Time In Development Hell: 12 Years There had already been two movie versions of Richard Mathesons classic book I Am Legend; a cheap sixties version with Vincent Price called The Last Man On Earth, and The Omega Man with Charlton Heston in 1971. Warner Bros decided to try a third crack at it in 1995, and a screenwriter named Mark Protosevich wrote an acclaimed script that attracted Tom Cruise, Harrison Ford, and Mel Gibson. The studio eventually went with Arnold Schwarzenegger to star and Ridley Scott to direct. Scott had a new script written, seeking to make a big budget art film featuring no dialogue for the first hour and only a couple of setpieces. The studio pulled the plug because of the dark tone, the rising budget and after they suffered a few costly flops. After Michael Bay briefly flirted with it, the movie was eventually made with Will Smith in 2007. Worth The Wait?: The movie was something of a mixed bag; it had a great performance by Smith, an eerie vision of an abandoned New York and a couple of tense setpieces. It also had terrible CGI monsters, a crappy ending and undeniable moments of silliness.
