In honor of the passing of legendary actor Charlton Heston, I have posted an interview conducted with him in 2001 (the interview with Paul Koslo, his co-star in The Omega Man is forthcoming) for the book on I Am Legend film adaptations I was working on with David Allen Brown

One more new addition to look forward to, which will not only allow me to make more frequent updates to the site, but will allow you to post comments as well, is the I Am Legend Archive Blog. Look for that in the sidebar to the left. (If you arrived here without frames, click here to reload.)

By now you've likely seen the Will Smith/Francis Lawrence film. What did you think? I think author and illustrator Steve Bissette's analysis is one of the best I've read. I prefer the alternate ending on the DVD release to the theatrical cut. While not perfecy, it at least indicates the filmmakers were in fact aware of the themes in the book before they were jettisoned for the deus ex machina ending.

Tor books has just reissued the book in both mass market and trade paperback tie-ins (available from Amazon or your local bookseller). I'm pleased to report that the mass market edition has already been reprinted. With two new editions readily available, now is a great time to pick up an extra copy of the book for a friend or colleague who may not be familiar with it.

As I guessed, we've seen quite a few new international versions as well to coincide with the film's release. If you can be of any help in my acquiring new copies for the archive, I'm more than happy to compensate you for the expense.

It's also worth mentioning that it's not too late to get a signed, hardcover version of the book from Gauntlet Press: BLOODLINES - a mammoth collection that contains not only the novel I AM LEGEND, but most importantly Matheson's previously unpublished original screenplay for the book (which was censored by the Censor Board). The book is edited by Mark Dawidziak, author of the excellent Night Stalker Companion and editor of Gauntlet's previous collection of Matheson's Kolchak Scripts. While this is the second time the novel has been released as a limited edition, this is the first time there was a 52-copy lettered edition of the book. I provided stills from the previous film adaptations of the novel, a cover gallery, and an appreciation, which you can read here.

And for your listening pleasure, check out I AM LEGEND on the radio at BBC7. It looks like episodes come and go - so keep checking back.

In 1967 Mario Gomez Martín shot a 15 minute test short of I AM LEGEND (Soy Leyenda) for the Official School of Cinema in Spain. Here's the most detailed information I've been able to find online. As recently as 2003 it played in a film festival. I also found a brief synopsis online which I've translated to:

IN THE YEAR 2000 BACTERIOLOGICAL WARS HAVE LEFT ONE HUMAN ALIVE AND A NEW SOCIETY OF VAMPIRES HAS FORMED.

Wow. If you have ANY information on this rarity, please contact me!

Also, please check out my most WANTED list if you can help me fill the remaining holes in the archive! My wife and I have been making progress with several new international editions, but can very likel.y still use your help!

This site originally started as a section on my home page, The Last Site on Earth, and has deserved it's own space for some time. I hope for this site to become the place for all things I AM LEGEND, and can only do it with your help. Feel free to look around, make suggestions, and bookmark the site. There's a whole lot more to come.

Thanks for stopping by,

John Scoleri

April 6, 2008