Louis Leterrier’s GRAVITY project is an insult to science

Louis Leterrier’s GRAVITY project is an insult to science

Jun 18

Louis Leterrier, who directed the average Incredible Hulk and the meh Clash Of The Titans, has lined up his next project. What would that be? you ask. Well, it’s about “a father who has to search for his lost child as the world stops spinning and Earth begins to lose its gravity.” It’s described as The Day After Tomorrow meets Taken.

Anyone who went to high school knows that’s bullshit. The Earth’s gravity isn’t affected (much) by the Earth’s rotation. The weight and acceleration of objects would be slightly affected, but not to the extent that the Earth’s gravity would start to disappear altogether.

You see, gravity is actually one of four fundamental interactions of nature, and as such a body as large as the Earth would continue to attract objects to itself regardless of rotation, air resistance, etc. If the Earth did stop turning, people might start to feel a bit lighter, and it might take a little longer to reach terminal velocity; then there’d be the small matter of half the Earth boiling while the other half freezes, because we need diurnal rotation to maintain temperature equilibrium, but that eventuality seems to have been neglected in the filmmakers’ story-building process.

So the synopsis for Gravity is completely fucking stupid. But then again, “mild-mannered scientist becomes angry, turns into giant green monster” isn’t exactly the most plausible of scenarios either. Expect Gravity to be re-titled sooner or later (so as not to clash with the Robert Downey Jr. / Alfonso Cuaron project of the same name), and expect it to be in 3D, too.