'I Am Legend' screenwriter reacts to vaccine conspiracy theories, pointing out the plot is fiction - CNN
Below is a disturbing article about the movie "I Am Legend". People are actually using a piece of fiction as fact. I remember two things when I saw the movie. This first thing that came to mind was that this third version of the story badly deviated from the original novel, in which bacteria-infected people turning them into vampires, and the second thought that came to mind was that I was concerned that the movie could scare people from the newest targeted therapy for cancer.
Upon hearing this, after the shock wore off, that people would use a piece of sci-fi as fact, I also wondered why they didn't turn to the second version of this story, "The Omega Man", in which germ warfare between China and Russia, unleashed a virus that killed most of the world, while there was a vaccine at hand that would cure the virus. This version is much closer to what actually is actually happening, and is truer to the original novel. To me, this proves that people are predisposed to confirmation bias, no matter how ridiculous. Individuals who already were fearful of the Covid vaccine, chose a piece of fiction that showed vaccines as evil, as opposed to another piece of fiction that showed vaccines as a cure.
I often wondered why lemmings all jump together. I guess I just found out why.
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
(CNN)The post-apocalyptic thriller "I Am Legend" is bubbling up in conversation among the vaccine-hesitant crowd, prompting the film's screenwriter to emphasize that the plot is entirely fictional.
Akiva Goldsman, who co-wrote the screenplay for the 2007 film starring Will Smith, clarified that "I Am Legend" is pure fantasy after an unnamed source in a recent New York Times report said they feared vaccination because of the events of the film.
In that film, based on the 1954 novel of the same name, an attempt to engineer the measles virus into a cancer cure goes awry, infecting most of humanity and turning people into zombie-vampire hybrids. Vaccines do not factor into the plot.
Goldsman tweeted a succinct response to the misinformation inspired by the film: "Oh. My. God. It's a movie. I made that up. It's. Not. Real."
The film has been a vessel for anti-vaccine sentiment since the first Covid-19 vaccines were authorized in 2020. Reuters published a "fact check" of the film's plot in December of that year after social media users circulated claims that a "vaccine" had zombified the characters in the film. About 99.999% of fully vaccinated Americans have not had a deadly Covid-19 breakthrough case, CDC data shows.
To be clear, vaccines have never caused zombie-like reactions in recipients. Countless reports conducted in the last year show that vaccination against Covid-19 is the best defense against severe illness or death from the disease. A new analysis of data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows that more than 99.99% of fully vaccinated people have not had a breakthrough case of Covid-19 that resulted in hospitalization or death. (The CDC did, though, use a fictional zombie apocalypse to teach disaster preparedness in 2011.)
Smith, whose virologist character spends much of the film fending off infected mutants and searching for a cure to the would-be cure, has not commented on the "I Am Legend" hubbub. But it seems those who base their fear of vaccines on the film have misunderstood its plot.
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I read the novel. I have seen all three versions of the story. "The Omega Man" is probably the most possible of all three versions, and while I can see it as a cautionary tale about germ warfare, I would hardly use it as fact.
I need to watch that movie. I didn't like "I Am Legend"....because his dog died
I loved that poor dog. He looked so smart and Neville loved that dog so much. In the book, there was a dog, but it died from the disease and he only had it for a short time.
He got that puppy for his little girl, but he kept it when his wife and daughter fled. (It was a female dog, but can't remember her name)
Actually he kills the dog (squeezes the life out of it), because of a prior attack by infected canines that attacked it (while defending him). Have a peek:
will kill the dog
I thoroughly enjoyed, "I Am Legend." and I wanted a sequel to it. Many of this movie's scenes made me think about 'things' - but this one I will never forget seeing . . . undeniable rage:
I Am Legend Ending
BTW, the point of this is "Dr." was looking for a cure to the virus outbreak! Looking for a "vaccine."
The two sequels came from the original movie The Last Man On Earth with Vincent Price.
That is right Paula. I have watched that one, too. It's kind of sad, but it explains the idea of why it was called "I am Legend" unlike the movie by the same name.
I am the original Vincent Price #1 fan. That movie totally let me down.
Consider who the source is using it as fact.
I find it frightening how many tweets this post generated. Holy disinformation.
I thought in the movie he was looking for a vaccine the whole time...
Robert Neville (Will Smith) was looking for a cure, to the cure. That was not how the original story went, or the other two versions, "Last Man on Earth", or "The Omega Man".
I don't think I ever saw The Omega Man.
Now that is a movie for the time!
There are many streaming services that are now showing it. You just got to get back into 1970's again, LOL.
From the seventies I just remember things like Logan's Run...Haha
I need to watch it one of these days.
I remember that one, too. Omega man was much better, and not so kitschy 70's
I remember the Omega man scared the shit out of me as a kid
My sister couldn't sleep for weeks. It had a lasting impact on me, too.
It was a damn scary movie for a kid .... stuck with me for awhile as well.
People who can't tell fact from fiction should be required to take a mental health evaluation. In this case it's not "alternative facts", but a damned movie (badly) based on a short story.
Oh... and the Omega Man should get a 4K remaster disk release!
EG, I have to agree with your post totally. And I agree that the Omega Man deserves a 4G remake. I happen to be lucky enough to own an original copy of the DVD.
I remember my aunt having me over to her house one summer when The Omega Man was on cable.
It's only $14.99 on Bluray at Amazon... OR $24.99 for The Omega Man - Logan's Run - Soylent Green triple feature! I might have to get this one.
Well, some people believe in Ayn Rand and Orwell...
True enough again.
Although I did like "The Fountainhead", but I did date 3 architects, LOL!
My BIL is an architect.
Then again, some people think TLOTR has a spiritual meaning.
huh? If it does it's really hidden under some really boring stuff. I learned all I needed to know about The Lord of the Rings from watching "Heavy Metal"
Well, you took a ride...
And here I am comparing this pandemic to Stephen King's The Stand. I think it's more relevant.
And I'm talking the book, not the 2 half-assed mini-series.
Now there was a Grandma.
Yep!
I like "The Stand", but the whole good and evil thing put me a bit over the edge.
I got it. It wasn't like it was all bible thumping. But it was integral to the story
Even before the movie came out, I knew that only one actor could play The Trashcan Man....Matt Frewer (Max Headroom).
I wonder if the guy also thinks Will Smith is actually a super hero and that he communicates with aliens too.
He probably does.
There are people who have trouble separating fact from fiction. Its not a big surprise that some might think the plot of a novel and movie are real.
Perhaps we should start posting on every social media platform that COVID makes you Socialist/Communist/Gay and the only way to save yourself is with the "Trump Vaccine". Do you think that would increase vax numbers?