Astronomer on the Set of 'The Day the Earth Stood Still'

[pokerfan]

Klaatu and Gort are back – with more complaints. No longer concerned that Earth will somehow start nuking other planets, the aliens have sent their good-cop, bad-cop emissaries to rescue terra firma from environmental destruction. Imagine: The inhabitants of other worlds are more concerned with global warming than we are (although their remediation plans are not gentle)! This intervention reminds me of alien abductions: not precisely the social life to which you aspire, but at least someone's showing interest.

My job on the film was straightforward: review the screenplay for errors in the science, and coach the principles in certain technical details.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/space/20081208/sc_space/astronomeronthesetofthedaytheearthstoodstill

[booley]

1. David Brin did this long ago

In his uplift series.

His galactic civilization understood that society would die without new species to replace the old ones. So they were fanatical about environmentalism.

[pokerfan]

9. Yeah I remember that

I read the original trilogy years ago. I hope that this film has the depth and gravitas of a David Brin novel (or even the original film it remakes) but I'm going to have to see some reviews first.

[myrna minx]

20. It has been a long time since I read the first trilogy.

I know it's been at least ten years. I never did get around to his second trilogy, I guess I know what I'm doing this winter. :D Thanks for the reminder.

[zeemike]

2. I have no desire to see this remake of a great old movie

I already know that there will be a lot of explosions and violence depected...all movies that come out of Hollywood these days seem to have it.
And of coarse it will be over dramatized, with lots of "I am king of the world" lines.
In order to see really good movies you have to see independent films, because Hollywood is stuck in a formula world.

[exboyfil]

3. I refer to these movies as $1 specials

Within six months you can rent them for a $1. Why buy 2 or 4 tickets for $7+?

[Cobalt-60]

5. It does feel like blasphemy

Im rarely pleased with a modern remake.
They try to make everything an action movie.
I'll give it a chance when I can rent it.
I've seen a clip and Gort does look pretty fearsome,
more so that the first film.

[IndianaGreen]

17. The original film was groundbreaking, a call for peace in the middle of Cold War

Klaatu refused to meet with the American President, preferring to meet with world's scientists instead. The message of keeping nukes out of space was powerful. I am not at all sure that the remake will match the original.

[qazplm]

6. eh there's room for explosion movies too

balance aint a bad thing. For every independent quirky movie, there is a good ol independence day that just is plain old fun without a need for deep thought. There's a place for those kind of movies and no need to knock them down.

[anigbrowl]

12. You know why independent moviews don't have explosions and huge SFX?

Because we don't have the money to do them right. 9 out of 10 people working in independent film want to work on huge Hollywood blockbusters. The other 10% got lost on the way to the theater, which they prefer to the movies.

I love the original 'day the earth stood still' and this remake looks rather awesome, actually. The effects in the original were expensive and startling in their day (for the scale on which the thing was made) but it was also much more of a talking heads movie. You could, if you wished, stage it in the theater without going to enormous expense just by using some creative lighting. Indeed, I'd encourage people to do so as I think it would get more people to appreciate theater as an equally valid performance medium.

The nature and magic of cinema is that you can use film techniques to make things much, much bigger than life. And environmental destruction is a perfect candidate for that narrative technique.

[Orrex]

18. It's not a remake of a great old movie

It's a new adaptation of the novella that preceded the first film.

And, while we're at it, the first film botched the ending of the novella to give a much more upbeat message.

[Peace Patriot]

4. The article is a bit too breezy for my taste, but it interests me in the movie.

John Cleese, as a scientific genius sparring with Klaatu, as they try to impress each other, writing equations on a blackboard?!

That sounds as fun as Commander Data (Brent Spiner) playing a wild-haired exobiologist, too long confined to the underground science center at Area 52, in "Independence Day."

I have to admit I'm a sucker for movies like this. I can't wait.

[semillama]

7. I too am oddly excited about this movie.

I really should be up in arms about the remake. But maybe I'm just jonesing to see a sci-fi movie on the big screen - it's been a long while for me.

[Peace Patriot]

8. I loved "Indepence Day," and I can even see through every bit of U.S. chauvisim

and faux patriotism (Americans "saving the world" again). It was so-o-o full of funny bits and wry humor, I was laughing my head off, or awed with the fear and wonder of the drama, like putty in the director's hands.

Sucker, that's me. Brilliant sucker movie! So much fun!

I love some of the old favorites, too--but these days I tend to go for the ironical ones like "Men In Black" (non-stop funny--wonderful movie!). "Men In Black" is so funny, and so brilliant, you gotta believe it's true. That's what's happening. Aliens all around us, in various guises, using Earth as a way station, and our "men in black" on the job, trying to keep a lid on it.

On the other hand, it's also an hilarious take on the multi-phobic U.S. of A., current era.

The trouble with that piece of crap, the re-make of "War of the Worlds," is they didn't, couldn't see, that WIT was the way to do it. It is a witless movie. The original--even with its several corny bits--is still far better than all that sappiness and earnestness and running around in the re-make. I was totally bored. But I'd watch the original again any time (and have done so).

My hope is that anything John Cleese would be involved in will be witty. Not earnest.

[pokerfan]

10. Yeah MIB was fun

Dennis Rodman? Not much of a disguise.

[TechBear_Seattle]

13. Wait. Isn't that my third grade teacher?

I always knew she was from outer space or something.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

11. If they wanted to know what scientists talk like...

they should have studied the film "Primer." Best scientific dialogue in any film, even though they were technically engineers.

This movie will suck.

[moggie]

19. Primer gave me a headache

I need to watch it again with a pen and paper, so that I can figure out the timelines. Good movie, particularly considering that it cost like $0.75 to make.

One of the things which makes the original "The Day the Earth Stood Still" so memorable is that its anti-Cold War message was pretty radical at the time. The remake's environmental message is a big yawn. Environmental destruction is a bad thing, you say? Gosh, we're real glad you came all those light years to bring us that news, because we totally hadn't figured that out for ourselves.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

22. Best of luck to you.

"Good movie, particularly considering that it cost like $0.75 to make."


No kidding, it was something like $7,000. I can't believe they pulled it off.

"The remake's environmental message is a big yawn. Environmental destruction is a bad thing, you say? Gosh, we're real glad you came all those light years to bring us that news, because we totally hadn't figured that out for ourselves."

Yeah, apparently the movie doesn't even mentin "global warming" because the producers were worried about being politically incorrect.

[DavidDvorkin]

14. Did they also have a team of acting coaches for Reaves?

[pokerfan]

15. "Doesn't matter. He's playing an alien."

No matter what he does, they can just say that's how an alien is supposed to act. Hard time tracing the Greek characters on the blackboard? He's an alien! Hard time speaking English? He's an alien! Hard time reacting to the other actors? He's an alien!

I predict an Oscar nod.

[DavidDvorkin]

16. Ha!

Good point.

[muriel_volestrangler]

21. 'Wooden acting? Hey, at least it's biodegradable ...'