The problem with physics as they're portrayed in films has absolutely nothing to do with the correctness of it. It has to do with the spreading of misconceptions. If you look through studies by the NSF, you see startling facts about the [American] public.
Personally, I don't think the UCF physics department is trying to "shut down those evil filmmakers for making an asteroid impact unrealistic" or what-have-you. I think the idea is to:
1) Educate the general public, which include senators and other politicians, businessmen, et al., about science (physics in particular).
while
2) Attempt to dispel common non-scientific beliefs.
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The problem with physics as they're portrayed in films has absolutely nothing to do with the correctness of it. It has to do with the spreading of misconceptions. If you look through studies by the NSF, you see startling facts about the [American] public.
Personally, I don't think the UCF physics department is trying to "shut down those evil filmmakers for making an asteroid impact unrealistic" or what-have-you. I think the idea is to:
1) Educate the general public, which include senators and other politicians, businessmen, et al., about science (physics in particular).
while
2) Attempt to dispel common non-scientific beliefs.