When I read novels, these days, I find myself thinking of how I would adapt them as films. "A book is not a movie" is a mantra in Hollywood, and while true, it is often the excuse for excess and ego. That said, reading CAVES, I was struck by the fact that the entire second chapter is superfluous in terms of telling the story as a movie. Asimov has his lead character, Elijah Baley, take a trip via the "express strips" out to Jersey to pick up his new partner. This gives Asimov the chance to describe the city, the technology, and to allow Baley to muse on history and what got the world to its present situation. But from a storytelling point of view, the chapter is a complete waste of time. For Baley to go all the way to Jersey to "collect" his new partner, rather than just having the partner present when Baley is presented with the case in the first chapter -- well, as I said, it serves a purpose in the book, but in a movie all the points touched upon would be better presented over the course of the film, most importantly in a visual manner.

It seems unlikely THE CAVES OF STEEL would make it to the silver screen, tho, unless it was turned upside down and inside out. Key points have already been done (long after Asimov wrote his book) in movies like A.I., BLADERUNNER and I, ROBOT.*

Too bad. I could see Kevin Spacey as Baley!

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* That last was "based on" Asmov, but only accidentally. The screenwriters had assumed Asimov's Three Laws of Robotics were public domain. They're not. When the writers found out they did a quick shuffle, inserting Asimov elements (particularly Susan Calvin), but in the process shredded everything Asimov's robot stories were about!