends on the script for "I Am Legend" and what the writers and directors want him to do. I agree, no smart-ass comments or jokes from him.

Either way, I'll be there on opening day, front row and center.