I, Robot - Trivia, Questions and Fun Facts

[discussimdb]

Fan of I, Robot or just want to share your movie knowledge? This topic is dedicated to all trivia and questions related to I, Robot

[kristina]

In the display window of an antique robot store is Sony's AIBO robotic dog.

[willard]

In the early drafts of I, Robot, Sonny's secondary brain was made out of living tissue, making him a Self Organizing Neural Net, or "Sonny" for short. Sonny attained true consciousness the moment he discovered the dead body of his creator.

[sylvia]

The verse prayed by Spooner's grandmother at the end of the movie, "because He is at my right hand, I shall not be moved," is from Psalms 16:8.

[ethel]

There is an episode of "The Outer Limits" called I, Robot. The episode follows a similar plot. It was made in 1964.

[bessie]

The corporation in the movie is called "US Robotics". A company under that name exists in the real world too (presently "USR"). Both got the name from Isaac Asimov's works and it's fictional company "US Robotics and mechanical men".

[harry]

The early Vintar drafts of I, Robot feature a Del Spooner who is truly suffering from technophobia. His uncontrollable shaking hand was, for many people, the key image of the story. This version of the script featured sequences in which Spooner would be chased and attacked by robots on the street, only to wake up in a hospital, told that he was suffering from a panic attack - a danger to himself and others - and the robots had no choice but to subdue him for his own safety. In this way, the audience was never sure if Spooner was onto something, or if his mental state was truly disintegrating. Likewise, the ending of the original script revealed the killer to be Hector, a supercomputer with a yellow smiley face, who committed the murder and wanted Sonny to take the fall in order to save the future of Mankind. Thus when Spooner lets Sonny go free at the end, though this may be the right thing to do, Spooner knows he may in fact be condemning the human race to extinction. His hand still trembles and his robophobia is worse than ever. Such complex story elements were not allowed to remain after Will Smith signed on because, to Twentieth Century Fox's way of thinking, Will Smith always had to be right and, in the end, he had to clearly and simply save the world. Thus some of the best scenes in the script were removed and replaced with action beats, such as a house falling on Will Smith. Instead of letting Sonny the robot go and hiding his still-trembling hand, in the finished film Spooner just smiles big and winks.

[wallace]

No re-shoots were required, a rarity for a movie as big as this.

[duane]

Spooner's shower scene originally included full-frontal nudity, as Smith wanted to show how vulnerable his paranoid character is. Producers digitally removed it at the last minute, fearing the MPAA would object. This ended up being the most expensive CGI shot overall.

[nora]

One of the many advertisements shown on huge outdoor flat screen televisions in the future, is an advertisement mentioning the first manned mission to Mars. When Spooner is at Calvin's house after Lanning's house is destroyed, Calvin's personal robot is watching television. The program he is watching shows some photos of Mars taken from that mission.

[lonnie]

There are two sheets of paper visible just before Sonny starts to draw the bridge. One is a "cheat sheet" of electronic formulas, and the second is a partial schematic of a vacuum tube based high frequency amplitude modulated transmitter, rather ancient technology to be concerned with.

[maureen]

WILHELM SCREAM: A random police officer when the NS-5's attack the police station.

[charlie]

I, Robot remains the most successful film of Davis Entertainment. Attempts at a sequel or a TV series follow-up have been tried several times, but never get past Will Smith's Overbrook Films. Truth is, Smith would get paid so much money if a sequel or TV show was produced, making a follow up is simply not financially sound.

[wesley]

In the theatrical trailer, Del Spooner (Will Smith) tells Lieutenant John Bergin (Chi McBride) that "I'm gonna miss the good old days", to which Bergin responds, "What good old days?" Spooner then says, "When people were killed by other people." In the film, Lieutenant Bergin says "I'm gonna miss the good old days" first instead of Spooner.

[kyle]

When Rogue One screenwriter Gary Whitta was asked on Twitter to name a screenplay that made him say, "Damn, this is a great screenplay!" he responded: "Hardwired by Jeff Vintar. Later re-written heavily and turned into I, Robot."

[brent]

After reading Vintar's early Hardwired/I, Robot script, representatives of the Asimov estate considered it "more Asimov than Asimov." After the hiring of Will Smith, the film changed into a summer action movie.

[phyllis]

Smith's Chicago Police Department badge and identification card that his character flashes are both imprinted in 'Chicago' typeface.

[ray]

The name of the other driver involved in the accident that cost Spooner his arm is Harold Lloyd, named after a silent film star who lost several of his fingers after an accident with a prop bomb.

[kenzi]

The car used by Will Smith's character is a concept car called Audi RSQ, which was designed exclusively for the film and includes special features suggested by director Alex Proyas.

[maureen]

According to the credits, the film was "Inspired by Isaac Asimov's Book". The book referred to was a collection of short stories by Isaac Asimov that was published in 1950. Asimov had been heavily influenced by a short story of the same name by the writing team that called themselves Eando Binder. The title of Asimov's collection was changed to "I, Robot" by the publisher, against Asimov's wishes.