Customer Reviews

I, Robot: The Illustrated Screenplay

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Many, many years ago I happened to hear an audio tape of Harlan Ellison reading the first part of his "I, Robot" script for a Science-Fiction convention, so I was very happy to see that what may well be the most infamous unproduced script in Hollywood history is available in print. The artwork in this illustrated screenplay is by Mark Zug, and consists of both color paintings and black & white character sketches that help to flesh out your mental images.

Ellison takes several of Isaac Asimov's classic Robot short stories and weaves them into the life story of Susan Calvin, told in flashbacks to a reporter at the funeral for Stephen Byerley, First President of the Galactic Federation. Consequently, Ellison avoids the traditional pitfall of omnibus movies, such as "Tales from the Crypt," "The Twilight Zone" or "Creepshow," where whatever is used to link the segments together is of no importance to the overall film.

Ellison's introductory essay is certainly not as vitriolic as his story about what happened to his "Star Trek" script "The City on the Edge of Forever," but it does recount the bizzaro world of movie making. Both the essay and the script are testaments to Ellison's affection for Asimov. A special treat is Ellison's revelation as to the casting he had in mind when he wrote the script: Joanne Woodward as Susan Calvin, George C. Scott as Reverend Soldah, Martin Sheen as Robert Bratenahl, and Keenan Wynn and Ernest Borgnine as Donovan and Powell.

You may come to this book as a fan of Ellison or of Asimov or of both. Regardless of your point of origin I think it is important that you have read the original Asimov Robot stories before you read the script. The stories are Asimov's but the adaptation is Ellison's, and you have to know the original tales to appreciate the inspired organization of this script.

Of course, now that there is a Will Smith movie version of "I, Robot" out, reading Ellison's script and comparing it to what Hollywood has wrought is a perfect case study of what Tinsle Town is all about. At the start of "I, Robot" the three laws of robotics appear one by one, imposed over bubbling water, which had better be an intentional homage to the start of Ellison's screenplay where the three laws appear over the bubbling water of a highly advanced liquid memory system or I see a lawsuit coming.

With the release of the new I, Robot movie, there are probably a lot of people confused by the different versions of I, Robot that exist. If you are a fan of Isaac Asimov's works, then you should probably steer clear of the new movie starring Will Smith. Published accounts I have read have indicated that the studio acquired the rights to the I, Robot stories and then took an already existing script (having nothing to do with Asimov's stories) changed some character's names, and added the three laws of robotics. Hardly, does justice to some of the most famous science fiction stories ever written.

However, years ago, Harlan Ellison did write a screenplay for an I, Robot movie, that does keep to the spirit of the Asimov stories. In fact, in this reviewer's opinion, this screenplay ties the stories together and adds a level of emotion that make it more powerful and memorable than Asimov's original book version. The character of Susan Calvin is, little by little, given real depth - and her saga will bring a tear to your eye on more than one occasion.

Despite the fact that it is written as a screenplay, making it somewhat more awkward to read than straight prose, once you begin to read, it is impossible to put down. I read it in one sitting, in the time it took to...well...watch a movie.

Upon completion, part of me was sad that this was not the version that was filmed, for it would have been a classic movie. But, I am grateful that this illustrated screenplay version exists. Do yourself a favor and buy it. As you read, it will become your own personal blockbuster, whose images will remain in your heart and mind long after the lights come up in your local theater. And we have Harlan Ellison to thank for it.

This screenplay should be said to be "inspired" by the book _I, Robot_, since it takes the world described in Asimov's short story collection and extends it in all manner of ways. Four of Asimov's short stories appear in this book in one form or another, usually as flashbacks. The story, though, is of one reporter's quest to find robopsychologist Susan Calvin, who, in her later years, has isolated herself almost completely from the outside world. The reporter tries every avenue possible to learn more about his subject as he pursues the goal of actually interviewing her.

This is a screenplay, not a novel. Reading it takes some getting used to; it uses abbreviations freely ("CU" for close-up, etc.) and is formatted as the movie script that it is. There are color plates of illustrations based on the screenplay (perhaps from a storyboard for the proposed film?). They are numbered by scene so that the reader can find the part of the action the picture is depicting. There are also occasional black and white drawings in the main text. The illustrations are quite evocative and set the scene well.

The story is a fun read, but near the end it gets a little weird (a metaphysical contest is a little hard to decipher). But overall, I liked this take on the book and wonder how it would have looked as a movie.

Harlan Ellison's adaptation of Isaac Asimov's classic "I, Robot" stories for the screen answers many questions posed by science fiction readers for years; most notably, why nobody has ever made Asimov's trademark Robot stories into a film. The answer, as well as how Ellison came to write the screenplay, is recanted in the book's Introduction and is a fascinating story unto itself, filled with all of the elements of one of Ellison's dangerous visions--hope, fear, rage, and retribution.

But "I, Robot" is not about Ellison's angst, it's about Asimov's shining vision of the future, in which human want is alleviated by sophisticated robots powered by intricate positronic brains (it was Asimov and not "Star Trek" who gave us that term). In Asimov's tomorrow, robots are capable of performing every kind of menial task and quite a few complex intellectual tasks as well--which often manifest themselves unexpectedly and with surprising consequences for their human masters.

Asimov was not the first science fiction writer to conceive such a future, but he was the first to give it viability in the shape of the famous Three Laws of Robotics, which imposed a humanitarian discipline upon all of his creations. More importantly, the limits of the Three Laws (as they are affectionately known) imposed an unbreakable literary discipline upon the author himself, which served to hone his imagination and talents.

Ellison's screenplay opens with an on-screen incantation of the Three Laws, which were recited like a mantra at the opening of every Asimov Robot tale. From this familiar introduction, guaranteed to endear him to Asimov loyalists everywhere, Ellison launches into a taut, deftly plotted, and wholly original science fiction yarn of considerably greater depth than most of today's Spielberg-style blockbusters.

Ellison has a daunting task--how to interweave several of Asimov's short stories into a cohesive whole without resorting to episodic cliches. He does this by building his movie around the central figure of most of the Robot stories, Dr. Susan Calvin. Calvin is a robopsychologist, a specialist in the arcane thought processes of positronic brains, a woman who can explain all facets of robot behavior but is unable to come to grips with her own human frailities.

Asimov's stories in this vein focused on Calvin at various stages of her life and career. Ellison takes his cue from Asimov and goes him one better; he ties the Calvin chronology together with the story of investigative reporter Robert Bratenahl's search for Calvin after a passing glimpse of the aging, reclusive scientist at the funeral of a celebrated colleague, Stephen Byerley. Bratenahl's chance encounter sends him on an odyssey around the world and across space in search of surviving sources who can shed some light on Susan Calvin's life story. This familiar narrative technique, first used by Orson Welles to cement "Citizen Kane" together, loses none of its grip when judiciously applied by Ellison.

When it comes to retelling Asimov's stories, Ellison gives the Good Doctor center stage. Plot changes, where they were made, are usually done to maintain continuity and speed the progression of the film. With a strong female protagonist, Ellison avoids the obvious temptation to inject sex into the story and preserves Asimov's original characterization of Calvin as plain-looking, rigid, and unmistakably brilliant. The robots, too, are visualized in much the same manner as in the stories--large, imposing machines designed for purpose and practicality, primarily humanoid, but largely devoid of any humanizing physical characteristics. The colorful illustrations by Mark Zug help the reader visualize the plot line and keep track of what's going on.

This is especially important when one considers that this book--like all screenplays--was never really meant to be read, but seen. The screenplay format, calling for camera shots and transitions in the middle of scenes, can be distracting at times, but readers who stick with it are not only in for a fine story but also for some rare instruction on screen writing. Here is a chance to see for yourself what a real, feature-length movie blueprint looks and reads like. If nothing else, you should come away from the experience with new respect for actors. The difficulties of memorizing hundreds of pages of dialogue will be made quite apparent after reading "I, Robot."

The only disappointing thing about this book is that we have to get the story in book form, and not on the screen as it was meant to be. Ellison spits venom at Tinseltown for abandoning the script; it was completed, in fact, in 1978! But if you're a science fiction reader, a film buff, an aspiring writer, or just curious about how scripts are written, then Hollywood's loss will be your gain. Who knows? In book form, "I, Robot" could prove so popular that Hollywood might option the rights to it--for real this time.

I've enjoyed reading many screenplays before, but this is one of my all time favorites. The favorite when it comes to Sci-Fi (although Harlan Ellison would most likely perfer Speculative fiction). The Screenplay is many things:

An adult Speculative Fiction tale.

A merging of Issac Asimov's i,robot stories.

A story that touches you on an emotional level.

Here's what it's not:

An action thriller.

A movie with a hip actor who will explain to us that black people don't like cats.

A long commercial for Converse and Audi.

This is a mature tale in the vain of sci-fi classics. It's the ten percent of "Sci-fi" Sturgeon wanted people to point to when they point to the genre. After seeing how much the produced version was dumbed down, it's doubtful this film could be made. It would be a great film, at least critical acclaim wise, but with the belief that movie patrons are idots who need an explosion ever five minutes, it's doubtful.

Although I'm not much of a fan of Science Fiction this book really appealed to me. It has everything, emotional struggle, action, romance, and an ending that ranks among some of the best of all time. It is quite possibly my favourite book even though it's a screenplay. If you can't find it here get it anywhere. It deserves, and needs to be read by as many people as possible.

If produced as written, this would be (barring 2001) the greatest science fiction film ever made. Harlan Ellison has created a mature, thought-provoking, intelligent screenplay. I finished it today, on the anniversary of the Oklahoma City bombing, and the final words (and major theme of the story)--"are people basically good?"--haunted me long after I put it away. Only the greatest art can do that. This is a film that must be made.

Many, many years ago I happened to hear an audio tape of Harlan Ellison reading the first part of his "I, Robot" script for a Science-Fiction convention, so when what may well be the most infamous unproduced script in Hollywood history was finally available in print I picked it up immediately. Ellison takes several of Isaac Asimov's classic Robot short stories (including "Lenny," "Liar!" and "Evidence") and weaves them into the life story of Susan Calvin, told in flashbacks to a reporter at the funeral for Stephen Byerley, First President of the Galactic Federation. For example, Susan nows becomes the little girl in "Robbie." Consequently, Ellison avoids the traditional pitfall of omnibus movies, such as "Tales from the Crypt," "The Twilight Zone" or "Creepshow," where whatever is used to link the segments together is of little or no importance to the overall film.

Ellison's introductory essay is certainly not as vitriolic as his story about what happened to his "Star Trek" script "The City on the Edge of Forever," but it does recount the bizzaro world of movie making to explain why this remained an unproduced screenplay. Both the essay and the script are testaments to Ellison's deep personal affection for Asimov and a special treat is Ellison's revelation as to the casting he had in mind when he wrote the script: Joanne Woodward as Susan Calvin, George C. Scott as Reverend Soldah, Martin Sheen as Robert Bratenahl, and Keenan Wynn and Ernest Borgnine as Donovan and Powell. Sounds good to me.

You may come to this illustrated screenplay as a fan of Ellison or of Asimov or most likely of both. However, regardless of your point of origin I think it is important that you have read the original Asimov Robot stories before you read the script. The stories are Asimov's but the adaptation is Ellison's, and you have to know the original tales to appreciate the inspired organization of this script that weaves them together. The artwork that illustrates the screenplay is by Mark Zug, and consists of both full-page color paintings and black & white character sketches that help to flesh out your mental images of Calvin, Donovan, Powell, and the rest of the gang.

The fact that there is a movie version of "I, Robot," starring Will Smith, now available on DVD, simply helps prove the superiority of Ellison's adaptation. Just read Ellisons' script and compare it to what Hollywood has wrought and you get exactly what Tinsle Town is all about in a nutshell. The fault with the movie is that it celebrated action over intellect, and that the story it tells would be better suited for an Asimov Robot story down the road once you really understand the three laws. You will also note that at the start of "I, Robot" the three laws of robotics appear one by one, imposed over bubbling water. The water, it turns out, is not part of a super computer, but it sure strikes me as an intentional homage to the start of Ellison's screenplay. If it is not, then you know full well there would have been a lawsuit coming (cf. Ellison and "Terminator").

I have read that book twice and still find it very interesting. It's one of those books that you can't but down and when you wake up in the middle of the night, it calls to you to read it some more.

I never used these two words before in describing a book - "one sitting". Turn of the T.V. and put the phone of the hook for an evening. If you ever wondered what the basic nature of man was, you won't put this book down.