# The Island: I smell a lawsuit **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 13, 2005, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-island-i-smell-a-lawsuit/312390 "2005-07-13T19:26:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Captain\_Lance\_Murdoch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/47e85d/32.png) [@Captain\_Lance\_Murdoch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Lance_Murdoch)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2005, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-island-i-smell-a-lawsuit/312390/1 "2005-07-13T19:26:58Z")
Of course I haven’t seen The Island yet, but the [storyline](http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/island/about.php) sounds as though the whole this was ripped-off from the film Parts: The Clonus Horror. For those of you who never saw the timeless classic that was Clonus, I refer you to Mystery Science Theater 3000 as they mocked the movie a few years ago. It’s about a society where the residents live blissful, if controlled lives awaiting some sort of mysterious salvation which involves them being removed from the group. One of the people in this society gets wise to the existence of the outside world when he finds a can of Old Milwaukee. Thankfully, the can was empty. Eventually, he and a female accomplice escape to the outside world, they get chased around and they discover that they are clones that were bred to be replacement parts for folks in the outside world. I guess no credit is being given to the earlier film. Maybe they don’t want to admit they blew a hundred mil and change on a remake of an MST3K flick. ---
**Author:** ![CandidGamera](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/candidgamera/32/2878_2.png) [@CandidGamera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CandidGamera)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2005, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-island-i-smell-a-lawsuit/312390/2 "2005-07-13T19:31:06Z")
Sorry, Lance, but that’s old news - It’s been observed here on the boards, as well as on AICN. 🙂 I _suspect_ that they purchased remake rights to clonus. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Lance\_Murdoch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/47e85d/32.png) [@Captain\_Lance\_Murdoch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Lance_Murdoch)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2005, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-island-i-smell-a-lawsuit/312390/3 "2005-07-13T19:38:41Z")
Well darn! and I looked too. Don’t know what AICN is though. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2005, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-island-i-smell-a-lawsuit/312390/4 "2005-07-13T19:42:32Z")
Hell, the first ad I saw looked like they were ripping off Shirley Jackson’s **The Lottery**. ---
**Author:** ![HPL](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/3da27b/32.png) [@HPL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HPL)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2005, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-island-i-smell-a-lawsuit/312390/5 "2005-07-13T19:45:42Z")
“It looks like they’ve stumbled into the department of backstory” ---
**Author:** ![BMalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e274bd/32.png) [@BMalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMalion)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2005, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-island-i-smell-a-lawsuit/312390/6 "2005-07-13T19:46:32Z")
Also reminds me of the 1971 film [The Resurection of Zachary Wheeler](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0067669/plotsummary) . ---
**Author:** ![betenoir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/258eb7/32.png) [@betenoir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/betenoir)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2005, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-island-i-smell-a-lawsuit/312390/7 "2005-07-13T19:54:52Z")
And here I started a thread wondering if there were any movies bad enough or classic enough to escape remaking. I rest my case. ---
**Author:** ![Cliffy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/59ef9b/32.png) [@Cliffy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cliffy)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2005, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-island-i-smell-a-lawsuit/312390/8 "2005-07-13T19:58:37Z")
I’m sure that it’s an official remake. It is clearly exactly the same plot, and there’s a line in the trailer (spoilers, I guess) while Ewan MacGregor and Scarlett Johansen are having sex where he says “Why haven’t we ever done this before?” In Clonus, the answer was because they were being fed sex drive repressing drugs. Presumably the same thing is happeneing in this movie, because why else would he ask the question? I do think the next line “That tongue thing is amazing!” is quite funny. –Cliffy ---
**Author:** ![vibrotronica](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/a9a28c/32.png) [@vibrotronica](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vibrotronica)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2005, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-island-i-smell-a-lawsuit/312390/9 "2005-07-13T20:11:52Z")
The four most chilling words in the English language: “Directed by Michael Bay” ---
**Author:** ![Camus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ba8739/32.png) [@Camus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Camus)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2005, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-island-i-smell-a-lawsuit/312390/10 "2005-07-13T20:18:39Z")
> [@Cliffy](#): > > It is clearly exactly the same plot, and there’s a line in the trailer (spoilers, I guess) while Ewan MacGregor and Scarlett Johansen are having sex where he says “Why haven’t we ever done this before?” … Presumably the same thing is happening in this movie, because why else would he ask the question? According to early reviews, the clones were forbidden from any intimate contact and were strictly re-educated as to what is and is not acceptable. It seems like one big metaphor for Bob Jones University, but I’m not sure how the cloning or hoverbike parts fit in. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2005, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-island-i-smell-a-lawsuit/312390/11 "2005-07-13T20:26:33Z")
It would be worth seeing if they include some “Parts” dialogue: “I’m going to have to report this.” “Why” “I’m going to have to report that, too” Servo: “Wow, this is really starting to pile up!” ---
**Author:** ![Slacker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6bbea6/32.png) [@Slacker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slacker)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2005, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-island-i-smell-a-lawsuit/312390/12 "2005-07-13T20:49:26Z")
I thought this thread was going to be about this: > **[Breaking International News & Views](https://www.reuters.com)** > [@](#): > > “We’re ready to go and of course the actress is not there,” he (Michael Bay) told reporters. He said he was summoned to Johansson’s trailer, expecting to have to reassure the star of “Lost in Translation” that her privacy and dignity would be protected. > > “She’s standing there and she says, 'I’m not wearing this cheap … bra. I’m going naked,”’ Bay said. > > “I said, 'It’s PG-13, you have to wear the bra,”’ he said. And yes, anything directed by Michael Bay immediately goes on my Must Miss list. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2005, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-island-i-smell-a-lawsuit/312390/13 "2005-07-13T21:52:17Z")
Right on IMDB it says under movie connections: Movie links for The Island (2005) Remake of The Clonus Horror (1979) ---
**Author:** ![Baldwin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baldwin/32/7264_2.png) [@Baldwin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baldwin)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2005, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-island-i-smell-a-lawsuit/312390/14 "2005-07-13T23:00:34Z")
That’s a truly moronic premise. When I saw the trailer for this movie, I turned to my girlfriend and said, “I hope Michael Bay dies.” She tut-tutted, so I added, “All right, painlessly.” ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2005, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-island-i-smell-a-lawsuit/312390/15 "2005-07-14T01:12:57Z")
Actually, the girl didn’t escape in _Clonus_. She was lobotomized. Richard, the dumbass clone escapee, went back and presumably was lobotomized too. Yay! “So what happens if your clone is a hard living, hard drinking clone?” “Well then, we need your liver to keep your clone alive!” “It’s easy to get hurt.” “Like when I got my butt caught in the toaster.” ---
**Author:** ![FisherQueen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/58f4c7/32.png) [@FisherQueen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FisherQueen)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2005, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-island-i-smell-a-lawsuit/312390/16 "2005-07-14T03:09:48Z")
1. When I saw “parts: the clonus horror,” I thought to myself, “Self, this is an interesting concept. It’s a shame this movie is so awful, but I’ll bet an interesting and entertaining movie could be made using this premise.” 2. Based purely on the previews, I’m not convinced that “The Island” is that movie. ---
**Author:** ![FilmGeek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@FilmGeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FilmGeek)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2005, 4:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-island-i-smell-a-lawsuit/312390/17 "2005-07-14T04:50:59Z")
I thought it was a remake of Logan’s Run, until about halfway through the trailer. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2005, 4:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-island-i-smell-a-lawsuit/312390/18 "2005-07-14T04:57:18Z")
I don’t care what the dialogue says, the concepts “Scarlett Johansson” and “sex drive repressing” DON’T GO TOGETHER! That’s almost as great a crime against nature as “directed by Michael Bay.” Props to **vibrotronica**. This is also the first movie Bay has directed without Jerry Bruckheimer producing. This is a little like that joke I hear so often on this board about Lambchop telling Shari Lewis to go fuck herself. ---
**Author:** ![Nonsuch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nonsuch/32/2922_2.png) [@Nonsuch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nonsuch)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2005, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-island-i-smell-a-lawsuit/312390/19 "2005-07-14T14:08:11Z")
I hope they keep the “Old Milwaukee” scene. Servo: “It spells ‘$2.99 a case’!” ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2005, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-island-i-smell-a-lawsuit/312390/20 "2005-07-14T14:13:14Z")
> [@vibrotronica](#): > > The four most chilling words in the English language: > > “Directed by Michael Bay” But the commercial said that ‘Michael Bay is Summer’. TV wouldn’t lie to me would it? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-island-i-smell-a-lawsuit/312390.md?page=2)