@@jesussalinas9057 Or, you can then settle with the WIll Smith version - sparse in both dull story and DOA action with a very weak end result of something you'd expect to see on say the Hallmark Channel. What would have been been monumental cinema with a Ridley Scott version. Epic... And they blew it. BIG TIME.
Man, this channel takes me back to when I was kid reading about films listed as "currently in development" in the back pages of Comics Scene magazine. So many unmade gems.
This sounds amazing Ridley & Arnie's "I Am Legend" Film would have been amazing, Ridley is a outstanding director and i really believe this movie would have truly brought out a very different side to Arnie's acting. These Hollywood studios can be so fickle.
Watch "Maggie". Arnold acts his ass off in that movie. Best acting I ever saw him do. And having learned of this film that almost was, it makes me appreciate "Maggie" even more, because now I can see the foundation for him in that type of film, was THIS.
Matheson was a brilliant writer ahead of his time. His book, "I am Legend" is the forerunner to modern Gothic horror. He also wrote "The Incredible Shrinking Man" and "Duel", another forerunner of Road rage movies like "Death Race 2000" and the Mad Max series. Stephen King esteemed him the best of the best of the genre.
Don't forget about the "Amelia" chapter in "Trilogy of Terror" and one of the best Twilight Zone episodes, "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet" among many others.
I think Logan, Scott and Arnie's take would have been a better movie than the 2008 one that came of Protosevich's draft (it was okay, but the third act was where it fell apart).
@@specialk4006 It is a better third act but the Logan script that Ridley was going to direct had so many cooler elements even Arnie driving a bank armored truck to get through the mutants.
This is one of the biggest missed opportunities in the history of cinema. I think they could still do it, with both Schwarzenegger and Scott coming back. It would be an epic comeback for both of them.
This sounds like it would've been really great. A true missed opportunity. Ridley Scott is a very skilled director and would've shined in this type of story. He was right around the peak of his skills as a visual storyteller at this time. Arnold was the right age at this time to play a disheveled survivalist. I like the idea of no narrator and just letting it play out. Really think this would've been a great one.
It certainly sounds like - thematically at least - Scott and his collaborators were on the right track, the make up tests and concept art looked amazing. That being said, it doesn't sound like they were planning to stick too closely to the ending of the book which is a shame since it's brilliant.
This would have been interesting to see had it been made. Especially the fact Ridley Scott and Arnold Schwarzenegger would have worked together on a film. That alone would have been intriguing.
A very very short book. Almost a short story. I loved the ambience of his droll daily life (eating, finding more food, books, records). It’s so sublime. Like Metamorphosis.
The novel I am Legend was not the result of a Nuclear War, it was the result of a Bacteria related to Bubonic Plague. Neville himself was immune because he contracted a weakened version of it when bitten by a Vampire Bat. There are two types of Vampire in the Novel, those still living and those reanimated by the bacteria. The reanimated Vampires cannot be cured because they are undead.
Great work as always, and one of my favorite videos you did so far! I love all those early scripts for I Am Legend from 90's. I think each of them would have turn into amazing film, specially with all the people they had working on the project. My personal choice for which script would have been the best, at least from ones which are available out there in certain circles, is Logan's August 1997 script. I love that entire third act twist and how unlike other drafts it doesn't turns into typical action finale and instead goes into completely different direction and actually has quite effective ending. Man, it's a crying shame this one never got made...
If you ask me, Logan’s drafts would have been sensational. Neville is the last man on earth… so exploit that angle. The whole montage with Wagner’s Siegfried’s Funeral March playing over it would have been phenomenal. Yes, it is a radical approach and no Hollywood studio will ever give this the go ahead… but boy it would have great IMO. Also, I could be wrong, but I read somewhere that the leader of the Hemocytes in Logan’s draft would be revealed to be Neville’s wife since she was the first victim, thus giving a new angle to the title I Am Legend. The way Hollywood treated Arnie, was awful.
I still wish we could've seen the Blade 3 - I Am Legend story they originally planned before settling for Blade Trinity. That sounded epic, just Wesley Snipes waging war on a full scale vampire apocalypse with very few humans left.
This book has had an interesting Hollywood history. I don't think we've ever gotten the definitive version. This one may have been it. Too bad it didn't happen. The makeup effects described here are just want that story needs and deserves. I'd love to see that done someday.
Well cut! You get the impression that some scenes of the movie were really made! Btw: No other list of unmade movies here on youtube mentioned this one. So well recherched too. Thank you!
amazing as always. The world definitely misses out on each one of your film subjects. Thanks for all the hard work it must take to research all of these wonderous gems the world will never see finished
Speaking of Arnie, there is an unused script of DC Comic's Sgt Rock. Tarantino was interested to direct it and Arnie was supposed to be Sgt Rock, a German-descent American soldier who took a suicide mission in Nazi's soil
Oh man, now that one would have been a great film for Arnold to star in late 80's and early 90's when it was in development for him, and the entire story behind all the attempts at making Sgt Rock film would have been another great episode! From dozens of scripts and writers (David Webb Peoples, Steven E. De Souza, Jeffrey Boam, John Milius, Brian Helgeland...) and directors (John McTiernan, Paul Verhoeven, Renny Harlin...), it's amazing how long they were trying to make that film, from like 1987 till early 2010's i believe.
I had some.sgt. rock comics i believe i got them from my dad and Uncle would of loved to see how it would of came out. Who could play him now if Warner's decided to do something with the ip
I was tracking this film 10 years before it was made. I heard Arnold was on board for awhile and then nothing. Huge let down. Also, Matheson was a genius story teller.
Few months ago great guy called Kiramid Head here on TH-cam did an episode of his Screenplay Archaeology podcast which was all about almost every single unproduced Creature From The Black Lagoon remake scripts and entire development hell the project is still going through. I highly recommend checking it out! And when it comes Carpenter's unproduced films, i would like to see his version of Creature, because the scripts they had for it were pretty good, but if i would have to choose, i would absolutely love to see couple of his 80's unproduced projects, Shadow Company (Kurt Russell vs zombie Vietnam veterans) and Pincushion (Jamie Lee Curtis in female version of Road Warrior)!
It's depressing that this was tabled for the movie we got instead. This is considered to be the greatest work of Horror next to Dracula, and the version that was made did not do the book justice. The vampire creatures in the Will Smith version were not scary at all, and way too digitized to be taken seriously. The effects were underwhelming and laughable and cheapened the movie.
I Am Legend Directed by: Ridley Scott Screenplay by: John Logan, David Fronzoni, James Schamus and Mark Protosevich Story by: David Fronzoni Produced by: Ridley Scott, James Schamus, Larry Franco, David Franzoni and Douglas Wick Executive Produced by: Ridley Scott and Akiva Goldsman Cinematography: John Mathieson Edited by: Pietro Scalia Music by: Hans Zimmer and Lisa Gerrard Production Companies: Scott Free Productions, Red Wagon Entertainment, Good Machine, Warner Bros. Pictures Distributed by: Warner Bros Pictures Starring: Arnold Schwarzenegger Rated: R
As a fan of the book, I have a hard time getting into The Omega Man. I mean, both take their liberties, switch things up, but Omega is like a different story entirely. In terms of adaptations, I think The Last Man on Earth still comes closest.
@@carterslade8771 Agree about "Last Man on Earth" but Richard Matheson was so disappointed in it that he removed his name from the screenplay credit. The Will Smith version actually turns the title entirely upside down.
@@roryscott2941 Yeah Arnold can be very good as long as he has a good director. So I think it would have been great because Ridley Scott is a great director.
I remember when this film was hitting the news back then and was eager to see it . I rather had Arnold in the role than Will Smith and directed by Scott .
Wow! This was a highly entertaining video! Ridley Scott's aborted adaptation of "I Am Legend" is undoubtedly one of the greatest films never made! Schwarzenegger would've definitely introduced moviegoers to a more human and sympathetic side of his persona no one had ever seen had he starred in the film! Talk about a missed opportunity!
Dude, I read the screenplay to this version of I Am Legend! JOBLO Video did an episode of the movie titled: Ridley Scott's I AM LEGEND: The movie that almost was.
If you never seen Arnold Schwarzenegger's movie called "Maggie" Check it out It's probably one of his most dramatic roles It's set in a zombie apocalypse but very different from zombie movies that we have seen.
I often think about the fact that 99% of life that's ever existed on Earth is extinct. I'll never get to taste that particular fruit flavour, or roast up an animal that humans have never seen. It's like that... There is undoubtedly so much greatness that we've never had the chance to experience, and know no better. That 'what could have been' feeling is pretty depressing.
Very interesting and well told documentary on Ridley Scott's potential I Am Legend. Interesting that the original author Matheson said it was good, but not his book.
I am legend. There should be a TV series, based to the book without CGI. Vampires should be mostly just dark shadows, rarely if ever shown clearly. Voices which calls him behind the door hauntingly sexy with laughter luring him to open the door and sometimes whispering and hungry low screams. And it should be autumn.. I should read the book again.
Not gonna lie, that Ridley Scott/Arnoldo I Am Legend sounds like it could have been a good movie. Details like having Arnold Schwarzenegger in a fortified house with zombies all around him with stolen art that was worth an absolute fortune before the human race fell. The art was not being appreciated by anybody in the prestigious art museums that held it anymore so it made sense that the one person left who could still appreciate them went and took them
One of my favourite stories! I keep waiting for someone to make a version closer to the novel. Richard Matheson’s own screenplay would be a good place to start. I haven’t see the Vincent Price version, and what really infuriates me in other versions, is the ‘legend’ aspect as per the novel. I mean it is pretty much spelled out in the final paragraphs, though should be implicit on screen. In the future of the new world of the new species, Neville will be remembered as the horror, the monster. The thing that came and hunted and killed in the day. A story that will be told for generations to come, and eventually he (like Dracula was to humans) will become the legend.
The two Logan drafts I've read were both great, and the August 1997 draft is the only one that largely maintains Matheson's themes, if a bit altered. Protosevich's scripts aren't bad, but they shoot themselves in the foot by making the bad guys so cartoonish and really undercut the message.
Couldn't agree more Bruce! I do love how action packed Protosevich's scripts were, specially that December '98 draft, but i always felt that Logan's August '97 script would have been the best version to see made into a film back in the day.
May I make a suggestion, love your content btw, but there are details about James Cameron's Terminator 3 that you could talk about. Perhaps it would not be a very long video. But it is something that was going to happen back in the late 90s. Fox went after the rights with Cameron set to direct, Schwarzenegger to star, Linda Hamilton was asked to return as well. Likely this was meant to be out in 99 or 2000 under Fox.
Before I start on my comments, I just want to say that I'm not normally a fan of remakes. In saying that though, it would've been absolutely fantastic to see this version of Richard Matheson's story. I've seen "The Last Man On Earth," "The Omega Man," and Will Smith's "I Am Legend" (both the Original and Alternative Endings). I loved all those versions. I'm saddened that this version with Arnold Schwarzenegger wasn't made. I'm sure that it would've been a great Sci-Fi Hit at the Box Office. I hope that someday it might be resurrected and completed
This is fascinating. I would also be interested in a prequel to I Am Legend with Will Smith. What happened after he looses his family, what happens to his security detail, how does he go from being a Army scientist to a bad ass operator type guy. How did his mind change in those three years.
I think the biggest mistake is trying to turn I am Legend into an action movie. It's not. If somebody would try and stick to the actual story it would make a great horror movie. Smith's version had nothing in common with the book other than the title and main characters name.
With Suicide Squad 2 right around the corner there's never been a finer time to do "Green Arrow Escape from Supermax!" Written by Goyer and has so much of a proto Suicide Squad in its DNA.
The One with Will Smith was good..but going overboard with the CGI even for the close ups of the mutants was a BAD IDEA. Besides that, it was a good movie.
One thing that often strikes me about these unmade movies is the fact that in the end, the studio usually manages to make a movie that is MUCH worse than anything that was stuck in development hell. In this case, Scott's movie sounded very interesting. Will Smith's movie was just awful. I don't think he was particularly bad in it but everything from the monster designs to the studio mandated ending - just awful!
@@JoseyWales44s Totally Agree! Moved like a bunch of CG Spiderman. Other than that I thought it was a good movie but Omega Man will always be my favorite.
I love the novel "I Am Legend". As a fan of classic science fiction, I have never come across a book that made me fear, dread, and cry until I picked up I Am Legend (which ironically, was around the time the pandemic began.
IF only they had stuck with the makeup concepts from this version, for the WILL SMITH version, then at least we would not have had the CGI bullshit on screen in that film .
Well now their doing I am legend 2 with Will smith and Michael B Jorden So maybe they can make a part 3 sequel with Arnold Schwarzenegger and Will Smith and Michael B Jordan to star in together (if possible) that would be great 👍
The books perfect.The books thematic. Why does everyone try to change it?I'm American and I don't understand Americans.They need an Emoji of an exasperated person with their hands in the air.
Has nothing to do with nationalities, it has everything to do with money. Studio execs get nervous and want to appeal to as wide an audience as possible. That's why big budget movies are so bland now, they don't want to risk that much money on an idea that may or may not pan out, and they're loathe to give complete creative control over to one person.
Movie-audiences are simple creatures and they generally don't like to be wrong-footed. They like their heroes and villains served straight. "I Am Legend" (the book) pulls a great trick on the reader, having them realize that the "hero" they've been identifying with is the monster. It's a great twist, and I love it, but it's a risky trick to play on your audience. I suppose an analogy would be a war film where we only see through the protagonist's eyes, and the audience whoops it up as he carries out his brave mission, blowing stuff up and killing people left and right, and then at the end we see the protagonist reflected in a mirror and realize he's wearing a swastika. Audiences wouldn't go "Hmm, I grant you that was cleverly done, Mr Film-maker! You sure gave me some food for thought about differing perspectives there!" - they'd more likely riot, feeling dirty, tricked and angry because they'd been manipulated into cheering and fist-pumping while a Nazi killed good guys. The Will Smith version did originally have an ending like that, with Smith realizing he'd been carrying out medical experiments on intelligent beings capable of human emotions, but test-audiences rejected that ending in favor of a gung-ho explosive ending that was the antithesis of then intended themes. I guess movie audiences just aren't ready for that kind of ending in their Hollywood blockbusters.
@@ryanthoroman3293 Yep, me too. And they exist alright, just not as major Hollywood movies. As others have said: the higher the budget is, the more they want to play it safe.
Denzel Washington or Daniel Day Lewis would have been my picks And Michael Mann as Director. Ridleys awesome but Mann has more realism with the weapons and has a unique ominous cityscapes view
This would have been awesome...like this is so more much more rewatchable, Will Smith is not an action star, Ok, let's just establish that, he's not... Hollywood needs to stop that, he's a drama actor, his best roles pursuit of happiness, 7 pounds and enemy of the state all good movies, but Will Smith in action, is not believed
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Shcwarzenegger and Ridley Scott together. On *"I Am Legend."* Oh my days, how I would love to see this version.
In a alternate universe
they just hustling the studios. jeez 1/5 the budget to Arnold.....
Maggie?
@@jesussalinas9057 Or, you can then settle with the WIll Smith version - sparse in both dull story and DOA action with a very weak end result of something you'd expect to see on say the Hallmark Channel. What would have been been monumental cinema with a Ridley Scott version. Epic...
And they blew it. BIG TIME.
This is why the Will Smith's "I am Legend!" To me Feel something is lacking and wrong after watching it fully.
Man, this channel takes me back to when I was kid reading about films listed as "currently in development" in the back pages of Comics Scene magazine. So many unmade gems.
This sounds amazing Ridley & Arnie's "I Am Legend" Film would have been amazing, Ridley is a outstanding director and i really believe this movie would have truly brought out a very different side to Arnie's acting. These Hollywood studios can be so fickle.
Watch "Maggie". Arnold acts his ass off in that movie. Best acting I ever saw him do. And having learned of this film that almost was, it makes me appreciate "Maggie" even more, because now I can see the foundation for him in that type of film, was THIS.
The concept of the vampires looked a little like the ones in Bladen
The digital approach was one of the things that dragged the Will Smith version down IMHO.
The budget for Smiths version was 150 million in 2007 , 9 years later . What a mistake the studios made .
Matheson was a brilliant writer ahead of his time. His book, "I am Legend" is the forerunner to modern Gothic horror. He also wrote "The Incredible Shrinking Man" and "Duel", another forerunner of Road rage movies like "Death Race 2000" and the Mad Max series. Stephen King esteemed him the best of the best of the genre.
Also Terror at 10,000 feet. William Shatners famous Twilight Zone episode.
Don't forget about the "Amelia" chapter in "Trilogy of Terror" and one of the best Twilight Zone episodes, "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet" among many others.
@@JoseyWales44s Don’t forget the Night Stalker in 1971
I think Logan, Scott and Arnie's take would have been a better movie than the 2008 one that came of Protosevich's draft (it was okay, but the third act was where it fell apart).
Watch the alternative cut, much better third act.
@@specialk4006 Yes, they actually carry through the butterfly theme.
Will smith movie should have been called, I am action hero.
@@specialk4006 It is a better third act but the Logan script that Ridley was going to direct had so many cooler elements even Arnie driving a bank armored truck to get through the mutants.
@@boddahif6967 I'm sure Arnold would had wasted a bunch of vampires . He liked Heston .
This is one of the biggest missed opportunities in the history of cinema. I think they could still do it, with both Schwarzenegger and Scott coming back. It would be an epic comeback for both of them.
I think Arnold could sell the character on screen now probably more than ever.
It’s a bummer they never got to work together.
I agree they need to make this
Scott's too much of a hack and a drunk at this point. He couldn't even do his press junket for Covenant sober.
HOLY COW😳 You did one of my requests! Thank you so much!😭😭😭
This sounds like it would've been really great. A true missed opportunity. Ridley Scott is a very skilled director and would've shined in this type of story. He was right around the peak of his skills as a visual storyteller at this time. Arnold was the right age at this time to play a disheveled survivalist. I like the idea of no narrator and just letting it play out. Really think this would've been a great one.
It certainly sounds like - thematically at least - Scott and his collaborators were on the right track, the make up tests and concept art looked amazing. That being said, it doesn't sound like they were planning to stick too closely to the ending of the book which is a shame since it's brilliant.
This is one of the best channels on youtube. Thank you for the all the work you are doing.
This would have been interesting to see had it been made. Especially the fact Ridley Scott and Arnold Schwarzenegger would have worked together on a film. That alone would have been intriguing.
I a huge Supervoid cinema. A new video is always a joy to watch
Wow.... this movie could have been a legend itself :)
A very very short book. Almost a short story.
I loved the ambience of his droll daily life (eating, finding more food, books, records). It’s so sublime. Like Metamorphosis.
You can read it in one night.
I'm so pissed that we didn't get to hear Arnold say, "Get to the choppa" to his wife and kid in I Am Legend. 😐
Bahahahahahaha!!!!! Fk that made me laugh.
The novel I am Legend was not the result of a Nuclear War, it was the result of a Bacteria related to Bubonic Plague. Neville himself was immune because he contracted a weakened version of it when bitten by a Vampire Bat.
There are two types of Vampire in the Novel, those still living and those reanimated by the bacteria. The reanimated Vampires cannot be cured because they are undead.
This is one movie I wish happened. An Arnold Schwarzenegger and Ridley Scott collaboration would've been freaking epic.
Great work as always, and one of my favorite videos you did so far! I love all those early scripts for I Am Legend from 90's. I think each of them would have turn into amazing film, specially with all the people they had working on the project. My personal choice for which script would have been the best, at least from ones which are available out there in certain circles, is Logan's August 1997 script. I love that entire third act twist and how unlike other drafts it doesn't turns into typical action finale and instead goes into completely different direction and actually has quite effective ending. Man, it's a crying shame this one never got made...
If you ask me, Logan’s drafts would have been sensational. Neville is the last man on earth… so exploit that angle. The whole montage with Wagner’s Siegfried’s Funeral March playing over it would have been phenomenal. Yes, it is a radical approach and no Hollywood studio will ever give this the go ahead… but boy it would have great IMO. Also, I could be wrong, but I read somewhere that the leader of the Hemocytes in Logan’s draft would be revealed to be Neville’s wife since she was the first victim, thus giving a new angle to the title I Am Legend. The way Hollywood treated Arnie, was awful.
I still wish we could've seen the Blade 3 - I Am Legend story they originally planned before settling for Blade Trinity. That sounded epic, just Wesley Snipes waging war on a full scale vampire apocalypse with very few humans left.
This would make Arnold the alpha and *omega.*
those Initial concept sketches by Sylvain Despretz were perfect. That was exactly how the vampires should look.
The Heston version is the best.
This book has had an interesting Hollywood history. I don't think we've ever gotten the definitive version. This one may have been it. Too bad it didn't happen. The makeup effects described here are just want that story needs and deserves. I'd love to see that done someday.
Well cut! You get the impression that some scenes of the movie were really made! Btw: No other list of unmade movies here on youtube mentioned this one. So well recherched too. Thank you!
Just listening to all of this , man this could have been something extraordinary .
one of the best horror novels ever, and it *still* hasn't been done correctly on screen.
amazing as always. The world definitely misses out on each one of your film subjects. Thanks for all the hard work it must take to research all of these wonderous gems the world will never see finished
Speaking of Arnie, there is an unused script of DC Comic's Sgt Rock. Tarantino was interested to direct it and Arnie was supposed to be Sgt Rock, a German-descent American soldier who took a suicide mission in Nazi's soil
Oh man, now that one would have been a great film for Arnold to star in late 80's and early 90's when it was in development for him, and the entire story behind all the attempts at making Sgt Rock film would have been another great episode! From dozens of scripts and writers (David Webb Peoples, Steven E. De Souza, Jeffrey Boam, John Milius, Brian Helgeland...) and directors (John McTiernan, Paul Verhoeven, Renny Harlin...), it's amazing how long they were trying to make that film, from like 1987 till early 2010's i believe.
@@jackcraven2266 i just found two scripts and i hope Supervoid will breakdown those two
Used to read those D.C. comics when I was a kid. Too bad it never got made
I had some.sgt. rock comics i believe i got them from my dad and Uncle would of loved to see how it would of came out. Who could play him now if Warner's decided to do something with the ip
Again, Arnie is too old for films like that now. It would lose money at the box office.
I was tracking this film 10 years before it was made. I heard Arnold was on board for awhile and then nothing. Huge let down. Also, Matheson was a genius story teller.
The thing is, this movie could be made today. Schwarzenegger's fee must be significantly lower these days and Scott is still directing. Why not?
Schwarzenegger is holding out for King Conan.
If they were ready to start filming now
@@taylorjeremy71 sounds dumb
@@seanlamar29 Not compared to an I am Legend remake with 70+ Arnold....that would bomb
@@taylorjeremy71 no
Great video, also I would love to see a video on John Carpenter’s 90’s unmade Creature from the Black Lagoon movie, that would be pretty cool
Few months ago great guy called Kiramid Head here on TH-cam did an episode of his Screenplay Archaeology podcast which was all about almost every single unproduced Creature From The Black Lagoon remake scripts and entire development hell the project is still going through. I highly recommend checking it out! And when it comes Carpenter's unproduced films, i would like to see his version of Creature, because the scripts they had for it were pretty good, but if i would have to choose, i would absolutely love to see couple of his 80's unproduced projects, Shadow Company (Kurt Russell vs zombie Vietnam veterans) and Pincushion (Jamie Lee Curtis in female version of Road Warrior)!
It's depressing that this was tabled for the movie we got instead. This is considered to be the greatest work of Horror next to Dracula, and the version that was made did not do the book justice. The vampire creatures in the Will Smith version were not scary at all, and way too digitized to be taken seriously. The effects were underwhelming and laughable and cheapened the movie.
I'd love to see them make it now. I think Arnie's age now, would just lend more weight to the story
Come on Warners, pony up and let Scott realise his vision.
I Am Legend
Directed by: Ridley Scott
Screenplay by: John Logan, David Fronzoni, James Schamus and Mark Protosevich
Story by: David Fronzoni
Produced by: Ridley Scott, James Schamus, Larry Franco, David Franzoni and Douglas Wick
Executive Produced by: Ridley Scott and Akiva Goldsman
Cinematography: John Mathieson
Edited by: Pietro Scalia
Music by: Hans Zimmer and Lisa Gerrard
Production Companies: Scott Free Productions, Red Wagon Entertainment, Good Machine, Warner Bros. Pictures
Distributed by: Warner Bros Pictures
Starring: Arnold Schwarzenegger
Rated: R
You videos are so interesting and entertaining! Thanks 🙏🏻
Thing this Ridley Scott & Arnie's - Version would have been better than what we been presented with !
The Charlton Heston version shits all over Will Smiths version.
As a fan of the book, I have a hard time getting into The Omega Man. I mean, both take their liberties, switch things up, but Omega is like a different story entirely. In terms of adaptations, I think The Last Man on Earth still comes closest.
@Robert Hunt The book is incredible. One of those books that furthers the genre.
I have to agree with you on that...
@@carterslade8771 Agree about "Last Man on Earth" but Richard Matheson was so disappointed in it that he removed his name from the screenplay credit. The Will Smith version actually turns the title entirely upside down.
There is a Vincent Price version that is pretty good.
Im not sure about Arnold .. Mel Gibson or Russell Crowe knocks this part out of the park .. Maybe even Denzel considering what he did in Book of Eli
yeah just think about end of days...
Arnold was really good in Maggie
@@roryscott2941 Yeah Arnold can be very good as long as he has a good director. So I think it would have been great because Ridley Scott is a great director.
@@jackcrow9736
I concur, but it would be rad to see Crowe or Gibson as well.
I remember when this film was hitting the news back then and was eager to see it . I rather had Arnold in the role than Will Smith and directed by Scott .
I still wish the 2008 version had gone with the OG ending they had filmed, which I think better illustrated the themes of Matheson's book. =)
Very interesting. I think a loyal adaptation has to be made someday, its inevitable.
Isn’t it funny how the best stories and films are the ones we never see?
Arnold Schwarzenegger in I am Legend. Say no more 💸
Why didn't we get this version?! This would be awesome!!
Wow! This was a highly entertaining video! Ridley Scott's aborted adaptation of "I Am Legend" is undoubtedly one of the greatest films never made! Schwarzenegger would've definitely introduced moviegoers to a more human and sympathetic side of his persona no one had ever seen had he starred in the film! Talk about a missed opportunity!
8:44 This is a scene from the 1999 film END OF DAYS, directed by Hyams
So many coincideces about that film have been happening to me recently.
Dude, I read the screenplay to this version of I Am Legend! JOBLO Video did an episode of the movie titled: Ridley Scott's I AM LEGEND: The movie that almost was.
Yes man. You did it, fantastic work.
If you never seen Arnold Schwarzenegger's movie called "Maggie" Check it out It's probably one of his most dramatic roles It's set in a zombie apocalypse but very different from zombie movies that we have seen.
I often think about the fact that 99% of life that's ever existed on Earth is extinct. I'll never get to taste that particular fruit flavour, or roast up an animal that humans have never seen.
It's like that... There is undoubtedly so much greatness that we've never had the chance to experience, and know no better.
That 'what could have been' feeling is pretty depressing.
The Crusades Movie with Arnie sounded like a mad one
Very interesting and well told documentary on Ridley Scott's potential I Am Legend. Interesting that the original author Matheson said it was good, but not his book.
I am legend. There should be a TV series, based to the book without CGI. Vampires should be mostly just dark shadows, rarely if ever shown clearly. Voices which calls him behind the door hauntingly sexy with laughter luring him to open the door and sometimes whispering and hungry low screams.
And it should be autumn..
I should read the book again.
I would definitely love to see this in a animation film. Starting Arnold Schwarzenegger WB
That could work.
DC Animated shorts has a Sgt Rock animated.
The fact this hasn't happened is criminal.
“I love this script. Rewrite it entirely”- Ridley Scott
This is almost criminal. I'm writing to the court to make it done
Not gonna lie, that Ridley Scott/Arnoldo I Am Legend sounds like it could have been a good movie. Details like having Arnold Schwarzenegger in a fortified house with zombies all around him with stolen art that was worth an absolute fortune before the human race fell. The art was not being appreciated by anybody in the prestigious art museums that held it anymore so it made sense that the one person left who could still appreciate them went and took them
The book is incredible. ‘I am legend’.
One of my favourite stories! I keep waiting for someone to make a version closer to the novel. Richard Matheson’s own screenplay would be a good place to start. I haven’t see the Vincent Price version, and what really infuriates me in other versions, is the ‘legend’ aspect as per the novel. I mean it is pretty much spelled out in the final paragraphs, though should be implicit on screen. In the future of the new world of the new species, Neville will be remembered as the horror, the monster. The thing that came and hunted and killed in the day. A story that will be told for generations to come, and eventually he (like Dracula was to humans) will become the legend.
The two Logan drafts I've read were both great, and the August 1997 draft is the only one that largely maintains Matheson's themes, if a bit altered. Protosevich's scripts aren't bad, but they shoot themselves in the foot by making the bad guys so cartoonish and really undercut the message.
Couldn't agree more Bruce! I do love how action packed Protosevich's scripts were, specially that December '98 draft, but i always felt that Logan's August '97 script would have been the best version to see made into a film back in the day.
May I make a suggestion, love your content btw, but there are details about James Cameron's Terminator 3 that you could talk about. Perhaps it would not be a very long video. But it is something that was going to happen back in the late 90s. Fox went after the rights with Cameron set to direct, Schwarzenegger to star, Linda Hamilton was asked to return as well. Likely this was meant to be out in 99 or 2000 under Fox.
Yeah, it's definitely something I've had a good look into to try and find an angle on.
@@SupervoidCinema Did you find anything new or not as widespread?
Before I start on my comments, I just want to say that I'm not normally a fan of remakes. In saying that though, it would've been absolutely fantastic to see this version of Richard Matheson's story. I've seen "The Last Man On Earth," "The Omega Man," and Will Smith's "I Am Legend" (both the Original and Alternative Endings). I loved all those versions. I'm saddened that this version with Arnold Schwarzenegger wasn't made. I'm sure that it would've been a great Sci-Fi Hit at the Box Office. I hope that someday it might be resurrected and completed
Another great video, 👍🏼😎
The Vincent Price version is still the best.
Zero dislikes? I mean, I’m going to like this still, but it’s pretty tempting.
This is fascinating. I would also be interested in a prequel to I Am Legend with Will Smith. What happened after he looses his family, what happens to his security detail, how does he go from being a Army scientist to a bad ass operator type guy. How did his mind change in those three years.
Would have been so much better with Arnold. Will Smith just tried to slap the zombies to death and that rarely works.
I got a multiversal jump-watch. I've seen it twice.
I think the biggest mistake is trying to turn I am Legend into an action movie. It's not. If somebody would try and stick to the actual story it would make a great horror movie. Smith's version had nothing in common with the book other than the title and main characters name.
Really hard not to have alot of action. But i feel what your getting at
With Suicide Squad 2 right around the corner there's never been a finer time to do "Green Arrow Escape from Supermax!" Written by Goyer and has so much of a proto Suicide Squad in its DNA.
Love this series. I was wondering would you be able to do one for David Fincher’s cancelled World War Z sequel?
The One with Will Smith was good..but going overboard with the CGI even for the close ups of the mutants was a BAD IDEA. Besides that, it was a good movie.
One thing that often strikes me about these unmade movies is the fact that in the end, the studio usually manages to make a movie that is MUCH worse than anything that was stuck in development hell. In this case, Scott's movie sounded very interesting. Will Smith's movie was just awful. I don't think he was particularly bad in it but everything from the monster designs to the studio mandated ending - just awful!
Now we’re getting more classics.
I read the script for this a long time ago. Would have been very interesting.
How could you possibly have overlooked the first I Am Legend movie starring Vincent Price from 1964?
I think it's mentioned in the first 3 minutes of the video.
@@SupervoidCinema Apologies Sir.
Good video.
What about The Homega Man!!!!
What footage is this from ? This is incredible and should still be done ! Schwarzenegger and Scott you shouldn’t drop this - dooo it now !
Some of the Arnold Schwarzenegger footage was from the movie “Maggie”. Definitely worth a watch 😁👍🏻
Most of the footage is cut scenes from the game The Division.
Jesus...I want this movie!!!!
the monsters were much better than the will smith movie
Hell, the Family in the Omega Man was more believable than the Smith version with all their cartoon physics.
@@JoseyWales44s Totally Agree! Moved like a bunch of CG Spiderman. Other than that I thought it was a good movie but Omega Man will always be my favorite.
I love the novel "I Am Legend". As a fan of classic science fiction, I have never come across a book that made me fear, dread, and cry until I picked up I Am Legend (which ironically, was around the time the pandemic began.
Oh, video idea: Unmade Space Jam sequels/Looney Tunes movies
Wasn't the Schwarzenegger movie supposed to more closely follow the Charlton Heston movie?
I screamed when I saw my notification 🤣
Would be nice if we could get an adaptation that, you know, tried to adapt the book.
IF only they had stuck with the makeup concepts from this version, for the WILL SMITH version, then at least we would not have had the CGI bullshit on screen in that film .
It sucks this didn't get made. Arnold Schwarzenegger would've been a great Robert Neville.
The 2007 film starring Wil Smith is a classic and one of the saddest movies ever. It's pre Logan.
It was garbage especially with those cartoon monsters 🤣
Maybe Arnold should push for his version would love to see it
Nah, he's too old now.
Wow. Ome of my favorite authors was born in the same state as me and went to the same collage as me.
Neat.
I think Arnold would have made a great Robert Neville. I read this book a while back. It is one of my favorite books.
Come on out Neville.
yay I'm the 999th viewer! awesome video btw.
Well now their doing I am legend 2 with Will smith and Michael B Jorden
So maybe they can make a part 3 sequel with Arnold Schwarzenegger and Will Smith and Michael B Jordan to star in together (if possible) that would be great 👍
The books perfect.The books thematic. Why does everyone try to change it?I'm American and I don't understand Americans.They need an Emoji of an exasperated person with their hands in the air.
Has nothing to do with nationalities, it has everything to do with money. Studio execs get nervous and want to appeal to as wide an audience as possible. That's why big budget movies are so bland now, they don't want to risk that much money on an idea that may or may not pan out, and they're loathe to give complete creative control over to one person.
Movie-audiences are simple creatures and they generally don't like to be wrong-footed. They like their heroes and villains served straight. "I Am Legend" (the book) pulls a great trick on the reader, having them realize that the "hero" they've been identifying with is the monster. It's a great twist, and I love it, but it's a risky trick to play on your audience.
I suppose an analogy would be a war film where we only see through the protagonist's eyes, and the audience whoops it up as he carries out his brave mission, blowing stuff up and killing people left and right, and then at the end we see the protagonist reflected in a mirror and realize he's wearing a swastika. Audiences wouldn't go "Hmm, I grant you that was cleverly done, Mr Film-maker! You sure gave me some food for thought about differing perspectives there!" - they'd more likely riot, feeling dirty, tricked and angry because they'd been manipulated into cheering and fist-pumping while a Nazi killed good guys.
The Will Smith version did originally have an ending like that, with Smith realizing he'd been carrying out medical experiments on intelligent beings capable of human emotions, but test-audiences rejected that ending in favor of a gung-ho explosive ending that was the antithesis of then intended themes. I guess movie audiences just aren't ready for that kind of ending in their Hollywood blockbusters.
@@blatherskite3009 rather see those movies
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
@@ryanthoroman3293 Yep, me too. And they exist alright, just not as major Hollywood movies. As others have said: the higher the budget is, the more they want to play it safe.
this would have been astounding.
Denzel Washington or Daniel Day Lewis would have been my picks And Michael Mann as Director.
Ridleys awesome but Mann has more realism with the weapons and has a unique ominous cityscapes view
This would have been awesome...like this is so more much more rewatchable, Will Smith is not an action star, Ok, let's just establish that, he's not...
Hollywood needs to stop that, he's a drama actor, his best roles pursuit of happiness, 7 pounds and enemy of the state all good movies, but Will Smith in action, is not believed