Plot: A young man who's part of his school's astronomy club sees something in the sky that is not known. So they take a picture of it and send it to their adviser who, upon seeing it, jumps into his car and crashes. A year later a reporter who's investigating why a member of the President's cabinet resigns when she goes to speak to him he says he wants to be with his family. Later she's brought before the President who asks her to keep what she knows under wraps for now. She convinces him to call a Press Conference so that he can tell everyone what's going on. Later at a Press Conference, the President announces that a year ago that two astronomers discovered something; a comet. And eventually that it's course will take it to earth but the problem is that the comet is so big that if it strikes it will cause what is known as an Extinction Level Event which will wipe out all life on the planet. And he announces that for sometime the government along with a few others have been building a vessel that will sent to intercept the comet. The reporter then asks the President if the reason why his Cabinet member resigned is because he doesn't believe the plan will work. The President assures them that they have thought it out carefully. In the meantime the young man who found the comet is being hailed as a hero. And the crew who's going to stop the comet makes their farewells to their families.
Alternative Plot: A comet is hurtling toward Earth and could mean the end of all human life. The U.S. government keeps the crisis under wraps, but crack reporter Jenny Lerner (Tea Leoni) uncovers the truth -- forcing U.S. President Beck (Morgan Freeman) to announce his plan. Grizzled astronaut Spurgeon "Fish" Tanner (Robert Duvall) and his team will land on the comet and lay explosives, hopefully deterring the object from its doomsday course. If not, humanity will have to prepare for the worst.
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