Some months ago, Planet Gore had a few laughs at the expense of the about-to-be released remake of The Day the Earth Stood Still. An alert reader has reminded me that the movie will come out just as the Poznan negotiations over a Kyoto II are wrapping up – which provides an opportunity for even the entertainment-news media to celebrate the Brave New World of America’s concern for the earth that will be ushered in with the departure of George W. Bush from the political scene (which, they seem to have failed to realize, also leaves the global-warming poseurs no one to blame for their own failures).
On December 12, this latest Keanu Reeves thought-provoking vehicle hits the big screen. For those who missed Planet Gore’s March announcement, here’s a taste from the IMDB website:
“What sort of remake is this going to be? … Reeves has revealed that Klaatu’s message to Earth was different from the one in the original. The new warning is to stop destroying the environment. ‘I think that this film in some ways is an attempt to address a number of issues that are among the most pressing issues for the human race,’ Derrickson explained. ‘The original being a Cold War film was addressing what was clearly the greatest threat for the human race at that time mutual nuclear destruction, and that’s not the most pressing threat that we face now.’”
How refreshing, this desire to remain true to the original, without trying to be an important picture. But there is another interesting change that we didn’t know about earlier this year:
“How closely does the movie follow the short story [“Farewell to the Master,” an overt plea for peaceful coexistence, or what would later be termed Détente]?
As in the 1951 movie, there are differences between the movie and the original short story. In the story, Gort’s name is Gnut, the famous phrase Klaatu barada nikto is absent, and the character of Helen Benson does not exist.”
Our March item relishes the delicious irony of the having the name “Gort” for the movie’s robotic alien bent on humanity’s destruction – though the endless stream of jokes that will ensue might become tiresome for a certain Nobel Prize- and Oscar-winning celebrity. Perhaps the movie will restore the story’s original Gnut, which has its own doom-saying Green resonance, if a slightly more cuddly one.
Doubtless, the new and improved robotic alien will save the iconic polar bear — you know, like little Knut here — from humanity’s depredations.
First Gore, then DiCaprio. Now, Reeves. Meanwhile, the alarmists tell us that any and all among the thousands of scientists — of every stripe — who have articulated their doubts about the alarmist thesis are actually unfit to comment. I’m afraid their intellectual firepower has overwhelmed us, and we, too, must submit.
[UPDATE: This item has been emended since its first posting.]