One afternoon in 2007, James Kakalios, a physics professor at the University of Minnesota, received a rather unexpected call. Ann Merchant, marketing director for the National Academy of Sciences, was on the line.

"We've got a request for a scientist to work on a superhero. Have you heard of Watchmen?" Merchant asked.

That was like asking a movie buff, "Have you ever heard of Citizen Kane?" Kakalios recalled.

The producers of the film invited Kakalios to Vancouver to visit the set of Watchmen, a popular graphic novel that was being transformed into a motion picture. Kakalios's job: bring real science to the alternate reality of superheroes.

That encounter between a scientist and Hollywood types was a test case for what later became The Science and Entertainment Exchange, launched in November 2008 by the National Academy of Sciences. The directors of the program "envisioned doing exactly what they wound up doing with me--being the matchmakers between Hollywood and academia," said Kakalios.

The Science and Entertainment Exchange hopes to bridge the gap between real science and the entertainment industry's depiction of science. "Our goal is to foster creative collaboration between scientists and the entertainment industry," said Jennifer Ouellette, a science writer who runs the program. "This is a wonderful opportunity to use pop entertainment to talk about science."

This is exactly what Kakalios tried to do. On the Watchmen set, he discussed the sociology of being a physicist with actor Billy Crudup, who played the lead superhero Dr. Manhattan. Kakalios described how a scientist might behave and also postulated how Dr. Manhattan's powers -- he could travel through time and appear in multiple places at the same time -- might work using real science.

For example, Dr. Manhattan's ability to appear in more than one place at once could potentially be explained by quantum mechanical waves, said Kakalios. After a wave passes through a narrow boundary, it can appear to be in many places at once due to the resulting diffraction pattern. Kakalios mused that Dr. Manhattan may exhibit wave-properties and diffract himself, theoretically causing him to appear in multiple locations at one time.

While this understanding didn't alter the script, it helped how Crudup decided how to play his character, and it guided the production team in illustrating his powers. "Any time the audience is looking and saying 'this is not a real physicist' is time they're not paying attention to the real story," said Kakalios. "[Director, producers, and actors] want the audience to buy into the character."

The success of this collaboration helped jumpstart The Science and Entertainment Exchange. In 2008, Jerry and Janet Zucker, a director and producer power couple who are very active in California stem cell legislation, joined the program in true Hollywood style. The Zuckers hosted a red carpet event and filled it with Hollywood entertainers. The symposium highlighted presentations from six renowned scientists, including Vilayanur Ramachandran who talked about the brain and mind, Neil deGrasse Tyson who discussed the stars, and Craig Venter -- member of The Scientist's editorial advisory board -- who presented on the genome.

"Some people were telling us, 'You won't be able to hold Hollywood's attention,' but everyone stayed," said Barbara Kline Pope, executive director for communications at The National Academies. "There's a great hunger for scientific understanding and for storytellers in the scientific community."

Kline Pope may have been onto something. The Exchange is now incredibly busy, providing consultants for shows such as Numb3rs, Fringe, Lie to Me, Castle, and Caprica (a new Battlestar Galactica spin-off). When Hollywood wants access to a researcher who can help incorporate more realistic portrayals of science and scientists in their shows, the Exchange finds an ideal match.

Daily requests range from brief consultations on a medical point to more protracted collaborations with scientists. For the 3D adventure flick Tron Legacy -- due out in fall 2010 -- the Exchange set up a think-tank of five scientists who worked with screenwriters to brainstorm key plot points. The Exchange also found three physicists who specialized in time to help with the DVD of Lost Season 5. From these meetings, the producers created Lost University, featuring interactive classrooms on quantum mechanics and tutorials on the science of time travel.

"Both sides are coming away with a greater appreciation for what the other side can offer," said Ouellette.

The organization not only allows Hollywood to depict science more accurately, it also helps scientists communicate their research more effectively and garner wider attention. Because of the broad interest in Watchmen, for instance, Kakalios was asked by his university to make a YouTube video talking about the science of Dr. Manhattan and the basic principles of quantum mechanics. The video received over 1.5 million hits. "I could teach 1,000 students a year for a millennium and not reach that many people," said Kakalios.

Kakalios's YouTube video:




Related stories:

Why Pharma Must Go Hollywood
[February 2007]

A lab goes to Hollywood
[March 2006]