Tagline: We were warned.
2012 revolves a family who goes on vacation in December 2012, just as the Mayan calendar is coming to a close. Over the decades, many have prophesized that the world will end when the ancient calendar ceases on December 21, 2012.
Centuries ago, the Mayans left us their calendar, with a clear end date and all that it implies. Since then, astrologists have discovered it, numerologists have found patterns that predict it, geologists say the earth is overdue for it, and even government scientists cannot deny the cataclysm of epic proportions that awaits the earth in 2012. A prophecy that began with the Mayans has now been, discussed, taken apart and examined. By 2012, we’ll know – we were warned.
Dr. Adrian Helmsley, part of a worldwide geophysical team investigating the effect on the earth of radiation from unprecedented solar storms, learns that the earth’s core is heating up. He warns U.S. President Thomas Wilson that the crust of the earth is becoming unstable and that without proper preparations for saving a fraction of the world’s population, the entire race is doomed. Meanwhile, writer Jackson Curtis stumbles on the same information. While the world’s leaders race to build “arks” to escape the impending cataclysm, Curtis struggles to find a way to save his family. Meanwhile, volcanic eruptions and earthquakes of unprecedented strength wreak havoc around the world.
2012 is a 2009 American epic disaster film directed by Roland Emmerich, and stars John Cusack, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Amanda Peet, Oliver Platt, Thandie Newton, Danny Glover and Woody Harrelson. The film was produced by Centropolis Entertainment and distributed by Columbia Pictures. Filming, originally planned for Los Angeles, began in Vancouver in August 2008. The plot follows novelist Jackson Curtis as he attempts to bring his family to safety amid a worldwide geological disaster. The film refers to Mayanism and the 2012 phenomenon in its portrayal of cataclysmic events.
After a lengthy advertising campaign which included the creation of a website from its main character’s point of view and a viral marketing website on which filmgoers could register for a lottery number to save them from the ensuing disaster, 2012 was released internationally on November 13, 2009. Critics gave the film mixed reviews, praising its special effects and dark tone relative to Emmerich’s other work and criticizing its screenplay and length. It was a commercial success and one of 2009’s highest-grossing films.
About the Film
The idea for 2012 first occurred to writer / producer / composer Harald Kloser, Roland Emmerich’s writing partner. “Every civilization on Earth has a flood myth,” says Kloser. “Things are going wrong, society isn’t working anymore, and the planet starts over. Some people get a second chance to start a new culture, a new society, a new civilization.”
The idea crystallized as Kloser and Emmerich discovered a compelling hook on which to hang their contemporary flood story. The Mayan calendar is set to reach the end of its 13th cycle on December 21, 2012 – and nothing follows that date. That, of course, begs the question – if the calendar doesn’t continue, what will follow? “You will find millions of people, from all walks of life, who believe that in 2012 there will be some kind of shift in society, or a shift in spirit,” says Kloser. The scope and variety of theories provided inspiration for Emmerich and Kloser as they penned their screenplay.
The key for the director, who is well known for box office hits such as Independence Day and The Day After Tomorrow, would be to find a way to set 2012 apart from those disaster epics. “The more I talked with Harald about the story, the more I realized this is really something people today can relate to. There are a lot of philosophical and political elements, which I think add to the disaster element.”
Central to that was creating characters that would experience those philosophical and political upheavals, in effect creating the disaster on a human scale. John Cusack stars as Jackson Curtis, a writer whose devotion to his failed-but-possibly-brilliant novel broke up his marriage and left his family in flux. But Jackson remains a loyal dad and when the chips are down, he will prove he will do anything to save his family. Amanda Peet plays Jackson’s ex-wife, Kate, who maintains friendly contact with Jackson but has long tired of competing with his work for his attention. As the earth’s plates start to shift – destroying L.A. in the process – Jackson and his family will begin a desperate journey by land and air to survive to see the new world.
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2012 (2009)
Directed by: Roland Emmerich
Starring: John Cusack, Amanda Peet, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Danny Glover, Thandie Newton, Oliver Platt, Thomas McCarthy, Woody Harrelson, Chin Han, Morgan Lily, Liam James, Beatrice Rosen
Screenplay by: Roland Emmerich, Harald Kloser
Production Design by: Barry Chusid
Cinematography by: Dean Semler
Film Editing by: David Brenner, Peter S. Elliot
Costume Design by: Shay Cunliffe
Set Decoration by: Elizabeth Wilcox
Art Direction by: Ross Dempster, Kendelle Elliott, Dan Hermansen, Don Macaulay
Music by: Harald Kloser, Thomas Wanker
MPAA Rating: PG-13 for intense disaster sequences, language.
Distributed by: Columbia Pictures
Release Date: November 13, 2009
Views: 134
