THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL (2008) - PREVIEW 

The Day the Earth Stood Still (2008)

Starring: Keanu Reeves, Jennifer Connelly
Director: Scott Derrickson
Rated: Unrated
U.S. Opening Date: December 12th, 2008

THEY SAY

In The Day the Earth Stood Still, a contemporary reinvention of the 1951 science fiction classic, renowned scientist Dr. Helen Benson (Jennifer Connelly) finds herself face to face with an alien called Klaatu (Keanu Reeves), who travels across the universe to warn of an impending global crisis.

When forces beyond Helen’s control treat the extraterrestrial as a hostile and deny his request to address the world’s leaders, she and her estranged stepson Jacob (Jaden Smith) quickly discover the deadly ramifications of Klaatu’s claim that he is "a friend to the Earth."

Now Helen must find a way to convince the entity who was sent to destroy us that mankind is worth saving – but it may be too late.

WE SAY

Now was there anything to suggest in director Scott Derrickson’s CV to suggest that he is ideally suited to remake The Day the Earth Stood Still, a 1950s film justifiably considered to be a classic of the genre? Were the studio execs at Fox so impressed with The Exorcism of Emily Rose that they thought, “Hey, let’s give this guy a chance to make a new version of that cool 1950s flick we saw on the telly the other night”?

At least the previous sci-fi classic to be remade by Fox had Tim Burton (Planet of the Apes) — but remember what a pointless mess that movie still turned out to be? Didn’t the Fox suits learn anything?

Yes, we here at SciFiMoviePage.com think that remaking a beloved classic such as The Day the Earth Stood Still is one of the worst ideas in the history of bad ideas. Why bother remaking a classic flick if there are so many great unfilmed sci-fi stories out there? By remaking a classic you just come across as arrogant and misguided – just what was it that made you think that you can do a better job than an acclaimed director like Robert Wise? — but if you turn some obscure SF novel into a nice movie everybody will love you for it.

Anyway, Klaatu says nikto to this remake!

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Trailers

• Quicktime Trailer: hi-res 640x480), med-res (480x360), lo-res (320x240), High Definition: 480p,720p,1080p
• 5 Minute Trailer: Flash
• International trailer (QuickTime): 100k.mov; 330k.mov; 850k.mov; 1500k.mov 

Trivia

• Dr Barnhardt's first name is Basil. This is a tribute to John Cleese's iconic hotelier Basil Fawlty.
• The original film's electronic score, which was composed by Bernard Herrmann, has been recomposed by Tyler Bates and used for this film.
• The design of Gort is similar to his original portrayal in The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951), but Gort is now a biological form rather than mechanical, as Scott Derrickson considered some extraterrestrial races would develop advanced biological forces instead of technology.
• Director Scott Derrickson was an ardent admirer of sci-film director Robert Wise, and had wanted to remake Wise's The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951) this film since 1993.
• Jennifer Connelly was Scott Derrickson's first choice for the role of Helen Benson.
• According to Keanu Reeves, in The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951) Klaatu was an alien WITH a human body, while in this film Klaatu is an alien IN a human body.
• Keanu Reeves was producer Erwin Stoff's first and only choice for the role of Klaatu.