# After Earth **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 10, 2012, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/after-earth/643654 "2012-12-10T23:55:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2012, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/after-earth/643654/1 "2012-12-10T23:55:50Z")
Directed by M. Night Shyamalan. But **NOT** written by him, a first. I’m curious to see how he does directing a movie he did not write, considering how poor his writing/directing skills have gotten. Not in theaters, though, only on DVD. [Here is the trailer.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zaN0HV_N6UA) ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2012, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/after-earth/643654/2 "2012-12-11T00:14:10Z")
Wow, this got direct-to-disced? IIRC, it was supposed to be his big steppingstone back to his own projects. I guess he better start looking for an IHOP to manage. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2012, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/after-earth/643654/3 "2012-12-11T01:05:48Z")
> [@NitroPress](#): > > Wow, this got direct-to-disced? IIRC, it was supposed to be his big steppingstone back to his own projects. > . Did I miss something? I thought this was coming out in theaters. I did not see the trailer at the link I posted. Does it say that? 😕 ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2012, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/after-earth/643654/4 "2012-12-11T01:18:59Z")
I think Will Smith should learn to work with children who aren’t his own kids. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2012, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/after-earth/643654/5 "2012-12-11T01:22:29Z")
Yeah, I’m checking and do not here anything about a direct-to-dvd release. ---
**Author:** ![Yorikke](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yorikke/32/4335_2.png) [@Yorikke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yorikke)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2012, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/after-earth/643654/6 "2012-12-11T02:12:21Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > Not in theaters, though, only on DVD. > > [Here is the trailer.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zaN0HV_N6UA) > [@Mahaloth](#): > > Did I miss something? I thought this was coming out in theaters. I did not see the trailer at the link I posted. Does it say that? > > 😕 > [@Mahaloth](#): > > Yeah, I’m checking and do not here anything about a direct-to-dvd release. I don’t understand. You said in the first post, “Only on DVD.” Then someone expresses surprise at this, and you share the surprise at what you yourself said in OP? ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2012, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/after-earth/643654/7 "2012-12-11T02:56:13Z")
> [@hrhomer](#): > > I don’t understand. You said in the first post, “Only on DVD.” Then someone expresses surprise at this, and you share the surprise at what you yourself said in OP? Ah, I see. I meant I’ll see it on DVD, not in theaters. I shouldn’t have skipped a line. Apologies all around. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Mooch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7bcc69/32.png) [@Mooch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mooch)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2012, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/after-earth/643654/8 "2012-12-11T17:33:47Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > Ah, I see. I meant I’ll see it on DVD, not in theaters. I shouldn’t have skipped a line. > > Apologies all around. 🙂 What a twist! ---
**Author:** ![Push\_You\_Down](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/push_you_down/32/9095_2.png) [@Push\_You\_Down](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Push_You_Down)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2012, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/after-earth/643654/9 "2012-12-11T17:38:16Z")
…is the twist that they are STILL ON EARTH! Dun-dun-duuuuhn! ---
**Author:** ![RandMcnally](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b782af/32.png) [@RandMcnally](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RandMcnally)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2012, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/after-earth/643654/10 "2012-12-11T17:45:27Z")
I think the twist is that they are on earth but back in time. ---
**Author:** ![leahcim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/b4bc9f/32.png) [@leahcim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/leahcim)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2012, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/after-earth/643654/11 "2012-12-11T17:47:59Z")
> [@Push\_You\_Down](#): > > …is the twist that they are STILL ON EARTH! Dun-dun-duuuuhn! You maniacs! You blew it up!! Damn you! Damn you all to hell!!! ---
**Author:** ![Simplicio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c37758/32.png) [@Simplicio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simplicio)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2012, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/after-earth/643654/12 "2012-12-11T18:00:00Z")
> [@RandMcnally](#): > > I think the twist is that they are on earth but back in time. The trailer has a saber-tooth tiger, and Will Smith saying “we’re on Earth”, so if its a twist, its one that’s been pretty quickly spoiled. I actually think Shyamalan is a decent director. So maybe if he frees himself from his insistence on writing his own scripts, he’ll make some decent movies. Kinda surprised studios are still willing to back him though. ETA: actually, it looks like even Avatar made money. So I guess even his movies that get panned rake in the green, which solves the “why does he still get work” question. ---
**Author:** ![Yorikke](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yorikke/32/4335_2.png) [@Yorikke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yorikke)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2012, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/after-earth/643654/13 "2012-12-11T18:10:31Z")
> [@Mooch](#): > > What a twist! :smack::smack::smack: ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2012, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/after-earth/643654/14 "2012-12-11T18:17:59Z")
It turns out that Will Smith’s character is named “Adam”, and they meet a female who happens to be named “Eve”. DUN DUN DUUUUUUN! ---
**Author:** ![Darwins\_Finch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darwins_finch/32/20304_2.png) [@Darwins\_Finch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darwins_Finch)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2012, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/after-earth/643654/15 "2012-12-11T20:50:13Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > Directed by M. Night Shyamalan. > > But **NOT** written by him, a first. [Per IMDb](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1815862/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1), he is credited as one of four writers. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2012, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/after-earth/643654/16 "2012-12-11T21:47:00Z")
> [@Simplicio](#): > > The trailer has a saber-tooth tiger, and Will Smith saying “we’re on Earth”, so if its a twist, its one that’s been pretty quickly spoiled. > > I actually think Shyamalan is a decent director. So maybe if he frees himself from his insistence on writing his own scripts, he’ll make some decent movies. > > Kinda surprised studios are still willing to back him though. > > ETA: actually, it looks like even Avatar made money. So I guess even his movies that get panned rake in the green, which solves the “why does he still get work” question. Nit-picky: Avatar is a James Cameron film and, yeah, made some money - to the tune of $2.8 billion in first-release global box office sales, truly one of the mind-blowing WTF statistics in movie history. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2012, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/after-earth/643654/17 "2012-12-11T22:28:49Z")
> [@Darwins\_Finch](#): > > [Per IMDb](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1815862/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1), he is credited as one of four writers. It’s hard to tell from the IMDb listing what his actual credit is… it looks as if he and Gaghan wrote the first version, Soccio wrote some dialogue and Whitta wrote the final screenplay… but I’d have to see the credit card to be sure. There is a difference between being credited “Joe and Fred” and “Joe & Fred,” for example; I’d guess that the card will read: Written by Shyamalan and Gaghan & Whitta Additional Dialogue by Soccio Last name in the & list is the last guy to touch it. ---
**Author:** ![Drunky\_Smurf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drunky_smurf/32/449_2.png) [@Drunky\_Smurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drunky_Smurf)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2012, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/after-earth/643654/18 "2012-12-11T22:31:57Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > Nit-picky: Avatar is a James Cameron film and, yeah, made some money - to the tune of $2.8 billion in first-release global box office sales, truly one of the mind-blowing WTF statistics in movie history. Nit-pickyery the second. M. directed The Last Airbender. Who’s rightful title should have been Avatar: The Last Airbender. As is the name of the cartoon that inspired the movie. > **[Amazon.com: The Last Airbender : Noah Ringer, Nicola Peltz, Dev Patel, Jackson...](https://www.amazon.com/Last-Airbender-Noah-Ringer/dp/B002VPE1BQ)** > > Product Description Air; Water; Earth; Fire. Four nations tied by destiny when the Fire Nation launches a brutal war against the others. A century has passed with no hope in sight to change the path of this destruction. Caught between combat... But people were fuckholes about the title and so they couldn’t use the real title and went with the shortened one. Also before Avatar the movie most people referred to the cartoon as just Avatar. ---
**Author:** ![G0sp3l](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c68b51/32.png) [@G0sp3l](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/G0sp3l)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2012, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/after-earth/643654/19 "2012-12-11T22:34:10Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > Nit-picky: Avatar is a James Cameron film and, yeah, made some money - to the tune of $2.8 billion in first-release global box office sales, truly one of the mind-blowing WTF statistics in movie history. Night’s _Avatar_ was the one based on the cartoon. _After Earth_ actually has Will’s character name as Cypher. No one would ever expect a twist from that. Brilliant :smack: I’m guessing Will is long dead and is a figment of the kids imagination helping him survive. … as an aside, I think Will is a pretty good actor and I’ve liked most of his movies. His kids, not so much. ---
**Author:** ![Drunky\_Smurf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drunky_smurf/32/449_2.png) [@Drunky\_Smurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drunky_Smurf)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2012, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/after-earth/643654/20 "2012-12-11T22:36:44Z")
> [@RandMcnally](#): > > I think the twist is that they are on earth but back in time. Wiki says they do not go back in time. Earth has been vacated do to some cataclysmic event and humans moved to another planet. The Smiths crash land back on Earth. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/after-earth/643654.md?page=2)