EXCLUSIVE: Asimov's FOUNDATION to be split into two movies?

Plus: who's writing the movie adaptation of Y: THE LAST MAN?

By Patrick Sauriol     October 09, 2003
Source: Name withheld

This tidbit of Hollywood insider news comes from a longtime and frequent contributor to Coming Attractions who's always been privy to development news before it hits the trades. Our pal returned to fill us in on an exciting new development taking place with the long-in-development movie version of Isaac Asimov's FOUNDATION novel. It looks like fans who have been waiting years to see Asimov's future world unfold on the big screen might have finally gotten a break...

Our source spills the news that Twentieth Century Fox has just hired a screenwriter to adapt Asimov's FOUNDATION as one long script, with the most likely decision to split the screenplay into two separate movies, tentatively proposed as being FOUNDATION and SECOND FOUNDATION. The writer that got the job is Jeff Vintar who's latest work just happens to be I, ROBOT, another Asimov story currently being turned into a movie starring Will Smith.

For those unfamiliar with the premise of FOUNDATION, the book series is considered to be one of the epic tales spun by one of the grandmasters of science fiction rivaling Frank Herbert's DUNE series. FOUNDATION is the story of Hari Seldon, a future scholar who invents a new branch of predictive analysis called "psycho-history". Seldon's psycho-history is a mathematical science that can predict the future actions of large numbers of people, and as such he is able to predict that the current galactic government will fall into chaos and disrepair in a few short centuries. Absolutely certain that civilization will dissolve, Seldon sets about to create a grand plan to preserve the knowledge and technology of humanity. Unfortunately Seldon's attempt at salvation is thrown into jeopardy by the appearance of The Mule, a deformed mutant who intends to take over the galaxy and who cannot possibly have been foreseen by Seldon or psycho-history. Can Seldon still manage to ensure humanity will have a future?

Our source tells us that the powers that be at Fox want Vintar's FOUNDATION scripts to be "a very faithful adaptation of one of the great classics of sci-fi." We're also told that ELIZABETH and THE FOUR FEATHERS director Shekhar Kapur, who was at one time attached to the project, still remains interested in making the film. The producer of FOUNDATION is Vince Gerardis; Gerardis is also involved in the screen adaptation of Greg Bear's apocalyptic sci-fi thriller THE FORGE OF GOD.

However, there's a prior commitment that Vintar must first complete before starting to write the two FOUNDATION scripts for Fox, and that's also an exclusive scoop: the writer has been tapped to adapt the Vertigo comic book Y: THE LAST MAN for New Line Cinema. David Goyer, the screenwriter of all three BLADE films as well as director on the now-filming BLADE: TRINITY, is a producer on the Y movie.

And now you know.

[Humble thanks to our frequent friend for imparting upon us the exciting news. Don't be such a stranger, OK?]


Got a scoop? Know something that you need to tell us about? Send it to us!