Keanu set to star in eco-thriller, 'The Day the Earth Stood Still'
"Klatuu Barada Nikto," it's not just the magic spell flubbed by Bruce Campbell in Army of Darkness. These are actually the immortal words of Klatuu the humanoid space alien from the sci-fi classic The Day the Earth Stood Still. In the original version, Earth is visited by a friendly alien being who has come to warn us that we must end our war-mongering ways or else face destruction. In the upcoming remake, Klatuu -- played by Reeves -- will visit us once again, only this time his message will go beyond the Cold War implications of the original. Klatuu has become a tree-hugger.
The message that Klatuu will bring in the remake is basically an ultimatum that says: stop destroying the Earth, or else aliens will come and kick your butt -- pretty much letting humanity know that we're not that special. In the new version, it seems that the Earth is what the aliens find valuable, not the lifeforms on it. Or, in the words of Mr. Reeves, "My Klaatu says that if the Earth dies, you die. If you die, the earth survives. I'm a friend to the earth."
According to Keanu, the film will try to address much broader questions about "what we are doing and who we are as a species." The environment plays a big part, but it's summed up along with wars, terrorism, etc. Keanu told MTV that in the new The Day the Earth Stood Still, "we're trying to reach beyond the idea of [just] environmentalism." Whoa, dude. Sounds like some heady stuff, hopefully there will be plenty of lazer-gun battles and fight sequences to help get the message across.
[via Ecorazzi]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
3-25-2008 @ 2:58PM
Austin said...
If I remember correctly, Klatuu didn't care much for the human's existance or planet, that it was up to us if we wished to survive in peace, it would be under a system of mutually assured destruction. The fate of our planet was of no necessity of other species, that such an invitation was a suggestion and purely out of their kindness. Otherwise, Klatuu would have been a bit more forceful with his message. But he few away. Why does the remake need to change this message?! Sure, make an unnecessary remake, make it about climate change cus it's hip, but don't change principle aspects of this awesomely classic flick!
In fact, i think the message will drastically hurt itself. If we are to think that no matter our actions, that a "devine being" is watching over us, and will intervene should we start going down the wrong road, will we ever have the desire to change our actions under our own free will? Our fear of death from bad-ass robots will keep us from ever thinking our our consequences because those consequences will never be considered because we fear them just that much! The original message was that we must move towards a system where we consciously decide our own fate, to decide as a collective to enact change. This new remake will destroy the valuable message into one saying that we never had free will, at least as i can gather from what our new Klatuu said. I hope that Keanu understood the script wrong because the implications are very worrisome for a great movie, and an important message.
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3-25-2008 @ 4:50PM
Karsten said...
I came here to write almost pretty much same thing than Austin, just worded less nicely. It is lame to wait for some hight power to tell us what we basically know already: We need to dramatically change our behavior or perish.
Karsten
http://www.polluteless.com
Practical Advice To Pollute Less
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3-25-2008 @ 7:46PM
Jonathon Morgan said...
That's true -- people have been saying this forever. But maybe now that Keanu is saying it while pretending to be some weird sci-fi deity, people will listen.
Fingers crossed.
Side note: does this not sound like the worst movie EVER?
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