Cyberpunk Films Codexery

I, Robot (film)

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The story is set in Chicago in 2035, where highly intelligent robots serve the public under the Three Laws of Robotics.[1] Alfred Lanning, the founder of U.S. Robotics, is believed by Detective Del Spooner to have been murdered by a robot named Sonny that looks human, rather than having died by suicide.[1]

Making and release

The film began as an original 1995 screenplay by Jeff Vintar titled Hardwired, which had no connection to Isaac Asimov's Robot series.[2][3] Vintar sold that script in 1995 to Walt Disney Pictures.[3] Akiva Goldsman was hired late to write for Will Smith, and both Vintar and Goldsman are credited for the screenplay.[2][3] The film renames Asimov's "U.S. Robots and Mechanical Men" to U.S. Robotics, and includes product placements for Converse Chuck Taylor All-Stars, FedEx, Tecate, and JVC.[4]

Marco Beltrami composed the film score, recorded in 17 days by a 95-piece orchestra and 25-member choir.[5] Walt Disney Pictures initially bought the project for Bryan Singer to direct; later, 20th Century Fox obtained the rights and brought Alex Proyas on as director.[6] For a number of years, Arnold Schwarzenegger was linked to the project, while Denzel Washington declined the offer to play Del Spooner.[6][7] Digital Domain and Weta Digital handled the visual effects and animation work.[4]

On July 16, 2004, I, Robot debuted in North America, earning $52.2 million during its first weekend and accumulating $353.1 million globally.[8]

What the cited sources add

Jeff Vintar stated that his original script Hardwired was an Agatha Christie-inspired murder mystery set entirely at a crime scene, with one human character interrogating machine suspects.[2][3] Vintar explained that the script's plot of a robot suspected of murder fit well into Asimov's canon.[3] Alex Proyas described the production as "micro-managed and messed with at every level," comparing it to running a marathon with the studio throwing chairs under him.[9][10] Asimov stated he wrote his robot stories to protest the "Frankenstein complex" of portraying robots as menacing.[11][12]

The film pushes Converse Chuck Taylor shoes so much that a Chuck Taylor web page is devoted to it.[13] The storyline of the movie does not originate from Asimov's writings and, in certain respects, directly contradicts his fundamental concepts.[14]

References

  1. Wikipedia, "I, Robot (film)" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: I, Robot. prweek.com (August 11, 2017). Retrieved August 28, 2020. (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  2. Wikipedia, "I, Robot (film)" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Jeff Vintar was Hardwired for I, Robot", screenwritersutopia (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  3. "Jeff Vintar was Hardwired for I, Robot", screenwritersutopia. facts only, no text reused. screenwritersutopia.com
  4. Wikipedia, "I, Robot (film)" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Hachman, "Update: Management Team Buys Back U.S. Robotics – ExtremeTech", ExtremeTech, June 30, 2004; Anders, "How Product Placement Took Over Science Fiction, From E.T. To Star Trek", Gizmodo, 2015-01-19; Jolin, "Product placement in movies", Digital Spy, 2017-04-21 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  5. Wikipedia, "I, Robot (film)" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "I, Robot (Marco Beltrami)", Filmtracks, 2004-07-20; "SoundtrackNet: I, Robot Soundtrack", Soundtrack.net, 2004-08-07 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  6. Wikipedia, "I, Robot (film)" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "James Cameron's Story of Science Fiction AMC" (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  7. Wikipedia, "I, Robot (film)" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Denzel's rejections become hits for Smith and Pitt", October 3, 2004; Gordon, "The hit sci-fi movie Denzel Washington refused to star in", faroutmagazine.co.uk, 2025-04-23 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  8. Wikipedia, "I, Robot (film)" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Linder, "Weekend Box Office", IGN, July 20, 2004; "I, Robot (2004) - Box Office and Financial Information", The Numbers; "I, Robot" (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  9. Wikipedia, "I, Robot (film)" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "An Interview with Alex Proyas (Part 2 of 3)" (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  10. "An Interview with Alex Proyas (Part 2 of 3)". facts only, no text reused. money-into-light.com
  11. Wikipedia, "I, Robot (film)" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Asimov, I. I, Robot. Random House (1991), p. xi. .; "Science fiction: contemporary mythology: the SFWA-SFRA", Harper & Row, 1978, p. 252 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  12. Open Library record, ISBN 0060469439 ("Science Fiction Contemporary Mythology"). CC0 (metadata); book content not read. openlibrary.org
  13. Anders, "How Product Placement Took Over Science Fiction, From E.T. To Star Trek", Gizmodo, 2015-01-19. facts only, no text reused. gizmodo.com
  14. Wikipedia, "I, Robot (film)" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Noble, "I Robot, Lost in Adaptation", youtube.com, 2016-05-28; "I, Robot"; Topel, "Jeff Vintar was Hardwired for I, ROBOT", Screenwriter's Utopia, August 17, 2004 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org

Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article I, Robot (film) (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.

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Sources

Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.

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