Talk:The Day the Earth Stood Still (2008 film)

Bates, Bates, Bates?

Is there any family connection between Tyler Bates, (score for the film); Kathy Bates, (Secretary of Defense in the film); and Harry Bates, (the author of the original 1940 short story, "Farewell To The Master")?

I'm going to go with just a coincidence. Neat though. --Peppage^BRAINS! 12:58, 27 April 2009 (UTC)

The connection is actually with Norman Bates. -- megA (talk) 09:51, 27 October 2010 (UTC)

Grey goo

I think there should be more information about the similarity between the flying nano-insects and the doomsday scenario of grey goo on this page. HenryCorp (talk) 16:53, 21 January 2009 (UTC)

Citations for use

• AICN script review. We'll see how the final product compares. Alientraveller (talk) 22:17, 9 April 2008 (UTC)

  That's not a script review, it's a description of the plot with the idiot 'reviewer' whining about it without (barring one instance) actually saying why it's so objectionable. Steve ^{T • C} 22:35, 9 April 2008 (UTC)

  To clarify these somewhat harsh words, if "Uncapie" is someone you would happily cite in another film's critical reception section (if other reviews from more notable critics were unavailable, perhaps), then I haven't a major problem with it being used. My recommendation is that it isn't (how did you guess‽), but you've been doing this longer than I have and I trust your judgement. All the best, Steve ^{T • C} 08:32, 10 April 2008 (UTC)

  I would not cite his opinion, but what I mean is what we have here is someone with a copy of an early script. So if classic Gort is still in the movie, we can detail "early scripts replaced him with an energy ball and a four-legged machine". Alientraveller (talk) 09:38, 10 April 2008 (UTC)

  Ahhhhh. Of course. I didn't even consider that usage. Consider me suitably embarrassed at my ranty behaviour. Steve ^{T • C} 09:52, 10 April 2008 (UTC)

• Day Creators Reveal Gort Details —Erik (talk • contrib) - 11:16, 8 August 2008 (UTC)

Budget

The estimated budget of entertainment weekly may be wrong, as the original budget is 1.2M not 960K. So if they estimated the original wrong, there's high chance that they will estimated this remake budget wrong too. Edit: Update, I just find the budget in The Mail On Sunday article. It's 100M$ and I will put this number now. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 222.123.15.137 (talk • contribs)

Entertainment Weekly is more reliable than the Mail. Alientraveller (talk) 14:00, 25 November 2008 (UTC)

I don't know about reliability but Entertainment Weekly came from nowhere and estimate the budget. While The Mail On Sunday have an interviews of Keanu Reeves. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 222.123.59.103 (talk) 15:05, 25 November 2008 (UTC)

But it was such a throwaway mention. Tell you what, it could be written as "$80 – 100 million" based on both cites, and hopefully a trade paper will clarify the number eventually. Alientraveller (talk) 16:45, 25 November 2008 (UTC)

Gort?

When you click on 'Gort' it goes to an area in Ireland! There is a page for Gort the robot, but I am not sure how to change it, Ive never edited a Wikipedia page before. Just thought Id let people know there is a mistake. Emy. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 86.43.175.93 (talk) 18:04, 10 December 2008 (UTC)

End of Gort

I'd say that that was an EMP: an electromagnetic pulse. It fries all technology in the vacinity of its range and I've seen it fry nanobots like that on other shows. It would also explain why all of our technology stopped working when Gort was destroyed: the EMP fried that too. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 75.44.146.95 (talk) 03:12, 14 December 2008 (UTC)

That makes a lot of sense (and thanks for explaining that to me) but I fear this may be original research as the movie does not make this clear. For example my friend seemed to think Klaatu tapped the power of the world only for a while in order have the sphere lift off. CoW mAnX (talk) 22:33, 15 December 2008 (UTC)

Re: this edit: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=The_Day_the_Earth_Stood_Still_(2008_film)&oldid=258224571

The editor felt this was specualtive, which seems fair to me. But, the rewording seems more or less to describe the same thing. Granted, the technology used by the sphere may be different than that of what occurs during a terrestrial EMP, so I reverted back the original except using the phrase "EMP-like" for now as a compromise. What's the best way to handle this part of the article? - SoSaysChappy (talk) 08:11, 16 December 2008 (UTC)

An EMP would not stop most cars as it tends to only damage circuts. The wires and what mechanical parts of the car would be unaffected. Though the radio might not work. Perhaps it should be pointed out that what actually happened was left ambiguous.98.218.10.165 (talk) 03:21, 18 December 2008 (UTC)

It would stop most modern cars since _all_ modern cars rely heavily on integrated electronics for, ignition, power steering, assisted breaking and so on... But Im a little annoyed the humans did not try using any EMP weapons themselves. I believe there are several EW missiles in the US arsenal at least they could have tried firing some of those and not just sidewinders at GORT. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 217.211.211.185 (talk) 11:06, 24 December 2008 (UTC)

I think that the best way to handle it is to mention that it's ambiguous both in the nature of the effect and the duration, and that there are several schools of thought. One holds that it was an EMP that destroyed electrical devices but did not do anything else. Another is that it absorbed all power for a period of time. Another is that it was a change in the local laws of physics similar to that depicted in S.M. Stirling's "Dies the Fire" and its sequels that resulted in all technology ceasing to work. Then there is the question of whether it was temporary or permanent. An EMP would be temporary, changing physics could be temporary or permanent, power absorption the same.

My personal take on the EMP is that it was something other than that. What, I don't know--if I did I would be an Alien Superscientist. I ran a back of the envelope calculation and found that an EMP that would generate 5 volts on a 1mm pin on a microprocessor in Sydney would generate currents in the framework of buildings a kilometer from the NYC site of the pulse that were so large that there is not an SI prefix for them. Metal objects would be instantly vaporized--even human bodies might be directly affected (I didn't try to calculate that). At the end several ships were shown drifting without power. One can make an argument that an EMP would stop the engines of a ship by damaging auxiliary equipment, however one can also argue that the creators' intent was to show that not only electrical but diesel and/or steam power was disrupted. At the end, I believe that the Secretary of Defense still had in her possession a working electronic device of some kind, which suggests selective application, again inconsistent with an EMP. In the original movie what was used was not an EMP--an EMP would not have been so selective nor could its effects have been reversed in 30 minutes (not to mention that Starfish Prime was eleven years in the future at the time that the original was made), and I would expect the intent of the creators of the new one was that something similar was used, although possibly with different duration. So it seems clear to me that whatever was done was something other than an EMP, however others disagree.

I'm going to add some points addressing matters that have been raised above. A large enough EMP could generate sufficient current not only to damage solid state devices but also solid structural steel. It would have to be truly vast, far, far more powerful than anything that we know how to produce, but there is no reason that a sufficiently advanced civilization could not create one of such magnitude. As for damaging cars, if it was large enough it could destroy the ignition system or fuel controls, which might or might not immobilize the car (some have "limp home" modes that allow the car to be driven even if the electronics have failed). It might be possible to generate enough voltage to destroy the alternator diodes--they can handle high currents but don't have particularly high breakdown voltages. I don't know if this was observed with any vehicles exposed to Starfish Prime but if not it might not signify anything as the automotive alternator was relatively new technology in 1962 and such failures might not have been recognized as being associated with the test. If so, that would not immediately immobilize the vehicle but would when the battery ran down. A large enough current might weld the ignition points--this was a real problem with coil ignitions--which might stop the car if the weld was sound enough to not be broken by the distributer cam. There is anecdotal evidence that this latter failure mode did occur.

With regard to EW missiles, EW missiles such as HARM do not use EMP, they home on the signal and impact the antenna. There may or may not be battlefield EMP weapons in the US inventory--there are rumors that such exist and have been tested but no hard proof, at least none accessible to the public. The textbook method of generating an EMP is by the use of a nuclear explosion at high altitude--that technology is proven, per Starfish Prime and at least one Soviet test. There is a limit on the intensity that can be produced by that method though--it depends on an interaction between the explosion, the atmosphere, and the Earth's magnetic field and that interaction breaks down at a certain level of intensity (note that this limitation is specific to high altitude nuclear explosions and does not restrict Alien Superscience). Any nuclear weapon can do this, however the intensity achievable can be affected by the design and yield. Starfish Prime was a 1.4 megaton explosion and generated about 25 percent of the theoretical limit, whereas most current inventory missile-borne warheads are in the 100-500 kiloton range and would be significantly less effective. A B-83 bomb on full crank at 1.2 megatons carried by an F-15E with some rocket assist might be able to get high enough to do a Starfish-level EMP, or might not. Compared to a nuclear-generated EMP, something generated by a non-nuclear battlefield weapon would be pretty weak. Whether the "system" could put together a recommendation for an EMP attack and one could be put together in the time depicted is another open question, especially when it's going to be over NYC. The point is that in the real world it wouldn't be an easy decision.

Sorry to get long winded, but I've seen references to the statement that it was "EMP-like" treated as if this was some kind of hard evidence that it was an EMP and I think that this needs to be clarified. 04:03, 7 January 2009 (UTC) —Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.250.12.74 (talk)

My take on watching the film was that it was more than an emp and actually superscience since purely mechanical technology also stopped working, for example one charachters wind up watch. 83.104.138.141 (talk) 23:13, 30 January 2009 (UTC)

I agree with you, which is why i think "EMP like" is a accurate description. Just like a frosting covered cake shaped item covered in candles is "cake like" —Preceding unsigned comment added by 219.89.10.23 (talk) 18:17, 28 March 2009 (UTC)

In his dvd commentary, david scarpa himself calls it an EMP.--Dvd-junkie (talk) 18:14, 1 June 2009 (UTC)

Has it occurred to anyone else that suddenly stopping all Earth's technology from working (even CO2 free wind-up watches!) would cause millions--or billions--to starve and/or freeze to death (at least in the industrialised world), leaving the survivors as warring scavengers and hunter-gathers with very short life expectancies? So in effect, most of the human race probably still gets wiped out. Kingal86 (talk) 20:48, 15 August 2009 (UTC)

So true, not to mention all those on life support etc. in hospitals and elsewhere.

Reception & noteriety

The professional critics are giving this one a real drubbing. Looks like the noteriety will be as yet another Hollywood turkey. IMO waiting a month to see box office results before revising significantly is prudent. – Conrad T. Pino (talk) 05:27, 14 December 2008 (UTC)

Bad reviews and still the box office leader on opening weekend. – Conrad T. Pino (talk) 03:18, 18 December 2008 (UTC)

Tragic isn't it. Klaatu, please we need you. Now.1812ahill (talk) 23:45, 4 December 2011 (UTC)

What does "Klaatu's body, not his spirit, is destroyed in martyrdom to save humanity" mean? Not the best English, is it? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 124.197.15.138 (talk) 00:29, 25 June 2011 (UTC)

Blu Ray and DvD release

It would be nice to add some info about a Blu Ray and DvD release. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 83.108.225.252 (talk) 12:03, 14 December 2008 (UTC)

That would be nice, if the studio had confirmed it. Alientraveller (talk) 12:52, 14 December 2008 (UTC)

Klaatu barada nikto

Maybe we should write something about the plot and the special effects involved. 204.52.215.107 (talk) 17:23, 14 December 2008 (UTC)

Cleese A Cameo?!

The article currently says Cleese has a cameo but I don't think this is an accurate description - for one thing his name appears fairly early in the credits. I'm not sure if there's a convention or firm definition of cameo though. CoW mAnX (talk) 22:35, 15 December 2008 (UTC)

He is also in one of the most important roles of the film. Is Bates a cameo? 69.57.202.221 (talk) 10:21, 4 January 2009 (UTC)

Alright, I took out the word cameo. It's simply too important a role, one that was also important in the original, to call a cameo as well as evidenced by Cleese's prominent position in the opening credits. CoW mAnX (talk) 00:56, 6 January 2009 (UTC)

Visual effects

A More Scientific Day the Earth Stood Still —Erik (talk • contrib) 17:17, 16 December 2008 (UTC)

Redirect

Okay, why is this the page that's redirected to for "The Day The Earth Stood Still" and not the 1951 original? Not cool. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 70.100.88.203 (talk) 23:27, 16 December 2008 (UTC)

Good question. Anyone? Anyone? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 72.207.19.90 (talk) 02:11, 17 December 2008 (UTC)

Gort or GORT? A proposal.

In the new version, GORT is an acronym, so should it be spelled in all caps throughout the article? I'd spell all references to new version in all caps and old version as "big G; little o-r-t" to differentiate the two. I'd do the same on the Gort article and include a note along the lines of "or GORT" in the opening. Please discuss/approve/oppose below. - SoSaysChappy (talk) 11:19, 21 December 2008 (UTC)

Well, remember that the word "scuba" means s(elf)-c(ontained) u(nderwater) b(reathing) a(pparatus), so it may not be necessary to capitalize all the letters. I think it will just be a little confusing to have it rendered "GORT" outside the "Plot" section since the secondary sources use "Gort". Unless we see it printed "GORT" at some point in the film? —Erik (talk • contrib) 14:00, 21 December 2008 (UTC)

Both – In the 1951 performance Gort is a name and NOT an acronym. IMO the 1951 performance will likely remain more notable. I suggest using both forms; each use consistent with the referenced performance and using "Gort" when referring to the character seperately from either performance. – Conrad T. Pino (talk) 05:11, 22 December 2008 (UTC)

Makes sense. So, right now, it would be best to leave all spellings in this article as is (GORT in "Plot", Gort in all other instances) because aside from the plot summary the name is used in contexts such as "producers decided to redesign Gort to make him taller" etc., and "GORT" really hasn't become the new official way to designate him. - SoSaysChappy (talk) 15:37, 23 December 2008 (UTC)

This works for me, too. —Erik (talk • contrib) 15:40, 23 December 2008 (UTC)

Plot

Just went to see this film, and the article seems a little out of whack with what I saw. E xamples: Speed was quoted as "Three times ten to the Seventh", I could be wrong but I don't think the article has the speed right.. The way the plot is written seems to be 'reading it backwards'. Klattu is stated as his name, not his Race from what I recall.. He is not 'accompanied' by GORT, rather once K is shot, GORT comes out of the sphere and begins to march forward, only stopping when Klattu speaks in an alien language to him.

Klattu's mission isn't known until near the end of the plot, but the article makes it seem like it's obvious that's what he's here for, and is stated early on. The film seems quite ambiguous to the later stages what he's here for.

Klattu alone does not decide to purge the planet, there is no mention of the 'sleeper agent' he meets in the diner, who he discusses humanity's fate with. The Other spheres landed at the same time it appears in the initial stages of the "invasion"

Can someone when they next go ( I know I'm not going to be seeing it again ) please get these details and confirm them. Unless of course the US and EU plotlines are different for some reason? Miles 2397 (talk) 00:03, 24 December 2008 (UTC)

I rearranged the sentence that introduces Klaatu to better clarify. As for the other stuff, I do believe the speed was announed as three times ten to the seventh power meters, which is 30 million meter (or 30,000 kilometers) which is what the article says. The summary also need not be a chronological scene-by-scene retelling of the movie.

As for the scene about the other disguised alien at the restaurant, I don't remember that scene all too well (something about the alien/Asian man had a family on Earth and didn't want to leave). But it did seem important so it would be best if it were included in the summary by someone who remembers the details of it better than I do. You might also be right about the "other spheres". Hopefully someone reading this can double check and correct if it's wrong. - SoSaysChappy (talk) 08:51, 2 January 2009 (UTC)

Cleese Role

When I saw John Cleese in this movie, I was immediately put in mind of his role as an alien on 3rd Rock from the Sun. jaknouse (talk) 00:42, 26 December 2008 (UTC)

OK, what to call it

In the intro I've seen this called a reboot, a reimagining, a "requel" (new one to me, google search only pulled up its definition in the urban dictionary). I've reverted a lot of these. I'm not intending to instigate an edit war, I merely see it is as a simple REMAKE. Any thoughts as to otherwise? Discuss. - SoSaysChappy (talk) 09:50, 7 January 2009 (UTC)

It's a remake; anything else is parroting PR-guff (<opinion>a lame remake</opinion>). Jack Merridew 14:27, 7 January 2009 (UTC)

I concur; "remake" is the most appropriate term. —Erik (talk • contrib) 18:02, 7 January 2009 (UTC)

Present day

I made an edit changing "in the 21st century" back to "in the present day". "21st century" is a little vague; it could mean 2008 or 2099 or 2053, etc. If I recall correctly, the words "present day" were what was superimposed on the screen when the film shifted from the opening scene. If there was a more specific date given, please use that instead, or if "The 21st Century" is what was used, please revert. Please accept my apology if the latter is the case. - SoSaysChappy (talk) 11:53, 24 January 2009 (UTC)

Copyedit notes

By request I have copyedited this article. There are however still a few issues to clear up in the Plot section:

• "In the present day, the government hastily assembles a group of scientists" - which government?
• "Nothing can be done about it because a vital military satellite has been disabled." - Nothing can be done about what? I assume the unknown object of the previous paragraph, but I'm not at all sure. Additionally, why does the lack of satellite preclude anything being done about the object? Basically, I would like to fix this sentence, but I can't figure out what it is talking about.
• "Meanwhile, the presence of the sphere has caused a worldwide panic and the military manages to capture the robot" - which military?
• "The robot, named "GORT" (Genetically Organized Robotic Technology) by the government" - again, which government?

Thanks. -Sketchmoose (talk) 18:53, 10 May 2009 (UTC)

Good points on all. It was the U.S. government, I'm sure. I think it is best to remove the "Nothing can be done..." sentence entirely. The reader can ascertain that nothing was able to prevent to object from impacting Earth by reading about how it landed in Central Park in the very next sentence. I also reverted the IP edits claiming that the "pulse" disabled all technology for only 30 minutes. It has been a few months since I've seen this film, and best I can recall the scene faded to black soon after the "pulse" scene and the credits rolled; no way to determine if/when all of Earth's modern gadgets suddenly started working again. Also reverted the addition of the "EMP" note per the discussion above. - SoSaysChappy (talk) 02:11, 11 May 2009 (UTC)

Great! It reads much better now. Thanks. -Sketchmoose (talk) 14:23, 11 May 2009 (UTC)

"Flash chamber"

Is this OR? - SoSaysChappy (talk) 09:49, 18 May 2009 (UTC)

Of course it is; that's what much of the plot summary on this site amounts to. Jack Merridew 10:28, 18 May 2009 (UTC)

Late peer review comments

The peer review was archived while I was away recently. Here are my few comments on the last sections:-

• Score:
  • Recommend use of "normal" rather than big curly quote marks
  • The last paragraph lost me:-
    • "When he got back to L.A. he created a loop on his GuitarViol..." What does this mean?
    • "Taking just a piece of the original score, Bates utilized the theremin, which Herrmann heavily used for the original film." Doesn't this contradict what is said earlier in the section: "Bates decided that instead of imitating the original score by Bernard Herrmann he would try and convey the message of the new film, which was different..."
• Critical response
  • "Its consensus stated the majority found..." The words "Its consensus stated" are redundant and should be deleted.
  • "B minus" would look better than "B-"
• Box office performance: I'd like a clearer explanation of the various dollar amounts shown. For example, what period does the $30.5 million relate to? What is the "entire year"? Are the $79 million and $151 million figures for the first four weeks following release? All a bit muddled at the moment.

Hope you find these helpful - I'm sorry for the delay in finishing the review. Brianboulton (talk) 23:57, 8 June 2009 (UTC)

GA Review

This discussion is transcluded from Talk:The Day the Earth Stood Still (2008 film)/GA2. The edit link for this section can be used to add comments to the reassessment.

Start reassessment following flawed GA review, which may be found at Talk:The Day the Earth Stood Still (2008 film)/GA1. Jezhotwells (talk) 19:33, 11 July 2009 (UTC)

Checking against GA criteria

1. It is reasonably well written.

   a (prose):

   • prose OK

   b (MoS):

   • MoS OK

2. It is factually accurate and verifiable.

   a (references):

   • 3 dead links found using this link.  Done

   b (citations to reliable sources):

   • sources that have been checked OK

   c (OR):

3. It is broad in its scope.

   a (major aspects):

   b (focused):

4. It follows the neutral point of view policy.

   Fair representation without bias:

5. It is stable.

   No edit wars etc.:

6. It is illustrated by images, where possible and appropriate.

   a (images are tagged and non-free images have fair use rationales):

   b (appropriate use with suitable captions):

7. Overall:

   Pass/Fail:

   • Ok, we are just looking at 3 dead links. All to scifi.com, which I cannot find via the Internet archive. so please consider the supported statements and see if you can find alternate references. Jezhotwells (talk) 19:52, 11 July 2009 (UTC)  Done
   • OK, all fixed, keep GA status, thanks for fixing the links. Jezhotwells (talk) 12:37, 12 July 2009 (UTC)

Alpha Centauri

Didnt they send this movie to alpha centauri or something like that? How come nobody's mentioned it?--173.58.145.118 (talk) 04:54, 28 November 2010 (UTC)

Yes, sort of, no. Not at all. As part of the film's promotion, they did beam the entire film out to space (don't remember the direction). But signal degradation wouldn't allow it to make a lightyear before turning it all to noise, which is good. My concern is the ending's idiocy, no electricity means no green revolution, but does ensure a butt load of smog. Can't use wind turbines or solar panels, but burning wood for heat is okay? 68.0.151.109 (talk) 21:57, 10 August 2013 (UTC)

Cast or Production

Much of the commentary included in "Cast" more properly goes in the "Production" section. Does anyone object to my moving it? Cresix (talk) 16:05, 22 April 2012 (UTC)

No nanites live here

I've changed all occurances of "nanites" and "nanobots" in the Plot section. The reason is obvious and one could see it just by following the provided wikilink - the insect-like robots are orders of magnitude larger! They are so large they couldn't even be named "microbots". So, I've changed all that using various words and phrases which seemed appropriate - "entities", "miniature robots" and "robotic cloud". Someone could review that and perhaps find something better than that, just please don't use "nanobots" or "nanites" just for the sake of blindly using a SF/hi-tech buzzword... --Arny (talk) 21:08, 26 February 2013 (UTC)

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Article Reassessment

I have been looking over this article and I have seen some issues that should have the article reassessed.--Paleface Jack (talk) 16:37, 31 October 2017 (UTC)