Sci-Fi Classic Goes Green: Klaatu Returns to Warn Us About Global Warming

Photo of Noel Sheppard.
By Noel Sheppard | March 22, 2008 - 14:50 ET

Hollywood is about to release a remake of the science fiction classic "The Day the Earth Stood Still."

This time, rather than coming to earth to warn us about our dangerous foray into the nuclear age, Klaatu and Gort have returned to caution us about -- wait for it -- global warming!

Honestly, you can't possibly make this stuff up!

As marvelously reported Friday by Vic Holtreman of Screen Rant (his delicious picture to the right, emphasis added):

I don't know how familiar you are with the original (and classic) version of The Day the Earth Stood Still, but it was borne out of fears of the Atomic Age and the initial stirrings of the Cold War. Today it may seem quaint and dated but at the time it was a very relevant theme to be tackled from a sci-fi angle.

Over at MTV.com they've quoted Keanu Reeves in an interview and while he admits that yes, there is a huge threat posed by the staggering number of international conflicts...

"The version [of 'The Day the Earth Stood Still'] I was just working on, instead of being man against man, it’s more about man against nature. My Klaatu says that if the Earth dies, you die. If you die, the earth survives. I’m a friend to the earth." [...]
[W]ith all the conflict and outright genocide going on in the world today, an alien is going to come from outer space and try to get us to buy carbon credits?
Those looking for real comedy on a Saturday should read MTV.com's complete article on this subject...but, do so without fluids, sharp objects, or flammables nearby.

—Noel Sheppard is an economist, business owner, and Associate Editor of NewsBusters.

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Will Klaatu be taking Dennis

Will Klaatu be taking Dennis and Ron back home with him?

Sheesh!

What's next?

A remake of "Forbidden Planet" in which we learn that the Krell killed themselves off with Climate Change?

Or, maybe, a version of "Angry Red Planet" that shows Mars was ruined because they burned all their trees? 

Chicken Little

I think we need to bring back "Chicken Little":

"The sky is falling. The sky is falling".

or am I quoting Al Gore?

Return of the Kanamits

How about a remake of the old Twilight Zone episode "To Serve Man"? Charismatic Kanamits arrive on Earth from a distant planet and beguile credulous earthlings with a promise of change and hope and a green planet. 

Is that the one where they

Is that the one where they eat humans?

Rog

Rog,

Yep. "To Serve Man" is a cookbook. Great stuff. ns

To Serve mankind

as long as they start with the Tasty Canadiens

"Man created god(s) Anything believed was created by man"----Syrius  

Tasty Canadians? Well, they better not eat Alex, Geddy or Neil.

I just popped for a pair of tickets for their July concert here in Atlanta.

I'd be sorely miffed if something were to screw that up. :-)

Theme for Election '08: I want my mommy!

The Canadian government has

The Canadian government has already offered up Saga, Red Rider, Helix, and April Wine as substitutes for Rush and Triumph. The aliens were not assuaged until Bryan Adams was tossed in.

Rog, they can have Bryan Adams.

Lol-I'll even send 'em my favorite marinade recipe.

Theme for Election '08: I want my mommy!

when I first saw the pic at

when I first saw the pic at the top of the post, that's what I thought it was about.

Wrong aliens. LOL

 

Klaatu barada carbon . . .

The good news is that Klaatu is also retrieving Al Gore and returning him to their planet. 

Also this summer, a new TV sitcom tentatively titled "You Did WHAT?!", starring comedians McGreevey and Spitzer as two, divorced ex-governors leading secret lives while sharing a trailer in Newark.  The plots revolve around McGreevy's return to what he describes as "public service" by hanging out at men's rooms along the Jersey Turnpike, while Spitzer's challenge each episode is to earn enough cash on his pizza deliveries to pay for $4300 hookers and sex-addiction therapy.  The series will co-star Jerry Van Dyke and Doris Roberts.

 

so that is what it means

'Barada Nikto' means 'Carbon Offset'...Of Course!!

Is Sen. Obama going to write the screenplay?

And Klaatu spoke of the earth dying and "it was like a fist to my stomach, and I wobbled to regain my composure" and Klaatu reeled out some "guy with no arms and legs" jokes and it was like a kick to the nads. Then someone told Klaatu a dead baby joke and I fell to my knees as the earth spun beneath me.

Next feature film: Man Against Stupidity

Oooh. The Day the Earth Stood Still is one of my fav old simple scifis but mostly bec I liked the star's English accent (hum...how did he learn English? TV?).

And the robot's cool, too. For the time, it was cheesy but not too cheesy. Didn't realize how preachy the film was until I grew up.

This remake will bear no resemblance to the original and will be laden with special effects, a pace so fast you don't even care what the actors are saying, and more preachy propaganda.

And Keanu Reeves acting style is perfect to fit the role of the robot.

That's totally uncalled for,

That's totally uncalled for, September. What have good robots everywhere done to deserve a comparison to the acting ability of Keanu Reeves? That's just mean! ;-)

Galvanic


The good news is that Klaatu is also retrieving Al Gore and returning him to their planet.

Excellent!

Klaatu IS Al Gore

Well, it only makes sense that Klaatu would fly 10+ light years, or whatever, in an interstellar spaceship, from another solar system, to warn US on the third planet from our star to stop our own "global warming." He must really be Al Gore, who thinks nothing of jetting around here churning out greenhouse gases. I mean this all makes perfect sense to me - Interstellar passionate liberal do-gooder aliens who feel the need to travel quadtrillions of miles to other worlds to helpfully meddle in their business. "You must curb your own greenhouse gases, provide mandatory government-sponsored health care, and free Mumia if you wish to join our Progressive Federation of Planets."

I have serious questions...

I have questions:

How was their spaceship powered and what effect on climate change was there when they landed?

Was their spacecraft compliant with the Kyoto Treaty and other environmental laws (particularly California Proposition 65) and is it 'green'?

How many carbon offset credits does Klaatu need to buy?

If nuclear powered, where are the spent uranium/plutonium rods disposed ? Are they using Earth as a dumping ground? (possible conspiracy here, lets call Oliver Stone)

How many trees or plants were destroyed upon their landing?

What about the hole in the ozone layer they made when they entered the atmosphere?

Did they have a valid passport or visa perhaps to enter the country?

Are they on a diplomatic visa, and has anyone gained unathorized access to their visa/passport?

What will happen when the robot drops a 'baby robot'? Does it now become an American and do we have to spend more tax dollars on it's care and feeding...I mean lubrication?

Were the Clintons involved?

Why, it's Al Gort, of course

 

 

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b197/TonyRockyhorror/AlGort.jpg

 

"All generalizations are false, including this one.” Mark Twain

Hilarious Photoshop! It

Hilarious Photoshop!

It is a Photoshop pic, isn't it?

;-)

RRAM Tough! 

Great pic! How many

Great pic! How many carbon offsets is that disintegrator ray gonna cost him?

But truthfully, the photo is totally unrealistic... even Gort was not THAT stiff.

When asked if he went to war with Iraq to derail the impeachment vote: “I don’t think any serious person would believe that any President would do such a thing." - President Clinton (Dec 1998).

Worst Remake Ever...

The original film is one of the greatest sci-fi films ever. The acting and screen play out shined Gort and his heat vision. Leave it to the Hollywood water walkers to update it with their pet issues.

The DIY'ers of the movie industry are going to be the future of entertainment, thanks to Premier Pro and After Effects.

Wow more science teachings from Keanu Reeves!

I am all excited about what I can learn from the highly educated Keanu Reeves (High School Dropout).

The Anti 'Man-Made' Global Warming Resource

Well, Popular Tech, Keanu

Well, Popular Tech, Keanu did teach us about making water into energy (or whatever the hell that movie was about), that we are really all trapped in a giant computer, plugged in and sleeping in goo and that one can easily drive through Los Angeles in a bus at 55 miles per hour at any given time.

I'm surprised you'd be skeptical about what dazzling nuggets of wisdom will be gained from this remake.

That's deep

"My Klaatu says that if the Earth dies, you die. If you die, the earth survives. I’m a friend to the earth." - Keanu Reeves

I can't believe you're mocking somebody with a lucid philosophy like this one.

If you just listened to Keanu (rather than focusing on him being a b-actor, high school drop out, you might learn such important things as:

If you make a successful movie, be sure to make so many sequels that the original is ruined.  I'm a friend of sequels.

If you say something stupid, be sure to follow it with something even stupider.  That way your original comment seems intelligent.

 

 

Hollywood is where the most creative people in the world take great old scripts and recycle them into some unentertaining pap.  The only thing new they've come up since 1980 is movies based on video games.  They should recreate the Oscars with these new categories:

1)  Best anti-American Film

2)  Best anti-Military Film

3)  Best anti-Conservative Film

4)  Best Remake

5)  Best Sequel

6)  Best Comic Book Adaptation 

Ig

Good job on Al Gort.

Gort's kinda cute in the movie, actually. Very clean-cut, tall, and eyes to die for----everything a woman wants in an AI.

This remake is going to flop like Michael Moore on a beach.

Bet it hits stores in DVD form within a week of its release.

Is there nothing classic left that the Hollywierdos won't trash?

Theme for Election '08: I want my mommy!

Typical space alien.

Typical space alien.

Someone call Reverend

Someone call Reverend Wright... Klaatu is white... and obviously rich (to afford a flying saucer and robot). The universe is run by rich white folks. The Universe of KKK, eh...

When asked if he went to war with Iraq to derail the impeachment vote: “I don’t think any serious person would believe that any President would do such a thing." - President Clinton (Dec 1998).

Jerry

Seems the good "reverend" has some damning of Africa to do first.

One of the best ever apoco

One of the best ever apoco movies is a 1961 B&W Brit sci-fi...

THE DAY THE EARTH CAUGHT FIRE..

starring the late great Leo McKern. Recommended. Re-released on DVD a couple of years back from a new print.

Also features some of the snappiest "newspaper" dialogue put on celluloid this side of His Girl Friday.

Vote 4 change. Vote 4 anything. See Jack & Mr Shy's first campaign ad for the ONLY viable 3rd party candidate.

Voyage to See What's on the Bottom

"Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea" (the movie) had a plot ripped from today's headlines.

The Van Allen Radiation Belts had caught fire. Earth was doomed. A plucky band lead by Walter Pigeon set off on a mission to save Earth.

Who told them they were wrong? Who sent submarines to stop them?

The UN, of course!

Noel, thanks for reminding

Noel, thanks for reminding me of one of my favorite Bernard Herrmann soundtracks. Time to dust off the vinyl.