Film Studies: I Am Legend Section 4

                                                                           A.O.Scott

On the 14th December 2007 A. O. Scott posted a review of  I am Legend on the New York Times website. He gave a positive view towards the film stating how Will Smith is the best of the three actors to embrace the life of the last man on Earth, the likes of Vincent Price and Charlton Heston, he called the overall performance of the film "There is something graceful and effortless about this performance, which not only shows what it might feel like to be the last man on earth, but also demonstrates what it is to be a movie star." However Scot also quoted that as the film progressed it lost its unique essence."Once they begin swarming, “I Am Legend” inevitably loses some of its haunting originality, since they look a lot like the monsters in “28 Days Later” (and its sequel, “28 Weeks Later”). They also represent a less compelling application of computer-generated imagery than all those empty avenues and silent buildings." 

                                                                   David Dylan Thomas                                                          

David Dylan Thomas also posted a review on I am Legend,on the website, FilmCritic.com gave the film a reasonable 6 star rating. He Thomas explained in his post how he thought that " I Am Legend maintains the power to awe. The production design by David Lazan and Naomi Shohan is nothing short of amazing", I agree with his review, except that later on in his review he criticised how as the plot develops queries are shown of faith and humanity, however as the final moments draw closer the information given back is rushed ultimately creating an anti-climax, he said that the result of these signs are underwhelming.I disagree with this opinion, for the plot is made intense and overall entertaining because it plays its genre well, the ending creates tension because the inevitable overrun by zombies was not foreseen, this complements the thrilling enticing events that create the codes and conventions of a horror genre.It is unstable and unthinkable.

The film had a budget of $150,000,000, grossing$77,211,321 on its opening weekend in 3,606 theaters, averaging $21,412 per venue, and placing it at the top of the box office. This set a record for highest grossing opening for a film for the month of December. The film grossed $256,393,010 in North America and $585,349,010 worldwide. The film was the sixth highest grossing film of 2007 in North America, and as of April 2010 stands among the top 100 all-time highest grossing films both domestically and worldwide.

The film was released on DVD on March 18, 2008 in two editions: a one-disc release, including the movie with four animated comics ("Death As a Gift," "Isolation," "Sacrificing the Few for the Many," and "Shelter"), and other features; and a two-disc special edition that includes all these extras, an alternative theatrical version of the movie with an alternate ending, and a digital copy of the film. Blu- Ray disc was released on 8th April 2008, and on December 9th 2008 a three-disk Ultimate Collector's Edition was also released.The film has sold 7.04 million DVDs and earned $126.2 million in revenue, making it the sixth best-selling DVD of 2008. However, Warner Bros was reportedly "a little disappointed" with the film's performance on the DVD market. 

Film Studies: I Am Legend Section 3

Distribution
I am legend has been given many promotional qualities which present itself to the public, One of the main publicity and promotional attractions is because of the role of Robert Nevil played as Will Smith. Fans of one Mr. Smith may be enticed by watching Will Smith in a new film,because of his earlier succession. This creates allot of enthusiasm of the films release.Also Will Smith is lately renown for starring in films of heroism that show him as saving the world, this could attract allot of attention because people know of hes quality. Will Smith gaining this role is also expanded through the media with things such as interviews trailers and posters.I am legend also gained much hype for it had been adapted from the novel by Richard Matheson, a 1954 horror fiction which was then adapted to films, the last man on earth and then the omega man. This attracts even more viewers from the old book or film fans.There are also the fan pages that increases the buzz about the film. I am legend was distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, Warner Bros also distributed the original Omega Man which folows as one of the three i am legend films.
A tie-in comic from DC Comics and Vertigo Comics has been created, I Am Legend: Awakening.The project draws upon collaboration from Bill Sienkiewicz, screenwriter Mark Protosevich, and author Orson Scott Card. The son of the original book's author, Richard Christian Matheson, also collaborated on the project. The project will advance from the comic to an online format in which animated featurettes (created by the team from Broken Saints) will be shown on the official website.
In October 2007, Warner Bros. Pictures in conjunction with the Electric Sheep Company launched the online multiplayer game I Am Legend: Survival in the virtual world Second Life. The game is the largest launched in the virtual world in support of a film release, permitting people to play against each other as the infected or the uninfected across a replicated 60 acres (240,000 m²) of New York City.The studio also hired the ad agency Crew Creative to develop a website that would be specifically viewable on the iPhone.


Merchandise
The certificate of I am Legend is a 15 so it is not suitable for advertisement in McDonald's, reason being McDonald's is a child friendly environment.Merchandise vary from I am legend t shirts and jumpers to action figures and i am legend golf balls.The action figures of Sam and Robert are exlusively produced by Hasbro. All of this merchandise promotes the film.

Premieres and Release 
At the premiere of the atisipated i am legend all stars were accounted for including Tom Cruise and jada smith occampanying. The premiere in London was on the 19th december 2007 with the US having their premiere on the 11th of december 2007.

I am legend poster

View more documents from Modos.

Film GCSE: I Am Legend Section 2

I Am Legend originated from a 1954 science fiction/horror novel by American writer Richard Matheson. It was influential in the development of the zombie genre and in popularizing the concept of a worldwide apocalypse due to disease. The novel was a success and was adapted to film as The Last Man on Earth in 1964, as The Omega Man in 1971, and now as we know it I Am Legend in 2007. The screen play for I Am Legend was implemented by Akiva Goldsman and Mark Protosevich.

The director Francis Lawrence was born in Vienna, Austria on March 26 1970,   

Before Lawrence went into the world of directing he was a co-director specializing in music videos serving under one Mike Rosen. Lawrence shot his first music for Michael Blakey President of Atco Records with the band Tidal Force which became a great success. Soon, Lawrence became known for his original and imaginative music video scripts and visual directing style. He eventually joined a major new production company and his successful career as music video director, having worked with stars like Britney Spears, Black Eyed Peas, Jay-Z, Aerosmith, Janet Jackson, Jennifer Lopez, Destiny's Child. In 2005, his feature film debut was Constantine based on the Hellblazer comic book, starring Keanu Reeves.

In 2007, he then went onto directing I Am Legend (based on the Richard Matheson novel), starring Will Smith.

Francis Lawrence has been the director of two films in his directing campaign however Constantine in 2005 was not of big renown.

He also has two films to come, Water for Elephants is being filmed and The City that Sailed is in Pre-Production.

There are 4 main characters within I Am Legend, these four characters consisted of;

the main actor Will Smith (1968) taking on the role of Robert Neville.

Sali Richardson (1967)

Alice Braga (1983)

and Willow Smith, Will Smiths daughter (2000)

I Am Legend was made by 4 studios, Village Road Show Picture, Weed Road Pictures, Overbrook Entertainment and Heyday Films. All of these studios have been noticed in today's latest motion pictures, however, Heyday Films is most noticeable for producing  the well known Harry Potter series. The other studio that caught my eye is Overbrook Entertainment because the production company was created by Will Smith between 1997 and 1999 around the time when Will Smith featured in Wild West. Since then it has served as Will Smiths main production company releasing films such as I Robot, Hitch, Pursuit of Happiness, I Am Legend and Hancock. The Title of this company, "Overbrook" is derived from Will Smith's high school in West Philadelphia, Overbrook High School.

Budget: 150,000,000

Akiva Goldsman decided to move the story from Los Angeles to New York City to take advantage of locations that would more easily show emptiness. Goldsman explained, "L.A. looks empty at three o'clock in the afternoon, however New York is never empty . . . This makes it a much more interesting way of showing the windswept emptiness of the world." However, the Warner Bros rejected this request because of the logistics.  Francis Lawrence was determined to shoot on location to give the film a natural feel that would benefit from not shooting on sound stages. Lawrence persevered and at last gained this advantage.

Filming began on September 23, 2006.

The scenes that i was most intrigued in was the flashback scenes in which the New York civilians evacuated. This scene contained the view of the famous Brooklyn Bridge. This scene took six consecutive nights in January and consumed $5 million of the film's reported $150 million budget, which was likely the most expensive shot in the city to date. The scene, which had to meet requirements from fourteen government agencies, involved 250 crew members and 1,000 extras, including 160 National Guard members.

Film GCSE: I Am Legend Section 1

I Am Legend is a 2007 science fiction film directed by Francis Lawrence. Here is a short synopsis of the film.

It is the year 2012. In the ruins of New York City. Robert Neville (Will Smith) is a military scientist unable to prevent the cause of an incurable man-made virus. Immune, Neville and his trusted dog, Samantha are now the last survivors in what is left of New York City and perhaps the world. For three years, Neville has faithfully sent out daily radio messages in his desperate attempt to find any other survivors who might be out there. But he is not alone. Mutant victims of the plague - The Infected - lurk in the shadows... watching Neville's every move... waiting for him to make a fatal mistake. Neville is perhaps mankind's last, best hope, and he is driven by only one remaining mission, to find a way to reverse the effects of the virus using his own immune blood. But he knows he is outnumbered and quickly running out of time.

One of the reasons that i pursued this film more than any other mainly revolves around the fact that Will_Smith is my favourite actor, i believe that in any given situation he can perform at a standard of uppermost excellence.One of the other attributes of the film that captured my interest was the plot. I believe that this is a thrilling plot because of the sense of realism, that it is possible for this disaster to take place. It is frighteningly exhilarating knowing that as technology skyrockets the possibility of this event will increase by a significant amount. Because of this reason i found the storyline gripping and exiting. 

The sequence of the film that i believe to be most powerful and effective is the first scene based on the fact that it is instantaneously interesting and from the start the viewer feels an apocalyptic Aura. A sense of devastation and disaster. The footage for this scene is shown below.

Link in case footage does not show

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bEKF80fCpjo