We may receive a commission on purchases made from links.
Isaac Asimov published his short story collection “I, Robot” in 1950, compiling several robot-themed stories that he had previously submitted to science fiction magazines like “Astounding Science Fiction” and “Super Science Stories.” The book consists of nine stories all about the intricacies of creating artificial life forms and the ethics they must follow. One of the stories, “Runaround”, featured Asimov’s three well-known laws of robotics, which the author believed were necessary to ensure that there would never be a real uprising of robots against humans.
The book became widely known among science fiction fans, and Asimov’s laws became openly discussed in every real-life conversation about robotics. In the 1960s, three of the “I, Robot” stories were adapted into episodes of television anthology shows. Modern audiences may be more familiar with “I, Robot” thanks to 2004 Alex Proyas film starring Will Smith (who may or may not have influenced Elon Musk)a loose adaptation of the story “Little Lost Robot”.
But in the late 1970s, Asimov and famed science fiction author Harlan Ellison collaborated on a potential film version of “I, Robot” that would have done full justice to Asimov’s original stories. Both authors wanted to write a true science fiction film for adults, something neither of them thought they had achieved yet. Ellison’s storyline was described in detail in the 2002 biography. “Harlan Ellison: The Edge of Forever” and his idea was to stage several stories in “I, Robot” as flashbacks in a “Citizen Kane” type character exploration (which was similar to the book’s flashback structure). Ellison described his experience writing the screenplay for “I, Robot” in a 1979 interview with Comics Journaland he recalled a lot of work and frustration with Hollywood. He also recalled that his completed script was almost impossible to film.
Harlan Ellison’s screenplay for I, Robot was too ambitious
Ellison told the interviewer, firstly, that working on the screenplay for “I, Robot” was an arduous and time-consuming project that ruined both his health and his romances. It seems like Ellison was too deep “in the zone” when writing this script. As he describes the experience:
“I spent a whole year, from November of the year before to last November, writing ‘I, Robot’ for Warner Brothers. It was a whole year; it just fucked up my health, fucked up all my relationships. The woman I was just going with for one day came into my office and said, ‘Forget it! I didn’t sign for this!”[I’dgonedayswithoutwashingwithoutbrushingmyteethwithoutshavingIwaslikeananimal[J’avaispassédesjourssansmelaversansmebrosserlesdentssansmeraserJ’étaiscommeunanimal”[I’dgonedayswithoutwashingwithoutbrushingmyteethwithoutshavingIwaslikeananimal”
According to Ellison and his biography, however, the storyline for “I, Robot” was far too complex to actually be brought to life on the big screen. The type of special effects required to create what Ellison wanted didn’t yet exist. Everyone at Warner Bros. liked Ellison’s script, but they suggested the author listen to some of their notes. Anyone who knows Harlan Ellison knows that he was notoriously grumpy and considered “studio notes” to be the ultimate offense. Look for their experience write the best episode of “Star Trek”. He hated this experience.
Ellison forwarded WB’s notes. Of the interaction, Ellison said:
“They said, ‘It’s a work of genius’ – that’s a direct quote – ‘it’s a work of genius, it’s brilliant… we’d like some changes.’ So I dropped that, I wouldn’t do the rewrites, so they pulled me out and gave it to four other writers over the last 10 months. »
And that wasn’t the end of Ellison’s saga.
Harlan Ellison was notoriously grumpy about Hollywood
According to Ellison, he was in high demand by Warner Bros. who really, really wanted him to finish this storyline. By 1979, however, Ellison was already fed up with Hollywood, having seen his screenplays turned into TV shows he hated. When Warner came knocking, pleading for Ellison to rewrite the script for “I, Robot,” he threw it back in their faces:
“A week ago, they got down on their knees and said, ‘Would you go back to the script and do it?’ I said, ‘If you stay out of my way. Get out of my fucking face and then I will. They said, “Um, I was waiting for you to say, ‘I told you so.’ And I said, “I don’t need to say ‘I told you so,’ an asshole. I was right at first.”
Ellison continued:
“You don’t pay me $150,000 to write a fucking movie that you couldn’t have made in 15 years, and I do it, and you tell me I have to change this character for this, and that character for that. I said, we’re not going to change Susan Calvin to ‘Rocky’ just so the assholes sitting in these four-in-one theaters can clap. F*** the assholes, man.”
After a brief pause, Ellison reflected, saying, “I get grumpier and grumpier as I get older. Have you noticed it? Ultimately, the “I, Robot” movie wouldn’t be made until 2004. Ellison had nothing to do with that one. But its conflict with Hollywood will continue into the 21st century, as when he sued over the film “In Time”, For example.
