Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson returns to Philly with new show: 'An Astrophysicist Goes to the Movies - II'

Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson got legendary filmmaker James Cameron to change a scene in 'Titanic.'

Alicia Vitarelli Image
Tuesday, September 13, 2022
Do movies get science right? Neil deGrasse Tyson's Philly show answers
Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson returns to Philadelphia with his new show.

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- From 'The Wizard of Oz' to 'The Lion King,' to 'Game of Thrones' to 'Harry Potter,' it turns out scientists watch movies through a much different lens than the rest of us.

Next week, Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson returns to Philadelphia with his new show: An Astrophysicist Goes to the Movies - II.

He tells us whether the science on screen is correct.

For fans of Disney's 'Frozen,' turns out it is.

"At the beginning of the film, the ice harvesters are singing this cool song and they're cutting ice out of the top of the pond," Dr. Tyson says.

"The ice is bobbing in the water at exactly the level it should. There's 10% of the ice cube out of the water, and 90% in the water. Someone knew this."

So, who got it wrong?

He says 'Star Wars' creators way underestimated the power of the Death Star.

He also got legendary filmmaker James Cameron to change a scene in 'Titanic.'

"We know when it sank, where it sank," Dr. Tyson says. "We know there were no clouds in the sky, there wasn't even a moon visible. It would have been a starry night. Kate Winslet is looking up and she sees the wrong sky."

He told this to Cameron, who changed the shot in the re-release of the film for IMAX.

Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson is coming to the Kimmel Cultural Campus' Verizon Hall on Friday, Sept. 23.

Spoiler alert: He says the film 'Armageddon' violates more laws of physics per moment than any other movie he has ever seen.

Click here for ticket information.

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