If Keanu Reeves playing the lead in the needless remake of The Day the Earth Stood Still has you concerned, here’s some good news for you. It looks like some more respected names are being added to the list of actors in the film. Jennifer Connelly and Kathy Bates were previously announced as part of the movie’s cast, and now IGN is reporting that former Python (and one-time Bond Q) John Cleese is in talks to become a part of the remake as well.
The news is that Cleese would play Nobel Prize laureate Dr. Barnhardt, a character who, “plays a key part in figuring out the mission and meaning of the arrival of the alien Klaatu.” It’s been a little while since I watched the 1951 original, but doesn’t Klaatu pretty much spell out for everyone what his mission and meaning is? I don’t remember him relying on a Nobel laureate to figure anything out though.
Don’t get me wrong – I’m a huge John Cleese fan, and I love the excuse to see him in just about any project. It’s just that his inclusion, if this is to be believed, makes it sound like they are making some big changes to one of sci-fi’s best tales. I hate the idea of this remake in the first place, so talent like Cleese is welcome to at least make it tolerable, but why change it if it doesn’t need fixing… or why remake it for that matter.
Comment on “John Cleese Helps On The Day The Earth Stood Still”
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To be honest Rafe i think the original TDTESS is really outdated and on top of that it is boring. Also no one except maybe some online movie bloggers and sites know about the original movie. Therefore it is a prime candidate for a remake.
I bet half of this online movie world hasn't watched the original and shoot stuff from their asses saying "Oh that movie was classic. Fuck they will ruin it by remaking it. Blah blah blah"
The new one will be fresh with some spectacle added to it.
I am all for making changes and making it more flashy.
The original, although with good ideas for the 50s, is dated and truly terrible to watch for the younger audience. Its a movie that screams REMAKE (and update)!
And I am very bored to heard movie geeks saying that its a masterpiece, should not be remade and blablabla and yaddayadda... and dont even remembering that the character John Cleese is playing is nothing less than Dr Barnhardt, the Nobel prize who helps Klaatu to achieve his mission (basically, one of the main supporting characters in the movie...). NOT a new character.
Talk about dissing something only for the sake of doing it...
To Jojo, THANK YOU!! It's getting harder every day to get out of bed. People are just so dumb it's depressing. OF COURSE THIS MOVIE NEEDS TO BE REMADE. The story is more than relevant to the world situation today -- it's dying to be seen bigger and better. Keanu is the perfect choice for the lead role as a quiet, dignified intergalactic messenger if ever there was an actor in Hollywood to do it. Warner Bros is not stupid, people. I am very excited about this one.... I feel Cleese will do a great job as Dr. Barnhardt who, in the original, is a pleasant-faced, trustable counterweight to the heavy-handed warmongers.
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If Keanu Reeves playing the lead in the needless remake of The Day the Earth Stood Still has you concerned, here’s some good news for you. It looks like some more respected names are being added to the list of actors in the film. Jennifer Connelly and Kathy Bates were previously announced as part of the movie’s cast, and now IGN is reporting that former Python (and one-time Bond Q) John Cleese is in talks to become a part of the remake as well.
January 27th, 2008 at 02:54
To be honest Rafe i think the original TDTESS is really outdated and on top of that it is boring. Also no one except maybe some online movie bloggers and sites know about the original movie. Therefore it is a prime candidate for a remake.
I bet half of this online movie world hasn't watched the original and shoot stuff from their asses saying "Oh that movie was classic. Fuck they will ruin it by remaking it. Blah blah blah"
The new one will be fresh with some spectacle added to it.
I am all for making changes and making it more flashy.