Comments on: Forward the Foundation Movie

By: Douglas Gray

Douglas Gray — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 23:13:46 +0000

Asimov was never a pure science fiction writer. He mixes sci-fi themes with suspense and drama in a way that I always found entertaining.

He was my favorite growing up. The books could be great as movies, but they have to be done by someone who can mix sci-fi with drama and suspense in the right way.

It would be a challenge to do it right. The one robot movie done thus far was not a good sign of Hollywoods ability to do Azimov justice, but they are welcome to try again.

I wouldn't begin with FOUNDATION. Try THE CAVES OF STEEL, see if they can pull of a good suspense situation in a Sci-Fi setting.

The original FOUNDATION novel would actually be the hardest to do; it's mostly ideas. PRELUDE TO FOUNDATION actually has plenty of action, and could make a great movie. The knife fight in Billobotton, visiting Mother Rittah and hearing about Earth, that is good stuff.

By: Bob Banks

Bob Banks — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 21:05:43 +0000

I am approaching 65, and still have stron memories of reading ther original Foundation series as soon as it appeared in paperback.

I am very happy that there will be movies based on the books, however, I sincerely hope that it will not be as awful as the movie "I, Robot," Which seemed to have nothing to do with the original collection of short stories.

I also like to give encouragement to the studio, its producers and director.

By: Sean OBrien

Sean OBrien — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 01:03:47 +0000

I'm pretty concerned about this, mainly because the Foundation novels don't have a great plot. They have a great theme, and very big ideas. But I don't remember any battles, or fights or real conflict. The 2 plot lines I remember are "trying to find the 2nd foundation" and "trying to stop the Mule from ruining the plan". Neither makes for a good movie.

This means they will have to add some action to spice up the movie. And when people start adding stuff they usually ruin the story.

Don't misunderstand me, the ideas and themes in the Foundation trilogy are fantastic. But that doesn't mean it will make a good movie.

By: Pete Tzinski

Pete Tzinski — Sun, 18 Jan 2009 23:37:52 +0000

My theory with movies, even when they appear to be "in motion" is, they absolutely won't happen...until they do. It seems to hold true of Hollywood well enough.

Douglas Adams said that making a movie is like trying to cook a steak by having a series of people pass by it and exhale on it.

(I LIKED the Day after Tomorrow. It's my wife's favorite film. She's a bit of a disaster flick nerd. And has made me one too. It's such a fun movie.)

By: Edward Milewski

Edward Milewski — Sun, 18 Jan 2009 22:22:05 +0000

Sounds like a bad idea to me. If they actually do it though, they'll have to use very good actors. Especially for Hari Seldon. I'm all for Patrick Stewart.

By: Carl Vincent

Carl Vincent — Sun, 18 Jan 2009 17:54:28 +0000

I'm not sure how I feel about a Foundation movie. I am a still-wet-behind-the-ears fan of Asimov, having read the Foundation trilogy at this time last year for the first time. I am so enamored with those three novels that I cannot imagine a film ever doing them justice. Perhaps a brief, couple season television series would have more of a chance of being true to the work while expanding on it.

By: Gary D

Gary D — Sun, 18 Jan 2009 17:43:39 +0000

Forget about that - who can he get to fill a skin tight wet suit to replace Raquel? Will there be a changing room scene?

There has not been a good history of Asimov adaptations. Will Foundation be different? I think there is potential there - there is action that takes place off scene in the stories.

By: bloginhood

bloginhood — Sun, 18 Jan 2009 11:50:29 +0000

Okay, admittedly it's been a while since I read the Foundation books, but I don't remember them focussing much on stuff blowin' up. But wrecking things is kinda Emmerich's fetish. What's he gonna do with (or is that to) this story?