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I died a little bit inside

FreejackFreejack Jake the Not-so-Wise
in Zocalo v2.0
I just learned that Roland Emmerich has been tapped to direct the Foundation series (or movie as I am sure it will be)...as Asimov has always been one of my favorite writers, I am saddened to learn that a hack such as Emmerich will be doing this movie. I just cannot see any way that this can be anything but a failure.

Yes, I know that this has apparently been known since July of last year, but my life would have been better not knowing.

Jak

Comments

  • StingrayStingray Elite Ranger
    I don't know about that, he's been involved in a few popular movies. I suppose you would have preferred Michael Bay? :D
  • BigglesBiggles <font color=#AAFFAA>The Man Without a Face</font>
    [quote]Roland Emmerich (born November 10, 1955) is a German film director, screenwriter, and producer who works mostly in the disaster and action genres.[/quote]

    That tells me all I need to know. He's directed the occasional good film (such as [i]Stargate[/i]), but he's not really the right sort of director for something like Foundation.
  • FreejackFreejack Jake the Not-so-Wise
    Yes, Stargate is the only movie I've ever really enjoy of his, I guess that gives me slight hope he can handle a pure sci-fi topic with some level of reverence but you are right, there really is a limited amount of disaster or action in the Foundation series.

    That said, I am not entirely sure the foundation series is terribly film-able anyway.

    Jake
  • A2597A2597 Fanboy
    Mmm...Star Gate...
  • ShadowDancerShadowDancer When I say, "Why aye, gadgie," in my heart I say, "Och aye, laddie." London, UK
    Yep, it's gonna suck. I agree with Freejack tho, at best it's a hard series to make into a movie, but if it's going to be made I'm not really sure who I'd like to see at the helm. Not Emmerich anyway!
  • DarthCaligulaDarthCaligula Elite Ranger
    Oh boy. More of Asimov's books to ruin by turning into movies. Maybe they'll get Will Smith to play Hari Seldon...

    Oh, and while we're talking about Asimov, I just have to state once again how much I hated Foundation and Earth. Why oh why did Asimov have to write those awful Foundation books after the trilogy was done?
  • croxiscroxis I am the walrus
    Money!
  • MessiahMessiah Failed Experiment
    This will be an impossible project, unless he decides just to set it in the universe..
  • SanfamSanfam I like clocks.
    I also did enjoy Independence Day, but that's another outlier. The rest of his work has really diverted from "Enjoyable Global Peril" to something significantly less fun.
  • ShadowDancerShadowDancer When I say, "Why aye, gadgie," in my heart I say, "Och aye, laddie." London, UK
    I'm still trying to think of a director I'd actually like to see make it. So far the list is rather short. I think Darren Aronofsky's visual style would lend itself well, but then there's the action sequences that I dont know if he could pull off
  • BigglesBiggles <font color=#AAFFAA>The Man Without a Face</font>
    It get's worse. He thinks he's James Cameron now.

    [url]http://moviesblog.mtv.com/2010/02/11/exclusive-roland-emmerich-plans-foundation-as-3-d-motion-capture-epic/[/url]
  • ShadowDancerShadowDancer When I say, "Why aye, gadgie," in my heart I say, "Och aye, laddie." London, UK
    oh god! its doomed! :(
  • DarthCaligulaDarthCaligula Elite Ranger
    3D 3D 3D...
    Well, as long as I can still see movies in 2D I guess that's fine.
  • BigglesBiggles <font color=#AAFFAA>The Man Without a Face</font>
    I cannot think of any reason why Foundation would have to be done entirely CGI using motion capture (even Avatar wasn't [i]entirely[/i] CGI). There are plenty of humans in it. It sounds like he just wants to play with James Cameron's new tech, and since he has to do this movie next, he's squashing the two together.
  • Capt.MontoyaCapt.Montoya Ranger
    [QUOTE=DarthCaligula;186762]Oh, and while we're talking about Asimov, I just have to state once again how much I hated Foundation and Earth. Why oh why did Asimov have to write those awful Foundation books after the trilogy was done?[/QUOTE]

    The original Foundation trilogy was great.

    I also disliked Asimov's sequels. The second prequel was OK, the first was not. The "new foundation trilogy" sequels by Bear, Benford and Brin were good actually (these are novels set between Asimov's "Forward the Foundation" and the first book of the original trilogy).

    By coincidence I'm reading currently [B]Psychohistorical Crisis[/B], the true spiritual heir to Foundation. It's a true sequel to Second Foundation but it was not written by Asimov, alas, but by Donald Kingsbury. I found a [URL="http://www.ansible.co.uk/writing/psychris.html"]non-spoilerish review[/URL] of the book. I'm about 2/3 through and I'm liking it.

    Back to the movie: I don't believe this will be a good adaptation. Even if the script was any good the interview with the director indicates that he not only doesn't get the series, he seems to have no frakking idea what it is about.

    Maybe I'm in the minority about liking "I, Robot"... mind you I agree with everyone that it sucks as an adaptation of the book. But I believe it works as an action movie that captures some themes in Asimov's robot stories (the three laws and the zeroth law, the interactions of humans and robots). If only they had not named it "I, Robot" and had not named the female roboticist Susan Calvin it wouldn't have been much of an intellectual rape of a beloved memory.

    In any event, I doubt I'll even like Emmerich's take on Foundation as movies.
  • DarthCaligulaDarthCaligula Elite Ranger
    If I wasn't clear, I did actually like the Foundation Trilogy, I just hate the books that were written after. As far as I'm concerned, they're the best example of unneccesary sequels. Really, there is no excuse for those endless boring arguments between Bliss and Trevise. They still haunt me with their horridness.
  • croxiscroxis I am the walrus
    Part of the reason for 3D mania is to keep you going to the theaters. With the number of impressive home theaters (and illegal downloads) continuing to increase the suits are trying to find something that a theater can offer that a home system can not.
  • ShadowDancerShadowDancer When I say, "Why aye, gadgie," in my heart I say, "Och aye, laddie." London, UK
    Yeah well it wont be long before 3D arrives in homes too, so they better start thinking of new ideas already
  • BigglesBiggles <font color=#AAFFAA>The Man Without a Face</font>
    It already has, if you can afford a top-of-the-line TV. Sony, with a movie arm and a consumer electronics arm, must be having conniptions. Their movie arm is one of the big pushers for 3D to get people back to cinemas, while their consumer arm is one of the first bringing out 3D TVs and adding support for 3D to their blu-ray players.
  • ShadowDancerShadowDancer When I say, "Why aye, gadgie," in my heart I say, "Och aye, laddie." London, UK
    Heh, a case of the right hand not knowing what the left is doing.

    Nvidia have their 3Dvision gadget on the market, but it needs a monitor that can run at 120Hz, which are unfortunately slightly out of my price range at the moment. I'd want to see for myself what they're like before buying them anyway
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