If you’re a regular reader of Screen Rant you know what a huge fan I am of remakes (not). A while back it was announced that a remake of the classic Sci Fi film The Day the Earth Stood Still was being planned. Today we have further details from Variety, among them the announcement of the lead actor who will be playing the lone alien Klaatu who came to Earth to evaluate humanity:
Keanu Reeves.
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There seems to be a collective scream of “Noooooooo!” on movie sites regarding casting Reeves as the somber alien in this movie, but I actually think he may not be a bad choice. Keanu has always had kind of an otherworldly vibe about him and if he can dial it down he could pull this off. He’s certainly played somber characters before.
Now this doesn’t mean I’m in favor of a remake of the classic film, which was released in 1951 and directed by Robert Wise. The original was a commentary on the Cold War between the U.S. and Russia and no doubt this one will be about the war on terrorism.
According to Variety it’s being called a “re-imagining” instead of a remake, no doubt due to the stigma associated with the latter.
No doubt the character driven, cerebral tone of the original will go by the wayside, giving way to incredible special effects, a heavy-handed “message” and the fact that they’ll no doubt work in battle sequences that were nowhere to be seen in the original.
Production is set to begin either late this year or early 2008.
Source: Variety
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8 Comments
I love the original,even though I wasn’t yet around when it first came out,I still believe it’s one of the best sci fi flicks of all time. I’m very anxious to see this movie,and think that Keanu is a pretty good choice to play Klaatu. Hopefully it will be better than the Cruise starring War of the Worlds. Any word on when this will be out,Vic?
Vic
i don think keannu is a bad choice either but if this one gets stalled for some reason that wouldnt bother me too much
the original is one of my all time faves
and proof that hollywood could at one time do more with less
Vic
For me, putting Keannu in for Rennie is the same as putting Adam Sandler in for Gary Cooper in Mr. Deeds. I have to admit that Keannu has been in some pretty good movies but I wouldn’t attribute him for the movies success. I guess I’ll just have to wait and see.
Why do they keep putting Keannu in these sci-fi movies? Do people actually like him? I admit I may be out of the loop on where his appeal lies. He is such a flat actor, he sucks the life out of any scene he is in. What a shame because the Day the Earth Stood Still was a classic.
Why don’t they go the whole hog and just cast that fat bloke from the Borat movie? Make him the Green Lantern instead of Jack Black while they’re at it. These people are DRUNK.
I studied with Julian Blaustein (”Day” producer) at Stanford in 1976. May he rest in peace.
If he saw the current crowd of screenwriting morons taking the Hollywood Hatchet to his masterpiece, with Keanu “Everything in Acting From A to B” Reeves in the lead role, he’d absolutely die (again).
The threat of self-destruction at the center of the Cold War — and the original movie — was absolutely real, not the creation of bureaucrats at the UN, political hacks and fame- and dollar-seeking corpulent ex-vice presidents.
Sometimes one tends to forget that most of what Hollywood produces is crap, it always has been, and it always will be.
Good grief!
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