ROTTEN TOMATOES: Francis Lawrence Confirms I Am Legend Reshoots; Set to Adapt Palahniuk Tome

Francis Lawrence Confirms I Am Legend Reshoots; Set to Adapt Palahniuk Tome

A Hollywood ending for the last man on Earth?

by Jeff Giles | December 04, 2007

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Looking for the truth about those I Am Legend reshoots? How about what's next for the film's director, Francis Lawrence?

Look no further. Lawrence recently sat down with Collider to discuss exactly those things, even going so far as to share what are being called "major spoilers." Never fear -- we won't spill 'em here. (You'll have to click on the link below for that, and listen to the mp3 of Lawrence's Collider interview.)

Basically, the rumors are true. When asked about the Legend reshoots, Lawrence told Collider:

Yeah, we re-shot stuff, yeah. But we couldn't re-shoot stuff until we had the effects, because you have to wait for you to have effects and then you can show people to see if there's anything weird and then you go back and do little pick ups...We shot little pieces here and there throughout, you know? A little piece in the beginning, a little piece in the middle, some in the end.

As anyone who's read Richard Matheson's original book already knows, I Am Legend is based on a story with one of the most un-"Hollywood" endings a person could ask for -- or that a studio executive could order reshoots for, whichever the case may be. But while we mull over Legend's final act, the director is already moving on; as he tells Collider, he's got a lot of stuff on his plate:

I'm going to do a pilot next. I'm doing a pilot for NBC called "Kings"...It takes place in an alternate reality. It basically takes place in New York City, but it's not New York City -- and it takes the story of David starting with David and Goliath but transplants it into a modern world. It's the story of him being chosen to be the new King and the King trying to have him basically assassinated.

Lawrence also spilled info on his upcoming feature films, including an adaptation of Chuck Palahniuk's (Fight Club) satirical novel Survivor, about the last remaining member of a death cult. He's also working on Snow and the Seven, something he describes as "basically the re-telling of Snow White in 19th century China...done like House of Flying Daggers."

Source: Collider

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(1-18 of 18 posts) | Reply

frogleg writes:
on Dec 04 2007 07:53 AM

That "Kings" sounds fairly interesting...

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dahluzz writes:
on Dec 04 2007 10:33 AM

well, i've never read the book or read spoilers for the movie, but in using context clues from the paragraph above ("one of the most un-hollywood endings...") I can surmise that Neville is supposed to die at the end.

I can say now, without hestitation, that the studios would never kill Will Smith. He has never died in a film role and likely never will. The studios can't kill him because after opening weekend, people would tell their friends that he dies at the end and people who haven't seen the movie yet would feel disappointed and not bother going.

so regardless of what anyone says, will smith is not going to be dead at the end of this movie. now to read the spoilers and see if I was completely wrong.

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nardoguz writes:
on Dec 04 2007 01:54 PM

the survivor adaptation sounds great! - it's a very cinematic book, but as expected from Chuck- it's quite abrasive. Good luck not getting an nc-17 rating

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andretti #1 writes:
on Dec 04 2007 02:02 PM

Well, the book doesn't end with Neville's death specifically... it certainly looks bleak but the eternal optimist could have a ray of hope... so the movie doesn't need to show him dying to stay true to the ending.

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unbreakable_samurai writes:
on Dec 04 2007 02:48 PM

Survivor sounds pretty bad ***.

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dillingerescapeartist writes:
on Dec 04 2007 04:08 PM

The book is really bad ***.

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Scarborough Fair writes:
on Dec 04 2007 06:37 PM

Survivor was almost the worst of palahniuk's books.
But I save that honour for 'Diary'.

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Mr. Kong writes:
on Dec 04 2007 06:39 PM

I am Legend is one of the best books I've read in years. The ending is magnificent, and I'm extremely unsurprised and dissaponted that it was changed.

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PrettyBoyFloyd writes:
on Dec 04 2007 09:14 PM

Still looking forward to I Am Legend, I'm glad that they are investing the time and money to fix some minor technical flaws.

Why Survivor? Someone needs to adapt "Invisible Monsters." That's my favorite of Palahniuk's novels.

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lpbreeze writes:
on Dec 04 2007 09:52 PM

the trailers for I am Legend have been top notch. However there will be no way a studio changes the ending so Willie lives. Not going to happen. The studio knew the ending of the book and they gave it a green light. If I find out he does live and its a happy ending then I will boycott it. Yes there can be some hope at the end but no way should he live

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CoUcH ToMaToE DoUgIe writes:
on Dec 04 2007 10:54 PM

well thanks rt and you guys! now i know he dies thats really going to

piss me off but what the hell i won't leave the fresh prince hanging, i'm still seeing

it but please CAN'T MOVIES have ANY SECRETS ANYMORE, please the unknown and surprise and

thrill aspect is becoming extinct people. Still, i guess if I read the book i would

already know bugt of course the book wouldn't ruin the experience as movies often do.

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TrisTan2007 writes:
on Dec 05 2007 06:00 AM

In reply to this comment (#1329105)
Tell me about it!!
I was pretty excited about this movie, until they showed the glimpse of those zombie-like creatures and I was like 10% reluctant to watch this movie. It's not that I don't like zombies. I am just not ready for Willies Zombie movie yet. And now the ending? Now I am 50% reluctant to watch it. Suddenly, Golden Compass looks more interesting than this movie. I will wait for DVD.

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Ashron writes:
on Dec 05 2007 06:30 AM

In reply to this comment (#1329478)
Just so you know, they're not zombies. They're more vampire like creatures.

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Uradik Smoke writes:
on Dec 05 2007 08:03 AM

Well it is a book people , so i mean it cant really be called a surprise ending cuz it is already written and has been decided . So its not really anyones fault for "Leaking" what happens as it is sort already decided and known.

Thats like saying you were mad cuz you knew before every Harry Potter movie that he wasnt goig to die at the end of any of the movie. Or that you were mad that you knew what was going to happen in each of the Lord of the Rings before each movie was released ...

If the Hollywood brass change this ending from the film in any way i will have some serious issues . Its a book for Effffff sakes you cant just change it to be neat and tidy and make everyone go home smiling cuz Big Will wraps it all up in a nice bow ...

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lpbreeze writes:
on Dec 05 2007 11:20 AM

are they going to make a good movie or make a movie they think audiences will like but in the end suffer poor box office results once word of mouth comes in. keep the ending bleak but there can be some hope

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BrianInSD writes:
on Dec 05 2007 12:23 PM

I hope the re-shoots involve adding multiple scenes where Will Smith says, "Aw, HELL no!" or he punches one of the Zombie-Vampire things and says something funny like, "Welcome to Earth!" That would be awesome.

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TenderBar writes:
on Dec 05 2007 12:27 PM

I'm stoked about Survivor--it's one of my favorite Chuck books. I read the new script a couple weeks ago and it's by Albert Torres. He also wrote the Luke Wilson movie that's at Sundance this year which I hear is great.

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EmmG389 writes:
on Dec 05 2007 07:06 PM

Survivor is a great book. Too bad Fincher didn't pick it up. This guy looks like he let the studio direct I Am Legend, which doesn't look anywhat like I read in the book.
I still OK Lawrence for Survivor, the movie is already rated R by design, for example the porn junk yard scene doesn't seem PG13 to me and it's Palahniuk.

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