I started with Heinlein, went to Asimov, flirted with Bradbury, and came back to Asimov in my quest for the "right" name.

James Tiptree Jr. Ursula LeGuin. So many names I could have used....

Ahhhh I love Asimov, surprised I didn't make that leap!

Very cool, could someone explain the Asimov portion of the title to me though?

http://videosift.com/video/Nature-is-better-than-Isaac-Asimovs-Brain

Dude. I mean really. Whoa.

This isn't like Hitler, you only need 1 Asimov.

Little known fact but Asimov was cloned on the day of his death, and his clone is now 22 years old. The Asimov foundation payed to recreate (with pretty fair integrity) his entire upbringing, location by location and school by school. Just like his predecessor, the new Isaac is finishing his degree in chemistry over the next three years and is taking an interest to writing.

Isaac Asimov looks like Bill Nye goes full supervillain over the next 20 years.

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Interesting you mention Anathem - it reminded me a lot of Asimov style classic sci-fi. Great book.

Ditto on Sprawl Trilogy, but I still have a bad taste in my mouth from the Johnny Mnemonic movie. That could have been done so well, but ughh.

I would like to see Neuromancer done by Christopher Nolan. After Inception, he might be able to pull it off. On the other hand, that being my favorite book ever, I'd probably hate any movie of it.

Robot movies seem to always be about them becoming aware, self-concious, or alive... I know Asimov had a great influence on this trend but still, is the lemon not pressed enough? Star Trek (Data),Bladerunner, Robocop, Wall-E, Alien(s), A.I., Stepford Wives, D.A.R.Y.L., and personal favorite : Short circuit. And now this one. All the same re-invention of the Pinocchio archetype, if one may say.

@AeroMechanical, actually I'm with you. I seriously doubt the Foundation stories would work on film or even in a long form mini series.

The problem with a lot of sci-fi literature is that it doesn't conform to the standard 3 act movie structure. There's often an ambiguous ending which doesn't neatly resolve (like real life!). Asimov, Clarke, Banks, Reynolds, Morgan (to name a few of my favourites) fit this pattern.

There are two things happening, IMO:
1. The journey really is more important than the destination. It's about the story, not the outcome.
2. In some cases, story above character (Asimov and Clarke in particular). The idea is more important than the puny humans caught up in it.

Both of these are hard for studio execs (and to be fair, mainstream audiences) to grasp.

Though I'm surely forgetting some more obscure work, I certainly can't think of any Aisimov novel or short story that has ever been transitioned into a decent film.

It's possible, as ChaosEngine alluded to, that the Foundation "trilogy" could make a decent film trilogy or miniseries, but it would require an exceptionally good screenwriter and director to make it work--and a LOT of creative liberties. It just covers too great a timespan, too many characters with complex and cross-generational relationships, and frankly very little of real significance happens during reasonable spans of time. Frankly, and though I can't claim to have read all of his works (though probably most), Asimov is probably best left in the realm of literature.

What we really need is a film version of the damn Sprawl Trilogy. I mean, that's just begging to be made into a trilogy of films. The screenplay would almost write itself. I'd say Joss Whedon should direct.

I just remembered another Asimov robot film...

Bicentennial man, starring Robin Williams