This Friday, 20th Century Fox will release The Day the Earth Stood Still as the world’s first universal movie release. That’s right, on the same day DTESS comes to theaters, the film will be shown in space as well.
Fox has hired the Deep Space Communications Network in Cape Canaveral, Florida to transmit the entire movie, which will travel at 186,000 miles per second through space. From there, the movie can be intercepted and viewed at any point in our solar system.
Jim Lewis, the Managing Director for Deep Space Communications Network says of the special premiere, “We are thrilled about beaming this film into space. This will be our first full length movie transmission. And what could be more relevant to send into Deep Space than a movie about the Earth’s acceptance of visitors from outer space.”
Although extremely impressive, the Deep Space Communications Network says that because of the distance between Earth and Alpha Centauri, which is the closest star to our solar system, any form of life in the Milky Way wouldn’t really get to see the movie until 2012 and that it will take an additional 4 years to “hear a reply.”
And you thought seeing Keanu Reeves on the big screen was bad…