KEY POINTS:
A remake of of the 1951 sci fi cult classic, The Day The Earth Stood Still casts Keanu Reeves as Klaatu, an alien who comes to earth with a grim message for the future of humanity. The movie co-stars Jennifer
Connelly, who as a scientist is his first human contact; together they form an unusual liaison.
In order to make the film contemporary, time-sensitive subject matters of the Cold War and nuclear warfare were replaced with our global/eco war of the 21st century. But one thing remains - man's ability to destroy himself.
Reeves, no stranger to portraying aliens and otherworldly creatures, as evidenced in the Matrix franchise, Johnny Mnemonic, or even Constantine, says, "I didn't see this is as a sci-fi movie at all. I know it stars an alien, but to me, it's more of a drama thriller."
As the movie was groundbreaking for its time, it begs the question,
why do it again?
Reeves says, "I'd seen the film as a young man and I loved it. When they asked me to do the movie, I asked the same question: 'Why do a remake
of this already great movie?' And then I read the script."
Reeves does his best to explain the appeal. "The film in the 50s is a bit of a cautionary tale and it seemed like there was an appropriate way in, with the way we're telling the story now, that seemed current. Specifically, one of the motifs of the film is that man is at a crossroads of extinction or change.
"My character, Klaatu comes from out of space and is making a judgment on humanity. He says he's a friend of the Earth, and he means just that. I'm an alien who inhabits a human body and, basically, I'm saying, 'If you don't change your ways, you won't have to kill yourselves. I'll take care of it for you."'
Reeves was attracted to the environmental message of the movie.
"Well, we've got some issues, don't we? We've got population issues, we've got sustainability issues, we've got pollution issues, we've got technologies that are having quite devastating environmental effects," he says.
Although admittedly, not a staunch environmentalist himself, he says, "I guess on subjects like recycling and solar panels and things of that nature, on a scale of one to 10, I'm probably a six or seven. I do all the things you can do in a city. I'm not off the grid - I just do the normal stuff."
Directed by Scott Derrickson (The Exorcism of Emily Rose) the movie finds the positive message in an otherwise doom and gloom premise.
"I love that the original film was made 57 years ago when the cold war was at its peak - and was a crisis that was averted. I like that we have
a good side to our nature as well as a propensity to destroy ourselves. For me, telling this same story again now made sense on a very basic level. We've gotten ourselves into new messes for a new time. We made a mess with the conventional war in Iraq and we made a mess with our economy and we made a mess of our environment," Derrickson says.
"There are serious issues and some of them very ominous and threatening. I've tried to make an optimistic film, essentially not telling anyone what to do or how to think, but just acknowledging we've made a mess of things but we also have the capacity to get out of things when we put our minds to it. Sometimes we need to get into bad situations before we make the changes that we really need to. That's just human nature."
The visual effects are of course a staple in the sci-fi genre and an integral part of the movie. Derrickson achieved the look by a combination of CGI and practical effects. "I wanted to use as little FX as possible so it remained real and looked as organic and natural as possible," he says.
The perennially youthful Reeves has starred in more than 40 movies
including Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure, Speed, Much Ado About Nothing, Street Gangs, and Devil's Advocate.
Looking back on his varied body of work, he says, "I had some fantastic
costumes in Dracula. I thought I had some good hair in Little Buddha. In the Matrix I liked my snazzy outfits," he says, smiling.
Without any apparent plastic surgery, he looks about a decade younger than his 44 years. "I certainly feel older. I don't know why I don't look my age. Maybe it's my ancestors. I'll thank them for that. But
maybe I'll turn like 65 and it will all just fall apart like a disaster, the wheels will come off," he laughs.
"But looks aside, I must be knocking on heaven's door by now. I got the 40-year-old secret hand shake a few years ago. I remember my doctor telling me, 'Enjoy your 40s because you still have your physical capabilities. Take advantage of it.' And that's just what I'm doing."