The Island is a 2005 science fiction film directed by Michael Bay and starring Ewan McGregor and Scarlett Johansson. It is described as a pastiche of "escape-from-dystopia" science fiction films produced in the late 1960s and 1970s such as Fahrenheit 451, THX 1138, Parts: The Clonus Horror, and Logan's Run. The film, which cost $126 million to produce, earned only $36 million at the domestic box office, but went on to gross $127 million overseas, for a $163 million worldwide total.
Controversy
Due to some points of similarity, some have accused the filmmakers of remaking the 1979 film, Parts: The Clonus Horror, without crediting that concept.
Michael Marshall Smith's 1996 novel, Spares, in which the hero liberates intelligent clones from a "spare farm," whose clients are told they are not conscious, was optioned by DreamWorks in the late 1990s but was never made. It remains unclear if the story inspired The Island, and so Marshall Smith did not consider it worthwhile to pursue legal action over the similarities. Paramount (now sister studio to DreamWorks after its parent Viacom purchased DreamWorks in late 2005) was in talks to option the novel after DreamWorks' rights expired, but declined after The Island was released. Marshall Smith considers it unlikely a Spares film will ever be made.
A second film version of Logan's Run was also in the works when The Island was released. It is possible due to the similarity of both plot and story, that the release and domestic box-office reception of The Island caused the production of Logan's Run to be abandoned in favor of the upcoming Speed Racer film. Though the similarities between the two films are striking, the author of Logan's Run has not so far commented on The Island's concept.
Reviewers have also objected to the prominent product placement within the film. Cisco Systems, MSN Search, Xbox, Puma, Reebok, NBC, NFL, Budweiser, Apple, Aquafina, General Motors, DaimlerChrysler, Mack, Coca-Cola, Speedo, TAG Heuer, Amtrak, Ben & Jerry's, and Nokia are some of the sponsors of the film. In an Entertainment Weekly cover story, Bay stated that the extensive product placement was the result of trying to offset production costs - "Bay called on friends at major corporations—outfits like Budweiser, General Motors, and Microsoft—and offered overt product placement in exchange for cash. 'We made about $850,000 on that,' he says. 'And we needed that money to get this movie made.'"Wikipedia
