Panelists:
Comic book writers/artists Orson Scott Card, Richard
Christian Matheson, Mark Protosevich, Steve Niles, Bill Sienkiewicz,
David Levy, and Jason Chan
I was looking forward to
this panel for one reason and one reason only; I love Richard Matheson’s book
I AM LEGEND. A great piece of work that has yet to be adapted properly (in my
pointless opinion of course) for the
big screen. Sure, the two past attempts Omega Man and The Last Man on Earth had
their moments; but they never got close to the magic that is Matheson’s novel.
So I went in there wanting to be convinced that the new adaptation, directed by
Francis Lawrence and starring Will “I ruin Sci Fi films via out of place
humor” Smith would be the money.
Oddly enough though; this
panel focused mostly on the companion prequel comic book. Granted the comic’s
story and striking art were impressive but I really wanted to hear more about
the film. Kind of odd that WB didn’t go buck wild in terms of pushing this one
at the Con. Oh well… what can you do. So here’s what I saw and learned! We
were shown a 2D reel communicating some of the comic’s pages (a village in
South Africa
being contained as to to the vamp infection by dudes in gas masks with big
guns) with sound effects and a moving score in tow.
clip and word has it that it will find its way online shortly. The panelists then threw
some nuggets of info our way; here’s what I caught.
-The new film will not
have any nods/winks to the 2 previous incarnations: Omega Man and The Last Man
on Earth.
-The
creatures in the films are allergic to sunlight and crave blood much like all of my ex-girlfriends. They are never
referred to as vampires in the film though.
-Richard
Matheson’s son says that his dad already saw the new film and called it “1st
class”. That bodes well for us!
-I
am Legend has been in some for of development for 10 years or so. Arnold
Schwarzenegger was attached to the project in the 90’s, up until he became
governor. Ridley Scott was set to direct. They even had an art department opened
and were scouting locations. It didn’t happen due to an over inflating budget.
-Steve
Niles was deeply affected by the I Am Legend book as a kid. When he was 19 years
old he approached Richard Matheson with the idea of doing a graphic novel of his
book. Matheson let
do it for 100 bucks.
-The
comic acts as a prequel to the film, exploring the events that eventually brings
us to Neville alone on earth having to fend off pesky vampires.
-The
comic is far from just a promotional tool for the film, it is also a valid extension
of it. Jada Pinkett Smith and Will Smith are very involved as to its
development; they are the ones that pitched it to WB in the first place.
-The
comic book prequel focuses on a family that is stuck in traffic during rush hour
when the vamp epidemic breaks out.
Keep
tabs on everything that is I Am Legend here!
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