Due in December, nothing substantial or even trivial has leaked from 20th Century Fox’s big budget remake of sci-fi classic The Day the Earth Stood Still starring Keanu Reeves, John Cleese, Jennifer Connelly and Kathy Bates. Reeves, who will next be seen in Aprils’s LAPD actioner Street Kings and plays the alien Klaatu in the holiday tent pole, talked to MTV about the enigmatic project and how it will differ from the 1951 original. While the movie’s premise will still revolve around aliens telling Earthlings to figure out world peace (and pronto!), director Scott Derrickson’s (Exorcism of Emily Rose) take will be updated for the Prius and metal water bottle set…
“The first one was borne out of the cold war and nuclear détente. Klaatu came and was saying cease and desist with your violence. If you can’t do it yourselves we’re going to do it. That was the film of that day,” Reeves explained. “The version I was just working on, instead of being man against man, it’s more about man against nature. My Klaatu says that if the Earth dies, you die. If you die, the earth survives. I’m a friend to the earth. …what we are doing and who we are as a species. We’re trying to reach beyond the idea of [just] environmentalism.”
Yeah, that’s cool Keanu, but what about the film’s signature robot Gort? Will it still look like a trophy statuette for “Greatest Rave Act 2002″?
“Hey man, don’t put that tin man down! That was iconoclastic!” Reeves protested. “[But] yes, we have another version of the [robot].”
Discuss: Can a sci-fi film doubling as an After School Special connect big in 2008?
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I’m not sure who exactly is excited about The Day The Earth Stood Still remake. Maybe Keanu Reeves, who will be taking home another huge paycheck for another lackluster sci-fi film. And now it has been announced that Jennifer Connelly and Kathy Bates have joined the Scott Derrickson (The Exorcism of Emily Rose) remake. Connelly and Bates are both great oscar-winning actresses, who will surely bring a new level to this project. But we also must remember that Connelly was involved in that horrible American remake of Dark Water, and Bates now makes 5 movies a year (4 of which usually aren’t good).
Connelly will play Helen Benson (played by Patricia Neal in the original), an employee of the United States Department of Commerce who meets Klaatu (Reeves), an alien who arrives on Earth with a warning to world leaders that their continued aggression will lead to annihilation by aliens watching from far away.
The original 1951 Robert Wise film was considered one of the best Science Fiction films of all time (#7 on Arthur C Clarke’s List) and was debated for it’s religious symbolism and many interpretations. Bernard Herrmann score is also notable, partly because of its use of two theremins. The film is currently ranked #187 of all time on IMDb, with a 8.1 rating.
Production begins December in Vancouver. The Day The Earth Stood Still will hit theaters on December 12th 2008.
20th Century Fox has decided to move Scott Derrickson’s remake of the classic 1951 sci-fi action film The Day the Earth Stood Still, from Summer to Winter. The film starring Keanu Reeves as an alien visitor named Klaatu, will now hit theaters on December 12th 2008. The movie was originally scheduled to go head to head on May 9th with The Wachowski Brother’s Speed Racer. While this sounds like a smart business move, it actually has nothing to do with competition. The Day the Earth Stood Still hasn’t even begun principal photography, and was moved because it couldn’t meet the Summer release deadline.
The remake will be directed by Scott Derrickson (The Exorcism of Emily Rose, Hellraiser: Inferno) from a script by David Scarpa (The Last Castle). The original 1951 Robert Wise film was considered one of the best Science Fiction films of all time (#7 on Arthur C Clarke’s List) and was debated for it’s religious symbolism and many interpretations. Bernard Herrmann score is also notable, partly because of its use of two theremins. The film is currently ranked #187 of all time on IMDb, with a 8.1 rating.
sources: Variety
The Exorcism of Emily Rose director Scott Derrickson has been hired to helm The Day the Earth Stood Still remake at Fox.
Our friends at FirstShowing report that Derrickson is currently prepping one of the longest shoots in Canadian history. The Vancouver shoot will run all the way to November. All of this according to the Hollywood North Report and IESB.
The original 1951 science fiction movie tells the story of a humanoid alien who comes to Earth to warn its leaders not to take their conflicts into space, or they will face lethal consequences. The movie was produced in the aftermath of WWII, the start of the Cold War, the development of the Atomic bomb and Hydrogen bomb, and the beginning of the Space age. While the originally reflected the cultural fears of the time, I’m sure the new film will reflect our terror fears.
The Day the Earth Stood Still is currently set for a May 9th 2009 release date.
