What Will John Cusack be Doing on Dec. 21, 2012? Skiing.

November 04, 2009

Wow, today has been an eventful day!

This afternoon I had a great interview with Dr. Mike Brown (a.k.a. the planet hunter who killed Pluto by discovering Eris) all about hate-mail, Pluto, Planet X and Nibiru. The full interview transcript will be online sometime during Wednesday, so be sure to check back soon.

Before I could catch a breath, I had to run to Downtown Los Angeles for the red carpet event of the premier for the new disaster movie 2012. I was especially chuffed that I was able to fire a few questions at actor John Cusack and director Roland Emmerich. Discovery News was given a good spot to ambush the actors and crew just before they walked through the doors of the Regal Cinema to watch the worldwide premier (unfortunately, I couldn't get into that party).

Through a massive stroke of luck, I had my wife Deb with me (a.k.a. ace celebrity-spotter assistant) and we met up with our friend Edward Stencel (a.k.a. ace cameraman and director) who offered to capture the whole adventure in glorious HD. So I'll save the details until the Discovery News video is edited and put online.

During the red carpet (or, more accurately, "black carpet" with the comedy text "2012 We Were Warned" printed in bold), I asked the usual questions to the cast, and probably the most refreshing response to my question "are you scared about what might happen in 2012?" came from young actress Morgan Lily (pictured right) who said that doomsday didn't worry her, but ghosts were of a greater concern.

In fact, most of the cast were very chilled-out about the whole doomsday thing, overwhelmingly indicating that it was "just a movie." Fortunately, the hysteria associated with the questionable marketing campaign for 2012 was absent from tonight's proceeds.

Personally, my favorite part of the entire night was talking with the experts who advised the crew about Mayan culture and the science behind blowing stuff up. At one point, it became more of a discussion about the accuracies (and inaccuracies) of our understanding of the Maya rather than an interview. Also, a plasma physics expert was on-hand to discuss some doomsday physics, so we had a great time discussing the shortfalls in solar physics funding and some of the real risks associated with being hit my a solar flare from the sun (much to the frustration of another news team standing downstream from me).

Everything was a blur, a lot happened, fast. For all the details, you'll have to see the video (coming soon), but it will be worth the wait as I get some juicy details from director Roland Emmerich and some personal thoughts from producer Mark Gordon. Unfortunately I totally missed out on meeting Amanda Peet, Thandie Newton and Danny Glover... next time...

But Discovery News DID get the scoop about what John Cusack will be doing on the real December 21, 2012. When I managed to shout that question over the clamouring news crews and microphones, he responded with, "I'll be skiing." And why not.

Comments

[Eshan]

really a good artice!!

[BIGBADUDE]

I think we are missing the point.
Its not about distruction.
We have forgotten our creator. He loves us though, we must change our ways. Turning to the devil because of job loss is not the way. Turn to Jesus and praise him! He died for us and do not even reconize that. Things will get worse until we accept that. Repent!

[paresh baldaniya]

what is sky

[paresh baldaniya]

what is sky

[Collette Kennedy]

I agree Pluto should be reinstated as a planet. Isn't an asteriod suppose to crash to earth in 2012? Our corrupt world will change for the better or worse?

[CO'N Uni Bristol UK.]

Well done 'DISCOVERY NEWS' crew. Great reporting and under great pressure too! Very enjoyable article. Looking forward to the video and some high technical skills from our Alumni.
(FTV UoB UK)

[Michelle]

Nice article but waaayyyyy too many parenthesis and ...'s. It stops the reader from flowing with the article.

[Lex]

Jose Arguelles and the Thompson-Goodman-Martinez correlation were possibly wrong by over 500 years - and the end of the world for Mayan Culture came when Cortez arrived. Check the work of Vollemaere, who matched the eclipse cycles to the Dresden Codex and found the end date to be 1546.

http://users.skynet.be/fa039055/softwkat.htm

[CMB]

Um, this isn't about Pluto! That's probably the topic of another post, or several. Dr. I, great job! Look forward to the vid!

[Laurel Kornfeld]

Mike Brown did NOT kill Pluto, regardless of the outrageous claims he makes. Pluto is still a planet. Only four percent of the IAU voted on the controversial demotion, and most are not planetary scientists. Their decision was immediately opposed in a formal petition by hundreds of professional astronomers led by Dr. Alan Stern, Principal Investigator of NASA’s New Horizons mission to Pluto. One reason the IAU definition makes no sense is it says dwarf planets are not planets at all! That is like saying a grizzly bear is not a bear, and it is inconsistent with the use of the term “dwarf” in astronomy, where dwarf stars are still stars, and dwarf galaxies are still galaxies. Also, the IAU definition classifies objects solely by where they are while ignoring what they are. If Earth were in Pluto’s orbit, according to the IAU definition, it would not be a planet either. A definition that takes the same object and makes it a planet in one location and not a planet in another is essentially useless. Pluto is a planet because it is spherical, meaning it is large enough to be pulled into a round shape by its own gravity--a state known as hydrostatic equilibrium and characteristic of planets, not of shapeless asteroids held together by chemical bonds. These reasons are why many astronomers, lay people, and educators are either ignoring the demotion entirely or working to get it overturned.

For the sake of fairness, to depict both sides of this ongoing debate, please consider interviewing someone representing the pro-Pluto as a planet side--for example, Dr. Alan Stern, Dr. Mark Sykes, author Alan Boyle, or even me! I've done many presentations on this topic, have been running a 3-year-blog on why Pluto should be reinstated, and went back to grad school to study astronomy with the goal of writing a book about Pluto.