I Am Legend (2007) News
Thesp takes on 'Legend
09/21/06Warner Bros. Pictures has found its leading lady for Will Smith starrer "I Am Legend" in Brazilian thesp Alice Braga. Helmer Francis Lawrence is set to start lensing the long-gestating film in Gotham this fall. Writers Akiva Goldsman and Mark Protosevich adapted Richard C. Matheson's novel; story revolves around three lone survivors of the apocalypse who are forced to battle vampire-like beings in an empty New York City.
New life for 'Legend'
04/25/06Will Smith will star in "I Am Legend," the long-gestating Warner Bros. adaptation of the Richard Matheson novel to be directed by "Constantine" helmer Francis Lawrence. "Legend" came closest to getting made back in 1997 with Ridley Scott directing Arnold Schwarzenegger. Warners applied the brakes because the budget hovered around $108 million, a figure considered high at the time. Michael Bay and Smith then aligned to have a go at the film in 2002, but the pairing didn't advance. Set in post-apocalyptic New York, "Legend" is about the last healthy man following the release of a virus that decimates the population. To survive, he must battle mutants that wreak havoc during the night.
Lawrence to direct 'I Am Legend'
09/13/05Warner Bros. has set Francis Lawrence to direct "I Am Legend," putting the long-gestating adaptation of the Richard Matheson novel onto the studio fast track. David Heyman, Akiva Goldsman, Neal Moritz and Erwin Stoff are producing. Mark Protosevich wrote the script. Warner Bros. has entrusted Lawrence with one of the more ambitious films in its repertoire. But the studio has championed the director since he jumped from videos to directing the Keanu Reeves pic "Constantine." In "Legend," he takes on a big sci-fi project that has been gestating at the studio for nearly a decade. At one time it had Ridley Scott and Arnold Schwarzenegger attached, and another incarnation had Michael Bay and Will Smith set. Set in Los Angeles after a biological war, the movie centers on the sole healthy survivor, a man who finds himself in a nightly battle against sun-shunning mutants.
© 2005 Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc.
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