I Am Legend (What to Know)

The first on set picture of the sci-fi film "I Am Legend" is now available. As Robert Neville, Will Smith will play the one man not afflicted by a plague that wiped out most of the world and transformed the survivors into bloodsuckers. Neville hunts them down by day, and by night, he hides in his home as the vampires try to coax him into converting to their side. But Neville can't kill them all, and once he becomes a minority of one, he becomes the outcast.Richard Matheson's 1954 novel "I Am Legend" has been adapted to film before, in 1964 as "The Last Man on Earth" (starring Vincent Price) and in 1971 as "The Omega Man" (starring Charlton Heston). But the new version — to be directed by Francis Lawrence ("Constantine") — is said to be more faithful to the original novel."I Am Legend" is certainly not without its fans. Dean Koontz once called it "the most clever and riveting vampire novel since 'Dracula,'" while Stephen King has credited both the book & Matheson as strong influences.