Movie studio won t reprise D.C. scene in alien flick

Published April 7, 2008 4:00am ET



Twentieth Century Fox has begun filming its remake of the 1951 classic “The Day the Earth Stood Still.”

Keanu Reeves, who plays (what else?) a humanoid alien, stars along with Jennifer Connelly and Kathy Bates in the sci-fi tale of visitors from outer space who encourage the human race to shape up.

So given that the original contains one of Washington’s iconic celluloid scenes — a flying saucer settling down on the Ellipse — we’ll surely be seeing Keanu & Co. here in D.C., right?

Wrong. Sources with knowledge of the production say that while some exteriors will be shot here, most filming will take place in Canada, because the  city didn’t have the right ‘look’ for this version.