Bicentenial Man

[Atrael]

Has anyone else seen the previews for this?....Based on Asimov's story of the same name. Robin Williams is going to play the part of Andrew. What do ya'll think of this?...While I'm a huge fan of Robin Williams as a comedic actor, and love most of his movies, I also worry about how this will reflect the original story which I also love....Comments?

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"Love thine enemies...it really pisses them off."
-Anon

[Sealemon88]

Robin is perfectly capable of playing dramatic roles as well. Scope out his work on Dead Poets Society and The Fisher King.

I haven't seen the trailer yet ,but I saw the movie poster. I think Robin will do fine. My questions are, who directed it? What were his/her previous credits? And finally, are they going with a "period" look (in this case, the 50's Golden Age)?

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You say "cheesy" like that's a BAD thing.

[Atrael]

Not sure...only saw the trailer the other night, and didn't notice all that. And while I know Robin can handle dramatic roles, the few scenes I saw more more comedic in nature. I haven't read the story again in the past few months, but I don't remember it being a comedy.

I'm not putting the movie down, just wondered what everyone else thought about it.

Here's what IMDB has to say....
http://us.imdb.com/Title?0182789

Also, it looked like it would be fairly modern..no garish 50's style future effects.

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"Love thine enemies...it really pisses them off."
-Anon

[Homer]

It is not of the same name. The story is about a 250 year old robot, it's name is... umm... bicesquincentennial man, I think... not sure, though, and too lazy to look it up. Also, why would a robot choose to be so hairy?

--Tim

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We are the children of the Eighties. We are not the first "lost generation" nor today's lost generation; in fact, we think we know just where we stand - or are discovering it as we speak.

[pricciar]

I saw the preview for it as well. I believe its directed by Chris Columbus. The director of Mrs. Doubtfire and the Home Alone movies. I am not a huge fan of Robin Williams in dramatic roles, but the preview looked pretty good.

pat

[Guy Propski]

Try looking in http://www.corona.bc.ca, the home of Coming Atrractions. It has some good info on cast, story, and a picture of Robin Williams in the robot suit.

IMO, it won't be nearly as good as Asimov's story. It's by the director of "Mrs. Doubtfire", so it'll be sure to be sappy.

[Arnold Winkelried]

I'm not sure what this means:

It is not of the same name. The story is about a 250 year old robot, it's name is... umm... bicesquincentennial man, I think... not sure, though, and too lazy to look it up.

The original Isaac Asimov story was indeed title "The Bicentennial Man." The movie has the same title, according to imdb.

I will reserve judgement, but the Chris Columbus/Robin Williams combination seems to bode ill. I hope the movie doesn't turn out to be overly sentimental.

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La franchise ne consiste pas à dire tout ce que l'on pense, mais à penser tout ce que l'on dit.
H. de Livry

[Montfort]

I saw the trailer for this yesterday in front of "The Insider". It looked okay, with just a slight touch of hokiness. I'm curious to see if Columbus can pull it off.

However, I can't stand the little girl who's co-starring in it (the one from the annoying Pepsi commercials). She was also in The Insider, and nearly annoyed me there, too.

Embeth Davitz is in 2C Man, though -- she's usually above average. She was pretty great in that Holocaust movie by that Spielberg fellow a few years back.

[The_Peyote_Coyote]

I don't know that it will have a 50s look, Seaelemon. If memory serves me correctly, The Bicenntennial Man" was published in the early or mid '70's

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Armed, dangerous....
and off my medication.

[The_Peyote_Coyote]

I don't know that it will have a 50s look, Seaelemon. If memory serves me correctly, The Bicenntennial Man" was published in the early or mid '70's

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Armed, dangerous....
and off my medication.

[MrKnowItAll]

In case anyone's interested, here's its official website:
http://movies.go.com/bicentennialman/

Personally, I'm looking forward to it.

[Homer]

I stand corrected. I just looked it up in my Asimov directory, and it is indeed Bicentennial. Last time I read it, I was about 14... I wonder how I got it in my head that he lived to be 250...?

--Tim

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We are the children of the Eighties. We are not the first "lost generation" nor today's lost generation; in fact, we think we know just where we stand - or are discovering it as we speak.

[Erroneous]

IIRC (ooh, that's the first time I've used that acronym...*shudders with post-virginal joy*), Homer, at one point in the story the Robot is present at a ceremony where he is dubbed the [insert long word for "150 year-old"] ROBOT, and that's part of what makes him want to become human. Or something. Hell, it's been about 10 years since I read it.

[Guy Propski]

Erroneous--the word you're looking for is "sesquicentenial", or 150th anniversary.

Peyote, the original story was published, appropriately enough, in 1976, in "Stellar-2", a paperback collection of original short fiction, edited by Judy-Lynn Del Rey. You can also find it in Asimov's "The Bicentennial Man and Other Stories", as well as "The Hugo Winners, Volume 4" and about a dozen other collections.