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Will's likeness survives his body's death and requests that he be connected to the Internet so as to grow in capability and knowledge. Max panics, insisting that the computer intelligence is not Will. Evelyn forcibly ejects Max from the building and connects the computer intelligence to the Internet.
Will's likeness survives his body's death and requests that he be connected to the Internet so as to grow in capability and knowledge. Max panics, insisting that the computer intelligence is not Will. Evelyn forcibly ejects Max from the building and connects the computer intelligence to the Internet.


Max is almost immediately confronted by Bree ([[Kate Mara]]), the leader of Revolutionary Independence From Technology (R.I.F.T.), the extremist group which carried out the terror attacks on the AI scientists and laboratories. Max is captured by the terrorists and eventually persuaded to join them. The government is also deeply suspicious of what Will's uploaded person will do, and plan to use the terrorists to take the blame for the government's actions to stop Will.
Max is almost immediately confronted by Bree ([[Kate Mara]]), the leader of Revolutionary Independence From Technology (R.I.F.T.), the extremist group which carried out the terror attacks on the artificial-intelligence scientists and laboratories. Max is captured by the terrorists and eventually persuaded to join them. The government is also deeply suspicious of what Will's uploaded person will do, and plan to use the terrorists to take the blame for the government's actions to stop Will.


Will uses his new-found intelligence to build a technological utopia in a remote desert town called Brightwood, but even Evelyn, who joins him there, begins to suspect his motives.
Will uses his new-found intelligence to build a technological utopia in a remote desert town called Brightwood, but even Evelyn, who joins him there, begins to suspect his motives.
Line 43: Line 43:
Three years later, at Will and Evelyn's garden outside their old home in Berkeley, Max notices that their sunflowers are the only living thing in it. Upon closer examination, he notices that a drop of water falling from a sunflower petal into a puddle, which is polluted with oil, almost instantly cleanses it - and realizes that the copper [[Faraday cage]] Will installed to "protect" the garden from cell phone transmissions has also protected a sample of Will's nano-particles. Max infers that Will and Evelyn's consciousnesses are still alive within the active nano-particles, giving the world a second chance at Transcendence.
Three years later, at Will and Evelyn's garden outside their old home in Berkeley, Max notices that their sunflowers are the only living thing in it. Upon closer examination, he notices that a drop of water falling from a sunflower petal into a puddle, which is polluted with oil, almost instantly cleanses it - and realizes that the copper [[Faraday cage]] Will installed to "protect" the garden from cell phone transmissions has also protected a sample of Will's nano-particles. Max infers that Will and Evelyn's consciousnesses are still alive within the active nano-particles, giving the world a second chance at Transcendence.
==Cast==
==Cast==
* [[Johnny Depp]] as Dr. Will Caster, an artificial intelligence researcher.
* [[Johnny Depp]] as Dr. Will Caster, an artificial-intelligence researcher.
* [[Morgan Freeman]] as Joseph Tagger, an FBI agent.<ref name="ng" />
* [[Morgan Freeman]] as Joseph Tagger, an FBI agent.<ref name="ng" />
* [[Rebecca Hall]] as Evelyn Caster, Will's wife and a fellow academic.<ref name="hall" />
* [[Rebecca Hall]] as Evelyn Caster, Will's wife and a fellow academic.<ref name="hall" />

Revision as of 23:48, 8 May 2014

Transcendence
Theatrical release poster
Directed byWally Pfister
Written byJack Paglen
Produced byBroderick Johnson
Andrew A. Kosorve
Kate Cohen
Marisa Polvino
Annie Marter
David Valdes
Aaron Ryder
StarringJohnny Depp
Rebecca Hall
Paul Bettany
Kate Mara
Cillian Murphy
Cole Hauser
Morgan Freeman
CinematographyJess Hall
Edited byDavid Rosenbloom
Music byMychael Danna[1]
Production
companies
Distributed byWarner Bros. Pictures
(United States & Canada)
Summit Entertainment
(International)
Release dates
  • April 10, 2014 (2014-04-10) (New York City)
  • April 18, 2014 (2014-04-18) (United States and China)
Running time
119 minutes[2]
CountriesUnited States
China
LanguageEnglish
Budget$100 million[3]
Box office$65,100,529[3]

Transcendence is a 2014 English-language U.S.-Chinese co-production science fiction film directed by cinematographer Wally Pfister in his directorial debut, and written by Jack Paglan. The film stars Johnny Depp, Rebecca Hall, Kate Mara, Cillian Murphy, Paul Bettany, and Morgan Freeman. Pfister's usual collaborator, Christopher Nolan, served as executive producer on the project.

At one time, Paglan's screenplay was part of what is known as the Black List, a list of popular but unproduced screenplays in Hollywood.

Plot

Dr. Will Caster (Johnny Depp) is a scientist motivated by curiosity about the nature of the universe, part of a team working to create a sentient computer. He predicts that such a computer will create a technological singularity, where everything will change, an event which Will calls "Transcendence". His wife Evelyn (Rebecca Hall), who he loves deeply, supports him in his efforts. However, a gang of luddite terrorists shoot Will with a bullet laced with radioactive materials which will quickly kill him.

In desperation, Evelyn comes up with a plan to upload Will's consciousness into the quantum computer that the project is working on. His best friend Max Waters (Paul Bettany), also a researcher, questions the wisdom of this choice.

Will's likeness survives his body's death and requests that he be connected to the Internet so as to grow in capability and knowledge. Max panics, insisting that the computer intelligence is not Will. Evelyn forcibly ejects Max from the building and connects the computer intelligence to the Internet.

Max is almost immediately confronted by Bree (Kate Mara), the leader of Revolutionary Independence From Technology (R.I.F.T.), the extremist group which carried out the terror attacks on the artificial-intelligence scientists and laboratories. Max is captured by the terrorists and eventually persuaded to join them. The government is also deeply suspicious of what Will's uploaded person will do, and plan to use the terrorists to take the blame for the government's actions to stop Will.

Will uses his new-found intelligence to build a technological utopia in a remote desert town called Brightwood, but even Evelyn, who joins him there, begins to suspect his motives.

FBI agent Donald Buchanan (Cillian Murphy), with the help of a government scientist Joseph Tagger (Morgan Freeman), prepare to stop the technological singularity from spreading. Eventually all of the characters, Bree, Max, Tagger, Evelyn, and even Will Caster himself, are forced to choose between the destruction of all advanced technology, and a return to a pre-technological world, and acceptance of transcendence, and with it an end to pollution, disease, and human mortality.

When Evelyn goes back to the research center, she is taken aback as Will - now in an organic body identical to his old one - is welcoming her; however, Will instantly realizes that she intends to destroy him, prompting the FBI and the activists of R.I.F.T. to start attacking the base with mortars. Evelyn tells Will that he could protect her by uploading her, but Will refuses at first. When a mortar fatally injures Evelyn, Will takes her inside while he commands the hybrids to defend them. Bree takes Max hostage, threatening to kill him if Will does not upload the virus and destroy himself - and Will accedes to her demands. Will, as he's dying, explains to Evelyn that he truly is Will, saying he did what he did for her; saving the planet was her wish, to learn the secrets of the universe was his. Then, the virus kills both Will and Evelyn, and a global technology collapse and blackout ensues.

Three years later, at Will and Evelyn's garden outside their old home in Berkeley, Max notices that their sunflowers are the only living thing in it. Upon closer examination, he notices that a drop of water falling from a sunflower petal into a puddle, which is polluted with oil, almost instantly cleanses it - and realizes that the copper Faraday cage Will installed to "protect" the garden from cell phone transmissions has also protected a sample of Will's nano-particles. Max infers that Will and Evelyn's consciousnesses are still alive within the active nano-particles, giving the world a second chance at Transcendence.

Cast

Production

Development

Transcendence is directed by cinematographer Wally Pfister in his directorial debut. Jack Paglen wrote the initial screenplay for Pfister to direct,[nb 1] and producer Annie Marter pitched the film to Straight Up Films.[10] The pitch was sold to Straight Up. By March 2012, Alcon Entertainment acquired the project.[11] Alcon financed and produced the film; producers from Straight Up and Alcon joined together for the film. In the following June, director Christopher Nolan, for whom Pfister has worked as cinematographer, and Nolan's producing partner Emma Thomas joined the film as executive producers.[10]

Financing

The Chinese company DMG Entertainment entered a partnership with Alcon Entertainment to finance and produce the film. While DMG contributed Chinese elements to Looper and Iron Man 3, it did not do so for Transcendence.[12]

Casting

By October 2012, actor Johnny Depp entered negotiations to star in Transcendence.[13] The Hollywood Reporter said Depp would have "a mammoth payday" with a salary of $20 million versus 15 percent of the film's gross. Pfister met with Noomi Rapace for the film's female lead role and also met with James McAvoy and Tobey Maguire for the other male lead role. The director offered a supporting role to Christoph Waltz.[14] In March 2013, Rebecca Hall was cast as the female lead.[5] By the following April, actors Paul Bettany, Kate Mara, and Morgan Freeman joined the main cast.[4]

Filming

Continuing his advocacy for the use of film stock over digital cinematography, Pfister chose to shoot the film in the anamorphic format on 35mm film.[15] The film went through a traditional photochemical finish instead of a digital intermediate.[16] In addition to film, a digital master was completed in 4K resolution, and the film was additionally released in IMAX film format. Transcendence also will get a 3D release in China.[17] Filming officially began in June 2013,[18] and took place over a period of 62 days.[19]

Music

The musical score for the film composed by Mychael Danna was released on April 15, through WaterTower Music. A CD format of the score was released through Amazon.com.

Theatrical run

Transcendence was released in theaters on April 18, 2014. It was originally scheduled for April 25, 2014.[20]

Warner Bros. distributed the film in the United States and and will distribute it in United Kindgom. Summit Entertainment (through Lionsgate) is distributing it in other territories, except for China and Germany.[21] DMG Entertainment, who collaborated with Alcon Entertainment to finance and develop Transcendence, will distribute the film in China.[12] The Chinese version includes a 3D and IMAX 3D release, funded by DMG, which is done in post-production.[22]

Reception

Critical response

Transcendence received mostly mixed and negative reviews. Critics found the film to be hampered by poor logic and storytelling.[23][24] The film review aggregator website Metacritic surveyed 45 critics and gave the film an aggregate score of 42 out of 100, which it said indicates "mixed or average" reviews. Metacritic assessed 27 reviews as mixed, ten as negative, and eight as positive.[25] The similar website Rotten Tomatoes scored the film with 18% based on a survey of 164 reviews assessed as positive or negative, with an average score of 4.6/10. It assessed 134 as negative and 30 as positive.[26] Rotten Tomatoes said of the critics' consensus: "In his directorial debut, ace cinematographer Wally Pfister remains a distinctive visual stylist, but Transcendence's thought-provoking themes exceed the movie's narrative grasp."[26] According to The Guardian, the studio inserted into the preview a line not spoken in the film, over the protest of the film's director. In the preview we hear Morgan Freeman say "It will be the end of mankind as we know it."[27]

Box office

On the film's opening day in 3,455 theaters in North America, it grossed $4,813,369, ranked #4, behind Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Rio 2 and Heaven Is for Real.[28] As of May 06, 2014, Transcendence has grossed an estimated $21,482,361 domestically and $43,618,168 worldwide for a total of $65,100,529.[3]

Notes

  1. ^ Jack Paglen's screenplay was featured in the 2012 survey of Hollywood's The Black List, a list of most-liked unproduced screenplays.[9]

References

  1. ^ "Mychael Danna to Score Wally Pfister's 'Transcendence'". Film Music Reporter. December 20, 2013. Retrieved December 19, 2013.
  2. ^ "TRANSCENDENCE (12A)". Entertainment Film Distributors. British Board of Film Classification. April 7, 2014. Retrieved April 8, 2014.
  3. ^ a b c "Transcendence". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved April 22, 2014.
  4. ^ a b c d Ng, Philiana (April 11, 2013). "Morgan Freeman Joins Johnny Depp in 'Transcendence'". The Hollywood Reporter.
  5. ^ a b Kit, Borys (March 4, 2013). "Rebecca Hall Joins Johnny Depp in 'Transcendence'". The Hollywood Reporter.
  6. ^ a b Kit, Borys (May 17, 2013). "Casting Call: 'Tomorrowland', 'Transcendence' Add Actors". The Hollywood Reporter.
  7. ^ Kit, Borys (April 24, 2013). "Cole Hauser Joins Johnny Depp in 'Transcendence'". The Hollywood Reporter.
  8. ^ Kroll, Justin (April 17, 2013). "Clifton Collins boards Johnny Depp pic 'Transcendence'". Variety.
  9. ^ Jagernauth, Kevin (December 17, 2012). "Black List 2012 Features Biopics On Hillary Clinton & Dr. Seuss, 'Transcendence' & More". indieWire. Retrieved May 9, 2013.
  10. ^ a b McNary, Dave (June 13, 2012). "Nolan, Thomas to produce Pfister's debut". Variety.
  11. ^ Kit, Borys (June 13, 2012). "Christopher Nolan to Exec Produce Wally Pfister's Directorial Debut". The Hollywood Reporter.
  12. ^ a b Makenin, Julie (July 11, 2013). "Johnny Depp's 'Transcendence' gets China boost". Los Angeles Times.
  13. ^ Kroll, Justin (October 24, 2012). "Johnny Depp in talks for Pfister's 'Transcendence'". Variety.
  14. ^ Siegel, Tatiana; Kit, Borys (October 24, 2012). "Johnny Depp in Negotiations to Star in 'Transcendence' for Alcon". The Hollywood Reporter.
  15. ^ "Wally Pfister slams digital; will shoot TRANSCENDENCE on 35mm film with mystery DP". ADNAN XKHAN. November 16, 2012.
  16. ^ "OnFilm Interview: Jess Hall, BSC". Kodak. December 11, 2013. Retrieved January 3, 2014.
  17. ^ "NAB: Wally Pfister on Turning Johnny Depp Into a Hologram For 'Transcendence". Hollywood Reporter. April 9, 2014. Retrieved April 10, 2014.
  18. ^ Coonan, Clifford (July 11, 2013). "China's DMG Boards Johnny Depp's 'Transcendence'". Variety.
  19. ^ "Mark Kermode Talks to Wally Pfister". MovieCityNews. April 8, 2014. Retrieved April 9, 2014.
  20. ^ Staff (April 24, 2013). "Warner Bros Dates Adam Sandler-Drew Barrymore Pic 'Blended', Shifts 'Transcendence'". Deadline.com. Retrieved May 9, 2013.
  21. ^ Foreman, Liza (December 12, 2012). "'Transcendence' Revealed: Johnny Depp to Play Supercomputer". The Wrap. Yahoo!. Retrieved May 9, 2013.
  22. ^ http://www.cinemablend.com/new/Johnny-Depp-Transcendence-3D-China-42221.html
  23. ^ Ryan, Tim (April 18, 2014). "Review Revue: 'Transcendence,' 'Heaven Is for Real,' 'Bears,' 'A Haunted House 2'". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved April 19, 2014.
  24. ^ Gettell, Oliver (April 18, 2014). "'Transcendence': Techno-thriller doesn't compute, critics say". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved April 18, 2014.
  25. ^ "Transcendence Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved April 22, 2014.
  26. ^ a b "Transcendence". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved April 22, 2014.
  27. ^ http://www.theguardian.com/film/2014/apr/27/transcendence-review-grand-ideas-johnny-depp-wally-pfister
  28. ^ "Transcendence – April 2014". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved April 26, 2014.
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