Gojirra99

August 3, 2004

CanadianDriver exclusive:
The cars of "I, Robot"
Story and photos by Russell Purcell

Last September I found myself driving through downtown Vancouver when I noticed a very stylish car sitting on the side of the road. Wide-eyed and camera in hand I hurried from my hastily-found parking spot to get a few snapshots of what I quickly realized was a movie car, luckily for me, uncovered and unguarded.

The car was one of about a dozen I spotted parked within the area. It turned out the streets were being set up to shoot a scene for the now recently-released movie, "I, Robot", starring Will Smith. The plot is derived from an Isaac Asimov story of the same name, and takes place in Chicago in the year 2035. Asimov believed that human-like robots would be part of every household by this time, performing mundane duties and chores that would free us humans to use our time for more important or pleasurable activities. Well, I'm not one to reveal the plot, but let's just say the robots found household chores as bothersome as we do, and they decide enough is enough.
Will Smith emerging from the Audi RSQ

Detective Spooner, played by Will Smith, has to solve a murder mystery that could threaten the harmony that exists between humans and their automated helpers.

Audi RSQ is the car-star

Audi's RSQ design study was chosen as Will Smith's vehicle of choice due to its futuristic lines - and with the help of Audi's designers, high-tech gadgetry. It represents the first time the company has designed a car for use in a movie project, although standard models of the company's cars are often provided for film and television use.

The Audi RSQ is a two-seat, mid-engine sports car of the future inspired by director Alex Proyas (of "The Crow" fame), who was so impressed by the design of the Audi Nuvolari concept car that he asked Audi to develop Detective Spooner's car for the film, as well as a few others.

Aside from the bold good looks of the car itself, the RSQ (as well as all the other cars in the film) do not run on traditional wheels and tires. Instead, engine power is transmitted to four bulbous spheres. This set-up offers the car exceptional manoeuvrability as they extend further outside the confines of the bodywork and are free to rotate much further than the wheels we use today.

While my street finds were a little less eye-popping than the final product on screen (no doubt due to the lack of CGI magic) the Audi website offers some insight into some of the elements of Will Smith's stylish ride.

"Detective Spooner gets into his police car using special doors: the rear-hinged gull-wing doors open and close like a butterfly's wings and pivot slightly around their longitudinal axis. The interior is similar to the cockpit of a jet aircraft. The large panoramic windscreen offers the best possible field of view. Bucket seats fit like moulds around the driver and passenger. The steering wheel automatically folds into position from the instrument panel thus making it easier for the driver to get in and out. Spooner controls important vehicle functions by means of the Multi Media Interface (MMI)." - www.audi.com

The Streets of Chicago, 2035

My camera captured two different versions of Audi's TT Coupe that day on the set, both with chopped rooflines and various bodywork modifications. The green one sat mere millimetres above the ground, and stood out as being a true German hotrod. The black one looked ominous, especially when viewed from the back, and may have been the pre-CGI clone of Will's car, as the stunt driver was made to look like Mr. Smith.

Audi A4's appear to be the vehicle of choice for the Chicago PD in 2035, and who could argue with that choice? The Quattro all-wheel-drive system works so well on wheels, it must be amazing on spheres!

Other vehicles on set included everything from taxicabs and limousines, mostly as background vehicles and a mysterious tarp-shrouded van. While all featured unique add-ons and interesting design tweaks, it was the Audi vehicles on set that stole the show.


SOURCE : More Pics Here

Richie

Cool info and pics, thanks for sharing!!

CleanSC

I saw this movie... And to be honest, it blew. Hard.

There were so many shameless corporate plugs it was not funny. Audi, Converse, Pepsi, Ovaltine, Fedex... It was a huge commercial I paid 8.50 to watch.

I've seen commercials on TV with deeper plots. And those were free.

Also, Will Smith's car WAS NICE. The saving grace of the film. New technologies were lightly showcased in the movie like lack of wheels as stated before, and some form of autodrive where all cars go 120+ mph on the freeways without any driver intervention. You can go to sleep as if you were on a plane while the navi does the rest. Cool stuff.

Now back to my venting.

The rest of the "extras" were a FREEKING JOKE. That black TT was in every extra scene. You see Will Smith run around a corner, and the car drives by. He jumps a fence, runs thru a park, jumps off a third floor (he's a superhero now?) and the black TT passes by again. He runs thru a store and out the back door and oh look, there's the black TT Audi again. Just made the movie look cheap. They wh.ored that black TT way too much.

Not too mention that EVERY car in the future is an Audi according to this movie. No other cars seemed to exist.

The future looks bleak, people.

At least in Matrix 3 (which also blew, flame at will) all the cars were different GM models. Yes, they were whoring GM's, but at least GM covers a wide range of cars and the fact that they were destroying all of them was a definite plus.

Anyway, if you're the type that likes special effects (I enjoyed them thoroughly) and won't be bothered by weak plots, bad acting, lack of any cohesion and total disregard for audience intelligence, this flick is for you.

Otherwise, save the $8.50.

Just MHO.

EXE.UCF10

iTrader: (3)

My g/f couldn't stop mentioning how "cute/nice" the Audis (especially Will Smith's) looked in the movie. Personally, if cars really end up looking like that in the future, I'll have to start relying on my legs and feet to get me from point A to point B. I'll admit that using spheres instead of wheels on the cars was an interesting concept, but I'll take the Lexus in Minority Report over an Audi in I, Robot anyday.

I'd have to agree with CleanSC on the lack of cohesion and commercialization in the film (but what isn't commercialized these days?) , but I still enjoyed it.

Captain Bone

Ditto.

-Anthony

roguenode

Definitely the Lex in MR over the audi in iR. But, if I were choosing a between each company's flagship model now, I'd take the A8L over the LS430, or the S8 over the GS430. IMO, the lexus gs and ls lines are really showing their age.