Source: 20th Century FoxIn the upcoming remake of "The Day The Earth Stood Still", Klaatu's experience on Earth and his judgment of mankind is greatly impacted by Dr. Helen Benson, played by Oscar-winning actress Jennifer Connelly, an astrobiologist who is drafted onto a hastily assembled team of scientists and engineers tasked with responding to the alien's arrival. "As an astrobiologist, Helen studies the characteristics of life that you might find in other worlds," says Seth Shostak, senior astronomer at the SETI Institute in Mountainview, California, and an astrobiology advisor on the film. "That doesn't necessarily mean the kinds of aliens that will stand there and talk to you. Astrobiologists study the kinds of very small, single cell organisms that live in extreme environments here on Earth to gain insight into the kinds of critters we might find living in inhospitable conditions under the sands of Mars or on the moons of Jupiter."
"Because what Helen does for a living is so specialized, we wanted somebody who understands the field to help us bring as much authenticity to her role as possible," Director Scott Derrickson says of Shostak's participation on the film. "Seth not only informed her character, but he read through the entire script and made corrections as necessary so that the concepts behind the movie make scientific and rational sense."
Helen is the first human being to make physical contact with Klaatu when he emerges from his spacecraft. "I wanted Helen to be the audience's way into the movie," Derrickson explains. "She really struggles with some of the ethical choices that she has to make in the course of the story. As a scientist, she feels a responsibility to this situation that goes well beyond what a normal person might feel, because she has thought long and hard about the possibilities of extraterrestrial life. But I don't think she ever counted on making contact with an extraterrestrial being that is as sentient and communicative as Klaatu."
When United States secretary of defense Regina Jackson overrides scientific protocol and declares Klaatu to be the classified property of the U.S. government, and orders that he is to be sequestered, sedated and interrogated at a maximum security military installation, Helen faces a crisis of conscience. But her sympathies for Klaatu prove stronger than her fears about his true intentions. "There is something about Helen's compassion and the hope in her heart that he is drawn to," Reeves says. "Through her efforts to help Klaatu escape and show him that humans are capable of change, he learns a great deal about the species that he came to Earth to judge."
"To me, the character of Helen in this film feels quite different from the character played by Patricia Neal in the original," Jennifer Connelly says. "She has a vocation that involves her more directly with Klaatu, and she plays a more crucial role in the story and in his experience of humanity."The filmmakers had no doubt that the Oscar-winning actress would bring her unparalleled dramatic veracity to her role. "We needed an actress who radiates the kind of intelligence and compassion that is essential to the character of Helen, and Jennifer was perfect in this regard," says Stoff.
"Jennifer is fundamentally incapable of playing a false moment," Derrickson says. "She just can't do it. She is hardwired as an actress to be truthful, and that is why I wanted her in this movie."
Connelly's colleagues use the same terms to describe her and her work ethic as they do Reeves', thoughtful, disciplined, hard-working and collaborative. "The heart and soul and spirit she shares with us as Helen Benson, you'd have to be dead not to be moved by her," says Reeves. He then adds with a laugh, "Klaatu doesn't stand a chance."
As Helen attempts to cope with the massive global catastrophe that is set in motion by Klaatu, the alien witnesses a much more intimate familial drama being played out between the scientist and her rebellious eleven year old stepson Jacob. The death of Helen's husband, Jacob's father, has left them both bereft, adrift and consumed by grief. Each serves as a painful reminder to the other of the man they lost, and Helen's attempts to comfort the angry young boy only seem to push him farther away.
Their strained mother-son dynamic serves as a microcosm for the larger crisis that is unfolding around them. "The turbulence in their relationship has come to a crisis point. Something has to shift," Connelly says.
Klaatu serves as an unlikely catalyst for Helen and Jacob to heal the seemingly irreparable rift between them. "The relationship between Klaatu and Helen's son Bobby in the original was arguably the heart of that film and was the single-most influential factor on the way Klaatu saw our world," says Derrickson. "We wanted to preserve that aspect of the story, and yet update the dynamics between Klaatu, Helen and Jacob in way that reflects the complexities of contemporary relationships."
Jennifer Connelly continues to prove her versatility as an actress with each new project she undertakes. Connelly stars in "He's Just Not That Into You," based on the best selling novel of the same title, alongside Jennifer Aniston, Scarlett Johansson, Drew Barrymore, and Ben Affleck. She starred in Terry George's "Reservation Road" opposite Joaquin Phoenix and Mark Ruffalo. Connelly received a Golden Globe®, BAFTA, AFI, Broadcast Critics and Academy Award® for her role in Ron Howard's "A Beautiful Mind."
Connelly's vocal talents can be heard in Shane Ackner's upcoming animated film "9," along with John C. Reilly, Elijah Wood, Christopher Plummer, and Martin Landau.
Connelly's other film credits include Edward Zwick's "Blood Diamond," Todd Field's "Little Children," Walter Salles' "Dark Water," Vadim Perelman's "House of Sand and Fog," Ang Lee's "The Hulk," and Ed Harris' "Pollock." Connelly was widely praised for her haunting portrayal of a drug addict in Darren Aronofsky's critically acclaimed "Requiem For a Dream." The role earned her an Independent Spirit Award Nomination. Connelly is also well known for her roles in Keith Gordon's, "Waking the Dead," Pat O'Connor's "Inventing the Abbotts," Lee Tamahori's "Mulholland Falls," John Singleton's "Higher Learning," and Joe Johnston's "The Rocketeer." Connelly's first film was Sergio Leone's "Once Upon A Time in America."See Also: The Day The Earth Stood Still - About The Production / The First Photos From The Day The Earth Stood Still / A New Promotional Banner For The Day The Earth Stood Still
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