Stephen Hawking, Hollywood consultant?
It seems that way, at least this summer. The famed astrophysicist had a hand in two tent-pole films this summer, first as the inspiration for a movie's theme, then as the validation for one.
Press materials for Prometheus, the Ridley Scott sci-fi thriller due June 8, quote the scientist, who said on his show Into the Universe with Stephen Hawking:
"If aliens visit us, the outcome would be much as when Columbus landed in America, which didn't turn out well for the Native Americans. We only have to look at ourselves to see how intelligent life might develop into something we wouldn't want to meet."
That's a primary tenet of Prometheus, and the concept was the inspiration for Battleship.
Battleship director Pete Berg was watching the same show and heard the same quote when "the light bulb went on," he says.
"That was the hook," he told USA TODAY last month. "If one of the smartest men on Earth warns about alien encounters, you've got the seeds of a good film."
No word on any upcoming romantic comedies.
