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In the year 2035, robots are a trusted part of everyday life, acting as personal assistants and laborers for their human owners. The robots are governed by the "Three Laws of Robotics," which are: 1) Robots must never harm human beings; 2) Robots must follow instructions from humans without violating rule #1; 3) Robots must protect themselves without violating the other rules.
But when Chicago Police Detective Del Spooner (Will Smith) is investigating the murder of a U.S. Robotics employee, it seems that a robot, Sonny (Alan Tudyk), is involved — and if robots can break the laws, what will stop them from taking over the world? Based on the classic short-story collection by Isaac Asimov — which inspired just about every robot movie ever made — "I, Robot" employs spectacular visual-effects innovations to bring a world of robots to life.
Will Smith, joined by MTV VJ Vanessa, recently surprised the audience at the premiere of MTV's "Never Before Scene" with an impromptu Q&A session.
Q: I have to ask, if you had your own robot, what would you have it do?
Will Smith: [He laughs.] Well, first I would have it lay down ... [He laughs again.] What's great about the robots is they are called learning robots, the NS5. They learn about you, they learn what your needs are, when you eat, it never forgets people's birthdays, anniversaries. The robot for me would be a perfect assistant.
Vanessa: Assistant or girlfriend?
Smith: Well, you can assist in many things!
Q: In the movie, you said a hologram called you after the doctor's death. What does that mean?
Smith: We now have e-mail; in the future, we have h-mail. Holographic mail — essentially, a person will be able to leave their house and send a message. You stand in front of it and say, "Hey, Will, I love you. I'll be there in a minute." So when I get to my house, I have a message, and your hologram will come saying, "Hey, Will, I love you." The big difference is you can program your hologram to respond to certain questions, like, "Where are you going?" And it will say, "I'm sorry, I don't have that information," or it will trigger the hologram to say "I'm going down to the beach, Meg and I are going to have a ball."
Vanessa: So it has to know ahead of time to give a happy or angry response.
Smith: Absolutely, you program its h-mail.
Q: Why are you scared of the robots if they are designed to help humans?
Smith: Well, my character in the film had a bad experience with one of the robots. Essentially, the three laws of robotics make robotics 100 percent safe, and my character is the only person in the world that doesn't trust the robots. There is just something he can't figure out, and as the movie expands we find out there is a glitch in the robotic logic.
Vanessa: So [your character] went with [his] gut.
Smith: Yeah, I just went with my gut.
Vanessa: You learned from your mistakes.
Smith: No, I learn from other people's mistakes.
Q: Did you do all the stunts yourself or did you have a stuntman?
Smith: Well, I definitely have a stuntman. What you do is, say the stunt is [that] I have to jump off the stage. What I do is run and yell, then it is "Cut!" — and the stuntman does the jump. In the movie, you see me run and yell, then the stuntman does the jump because I have to protect my body.
Vanessa: The acting up until the jump is the hardest part.
Smith: Yeah, 'cause I have to run and yell. All he has to do is jump. I can do that, but my mind is occupied with the yell.
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Photo: 20th Century Fox
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