Roland Emmerich Lands Isaac Asimov's "Foundation"

[J_UNTITLED]

From Variety...

Columbia won an auction late Thursday for screen rights to "Foundation," Isaac Asimov's ground breaking science fiction trilogy. The film will be developed as a directing vehicle for Roland Emmerich.

Emmerich and his Centropolis partner Michael Wimer will produce the film. The deal was mid six-figures against low seven figures.

Originally published as a series of eight short stories in Astounding Magazine beginning in 1942, "Foundation" is a complex saga about humans who are scattered on planets throughout the galaxy, living under the rule of the Galactic Empire.

A psycho-historian who can scientifically read the future sees an imminent empire collapse, and sets to work preparing to save the knowledge of mankind.

The emergence of Sony and Emmerich at the controls of "Foundation" is a surprise development, and one that owes at least a bit to the animosity between Warner Bros. and Fox over "Watchmen."

The property, originally developed by Fox and producer Vince Gerardis, found its way to New Line, and then to Bob Shaye and Michael Lynne as the first major project announcement after the former heads of New Line formed Unique Pictures at WB.

Gerardis, whose Created By formerly repped the Asimov estate and who is producing an adaptation of Asimov's "The End of Eternity" at New Regency, was attached as producer. And Fox would have had to be compensated for its development costs. That became a problem for WB, and the studio allowed its option to lapse, expecting to quietly make a new deal with a clear chain of rights that would have left Fox and Gerardis on the outside.

It turned into a spirited auction. WB bid for Unique and director Alex Proyas, Fox bid for Gerardis. Emmerich and Sony were the surprise entrants. Turns out that Wimer had been tracking the availability of the rights since he was Emmerich's agent at CAA, and Columbia Pictures president Matt Tolmach pounced. Emmerich and Wimer just completed "2012" at Sony.

CAA and Trident Media's Dan Strone brokered the deal on behalf of the Asimov estate.

Any interest I may ever have had in this has now completely vacated the area.

[billypoe]

Originally Posted by J_UNTITLED

From Variety...





Any interest I may ever have had in this has now completely vacated the area.

+1

[P@t_Mtl]

Another Asimov book turn to movie I will be skipping. I will spend my time reading the books instead and save some money.

[Sussudio]

i bet this is the only way emmerich is able to get movies anymore, from an auction

OH SNAP

[J_UNTITLED]

Originally Posted by Sussudio

i bet this is the only way emmerich is able to get movies anymore, from an auction

OH SNAP

It wasn't an actual/literal auction: that's just a word they used to best describe what the atmosphere can be like when studios go head-to-head in bidding wars for material.

[Sussudio]

Originally Posted by J_UNTITLED

It wasn't an actual/literal auction: that's just a word they used to best describe what the atmosphere can be like when studios go head-to-head in bidding wars for material.

lol i know, i was making fun of him

[Blu-Dog]

Originally Posted by J_UNTITLED

Any interest I may ever have had in this has now completely vacated the area.

I guess he'll put fangs on The Mule and have him hiding out in Area 51.

Too bad Uwe Boll didn't snag it.

[Blu-Dog]

"WB bid for Unique and director Alex Proyas..."

Now THAT guy would have made a terrific adaptation...

[Blu As Hell]

Originally Posted by J_UNTITLED

From Variety...





Any interest I may ever have had in this has now completely vacated the area.

Roland Emmerich directing anything is bad for everybody.

[Gamma_Winstead]

I actually just check out the book from the library.... The back cover would be to hard for Emmerich to adapt.

[Sussudio]

Originally Posted by gamma626

I actually just check out the book from the library.... The back cover would be to hard for Emmerich to adapt.

not if he CGI's everything....which he always does.....sigh

[Heart&Soul]

This news make me wish CGI was never invented.

[Gamma_Winstead]

Originally Posted by Sussudio

not if he CGI's everything....which he always does.....sigh

Im talking about story. He'll probably change the Characters name to "Steve".

[Blu Titan]

I am a big fan of Asimov and have read all of his books at least three times. Not sure how Foundation will translate into a film. I fear that they will deviate from the actual story as it will not translate very well for a theatrical release.

[Geezer00003]

Ok so no one wants this guy directing it including me.

Then who??????

[Heart&Soul]

It needs a minimalist touch. Who fits that description?

[Blu-Dog]

Originally Posted by Heart&Soul

It needs a minimalist touch. Who fits that description?

It doesn't need to be filmed. It's static and intellectual; how the heck are they going to do Second Foundation? Maybe the first two, but all that shadow play with the Mule will wind up being a film on par with these Victorian England melodramas cropping up twice a year.

Not that Second Foundation is a bad story; but it's not the kind of thing that translates well into scenes of spaceships roaring by in a vacuum, no matter who films it.

In answer to your question, it would be Kubrick, and it's another reason he's sorely missed.

[Duffy12]

Here is an update from io9:

Roland Emmerich Wants To Avatar-Up Isaac Asimov's Foundation


Disastrous director Roland Emmerich has announced that his epic undertaking of Asimov's Foundation will be a motion capture production in 3-D. Because this way, the director can ask for more money.

Last we heard about Roland Emmerich's Foundation filming it was still being tweaked by Saving Private Ryan scribe Robert Rodat.

In an interview with MTV, the director announced that he wants to mo-cap the entire film, Avatar style and add in some 3-D.

" Probably now all big movies have to be 3-D. It's not only the effect of 3-D, [Avatar has] just shown that if you do a movie in 3-D, you can ask for more money and that's the trick. I think now everybody who does bigger movies has to shoot them in 3-D. I think there's no way around it. I was on the set of ‘Avatar' and I saw how it worked and I really thought, ‘That's the ultimate way of making movies.' "

He also said "yes" when asked if the project would be in mo-cap. So consider this the first of the blatant Avatar "they made money, why can't we?" rip-offs. But, in Emmerich's defense, using this style of shooting may help bring Foundation's planet Terminus to life. Emmerich is hoping that he'll get to make 3 films total from the first Foundation trilogy.

[Blu-Dog]

Originally Posted by Duffy12

Here is an update from io9:

Now I've heard everything.

[kolibri]

Arse...