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2012 (film)

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2012
A buddhist monk standing against a background of snow capped mountains while a tsunami is charging over them.
Theatrical poster
Directed byRoland Emmerich
Written byHarald Kloser &
Roland Emmerich
Produced byRoland Emmerich
Mark Gordon
Harald Kloser
Larry J. Franco
Ute Emmerich
StarringJohn Cusack
Chiwetel Ejiofor
Amanda Peet
Thandie Newton
Oliver Platt
Zlatko Burić
Beatrice Rosen
Chin Han
Jimi Mistry
Johann Urb
Morgan Lily
Liam James
John Billingsley
Thomas McCarthy
Blu Mankuma
George Segal
Osric Chau
Stephen McHattie
with Danny Glover
and Woody Harrelson
CinematographyDean Semler
Edited byDavid Brenner
Peter S. Elliott
Music byHarald Kloser
Thomas Wander
Production
company
Distributed byColumbia Pictures
Release dates
November 11, 2009 (2009-11-11) (Premiere)
November 13, 2009 (2009-11-13) (Domestic)
Running time
158 minutes
CountryTemplate:FilmUS
LanguageEnglish
Budget$200 million[1]
Box office$712,010,289[2]

2012 is a 2009 disaster film directed by Roland Emmerich. The film stars John Cusack, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Amanda Peet, Oliver Platt, Danny Glover, Thandie Newton and Woody Harrelson. It was distributed by Columbia Pictures. Filming began in August 2008 in Vancouver.

The film briefly references Mayanism, the Mesoamerican Long Count calendar, and the 2012 phenomenon in its portrayal of cataclysmic events unfolding in the year 2012. Because of solar flare bombardment the Earth's core begins heating up at an unprecedented rate, eventually causing crustal displacement. This results in an onslaught of Doomsday event scenarios plunging the world into chaos, ranging from California falling into the Pacific Ocean, the eruption of the Yellowstone National Park caldera, massive earthquakes, and Megatsunami impacts along every coast line on the Earth. The film centers around an ensemble cast of characters as they narrowly escape multiple catastrophes in an effort to reach ships in the Himalayas, along with scientists and governments of the world who are attempting to save as many lives as they can before the disasters ensue.

Reviews of the film have been mixed, with critics[who?] pointing out the impossibility of the Apocalyptic scenarios depicted in the film. The film ran a much criticized[by whom?] viral marketing campaign in the form of the fictional organization Institute for Human Continuity, a fictitious book written by Jackson Curtis entitled Farewell Atlantis, and streaming media, blog updates and radio broadcasts from the apocalyptic zealot Charlie Frost at his website entitled This Is The End.

Plot

In 2009, American geologist Adrian Helmsley meets his friend, Dr Santam Tsurutani, in India. Santam has discovered that neutrinos from a massive solar flare are acting as microwave radiation, causing the temperature of the Earth's core to increase rapidly. Adrian informs White House Chief of Staff Carl Anheuser and US President Thomas Wilson that this will trigger a catastrophic chain of natural disasters. At the G8 summit in 2010, other heads of state and heads of government are made aware of the situation. They begin a massive, secret project intended to ensure the survival of humanity. Approximately 400,000 people are chosen to board a series of ships (called Arks, in reference to Noah's Ark) to be constructed in the Himalayas. The majority of tickets aboard these ships are reserved for notable government officials and selected people, while additional funding for the project is raised by selling tickets to the private sector at the price of €1 billion per person.

In 2012, Jackson Curtis is a writer in Los Angeles who works part-time as a limousine driver for wealthy Russian businessman Yuri Karpov. Jackson's ex-wife Kate and their children Noah and Lily live with her boyfriend, plastic surgeon and amateur pilot Gordon Silberman. Jackson takes Noah and Lily on a camping trip to Yellowstone National Park, where they meet Charlie Frost, a conspiracy theorist living as a hermit and hosting a radio show from the park. Charlie references a theory that suggests the Mayans predicted the world would come to an end in 2012, and claims he has knowledge and a map of a secret "space ship" project. As evidence for his claims, he notes the suspicious deaths of many scientists who attempted to warn the public before information about the catastrophe was de-classified. The family returns home as cracks develop along the San Andreas Fault in California and earthquakes occur in many places along the West Coast. Jackson grows suspicious and rents a plane to rescue his family. He collects his family and Gordon when the Earth's crust displacement begins and they escape Los Angeles as it slides into the Pacific Ocean.

As billions die in cataclysmic earthquakes worldwide (one of which destroys the city of Rio de Janeiro, as evidenced by news footage showing the collapse of the Christ the Redeemer statue), the group flies to Yellowstone to retrieve Charlie's map. The group narrowly escapes as the Yellowstone Caldera erupts. Charlie, who stayed behind to broadcast the eruption, is killed in the blast. Learning the ships are in China, the group lands in Las Vegas, where they meet Yuri, his sons, girlfriend Tamara, and pilot Sasha. They join the group and secure an Antonov An-225, fleeing Las Vegas as it is destroyed. The group flies to China, passing Honolulu as it is incinerated by molten lava. Also bound for the Arks aboard Air Force One are Anheuser, Adrian, and First Daughter Laura Wilson. President Wilson chooses to remain in Washington D.C. to address the world about the coming disasters. After surviving an earthquake that causes the Washington Monument to collapse, Wilson is killed by a megatsunami that sends the capsized USS John F. Kennedy crashing into the White House. With the Vice President also dead and the Speaker of the House missing, Anheuser takes over as acting president. They also learn that the Italian Prime Minister stayed behind in Italy and is soon killed when The Vatican is destroyed in an earthquake.

Arriving in China in a crash-landing that kills Sasha, the group is spotted by helicopters of the Chinese People's Liberation Army. Yuri and his sons, who have tickets, are taken to the ships to be saved, stranding the Curtis family, Gordon, and Tamara, who do not possess tickets. The group is picked up by Nima, a Buddhist monk on the way to the Arks. They sneak into an Ark through its hydraulics chamber with the help of Nima's brother Tenzin, a welder for the project.

Meanwhile, Satnam, in his final moments, calls Adrian to inform him that an uncharted tsunami is engulfing India and heading towards the arks before he perishes. Anheuser orders the arks sealed, trapping thousands outside. Adrian convinces the G8 leaders to let the remaining people board. As the ark's boarding gate is lowered and then raised, Yuri falls to his death while ensuring his two sons board safely, and Gordon falls between the gears and is crushed. A large drill then falls and becomes lodged between the gears, preventing the gate from closing and rendering the ship unable to start its engines.

The tsunami begins flooding the ark, drowning Tamara and setting it adrift. Jackson and Noah free the drill from the closing mechanism. The crew regains control of the ark, preventing a fatal collision with Mount Everest.

When the floodwater from the tsunamis recedes, satellite data shows that Africa's elevation rose in relation to sea level, and the Drakensberg mountains in KwaZulu Natal are now the highest on the planet. The data also reveals that the south pole is now located in Northern Wisconsin, though its orientation (true or magnetic) is unspecified. As three arks set sail for the Cape of Good Hope, Jackson reconciles with his family and Adrian starts a relationship with Laura. The movie ends with a view of the Earth from space, showing a drastically modified African continent.

Production

The credits cite the bestselling non-fiction book Fingerprints of the Gods by author Graham Hancock as inspiration for the film,[3] and in an interview with the London magazine Time Out Emmerich states: "I always wanted to do a biblical flood movie, but I never felt I had the hook. I first read about the Earth's Crust Displacement Theory in Graham Hancock's Fingerprints of the Gods."[4]

Director Roland Emmerich and composer-producer Harald Kloser co-wrote a spec script titled 2012, which was marketed to major studios in February 2008. Nearly all studios met with Emmerich and his representatives to hear the director's budget projection and story plans, a process that the director had previously gone through with the films Independence Day (1996) and The Day After Tomorrow (2004).[5] Later that month, Sony Pictures Entertainment won the rights for the spec script, planning to distribute it under Columbia Pictures[6] and to make it for less than the estimated budget.[7] According to Emmerich, the film was eventually produced for about $200 million.[1]

Filming was originally scheduled to begin in Los Angeles, California, in July 2008,[8] but instead commenced in Vancouver in August 2008 and concluded in January 2009.[9] Due to the possible 2008 Screen Actors Guild strike, filmmakers set up a contingency plan for salvaging the film.[10] Uncharted Territory, Digital Domain, Double Negative, Scanline, Sony Pictures Imageworks and others were hired to create visual effects for 2012.[11] Thomas Wander co-wrote the score with Harald Kloser.

Although the film depicts the destruction of several major cultural and historical icons around the world, Emmerich stated that the Kaaba was also considered for selection. Kloser had reservations over including Mecca, saying he did not want a fatwā issued against him.[12][13]

Cast

Soundtrack

The original score for the film was composed by Harald Kloser and Thomas Wander. Singer Adam Lambert from American Idol contributed a song for the film called "Time for Miracles" and expressed his gratitude for the opportunity in an interview with MTV.[21] The film's soundtracks consist of 24 tracks, which also includes the song "Fades Like a Photograph" by Filter and another song called "It Ain't The End of the World", performed by George Segal and Blu Mankuma, and it was featured in the actual film.[22]

Marketing

On November 12, 2008, the new studio released the first teaser trailer for 2012 that showed a tsunami surging over the Himalayas and interlaced a purportedly scientific message suggesting that the world would end in 2012, and that the world's governments were not preparing its population for the event. The trailer ended with a message to viewers to "find out the truth" by searching "2012" on search engines. The Guardian criticized the marketing effectiveness as "deeply flawed" and associated it with "websites that make even more spurious claims about 2012".[23]

The studio also launched a viral marketing website operated by the fictional Institute for Human Continuity, where filmgoers could register for a lottery number to be part of a small population that would be rescued from the global destruction.[24] David Morrison of NASA has received over 1000 inquiries from people who thought the website was genuine and has condemned it, saying "I've even had cases of teenagers writing to me saying they are contemplating suicide because they don't want to see the world end. I think when you lie on the internet and scare children in order to make a buck, that is ethically wrong."[25] Another viral marketing website promotes Farewell Atlantis, a fictional suspense novel by the film's lead protagonist, about the events of 2012.[26]
Comcast had also organized a "roadblock campaign" to promote the film, where a two-minute scene from the film was broadcast across 450 American commercial television networks, local English and Spanish language stations, and 89 cable outlets within a 10-minute window between 10:50 PM EDT/PDT and 11:00 PM EDT/PDT on October 1, 2009.[27] The scene featured the destruction of Los Angeles and ended with a cliffhanger, with the entire 5-minute-38-second clip made available on Comcast's Fancast web site. The trade newspaper Variety estimated that, "The stunt will put the footage in front of 90% of all households watching ad-supported TV, or nearly 110 million viewers. When combined with online and mobile streams, that could increase to more than 140 million".[27] Sony also plans on replicating this promotion in other regions.[27]

Release

2012 was originally scheduled to be released on July 10, 2009. The release date was changed to November 2009 to move out of the busy summer schedule into a time frame that the studio considered to have more potential for financial success. According to the studio, the film could have been completed for the summer release date, but the date change would give more time to the production.[28] The film was released on November 11, 2009.[29][30] It was released on Friday November 13, 2009 in Sweden, Canada, Mexico and the United States, and was released on November 21, 2009 in Japan.[31] It was given a wide release in India on November 13, 2009. In Malaysia, the film was released on Thursday November 12, 2009. In the United Kingdom, two cinemas had a screening time of 8:12pm (20:12 on a 24 hour clock) to coincide with the film's title.[32] the film was released on Thursday November 18, 2009. In the United Arab Emirates, twenty theatres had a screening time of 8:12pm (20:12 on a 24 hour clock) to coincide with the film's title.[33]

Reception

Box office

2012 opened at number one with an estimated $65 million on its first weekend, and with $225 million at the worldwide box office in its opening weekend. As of December 13, 2009 the film has grossed $155.4 million in the domestic market along with $556 million in the international market for a worldwide gross of $711.4 million.[34] It surpasses Emmerich's previous disaster film The Day After Tomorrow, which grossed $544.4 million worldwide.[35]

Critical response

The film received mixed to negative reviews from film critics. Rotten Tomatoes reports that 39% of critics gave the film a positive review based on 210 reviews.[36] Critics cited numerous scientific inaccuracies, lazy script and heavy reliance on the CG visuals, while some praised the CG effects. On its "top critics" section, it fared even lower with 27% of critics giving it a positive review based on 33 reviews.[37] At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the film holds an average/mixed score of 49 based on 34 reviews.[38]

Peter Travers of Rolling Stone criticized the film by comparing it to Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen: "Beware 2012, which works the dubious miracle of almost matching Transformers 2 for sheer, cynical, mind-numbing, time-wasting, money-draining, soul-sucking stupidity." [39] Roger Ebert was enthusiastic about the film, giving it 3 1/2 stars out of 4, saying it "delivers what it promises, and since no sentient being will buy a ticket expecting anything else, it will be, for its audiences, one of the most satisfactory films of the year."[40] Both Ebert and Claudia Puig of USA Today called the film the "mother of all disaster movies".[40][41]

Television spin-off

Speaking to Entertainment Weekly, Emmerich confirmed that a television series based upon the film is in the works. The series is tentatively entitled 2013, and will serve as a sequel to the film.[42]

Emmerich states in the interview, "The plan is that it is 2013 and it’s about what happens after the disaster. It is about the resettling of Earth. That is very, very fascinating. Harald Kloser and I came up with the idea and we have the luxury of having a producer on the film who is a big TV producer, Mark Gordon. We said to Mark, 'Why don’t you do a TV show that picks up where the movie leaves off and call it 2013?' I think it will focus on a group of people who survived but not on the boats ... maybe they were on a piece of land that was spared or one that became an island in the process of the crust moving. There are so many possibilities of what they could do and I’d be excited to watch it."

Rumors circulate that producer Mark Gordon has already begun talks with ABC to develop the disaster series.[citation needed] The 2013 series could serve as a replacement for the television show Lost[citation needed] which completes its series run in 2010.

References

  1. ^ a b Blair, Ian (November 6, 2009). "'2012's Roland Emmerich: Grilled". The Wrap. Retrieved December 9, 2009. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= and |date= (help)
  2. ^ "Box Office Data". Retrieved 2009-12-13. {{cite web}}: Text "The-Numbers" ignored (help); Text "publisher" ignored (help)
  3. ^ "2012 (2009) - Credit List" (PDF). chicagoscifi.com. Retrieved 2009-11-25.
  4. ^ Jenkins, David (2009-11-16). "Roland Emmerich's guide to disaster movies". Time Out. Retrieved 2009-11-25. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  5. ^ Fleming, Michael (February 19, 2008). "Studios vie for Emmerich's 2012". Variety. Retrieved July 14, 2008. {{cite journal}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= and |date= (help)
  6. ^ Fleming, Michael (February 21, 2008). "Sony buys Emmerich's 2012". Variety. Retrieved July 14, 2008. {{cite journal}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= and |date= (help)
  7. ^ a b c d Simmons, Leslie (June 2, 2008). "Danny Glover circles 2012". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved July 14, 2008. {{cite journal}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= and |date= (help); Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  8. ^ Siegel, Tatiana (May 19, 2008). "John Cusack set for 2012". Variety. Retrieved July 14, 2008. {{cite journal}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= and |date= (help)
  9. ^ a b Frater, Patrick (July 9, 2008). "Chin Han makes date with 2012". Variety. Retrieved July 14, 2008. {{cite journal}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= and |date= (help)
  10. ^ "Big Hollywood films shooting despite strike threat". Reuters. August 1, 2008. Retrieved August 5, 2008. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= and |date= (help)
  11. ^ Giardina, Carolyn (August 13, 2008). "SPI's future includes 2012". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved August 13, 2008. {{cite journal}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= and |date= (help)
  12. ^ Ben Child (2009-11-03). "Emmerich reveals fear of fatwa axed 2012 scene". The Guardian.
  13. ^ Jonathan Crow (2009-11-03). "The One Place on Earth Not Destroyed in '2012'". Yahoo! Movies.
  14. ^ Foywonder, The (October 2, 2009). "Five Hilariously Disaster-ffic Minutes of 2012". Dread Central. Retrieved October 2, 2009.
  15. ^ Simmons, Leslie (May 19, 2008). "John Cusack ponders disaster flick". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved July 14, 2008.
  16. ^ Simmons, Leslie (June 13, 2008). "Amanda Peet is 2012 lead". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved July 14, 2008. {{cite journal}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  17. ^ "Morgan Lily". Variety. August 3, 2008. Retrieved October 29, 2008.
  18. ^ Kit, Borys (July 1, 2008). "Thomas McCarthy joins 2012". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved July 14, 2008.
  19. ^ Rich, Katey (15 July 2008). "Woody Harrelson Trying To Survive Armageddon". Cinema Blend. Retrieved 3 February 2009.
  20. ^ Adler, Shawn (July 14, 2008). "EXCLUSIVE: Woody Harrelson Joins Roland Emmerich's World-Ending 2012". MTV Movies Blog. MTV. Retrieved July 14, 2008.
  21. ^ http://www.mtv.com/movies/news/articles/1625467/story.jhtml
  22. ^ http://www.amazon.com/2012-Soundtrack-Various/dp/B002R55IDU
  23. ^ Pickard, Anna (November 25, 2008). "2012: a cautionary tale about marketing". The Guardian. Retrieved December 10, 2008.
  24. ^ Billington, Alex (November 15, 2008). "Roland Emmerich's 2012 Viral - Institute for Human Continuity". FirstShowing.net. Retrieved December 10, 2008. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= and |date= (help)
  25. ^ Connor, Steve (17 October 2009). "Relax, the end isn't nigh". The Independent. Retrieved 2009-10-20.
  26. ^ http://farewellatlantis.com/
  27. ^ a b c Graser, Mark (September 23, 2009). "Sony readies 'roadblock' for 2012". Variety. Retrieved 2009-09-29.
  28. ^ DiOrio, Carl (January 20, 2009). "2012 release date pushed back". Retrieved January 20, 2009. {{cite journal}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= and |date= (help); Cite journal requires |journal= (help); Text "journalThe Hollywood Reporter" ignored (help)
  29. ^ "2012 (2009) - Release dates". IMDB.com. Retrieved 2009-11-10.
  30. ^ "What Would You Take With You in 2012". 2012preservationlist.net. Retrieved 2009-11-12.
  31. ^ "2012 Worldwide Release Dates". sonypictures.com. Retrieved 2009-11-12.
  32. ^ http://www.myvue.com/cinemas/film_info_detail.asp?SessionID=&cn=1&ci=31&ln=1&fi=9537
  33. ^ http://movies.theemiratesnetwork.com/showtimes.php?mv=1882&ct=DXB
  34. ^ [1]
  35. ^ The Day After Tomorrow. Box Office Mojo.
  36. ^ "2012". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 2009-12-13.
  37. ^ "2012". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 2009-12-13.
  38. ^ "2012". Metacritic. Retrieved 2009-11-14.
  39. ^ http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/2012/comments.php?reviewid=1854985
  40. ^ a b "2012". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved November 14, 2009.
  41. ^ "'2012': Now that's Armageddon!". USA Today. {{cite web}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help); Missing or empty |url= (help); Text "http://www.usatoday.com/life/movies/reviews/2009-11-13-2012rev13_ST_N.htm" ignored (help)
  42. ^ http://hollywoodinsider.ew.com/2009/11/04/2012-tv-planned/
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