The science fiction failure of a director of Harry Potter put Robin Williams in a strange costume

Chris Columbus was an ideal option to start the “Harry Potter” franchise because he had directed another “Bicentennial Man” fantasy only two years before. Although it was more science fiction, it also tells someone with extraordinary skills trying to fit. Most Chris Columbus films are sentimental and warm, using broad humor or heart melodrama to celebrate fantastic events that can take place even in ordinary suburbs.

Set in the future, “Bicentennial Man” is part of the comedy and part cries on Andrew, a servant robot that grows near the family that is cooking, cleaning and taking care of children. Like any robot that has sensitivity, wants to be more than a machine and become a human man. He embarks on a 200 -year trip to do so, advocating rights as a new robot turned into a human and questioning the ideals of consciousness, immortality and technological ethics. All this feels especially in the light of today’s acquisition. Andrew wants to be a “complete” human being, and that includes falling in love and having sex. Experience this with Portia, the granddaughter of her original owner, which she creates for a romance from May to December. His out -of -the -conventional love story has one of the strangest kisses in the history of science fiction, considering his close family ties and Andrew’s awkward innocence.

Since “Bicentennial Man” was held in 1999, shortly before the totally CGI characters became more ubiquitous on the screen, the practical robot design was made by the special effect artist Steve Johnson. He developed an entire silver body, along with a head apparatus made of plastic formed by the vacuum and foam rubber, sculpted to appear surprisingly the face of the star Robin Williams (through Heritage auctions). Apparently, Robin Williams completely hugged this heavy and strange appearance that he had to use.

While it could have been someone under the locking costume, Robin Williams insisted on using it, telling him the Las Vegas Sun“It had to be me, or the public would have noticed that it did not act or move like me, you already know that the walk of the bow legs that I have. I had to use this costume costume costume and adjusted all the engineering of my body.” No computerized special effect could recreate the intimacy of having Robin Williams really present for the scenes or witness the human spark inside Andrew becomes stronger.

Costumes influence how actors move, think and emotion. Robin Williams was based on his Juilliard training to inhabit the heavy suit without peripheral vision. The limited movement, he explained, helped him feel the technological operation and curiosity of Andrew in his body, as well as to fully dive into Andrew’s mechanical form of perceiving the world:

“You start learning how a robot will track a room before moving. Standing, scanning and then, boom, you go. What do when you look at the research for robotic movement. What they are basically doing is map the territory, look for obstacles, make a three -dimensional representation and then move. Now everything they need to do is work in speed, what is tight to think because science is not in the way.” “

More than 25 years later, Tesla’s robots are our own versions of Andrew. Will they eventually fight to become more than our domestic subordinate? “Bicentennial Man” is definitely not the best Robin Williams movie (it was also a box office failure), but it does show how the power of Williams stars is so great that it offers a moving performance with a lot of heart and humor even from behind a cold and metallic shell.