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For other uses, see 2012 (disambiguation).
2012
A buddhist monk standing against a background of the Himalayan mountains while a mega tsunami is surging 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
Thomas McCarthy
Liam James
Morgan Lily
Oliver Platt
Zlatko Burić
Beatrice Rosen
Thandie Newton
Danny Glover
Woody Harrelson
CinematographyDean Semler
Edited byDavid Brenner
Peter S. Elliott
Music byHarald Kloser
Thomas Wander
Production
company
Distributed byColumbia Pictures
Release date
November 13, 2009 (2009-11-13)
Running time
158 minutes
CountriesTemplate:Film US
Template:Film Canada
LanguageEnglish
Budget$200 million[1]
Box office$769,666,451[2]

2012 is a science fiction disaster comedy film, directed by Roland Emmerich and released in 2009. The film stars John Cusack, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Amanda Peet, Oliver Platt, Thandie Newton, Danny Glover, 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 2012.

The film was promoted in a marketing campaign by a fictional organization, the "Institute for Human Continuity"; this entailed a fictitious book written by Jackson Curtis titled Farewell Atlantis, and streaming media, blog updates and radio broadcasts from the apocalyptic zealot Charlie Frost at his website This Is The End. This campaign was subjected to numerous criticisms, and was regarded as a form of viral marketing.

The film received mixed reviews from film critics, but topped the international box office in its first weekend with $225 million.[3] It ultimately grossed over $769 million worldwide, becoming Roland Emmerich's second highest grossing film, behind Independence Day.

The film is Emmerich's first feature film to be shot using high-definition video cameras, specifically the Panavision Genesis.

Plot

In 2009, American geologist Adrian Helmsley learns that neutrinos from a massive solar flare are causing the temperature of the Earth's core to increase rapidly. Adrian informs White House Chief of Staff Carl Anheuser and United States President Thomas Wilson that this will trigger a catastrophic chain of natural disasters. Wilson, along with other international leaders, begin a massive, secret project intended to ensure humanity survives. Approximately 400,000 people are chosen to board ships called "arks" that are constructed in the Himalayas. Additional funding for the project is raised by selling tickets to the private sector for one billion euros per person. By 2011 they start to move humanity's valuable treasures to the Himalayas, so that their history can survive when the end comes.

In 2012, Jackson Curtis is a science-fiction writer in Los Angeles who works part-time as a limousine driver for Russian billionaire Yuri Karpov. Jackson's ex-wife Kate and their children Noah and Lily live with Kate's boyfriend, plastic surgeon and amateur pilot, Gordon Silberman. Jackson takes Noah and Lily camping in Yellowstone National Park, where they meet Charlie Frost, who hosts a radio show from the park. Charlie references a theory that suggests the Mesoamerican Long Count Calendar predicts that the 2012 phenomenon is going to occur, and claims he has knowledge and a map of the ark project. The family returns home as seismic activity vastly increases along the west coast. Jackson grows suspicious and rents a plane to rescue his family. He collects his family and Gordon as the Earth crust displacement begins, and they narrowly escape the city using a Cessna 340 as Los Angeles sinks into the Pacific Ocean.

As millions die in cataclysmic earthquakes worldwide, the group flies to Yellowstone to retrieve Charlie's map, escaping as the Yellowstone Caldera erupts. Charlie, who stayed behind to broadcast the eruption, is killed in the blast. Learning the arks are in China, the group lands in Las Vegas, where they meet Yuri, his twin sons, girlfriend Tamara and pilot Sasha. The group secures an Antonov 500 aircraft and departs for China. Also heading for the arks aboard Air Force One are Anheuser, Helmsley, and First Daughter Laura Wilson. President Wilson chooses to remain in Washington D.C. and is soon killed by a megatsunami which sends the USS John F. Kennedy crashing into the White House. With the Vice President dead and the Speaker of House missing, Anheuser assumes leadership.

Arriving in China in a crash landing that kills Sasha, the group is then spotted by the Chinese People's Liberation Army. Yuri and his sons, possessing tickets, are taken to the arks. The Curtis family, Gordon, and Tamara, none of whom possess tickets, are picked up by Nima, a Buddhist monk on his way to the arks. They stowaway with the help of Nima's brother, Tenzin, who has been working on the ark project. A megatsunami approaches the site as tens of thousands of people are attempting to board the final ark, when a large impact driver becomes lodged between the gears of the ark's hydraulics chamber, preventing a boarding gate from closing and rendering the ship unable to start its engines. In the ensuing chaos, Gordon, Yuri and Tamara are killed, Tenzin is wounded and the flooding ark is set adrift. Jackson and Noah free the impact driver from the closing mechanism, and the crew regains control of the ark, preventing a fatal collision with Mount Everest.

When the global floodwaters from the tsunamis recede, three arks set sail for the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa, where the Drakensberg mountains have risen in relation to sea level. Jackson reconciles with his family and Adrian starts a relationship with Laura. The film ends with a view of the Earth from space, revealing a drastically changed African continent surrounded entirely by water.

Production

The credits cite the bestselling non-fiction book Fingerprints of the Gods by author Graham Hancock as inspiration for the film,[4] and in an interview with the London magazine Time Out Roland 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."[5]

Director Emmerich and composer-producer Harald Kloser had a an extremely close relationship and also 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).[6] Later that month, Sony Pictures Entertainment won the rights for the spec script, planning to distribute it under Columbia Pictures[7] and to make it for less than the estimated budget.[8] 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,[9] but instead commenced in Vancouver in August 2008 and concluded in January 2009.[10] Due to the possible 2008 Screen Actors Guild strike, filmmakers set up a contingency plan for salvaging the film.[11] Uncharted Territory, Digital Domain, Double Negative, Scanline, Sony Pictures Imageworks and others were hired to create computer animated visual effects for 2012.[12] 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 stated he had reservations over Mecca, but declined in saying he did not want a fatwā issued against him.[13][14]

Despite the fact that the film's credits include the usual disclaimer that all persons portrayed in the film are fictional, Queen Elizabeth II is clearly shown boarding one of the evacuation ships with her corgis, played by her longtime double Elizabeth Richard, and mentioned in the credits. [15] [16]

Cast

  • John Cusack as Jackson Curtis, a struggling science fiction novelist who occasionally works as a limousine driver[17]
  • Chiwetel Ejiofor as Dr. Adrian Helmsley, geologist and scientific advisor to the President[18]
  • Amanda Peet as Kate Curtis, a medical student and Jackson's ex-wife[19]
  • Liam James as Noah Curtis, Jackson and Kate's son
  • Morgan Lily as Lilly Curtis, Jackson and Kate's daughter
  • Thomas McCarthy as Dr. Gordon Silberman, Kate's current boyfriend, a plastic surgeon, and part-time pilot. He is crushed by the gate's gears as they open[20]
  • Danny Glover as Thomas Wilson, the President of the United States[8]
  • Thandie Newton as Dr. Laura Wilson, the First Daughter[8]
  • Woody Harrelson as Charlie Frost, a scientist disguised as a Yellowstone hermit who explained the Mayan 2012 legends to Jackson Curtis. He gets killed by the Yellowstone caldera eruption
  • Oliver Platt as Carl Anheuser, the President's Chief of Staff[8]
  • Zlatko Burić as Yuri Karpov, a Russian billionaire. He falls to his death while getting his sons to safety in the boarding of the ark
  • Beatrice Rosen as Tamara, Yuri's Russian girlfriend. She drowns in the hydraulics chamber after getting Lilly Curtis to safety to the staircase area as the floodgates close.
  • Chin Han as Tenzin, a worker in Tibet. He helps the Curtis family, Tamara and Gordon stowaway to the ark in the hydraulics and injures his leg in the opening of the gates.
  • Osric Chau as Nima, a Buddhist monk and Tenzin's brother
  • Lisa Lu as Grandma Sonam, Nima and Tenzin's grandmother
  • John Billingsley, as Professor Frederic West, an American scientist
  • Johann Urb as Sasha, a Russian pilot and Tamara's boyfriend
  • Blu Mankuma as Harry Helmsley, Adrian's father and Tony's musical partner
  • George Segal as Tony Delgatto, an elderly traveling musician
  • Jimi Mistry as Doctor Satnam Tsurutani, a scientist who helps discover the events that are to come in India
  • Stephen McHattie as Captain Michaels, the captain of the ark
  • Alexandre Haussmann as Alec Karpov, one of Yuri's sons
  • Philippe Haussmann as Oleg Karpov, Alec's twin brother

Soundtrack

Main article: 2012 (soundtrack)

The original score for the film was composed by Harald Kloser and Thomas Wander. Singer Adam Lambert contributed a song for the film titled "Time for Miracles" and expressed his gratitude for the opportunity in an interview with MTV.[21] The film's soundtrack consists of 24 tracks, and it includes the songs "Fades Like a Photograph" by Filter and "It Ain't The End of the World", performed by George Segal and Blu Mankuma, which were featured in the actual film.[22] The trailer music was Master of Shadows by Two Steps From Hell.

Untitled
  1. "Time for Miracles" - Performed by Adam Lambert 4:43
  2. Constellation 1:30
  3. Wisconsin 1:14
  4. U.S. Army 2:20
  5. Ready To Rumble 1:42
  6. Spirit of Santa Monica 1:21
  7. "It Ain't The End Of The World" - Performed by George Segal and Blu Mankuma 2:52
  8. Great Kid 2:17
  9. Finding Charlie 1:45
  10. Run Daddy Run 1:14
  11. Stepping Into the Darkness 1:35
  12. Leaving Las Vegas 1:44
  13. Ashes in D.C. 4:19
  14. We Are Taking the Bentley 3:43
  15. Nampan Plateau 2:51
  16. Saving Caesar 2:09
  17. Adrian's Speech 1:41
  18. Open the Gates! 2:16
  19. The Impact 1:49
  20. Suicide Mission 2:06
  21. 2012 The End of the World 1:24
  22. Collision With Mount Everest 1:09
  23. The End Is Only the Beginning 5:44
  24. "Fades Like a Photograph" - Performed by Filter 4:19

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 received over 1000 inquiries from people who thought the website was genuine, and condemned it. "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," he said. "I think when you lie on the internet and scare children 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 ten-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]

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, Denmark, 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 the United Kingdom where it was released on Friday November 13, 2009, two cinemas had a screening time of 8:12pm (20:12 on a 24 hour clock) to coincide with the film's title.[32] Twenty theaters in the United Arab Emirates also screened the movie at 8:12pm.[33]

The DVD and Blu-ray for 2012 were released on March 2, 2010.[34] The 2-Disc Blu-ray Edition includes over 90 minutes of special features, including Adam Lambert's music video Time for Miracles, and a Digital Copy for PSP, PC, Mac & iPod.[35] The European release date of 2012 on DVD was March 26, 2010; it includes the same special features as the North American version.[36]

DVD & Blu-ray alternate ending

Adrian gets a call from his dad, Harry, who miraculously survived the wave that hit their ship along with his musician partner, Tony, and Adrian says that they will come rescue them. On the ark's deck, Jackson and Noah start bonding again when Lilly spots a ravaged cruise ship on a pile of rocks next to a small island, and the film ends as the three arks approach it.

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. The film has grossed $166.0 million in the United States and Canada markets and $602.3 million in international markets, for a worldwide total of $767,918,347 [2], making it the 5th–highest grossing film of 2009[37] and the 32nd–highest grossing film of all time worldwide.[38] It surpasses Emmerich's previous disaster film The Day After Tomorrow, which grossed $544.4 million worldwide.[39]

Critical response

The film received mixed reviews from film critics. Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reports that 40% of 2012 critics have given the film a positive review, with a rating average of 5.1 out of 10.[40] Among the site's notable critics, 36% gave the film a positive write-up, based on a sample of 33. The site's consensus is that "Roland Emmerich's 2012 provides plenty of visual thrills, but lacks a strong enough script to support its massive scope and inflated length."[41] Metacritic, which assigns a weighted average score out of 1–100 reviews from film critics has a rating score of 49 based on 34 reviews.[42]

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."[43] 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".[44] Both Ebert and Claudia Puig of USA Today called the film the "mother of all disaster movies".[44][45]

Shave Magazine said "2012 is another end-of-world movie which touts the usual message: even if nature takes over to wipe us out, humanity shall prevail." The film was ranked 3/5 stars.[46]

North Korea

North Korea has reportedly banned possession or viewing of the film. The year 2012 is the 100th anniversary of the birth of the nation's founder, Kim Il Sung, and has been designated by the North Korean government as "the year for opening the grand gates to becoming a rising superpower". Thus, a movie which depicts the year in a negative light is found to be offensive by the North Korean government. Several people in North Korea have reportedly been arrested for possessing or viewing pirated copies of the movie and charged with "grave provocation against the development of the state."[47]

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 titled 2013, and will serve as a sequel to the film.[48]

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."

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. ^ a b "2012 (2009)". Box Office Mojo. Internet Movie Database. Retrieved January 28, 2010.
  3. ^ [1]
  4. ^ "2012 (2009) - Credit List" (PDF). chicagoscifi.com. Retrieved 2009-11-25.
  5. ^ 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)
  6. ^ 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)
  7. ^ 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)
  8. ^ 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)
  9. ^ 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)
  10. ^ 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)
  11. ^ "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)
  12. ^ 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)
  13. ^ Ben Child (2009-11-03). "Emmerich reveals fear of fatwa axed 2012 scene". The Guardian.
  14. ^ Jonathan Crow (2009-11-03). "The One Place on Earth Not Destroyed in '2012'". Yahoo! Movies.
  15. ^ http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2009/nov/15/2012-film-review-philip-french. {{cite news}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  16. ^ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1190080/fullcredits#cast. {{cite news}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  17. ^ Foywonder, The (October 2, 2009). "Five Hilariously Disaster-ffic Minutes of 2012". Dread Central. Retrieved October 2, 2009.
  18. ^ Simmons, Leslie (May 19, 2008). "John Cusack ponders disaster flick". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved July 14, 2008.
  19. ^ 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)
  20. ^ Kit, Borys (July 1, 2008). "Thomas McCarthy joins 2012". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved July 14, 2008.
  21. ^ Vena, Jocelyn (4 November 2009). "Adam Lambert Feels 'Honored' To Be On '2012' Soundtrack". MTV Movie News. Retrieved 18 January 2010.
  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 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. ^ "2012 DVD Details". Aol. Moviefone. Retrieved 2009-12-19.
  35. ^ Early Art and Specs: 2012 Rocking on to DVD and Blu-ray
  36. ^ hmv.com/2012 Blu ray disc
  37. ^ "2009 Worldwide Grosses". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved January 20, 2010.
  38. ^ "Worldwide Grosses #1-100". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved January 20, 2010.
  39. ^ "The Day After Tomorrow (2004)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved November 4, 2004.
  40. ^ "2012 (2009)". Rotten Tomatoes. Flixster. Retrieved January 20, 2010.
  41. ^ "2012 (Cream of the Crop)". Rotten Tomatoes. Flixster. Retrieved December 25, 2009.
  42. ^ "2012". Metacritic. CNET Networks. Retrieved December 25, 2009.
  43. ^ Travers, Peter (November 12, 2009). "2012: Review". Rolling Stone. Retrieved November 12, 2009. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  44. ^ a b Ebert, Roger (November 12, 2009). "2012 :: rogerebert.com". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved November 14, 2009.
  45. ^ Puig, Claudia (November 13, 2009). "'2012': Now that's Armageddon!". USA Today. Retrieved November 20, 2009. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  46. ^ Adrienne, R (November 13, 2009). "Movie Review: 2012". Shave Magazine. Retrieved November 20, 2009. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  47. ^ Kyodo News, "Watching '2012' A No-No In N. Korea", March 26, 2010.
  48. ^ Exclusive: TV version of Roland Emmerich's '2012' in the works

Viral marketing websites

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