Jul 7 2008'Day the Earth Stood Still' Trailer Now Official, Plus: Gort News!

If you missed the quickly-pulled trailer to The Day the Earth Stood Still teaser trailer last week, you're in relative luck! It's now available in several convenient sizes to watch until you can figure out exactly what Keanu Reeves is going for. (Autistic android?)

Now, Gort News: Director Scott Derrickson spoke up about the brief appearance of Gort (above) at the end of the trailer, confirming that it wasn't by some miracle of random chance that the robot so closely resembles the original version. It turns out they tried for that--but only after desperately attempting to ruin the look of one of the most iconic and recognizable robots of all time. From MTV:

“It was intentional,” Derrickson said. “I certainly took a lot of time to explore other possibilities. It wasn’t just a foregone conclusion in my mind that we would be sticking to the original. I tried looking at a lot of different possibilities, worked on a lot of different ideas with artists and just always a nagging sense that there was something right about the way the original, that there was something about this alien entity choosing a human form or being in a human form that had value even by modern standards, not by 1950 standards. I also am such a fan of the original film. You have to also just have some respect for Gort. Gort is Gort. There’s no question what we designed pays homage to the original.”

Of course, he Derrickson note that his idea of "paying homage to the original" means placing the original head of Gort on the body of a 2010 Ford Focus, with the familiar phrase, "Klaatu barada nikto," being replaced by "Stylish, affordable, and at 35 mpg, you can't afford not to stop by your neighborhood Ford dealer!" But at least he's trying.