My Science Project
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| the best science project | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Jonathan R. Betuel |
| Produced by | Jonathan Taplin |
| Written by | Jonathan R. Betuel |
| Starring | John Stockwell Danielle von Zerneck Fisher Stevens Raphael Sbarge Dennis Hopper Richard Masur Barry Corbin |
| Music by | Peter Bernstein |
| Cinematography | David M. Walsh |
| Editing by | Carroll Timothy O'Meara |
| Distributed by | Touchstone Pictures |
| Release date(s) | August 9, 1985 (USA) |
| Running time | 94 min. |
| Country |  United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | Unknown |
| Gross revenue | $4,122,748 (USA) |
My Science Project is a 1985 comedy science fiction film directed by Jonathan R. Betuel.
Tagline: The funniest sci-fi movie this summer.
We must not destroy the world.
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[edit] Plot summary
Gearhead Michael and bookworm Ellie break into a military junkyard to find a science project for Michael's class. Michael accidentally falls through a trap door into an old underground fallout shelter, and upon exploring the shelter discover a strange glowing orb (a plasma lamp), which unknown to them is the engine of a crashed UFO. Michael unknowingly activates the device while trying to clean it, so it could pass as his science project. Referring to it simply as the "gizmo," it demonstrates strange properties, such as absorbing electricity from any nearby electronic devices. After Michael and his friends plug it into a power source, it begins to materialize objects from other times and dimensions. When his science teacher (played by Dennis Hopper) experiments by plugging the orb into the power grid, it starts a chain reaction that starts to twist dimensions and warp time around it. Past, present and future collide, in a whirling vortex which engulfs the school and puts Michael and his friends into an adventure to stop it.
As alluded to in the movie's introduction, the orb itself came from a crashed alien vessel that was found by the US Military in 1957. President Dwight D. Eisenhower ordered the vessel destroyed (possibly fearing that it would cause panic among earth's population). The orb (which could have been some kind of temporal engine, which allowed the craft to enter different times and dimensions) was placed in a military junkyard for future analysis. Over time the device was forgotten and became lost.
[edit] Trivia
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Lists of miscellaneous information should be avoided. Please relocate any relevant information into appropriate sections or articles. (February 2008) |
- In an interview for Starlog magazine prior to the film's release, one of the young actors boasted of becoming the first person to use the word 'fuck' in a Disney film. Although My Science Project was ultimately released under Disney's Touchstone Pictures branch (which allowed films to contain adult content), the scene in which the word was allegedly uttered was cut from the final print. However, a scene that didn't get the cutting room floor was the neon, retractable middle finger from character Vince Latello's car trunk.
- The theatrical poster for "My Science Project" (1985) bears a striking resemblance to the internationally released theater poster to Columbia Picture's "Ghostbusters"(1984) showing 3 members looking up at a green clouded sky and featuring the 'No Ghosts' sign behind them.
[edit] Different title in Sweden
The distributors of the movie in Sweden thought it would benefit from being marketed as some kind of a mix between Ghostbusters and Back to the Future, and subsequently renamed it TimeBusters, under which title it has later been shown in the Scandinavian TV channel TV3.
