For more than a decade, various directors and actors tried to bring the sci-fi action film I Am Legend to the screen. Only Will Smith managed to get the job done because he didn't give up.
You can experience the results starting on Friday as he defines the role of a scientist alone in Manhattan fending for himself after a bizarre pandemic.
Three previous movie versions of the classic 1954 Richard Matheson novel have made their way to the silver screen.
The more memorable films include 1964's The Last Man on Earth with Vincent Price and The Omega Man, seven years later. Starring Charlton Heston, The Omega Man still has a cult following enamoured with its post-nuclear war fatalism.
Now make way for Mr. Smith Goes to Flesh-Eater Town. In the latest Francis Lawrence-directed rendition, I Am Legend comes across as a hybrid monster mash mixed with sci-fi cautionary tale.
Smith plays virologist Robert Neville trying to survive in New York City after a man-made virus wipes out its population and maybe most of the inhabitants of the globe. Naturally immune, he's running out of time to find a cure as cannibalistic mutants, who suffer from side effects, close in on him.
Almost as challenging as redefining a classic was filming the movie in bustling Manhattan. It made for some interesting logistical problems -- lots of snarled traffic jams and angry New Yorkers, who expressed themselves on a daily basis.
"I would say it's the most middle fingers I've ever received in my career," says Smith of shooting there. "I'm used to people liking me, but I was starting to think 'f -- you' was my name."
On the other hand, the 39-year-old confirms that filming on the usually busy but empty streets provided an easy way to get into his role as the last man standing.
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