Original Robots

This, from Annalee Neewitz at io9, on the work in which Czech playwright Karel Chapek coined the term robot:

Rumor has it that production has begun on a film version of R.U. R., the Czech play where the word “robot” was invented. It’s about genetic engineering and robot rebellion, and it could be the best robot movie ever.

R.U.R. stands for “Rossum’s Universal Robots,” and it’s about a company that figures out how to manufacture synthetic humans. They’re called robots, but in fact they’re more like synthetic biological beings – and eventually they revolt against their masters.

This isn’t the first time that R. U. R. has been made into a film – there is also a 1930s version – but it’s the first modern version. Director James Kerwin is said to be aiming for release of the movie in 2011. Kerwin’s previous film, Yesterday Was A Lie, played at both Sundance Film Festival and San Diego Comic Con – how’s that for a mix of inde cred and scifi cred?

My hope is that Kerwin will bring back the idea of synthetic biology in this adaptation, which seems far more futuristic than mere metal men.

See the official movie site here.

Between this and Purefold (see official site), looks like a return of the empathy/what-you-see-isn’t-what-you-get theme.