Movies such as Armageddon and Deep Impact have dramatized the threat in colorful yet scientifically dubious ways, often involving old space cowboys and nuclear bombs. Utilizing film clips, former Apollo 9 astronaut "Rusty" Schweickart clarifies some of the key misunderstandings promoted by Hollywood and outlines a scientific response to the issue, employing early identification decades in advance and robotic spacecraft altering the asteroid's speed and orbit.