Thursday at Comic Con started with me paying $17 to park and then standing in front of a loading dock area. I was in line with the 6,000 other people who wanted to enter Hall H and see panels and preview footage for all sorts of upcoming projects. First up (once I finally got inside and the curtains fell off the wall, delaying the start for 30 minutes) was The Day the Earth Stood Still and after some static and a voice uttering the classic line, “Klaatu barada nikto,” Keanu Reeves came out to introduce the other panel members, co-star Jennifer Connelly, director Scott Derrickson, and producer Erwin Stoff.
Although Reeves obviously was the main draw on this panel, Derrickson took the lead in explaining the movie and why remaking it made sense. While praising the original with every adjective he could think of, he noted that it was a “product of its time” and that “issues the first film was dealing with are not as pressing at this time.” He also tossed in the obligatory “great script” line that makes you wonder how every script can be great but so many movies suck. Derrickson talked about how Robert Wise (the director of the original) was one of his favorite directors and he met Wise as a film student and had dinner with him. All of this seemed genuine coming from Derrickson but was clearly designed to counter online criticism (CB Head Honcho Josh Tyler being one example) of those who think the original is the perfect example of leaving well enough alone.
Derrickson also commented on specifics of the film, including rumors at one point that Gort would not be in the film. He stated emphatically, “definitely Gort is in the movie.” He said that they looked at “at least hundreds of images” in designing options for Gort but ended up with something that is “not far from the original in the concept.” He did say that while 1950’s science fiction was heavily influenced by “machinery and mechanics,” his movie will show Klaatu, Gort, and the space ship with a more organic and biological based look. So get ready for pesticide free rocket ships space nerds!
Of course, no one wants to hear from a director with one film credit under his belt when the guy who turned saying “dude” into a career is on stage. Reeves was asked how he prepared for the role of Klaatu and said he “tried to objectify everything.” He was never quite clear on what this meant, but he did say his character is a different take on the original. Reeves noted that the first Klaatu was “a little warm and fuzzy. A little more human than human….I’m not that guy.” Nicely stated, dude.
Super-duper hot Jennifer Connelly sat looking super-duper hot and then talked about her role in the film which is to make things more intimate and humane through her relationship with her step-son (played by Jaden Smith.) She said the relationship between Helen and her son is “much more deeply explored” in the remake. Derrickson chimed in that the relationship between Klaatu and Helen’s son was the heart of the first film and he wanted to retain that.
The crew brought along three clips. One showing Reeves in his objective acting mode but also kicking some ass with just his brainwaves. It is called “the interrogation scene” and starts with Reeves answering question and ends with him asking them. The second was a scene with Reeves and Smith in the back of a pickup where Smith tells him he’s sorry that he previously told his mom that he hoped Klaatu was killed. The final clip was a trailer like collection that focused on the big scope and effects porn that Derrickson is trying to balance with his more human and intimate story. I don’t really want to run out and see this, but it may be the Reeves has finally met the role he was born to play and there is a big overall scope that has some appeal.
For all of our criminally complete 2008 San Diego Comic Con coverage go here.
