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That's kind of the plot of 1979's Star Trek: The Motion Picture.

if the movie contact was made today unfortunately, the signal would have been intercepted by a teenager who the builds the machine to the alien spec in his bedroom with his best buddy from school

That's just an Explorers remake.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Explorers_(film)

unfortunately that shoots down my "today in Hollywood" theory

Mold | A Sci-Fi Short Story: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8URdhSigzjs

"A for Andromeda" - Fred Hoyle (Sort of. Without the spacecraft.))