Emlyn Travis
Fri, September 22, 2023
Neil deGrasse Tyson isn't exactly over the moon with how the laws of physics are being applied in modern-day filmmaking.
For years the persnickety astrophysicist has adamantly argued that the 1998 blockbuster Armageddon — which saw Bruce Willis and Ben Affleck stop an asteroid from crashing into Earth with a big drill and a nuclear bomb — had earned the not-so-coveted title of violating "more laws of physics (per minute) than any other film in the universe." But now he's passing the crown to another movie that he says is even less scientifically accurate.
"That's what I thought until I saw Moonfall," Tyson admitted on Thursday's episode of The Jess Cagle Show on SiriusXM. "It was a pandemic film that came out — you know, Halle Berry — and the moon is approaching Earth, and they learned that it's hollow."
"I just couldn't," Tyson said, placing his hands on his temples. "So I said, 'All right, I thought Armageddon had a secure hold on this crown, but apparently not.'"
Written and directed by Roland Emmerich (Independence Day, The Day After Tomorrow), Moonfall follows former astronauts Jocinda Fowler (Berry) and Brian Harper (Patrick Wilson), plus conspiracy theorist K.C. Houseman (John Bradley), as they attempt to defend Earth from the rapidly approaching moon and the murderous aliens inhabiting it.
Halle Berry in 'Moonfall'
Tyson, the author of such books as Astrophysics for People in a Hurry and Death by Black Hole, went on to say that in the case of both Armageddon and Moonfall, there's actually a pretty simple solution for dealing with a projectile hurtling toward Earth.
"All you gotta do is just nudge it," he said. "If you nudge it like 1 centimeter per second to the right — in space there's no friction, so it'll just keep drifting to the right. If you do that early enough, then you can have the asteroid pass in front of the Earth rather than hit the Earth, or you can slow it down so that it'll pass behind the Earth. Two ways you can adjust it."
He compared the outlandish cinematic methods to remedy the problem to the temporal paradox of the Terminator movies, wherein "I want to kill your parents so that you're never born."
"Really?" an exasperated Tyson said. "All you have to do is prevent your parents from meeting each other, or have them have sex 20 minutes later than the other one. That will create a different zygote and you won't be born. So the movies, in some cases… they get hyperbolic on their solutions to problems."
If Tyson's synopsis wasn't enough to raise eyebrows, he further explained that the 2022 movie reveals there's a "moon being made out of rocks" inside the hollowed-out moon, and "the Apollo missions were really to feed" the creature rather than taking one giant leap for mankind.
Neil deGrasse Tyson has a new favorite sci-fi movie to complain about
William Hughes
AV CLUB
Sat, September 23, 2023
Neil deGrasse Tyson
Although he fulfills other roles in our society—TV host, talk show guest, some actual astrophysics, presumably, at some point—Neil deGrasse Tyson largely exists to fill one major niche these days: Pedant. There must (apparently) be one person willing to stand up in front of the masses and point out when a science fiction movie does not space correctly, and that self-appointed job has fallen to him. It is not an easy road, nor a pleasant one, or even one anyone particularly wants him to walk. But it’s his, nevertheless, relentlessly informing audiences of every potential inaccuracy, and passing judgment—as he did in a recent interview, when he revealed that 2022's Moonfall has stolen Armageddon’s crown as the least accurate space movie he’s ever seen.
Y’all remember Moonfall, right? Roland Emmerich flick; Halle Berry, Patrick Wilson, Sam from Game Of Thrones; moon is hollow? It came and went from theaters with a quickness, with its only real hype coming from an aggressively goofy trailer. But Neil deGrasse Tyson remembers, stating (per Deadline) in a recent interview that, “I thought Armageddon had a secure hold on this crown,” (i.e., “violating more laws of physics per minute than any other film ever made”), “But apparently not.”
Neil DeGrasse Tyson Claims ‘Armageddon’ Has Been Dethroned As Film Violating Most Laws Of Physics
Nellie Andreeva and Bruce Haring
Fri, September 22, 2023 at 5:52 PM MDT·2 min read
5
Armageddon‘s quarter-century reign as the Hollywood movie running afoul of the most physics laws is over. Astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson made the revelation during an interview on SiriusXM’s The Jess Cagle Show to promote his new book, To Infinity and Beyond, highlighting glaring scientific inaccuracies in another space film, the 2022 Moonfall starring Halle Berry.
“Armageddon, you say, violates more laws of physics per minute than any other film ever made,” Cagle began.
Sat, September 23, 2023
Neil deGrasse Tyson
Although he fulfills other roles in our society—TV host, talk show guest, some actual astrophysics, presumably, at some point—Neil deGrasse Tyson largely exists to fill one major niche these days: Pedant. There must (apparently) be one person willing to stand up in front of the masses and point out when a science fiction movie does not space correctly, and that self-appointed job has fallen to him. It is not an easy road, nor a pleasant one, or even one anyone particularly wants him to walk. But it’s his, nevertheless, relentlessly informing audiences of every potential inaccuracy, and passing judgment—as he did in a recent interview, when he revealed that 2022's Moonfall has stolen Armageddon’s crown as the least accurate space movie he’s ever seen.
Y’all remember Moonfall, right? Roland Emmerich flick; Halle Berry, Patrick Wilson, Sam from Game Of Thrones; moon is hollow? It came and went from theaters with a quickness, with its only real hype coming from an aggressively goofy trailer. But Neil deGrasse Tyson remembers, stating (per Deadline) in a recent interview that, “I thought Armageddon had a secure hold on this crown,” (i.e., “violating more laws of physics per minute than any other film ever made”), “But apparently not.”
Neil DeGrasse Tyson Claims ‘Armageddon’ Has Been Dethroned As Film Violating Most Laws Of Physics
Nellie Andreeva and Bruce Haring
Fri, September 22, 2023 at 5:52 PM MDT·2 min read
5
Armageddon‘s quarter-century reign as the Hollywood movie running afoul of the most physics laws is over. Astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson made the revelation during an interview on SiriusXM’s The Jess Cagle Show to promote his new book, To Infinity and Beyond, highlighting glaring scientific inaccuracies in another space film, the 2022 Moonfall starring Halle Berry.
“Armageddon, you say, violates more laws of physics per minute than any other film ever made,” Cagle began.
‘Moonfall’
DeGrasse Tyson agreed, adding, “That’s what I thought until I saw Moonfall. It was a pandemic film that came out, you know, Halle Berry, and the moon is approaching Earth, and they learned that it’s hollow and there’s a moon being made out of rocks living inside of it and the Apollo missions were really to visit, to feed the moon being, and I just couldn’t, so I said, “Alright, I thought Armageddon had a secure hold on this crown, but apparently not.”
Cagle brought up previous suggestion by deGrasse Tyson that, unlike the plot in Armageddon, there is a much simpler way to throw an asteroid off its path. He elaborated on that while also making a Terminator reference.
Moonfall
“All you gotta do is just nudge it, and if you do that early enough, if you nudge it like one centimeter per second to the right, in space, there’s no friction, so it’ll just keep drifting to the right,” he said. “If you do that early enough, then you can have the asteroid pass in front of the earth rather than hit the earth, or you can slow it down so that it’ll pass behind the earth. Two ways you can adjust it. So, yeah. You know what it’s like? It’s like The Terminator thing where I want to kill your parents so that you’re never born. Really? All you have to do is prevent your parents from meeting each other or have them have sex 20 minutes later than the other one. That will create a different zygote and you won’t be born, so the movies go, in some cases, they get hyperbolic on their solutions to problems.”
‘Moonfall’
Co-written, directed, and produced by Roland Emmerich, Moonfall follows two former astronauts (Berry, Patrick Wilson) alongside a conspiracy theorist (John Bradley) who discover the hidden truth about Earth’s moon when it suddenly leaves its orbit.
The film, released in January 2022, was a boxoffice flop.
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