UPDATE 2: Despite the email below from Fox, I cannot see how commenting on a review of a script and mentioning items from that review without directly quoting a screenplay is a copyright violation. Therefore I’m putting my article back online.
UPDATE 1: I’ve been contacted by Fox Studios’ legal department with the following email:
“To Whom It May Concern:
We have recently learned that SCREENRANT.com (hereinafter “You” or “Your”) posted a review purportedly from the Twentieth Century Fox feature film screenplay titled “The Day The Earth Stood Still” on your website at [this page]. Your review contains elements protected by copyright and, as such, we must request that you remove the review from the website and cease and desist from all other activities associated with this material.”
Now personally, I don’t know how commenting here on a review of a script on another website entails copyright infringement, but I’m also not going to get in a legal battle with a studio. At the time I’m writing this, the review is still up at Aintitcool.com at the link at the end of this post.
A couple of weeks ago I commented on how my expectations for the new version of The Day the Earth Stood Still couldn’t get any worse. Well it turns out I was wrong: it’s even worse than I thought.
Over at Ain’t It Cool News they seem to have a new contributor and apparently he’s gotten his hands on a copy of the script for the unnecessary remake.
IF this report is accurate man oh man oh MAN does it sound awful.
According to the report (and there are BIG spoilers below, so be warned!):
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- There is no “Gort” in the movie, instead there’s a robot that walks on all fours called “Totem.” [Correction: There IS Gort in the movie and he is humanoid in appearance.]
- Klatuu is not the first visitor here from his planet. There’s already been an old man here for 80 years monitoring us.(Logic problems galore with this one, pointed out at AICN.)
- They destroyed their planet through global warming and pollution so have come here to destroy us before we do that to other worlds.
- The source states that the famous phrase “Klatuu Barada Nicto” is never uttered.
- No scenes between Bobby and Klaatu at the Lincoln Memorial, the Arlington Cemetery, and the visit to the space ship. This actually makes sense, in a bad way, considering the theme of the movie. Perhaps they could visit coal mines or Ed Begley Jr’s home?
I’ve only scratched the surface with those points.
Having said all of the above, a couple of things bug me about the report:
1. The guy gets bent out of shape at the Connolly character being a single mom: the character in the first film was a single mom as well.
2. He adamantly states that the famous quote will not be used in the movie, while in the recent interview with MTV, Keanu Reeves stated that it was uttered in the movie. I mentioned this in my previous post about the film.
End of removed section per request of 20th Century Fox.
If the report is accurate, like I said, this thing is going to be even worse than I thought. If it’s not, I still think environmentalism is still a cheesy concept for a remake of this classic film.
Click on over to AICN for the whole thing and then come back here for a civilized conversation about this. 
The Day the Earth Stood Still is scheduled to open December 2008.
Source: AintItCool.com
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26 Comments
My God….the commentors at AICN are complete jackasses. (sorry)
“Click on over to AICN for the whole thing and then come back here for a civilized conversation about this. :-)”
ROTFLMAO!
I think this report is false. Anytime a “new contributer” just “happens” to get their hands on a script something reeks of BS….give it a few days.
“If the report is accurate, like I said, this thing is going to be even worse than I thought. If it’s not, I still think environmentalism is still a cheesy concept for a remake of this classic film.”
Agreed.
Just the idea of a remake of this classic annoys me. I agree, we’ll see if any of this is true, but no Gort! No special words? (maybe). What is the point of a remake if you tell the same thing but lose the classic aspects. Prefer the other way around.
As for the environmental stuff, it is annoying. I watched a movie from a while back starring Charlie Sheen which was all about global warming and aliens.
Still, at the time it commented on the issues of the age, atomic power, so I can understand commenting on today’s issues.
I think the level of preaching is what will or won’t annoy me the most, not the content.
No Gort, no “Klaatu Barada Nicto”, no visit to the space stuff.. what sort of crap is this??
Do we need another farcical “warning” about global warming after Al Gore’s “An Inconvenient Truth” that turned out to be inconvenient because it was so full of untruths?
They should have stuck with the Cold War nuke theme, but this time around within the setting of nuclear escalation between US, Iran, North Korea, Pakistan, India, etc. Oh, wait a minute.. if they do that, Hollywood will have a ball of a time portraying America as the villains again. Siggh..
Steven the Git,
Sheen’s movie “The Arrival” is twelve years old. I would say it predates the current global warming hysteria. My memory is, it was a good “B Movie” find in the video store Sci Fi section.
Kel,
thanks for being a BS Detector. I bet you haven’t opened your bank account to Nigerian doctors very often, have you?
Vic,
you’re gonna get an influx of readers if this movie sux.
Why couldn’t they just make a whole new movie and say it was inspired by the classic? You can “re-imagine” Spider-Man or Batman but don’t mess with the classics.
It takes a lot to keep me away from a science fiction movie, but making into a “message movie” is one sure way.
LOL as usual, JIM.
“Do we need another farcical “warning” about global warming after Al Gore’s “An Inconvenient Truth” that turned out to be inconvenient because it was so full of untruths?”
LMAO!!
The Arrival, that’s the one. I only watched it yesterday so ought to remember!
Yes, a definite B movie. Decent, but nothing more and the end was a bit soso for me.
Oh sorry, just realised. I didn’t mean that movie dealt with the issue of its time but the Day the Earth Stood Still. As in atomic power. Should have made that clearer.
No idea that the Arrival was that old though. Charlie Sheen has barely aged since then, apparently!
Who are these people that make these movie decisions?
I cannot understand while all movies on the whole are getting dumber and dumber…even when ALL the fans know it? How do I get one of their jobs?
What the heck happened to X-men 3?! I hate you Ratner…off-topic I know
Wow it looks like this film will suck afterall.
I hate classic film remakes!!!!
Nice, huh?
Vic
did you just narc on AICN?!? I can’t believe you would do that! Was that your plea-bargain with Fox Legal to avoid a fine?
haha - I love the law
My sense of humor is quite low at the moment.
Vic
Yeah Vic I just re-read both your post and AICN post (that’s still up on their site btw) and I don’t see why FOX would single you out unless they think Screen Rant has more of an influence on mainstream intellidgent fans of sci_fi / action relative films.
I mean come on have you read some of the comments over there,, haha
Vic, tell FOX to suck it and suck it lightly…that being said I found your site by accident recently and this is now one of my GO TO sites for movie news….AICN is just whiner central now…
Steve the git,
There is a sequel to “The Arrival” but Sheen is not in it.
Thanks very much, bro. I appreciate the support.
Vic
Personally I’d suggest contacting the studio to see what exactly they want down and why.
I get the feeling that half the time these things are just misunderstandings.
Over at Row Three we just had a small independent studio threaten us but when we contacted them we found out that they were just worried because one of their previous movies was completely pirated and thrown onto MySpace.
The people searching the web didn’t really know that we were just posting a trailer for their new movie. Once we talked to them everything was fine
I will very likely be putting the info up again. To me this is complete confirmation that this movie will suck royally.
Vic
Vic
Yup, I think this movie will suck big-time and none of us will bother with it.
The only way Fox can ensure they’ll break even is to hide the suckage at whatever cost.
Fox has to be the most awful studio in the world. They aggrsively attack people who comment on their projects, do everything on the cheap, and holdno pre-existing material sacred. This last crime I cannot forgive. The aliens are going to destroy us if we destroy our planet through global warming? How about this: shoot down Al Gore as he’s wasting incredible amounts of fuel jetsetting to speaking engagements, between the time he spends burning electricity in his enormous mansion.
T, can I call you MR T,? Your so right on bro! And you too Vic. (That’s why this site will ultimatly rule cyberspace and the delta quadrant) (borg face) ยครท)
(MY NEXT COMMENTS ARE BASED ON THE POST AT AICN.COM AND DON’T HAVE ANYTHING TO DO WITH SCREEN RANT OR ITS AFFILIATES). Aaahhh………
You know its so,, how do I type lame in another way?, Science Fictionally Retarded to have a supposed benevolent alien race condem another younger planet/race for doing the same thing they did to there own planet and travel to that planet, rape and pillage the resources and then have the green alien balls to say “shape up or will kill you…”
But with some CGI and maybe a cool looking Totem robot of deathly looking laser beams coming out of its eyes, they can pull off a 30 mill weekend ?
But hey this is all based on some new writer at AICN.COM.
The MAD magazine of sci_fi.blog sites (IMO).
Let’s all remember that.
Good work Vic!!!!
I know I am a bit late to jump in on your battle with fox, but I too have faced similiar threats with fox back in the late 90’s for some Simpsons related images. Fox went after several fan sites, and the action even recieved it’s own name, “Foxed.”
I saw the trailer and was apalled that the friendly, polite Klaatu was replaced by nasty, violent Kee-nu…and a charming single mother had to become the Politically Correct “Doctor” Benson… complete with a bi-racial child (gag). Too many people never “got” the premise of the original film to begin with- and I wonder if these bozos did- that the robots were given complete control over human aggressive behavior, and THEY were the ones that were a threat to Earth, if it “continues to pursue its present course” and take nukes into their territory. But this time, it looks like they’re just coming to attack- and wipe us out regardless!!!
Just came back from an early screening and all your fears are realized in the film.
Vic
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