The book I am Legend by Richard Matheson is something I keep meaning to turn to but haven’t yet, it’s a story we’re all familiar with and Cinematical tells us why…
The first one, the solid 1964 Vincent Price movie The Last Man On Earth, was in black-and-white, so naturally, it cannot be very good, at least in the eyes of the younger audiences to whom a remake would appeal most. And the second one? Well, the mangled and dated 1971 Charlton Heston version, The Omega Man — it had albino mutant chicks with afros (say no more). This one will be directed by Constantine helmer Francis Lawrence, and is expected to start shooting in 2006 for a 2007 release. The movie has not yet been cast, though both Will Smith and Arnold Schwarzenegger have been attached to the project in the past.
I have to say I liked The Omega Man, but since then my views of Heston have changed somewhat and the political ideals behind the film have made me think twice about it. However I think this could really deserve a movie that’s more honourable to its source material than Omega.
As always Cinematical have some interesting insight into the story of this movie, one that’s been dogged by delayed production again and again.
The long, strange trip it’s been from page to screen is documented in The Greatest Science Fiction Movies Never Made (along with Tim Burton’s Superman Lives)
What do you think of The Omega Man? What about the source book itself? Does this deserve another movie, is this a cash in deal or an attempt to get a story in front of another generation?
