Deepwater Horizon | |
---|---|
Directed by | Peter Berg |
Screenplay by |
|
Story by | Matthew Sand |
Based on | "Deepwater Horizon's Final Hours" by |
Produced by |
|
Starring | |
Cinematography | Enrique Chediak |
Edited by |
|
Music by | Steve Jablonsky |
Production companies |
|
Distributed by | Lionsgate [1] |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 107 minutes [2] |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Budget | |
Box office | $121.8 million [1] |
Deepwater Horizon is a 2016 American biographical disaster film based on the Deepwater Horizon explosion and oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Peter Berg directed it from a screenplay by Matthew Michael Carnahan and Matthew Sand. It stars Mark Wahlberg, Kurt Russell, John Malkovich, Gina Rodriguez, Dylan O'Brien, and Kate Hudson. It is adapted from "Deepwater Horizon's Final Hours", a December 25, 2010 article in The New York Times written by David Barstow, David Rohde, and Stephanie Saul. [4]
Principal photography began on April 27, 2015, in New Orleans, Louisiana. The film premiered at the 2016 Toronto International Film Festival [5] and was theatrically released in the United States on September 30, 2016. It received generally positive reviews, but was a box-office bomb, grossing slightly less than $122 million worldwide against a budget of $110 million, resulting in a loss of $60–112 million for the studio. The film was nominated for two Oscars at the 89th Academy Awards: Best Sound Editing and Best Visual Effects, and a BAFTA Award for Best Sound at the 70th British Academy Film Awards.
On April 20, 2010, Deepwater Horizon , an oil drilling rig operated by private contractor Transocean, is set to complete drilling off the southern coast of Louisiana on behalf of BP. Chief Electronics Technician Michael "Mike" Williams and Offshore Installation Manager James "Mr. Jimmy" Harrell are surprised to learn that the workers assigned to test the integrity of recently completed cement work are being sent home early, without conducting a cement bond log (CBL), at the insistence of BP managers Donald Vidrine and Robert Kaluza.
While Mike prepares the drilling team, including Caleb Holloway, Shane Roshto and Adam Weise, Harrell meets with Vidrine and persuades him to conduct a negative pressure test, which indicates the cement has not properly sealed the well from the high-pressure reservoir. Vidrine disputes the test finding and orders a second test. After concluding the second test was a success, Vidrine pressures senior toolpusher Jason Anderson to run more tests and orders the rig to remove the drilling mud and prepare the rig to move to its next job.
At first, the operation goes smoothly, but the cement job eventually fails completely, triggering a massive blowout that overpowers and kills Weise, Roshto and majority of the other drill team members. Holloway and Vidrine manage to evacuate the floor in time.
A chain of equipment malfunctions, coupled with a failed attempt to seal the well, ignites the oil, killing Anderson and the other toolpushers. Andrea Fleytas, the rig's Dynamic Position Operator, tries to alert the Coast Guard, only to be overruled by her superior, Captain Curt Kuchta, on the grounds that the rig is not in any imminent danger, at least until the rig erupts in flames, then Kuchta sends out his own call for help. With oil now spewing into the ocean, an oil-covered pelican flies into the bridge of a nearby vessel, the Damon Bankston, which was there to collect the drilling mud from the well, and dies; the vessel heads towards the rig just as the workers begin a frantic evacuation, sending out a rescue team after seeing the rig burst into flames. Harrell, still alive, although seriously injured in the explosion, is rescued by Mike and assumes control of the situation, only to discover that the rig cannot be saved. Aaron Dale Burkeen, a close friend of Mike's, sacrifices himself to keep a burning crane from collapsing onto the surviving crew, while Mike and Caleb are able to rescue Vidrine and Kaluza and get them to safety.
As night falls and the burning oil lights up the area, the Coast Guard becomes aware of the incident and sends ships and aircraft to rescue the survivors, who are being ferried in the lifeboats to the Damon Bankston as it was already on scene to assist with the evacuation and rescue. With all the lifeboats full, Mike locates the emergency life raft, but it becomes separated from the rig before he and Andrea can board, causing the latter to suffer a panic attack. Just as the oil in the well itself ignites and destroys the rig, the two jump into the water and are picked up by rescuers, who then ferry them to the Damon Bankston, where the surviving crew mourn their lost crewmen and say the Lord's Prayer.
Returned home, the workers reunite with their families in a hotel lobby; during which the parents of one of the missing crew members accost Mike, resulting in him having a panic attack. Luckily, Mike's family rush in to comfort him.
The film ends with a series of clips showing the aftermath of the disaster, including testimony from the real-life Mike Williams and the revelation that Donald Vidrine and Robert Kaluza were the only two people prosecuted for their actions; both were charged with eleven counts of manslaughter. By 2015 these charges were dismissed. Pictures appear of the eleven men who lost their lives before the credits. The movie postscript reads: "The blowout lasted for 87 days, spilling an estimated 210 million gallons of oil into the Gulf of Mexico. It was the worst oil disaster in U.S. history."
On March 8, 2011, it was announced [7] [8] that Summit Entertainment, Participant Media, and Image Nation had acquired the film rights to The New York Times ' article "Deepwater Horizon's Final Hours", [4] [9] written by David Barstow, David S. Rohde, and Stephanie Saul, and published on December 25, 2010, about the 2010 Deepwater Horizon explosion and subsequent oil spill. Matthew Sand was set to write the screenplay, while Lorenzo di Bonaventura was in talks to produce the film under his Di Bonaventura Pictures banner. [7] Summit and Participant Media/Imagination would also finance the film. On acquiring the article to develop into a film, the president of Participant Media, Ricky Strauss said,
This is a perfect fit for us–a suspenseful and inspiring real-life account of everyday people whose values are tested in the face of an impending environmental disaster. [10]
On July 24, 2012, Ric Roman Waugh was in talks with the studios to direct the film, Mark Vahradian was set to produce the film along with Bonaventura, and Lions Gate Entertainment also joined the project to produce and distribute. [11] On July 11, 2014, it was announced that All Is Lost's director J. C. Chandor had been hired to direct the film; the screenplay's first draft was written by Sand, while Matthew Michael Carnahan wrote the second draft. [12] In early October, it was confirmed that Summit would distribute the film, not Lionsgate. [13] On January 30, 2015, it was reported that Lone Survivor director Peter Berg had replaced Chandor, and would re-team with Wahlberg on the film. Chandor exited due to creative differences. [14]
On August 19, 2014, casting began, with actor Mark Wahlberg added in the lead role of the film. [15] Wahlberg plays Mike Williams, a real-life electronics technician on the Deepwater Horizon oil rig. On March 18, 2015, Gina Rodriguez was set to play a woman named Andrea Fleytas, who was on the bridge on board the Deepwater Horizon at the time of the blowout, and frantically tried to contact the Coast Guard. [16] On April 10, 2015, Deadline reported that Dylan O'Brien was in talks to play Caleb Holloway. [17] Kurt Russell joined the film on the same day O'Brien was in talks. [18] Soon after, John Malkovich was confirmed cast, as a BP representative who fatally underestimates the dangers of working on the rig. [19] Kate Hudson was announced as a cast member in May 2015, and playing the wife of Wahlberg's character; her role was her first on-screen pairing with Russell, her stepfather, although they shared no dialogue in the film, only a hug. [6] [20]
Principal photography on the film began on April 27, 2015. [21] It was officially announced by Lionsgate on May 18, 2015, that filming had begun in New Orleans, Louisiana. Production designer Chris Seagers built a 70 ft (21m) tall, 85% scale version of the Deepwater Horizon rig in the parking lot of the abandoned Six Flags New Orleans park. The set included a functional helipad and elevators. Beneath it was a tank filled with two million gallons of water, simulating the Gulf of Mexico. [22]
The film cost a total of $156 million to produce, with $122 million spent in Louisiana. As a result, Lionsgate (the studio financing the film) received a $37.7 million subsidy from the state, under Louisiana's film incentive program. [23] Later estimates put the production cost at $110 million. [24]
Deepwater Horizon had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival, on September 13, where it received a standing ovation from audiences after the screening. [25] It opened in theaters on September 30, 2016, distributed by Summit Entertainment in the United States and Canada, and by Lionsgate Entertainment internationally. [13]
Deepwater Horizon grossed $61.4 million in the United States and Canada and $60.4 million in other territories for a worldwide total of $121.8 million, against a net production budget of around $110 million. [1] The Hollywood Reporter judged it one of 2016's fourteen biggest box-office bombs. [26]
In the United States and Canada, Deepwater Horizon was projected to gross $16–20 million from 3,259 theaters in its opening weekend, although some publications noted Wahlberg's films tend to outperform box office projections. [27] [28] The film made $860,000 from its Thursday night previews at 2,400 theaters, and $7.1 million on its first day. [29] In total, the film earned $20.2 million during its opening weekend, debuting at number two at the box office behind Tim Burton's Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children . [30] The film was released at a time when the marketplace was already dominated by two other adult-skewing pictures, The Magnificent Seven and Sully . [31] The film over-performed in the Gulf Coast region, and also did well in IMAX, which earned $2.7 million of the film's total opening weekend. [31]
The film's opening weekend was regarded as underwhelming and a disappointment, given its hefty production budget, but dramas released during the fall, and Wahlberg's films, tend to have box office legs. [31] [32] Forbes called the opening "good, but not great", especially considering the solid reviews. [33] While most adult-skewing films would generally be made on a conservative budget in order to protect themselves financially, Deepwater Horizon was produced for $110–120 million (after tax rebates). Box office analyst Jeff Block said the film was "a hard sell. This should have been a $60 million film. The budget was out of control." Recent real-life drama films such as Sully ($60 million budget), Bridge of Spies ($40 million) and Captain Phillips ($55 million) were made for more moderate amounts. The Hollywood Reporter noted that when Hollywood spends north of $100 million on a film, it is intended for a much broader audience, but that was not the case for Deepwater Horizon, as the main demographics were adults, with 67% of the total ticket buyers during its opening weekend being over the age of 35. [3] Another possible reason for the film's mediocre debut was its marketing miss, which was also a subject of criticism; from the outset, Lionsgate marketed the film as a heroic tale versus an issues-oriented movie. The name "Deepwater Horizon" itself is more associated with the aftermath of the spill than the heroics of the men who survived and helped their fellow workers. [3] The Hollywood Reporter estimated the film lost at least $60 million, when factoring together all expenses and revenues. [34]
Outside North America, Deepwater Horizon opened simultaneously in 52 markets, and grossed $12.4 million, of which IMAX made up $1 million 119 IMAX screens. [35] The U.K. was the top earning market, with $2.6 million, followed by the Middle East ($1.5 million), Taiwan ($1.4 million), Australia ($1.3 million), and Russia ($1.2 million). [35] [36] In China, the film opened on Tuesday, November 15, where it delivered a six-day opening weekend of $7.9 million, debuting in third place, behind local film I Am Not Madame Bovary and the continuation of Doctor Strange . The next major markets to open were Germany (November 24) and Spain (November 25). [37]
Deepwater Horizon received generally positive reviews from critics. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 83% based on 260 reviews with an average rating of 7.00/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Deepwater Horizon makes effective use of its titular man-made disaster to deliver an uncommonly serious – yet still suitably gripping – action thriller." [38] On Metacritic, the film has a score 68 out of 100 based on 52 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". [39] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A−" on an A+ to F scale. [40]
Todd McCarthy of The Hollywood Reporter gave the film a positive review, writing, "ruggedness and resilience counts for far more in the characterizations here than does nuance, and everyone delivers as required. From a craft and technical point of view, the film is all but seamless, a credit to the extra care taken to avoid a CGI look." [41] Mike Ryan of Uproxx praised the film's performances and ability to make audiences angry at BP: "I'll be honest, I didn't think we needed a movie about this subject. I've changed my mind. And, if nothing else, I hope it gets people angry again, because the people who did this to our planet, and killed 11 people in the process, got off too easy." [42] Benjamin Lee of The Guardian praised Berg's direction as "admirably, uncharacteristically restrained...[He] stages the action horribly well, capturing the panic and gruesome mayhem without the film ever feeling exploitative. It's spectacularly constructed, yet it doesn't forget about the loss of life, ensuring that, despite thin characterisation, the impact is felt." [43]
Former crew members started their own crowd-funded documentary project before the film's release, out of frustration with factual liberties taken in the film script and in the media. [44]
Year | Award | Category | Nominee | Result | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
2016 | Teen Choice Awards | Choice AnTEENcipated Movie Actor | Dylan O'Brien | Won | [45] |
2017 | National Board of Review | Spotlight Award | Mark Wahlberg and Peter Berg (also for Patriots Day ) | Won | [46] |
People's Choice Awards | Favorite Dramatic Movie | Deepwater Horizon | Nominated | [47] | |
Annie Awards | Outstanding Achievement, Animated Effects in a Live Action Production | Raul Essig, Mark Chataway, George Kuruvilla and Mihai Cioroba | Nominated | [48] | |
Visual Effects Society Awards | Outstanding Supporting Visual Effects in a Photoreal Feature | Craig Hammack, Petra Holtorf-Stratton, Jason Snell, John Galloway and Burt Dalton | Won | [49] | |
Outstanding Model in a Photoreal or Animated Project | Kelvin Lau, Jean Bolte, Kevin Sprout and Kim Vongbunyong | Won | |||
British Academy Film Awards | Best Sound | Mike Prestwood Smith, Dror Mohar, Wylie Stateman and David Wyman | Nominated | [50] | |
Society of Camera Operators Awards | Camera Operator of the Year – Film | Jacques Jouffret | Nominated | [51] | |
MPSE Golden Reel Awards | Feature English Language – Effects/Foley | Wylie Stateman, Renée Tondelli, Gary Hecker, Rick Owens, Sylvain Lasseur, Dror Mohar and Kris Fenske | Nominated | [52] | |
Academy Awards | Best Sound Editing | Wylie Stateman and Renée Tondelli | Nominated | [53] | |
Best Visual Effects | Craig Hammack, Jason Snell, Jason Billington and Burt Dalton | Nominated | |||
AACTA Awards (7th) | Best Visual Effects or Animation | Jason Billington, James Whitlam, Linda Luong | Nominated | [54] | |
The film was praised for staying "remarkably close" to the actual events, though it did take some artistic liberties and did a poor job explaining why the blowout occurred. [55] [56]
The movie opens with Mike William's daughter working on a science project and asking for a fossil. Later in the film, Williams gives his daughter a fossilised dinosaur tooth. In real life this never happened and was made up to help explain how the explosion occurred. [57]
Throughout the first half of the movie, gas is seen rupturing and coming out of the concrete at the sea floor, this didn't happen. [55]
In the movie, Donald Vidrine (the BP manager of the rig) disregards the first negative pressure test (saying it was the result of the "bladder effect") and then overrules Transocean after the second test. Actually, Vidrine was confused after the first test and contacted several supervisors and on-shore engineers for other opinions. After the second test, the bladder effect was brought up by a Transocean crew member. [55] [58]
In the movie, Williams calls his wife and while in the call he hears the engines revving and his wife sees the lights getting brighter. In real life, he had just hung up when these things happened. [57]
The lifeboats did actually leave Mike Williams, Andrea Fleytas and 7 others on the rig. However, only Williams jumped off the rig. Fleytas jumped onto the life-raft that was deployed to save the remaining 7 people. [57]
Peter Berg is an American director, producer, writer, and actor. His directorial film works include the black comedy Very Bad Things (1998), the action comedy The Rundown (2003), the sports drama Friday Night Lights (2004), the action thriller The Kingdom (2007), the superhero comedy-drama Hancock (2008), the military science fiction war film Battleship (2012), the war film Lone Survivor (2013), the disaster drama Deepwater Horizon (2016), the Boston Marathon bombing drama Patriots Day (2016), the action thriller Mile 22 (2018), and the action comedy Spenser Confidential (2020), the latter five all starring Mark Wahlberg. In addition to cameo appearances in the last six of these titles, he has had prominent acting roles in films including Never on Tuesday (1989), Shocker (1989), The Last Seduction (1994), The Great White Hype (1996), Cop Land (1997), Corky Romano (2001), Collateral (2004), Smokin' Aces (2006), and Lions for Lambs (2007).
Deepwater Horizon was an ultra-deepwater, dynamically positioned, semi-submersible offshore drilling rig owned by Transocean and operated by the BP company. On April 20, 2010, while drilling in the Gulf of Mexico at the Macondo Prospect, a blowout caused an explosion on the rig that killed 11 crewmen and ignited a fireball visible from 40 miles (64 km) away. The fire was inextinguishable and, two days later, on April 22, the Horizon collapsed, leaving the well gushing at the seabed and becoming the largest marine oil spill in history.
The Deepwater Horizon oil spill was an environmental disaster which began on 20 April 2010, off the coast of the United States in the Gulf of Mexico on the BP-operated Macondo Prospect, considered the largest marine oil spill in the history of the petroleum industry and estimated to be 8 to 31 percent larger in volume than the previous largest, the Ixtoc I oil spill, also in the Gulf of Mexico. Caused in the aftermath of a blowout and explosion on the Deepwater Horizon oil platform, the United States federal government estimated the total discharge at 4.9 MMbbl. After several failed efforts to contain the flow, the well was declared sealed on 19 September 2010. Reports in early 2012 indicated that the well site was still leaking. The Deepwater Horizon oil spill is regarded as one of the largest environmental disasters in world history.
On April 20, 2010, an explosion and fire occurred on the Deepwater Horizon semi-submersible mobile offshore drilling unit, which was owned and operated by Transocean and drilling for BP in the Macondo Prospect oil field about 40 miles (64 km) southeast off the Louisiana coast. The explosion and subsequent fire resulted in the sinking of the Deepwater Horizon and the deaths of 11 workers; 17 others were injured. The same blowout that caused the explosion also caused an oil well fire and a massive offshore oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, considered the largest accidental marine oil spill in the world, and the largest environmental disaster in United States history.
Ted is a 2012 American fantasy comedy film directed by Seth MacFarlane and written by MacFarlane, Alec Sulkin, and Wellesley Wild. The film stars Mark Wahlberg and Mila Kunis, with Joel McHale and Giovanni Ribisi in supporting roles, and MacFarlane providing the voice and motion capture of the title character. The film tells the story of John Bennett, a Boston native whose childhood wish brings his teddy bear friend Ted to life. However, in adulthood, Ted and John's friendship begins to interfere with the progression of John's relationship with his girlfriend, Lori Collins.
Dylan Rhodes O'Brien is an American actor. His first major role was as Stiles Stilinski in the MTV supernatural series Teen Wolf (2011–2017). He achieved further prominence for his lead role in the science fiction Maze Runner trilogy (2014–2018), which led to more film appearances.
Transformers: Age of Extinction is a 2014 American science fiction action film based on Hasbro's Transformers toy line. It is the sequel to Transformers: Dark of the Moon (2011) and the fourth installment in the Transformers film series. Like its predecessor, the film is directed by Michael Bay and written by Ehren Kruger. It stars Mark Wahlberg, Stanley Tucci with supporting roles done by Kelsey Grammer, Nicola Peltz, Jack Reynor, Sophia Myles, Bingbing Li, Titus Welliver, and T.J. Miller. It does not feature the original human cast from the previous three films, and instead introduces a new human cast and many new Transformers, including the Dinobots. A struggling inventor and single-father discovers a damaged truck, which turns out to be a Transformer in disguise.
Entourage is a 2015 American comedy film written, directed, and produced by Doug Ellin. It serves as a continuation of the HBO television series of the same name. The film stars the principal cast of the show, Kevin Connolly, Adrian Grenier, Kevin Dillon, Jerry Ferrara and Jeremy Piven. The plot follows actor Vincent Chase (Grenier), who goes over budget on his directorial debut and must ask newly appointed studio head Ari Gold (Piven) for more money. Like in the series, many celebrity sportspeople and actors appear as themselves, while several supporting cast members from the show reprise their roles.
A Most Violent Year is a 2014 crime drama film written and directed by J. C. Chandor, who also co-produced with Neal Dodson and Anna Gerb. It stars Oscar Isaac as a fuel supplier who tries to adhere to his own moral compass amid the rampant violence, corruption and decay that threaten his family and business. The film also stars Jessica Chastain, David Oyelowo, Alessandro Nivola, and Albert Brooks.
The following is the complete filmography of American actor and producer Mark Wahlberg.
Jake Gyllenhaal is an American actor who has appeared in over 35 motion pictures, three television programs, one commercial, and four music videos. He made his film debut in 1991 with a minor role in the comedy-drama City Slickers. In 1993, he appeared in A Dangerous Woman, a motion picture adaptation directed by Gyllenhaal's father Stephen Gyllenhaal and co-written by his mother Naomi Foner Gyllenhaal that was based on the novel of the same name by Mary McGarry Morris. In the following year, he portrayed Robin Williams' son in an episode of the police procedural television series Homicide: Life on the Street; the episode was directed by his father. In 1999, Gyllenhaal starred in the Joe Johnston-directed drama October Sky; the film was received warmly by critics, and Gyllenhaal's portrayal of the NASA engineer Homer Hickam was praised.
Monster Trucks is a 2016-2017 American live action/animated monster comedy film co-produced by Paramount Animation, Nickelodeon Movies and Disruption Entertainment for Paramount Pictures. It was directed by Chris Wedge, in both his live-action directorial debut and first directorial effort outside of his own company Blue Sky Studios, and written by Derek Connolly, from a story by Jonathan Aibel, Glenn Berger and Matthew Robinson. The film stars Lucas Till, Jane Levy, Amy Ryan, Rob Lowe, Danny Glover, Barry Pepper, Thomas Lennon, and Holt McCallany, and follows Tripp Coley, a young junkyard employee who finds a subterranean creature living in his truck.
Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children is a 2016 fantasy film directed by Tim Burton and written by Jane Goldman, based on the 2011 novel by Ransom Riggs. The film stars Eva Green, Asa Butterfield, Chris O'Dowd, Allison Janney, Rupert Everett, Terence Stamp, Ella Purnell, Judi Dench, and Samuel L. Jackson.
Daddy's Home is a 2015 American buddy comedy film directed by Sean Anders and written by Anders, Brian Burns, and John Morris. The film tells the story of a mild-mannered stepfather who vies for the attention of his wife's children when their biological father returns.
The Secret Life of Pets is a 2016 American animated comedy film produced by Universal Pictures and Illumination Entertainment, and distributed by Universal. It was directed by Chris Renaud, co-directed by Yarrow Cheney, and produced by Chris Meledandri and Janet Healy, from a screenplay written by Brian Lynch and the writing team of Cinco Paul and Ken Daurio. The film stars the voices of Louis C.K., Eric Stonestreet, Jenny Slate, Kevin Hart, Ellie Kemper, Lake Bell, Dana Carvey, Hannibal Buress, Bobby Moynihan, Steve Coogan, and Albert Brooks.
Patriots Day is a 2016 American action thriller film based on the Boston Marathon bombings in 2013 and the subsequent terrorist manhunt. Directed by Peter Berg and written by Berg, Matt Cook, and Joshua Zetumer, the film is based on the book Boston Strong by Casey Sherman and Dave Wedge. It stars Mark Wahlberg, Kevin Bacon, John Goodman, J. K. Simmons, and Michelle Monaghan. It marks the third collaboration between Berg and Wahlberg, following Lone Survivor and Deepwater Horizon. The title refers to Patriots' Day, the Massachusetts state holiday on which the Boston Marathon is held.
Stephanie Saul is a Pulitzer Prize winning journalist known for her work at Newsday and The New York Times.
Uncharted is a 2022 American action adventure film directed by Ruben Fleischer from a screenplay by Rafe Lee Judkins, Art Marcum, and Matt Holloway, based on the video game franchise developed by Naughty Dog and published by Sony Interactive Entertainment. It stars Tom Holland as Nathan Drake and Mark Wahlberg as Victor Sullivan, with Sophia Ali, Tati Gabrielle in her feature film appearance debut, and Antonio Banderas in supporting roles. In the film, Drake is recruited by Sullivan in a race against corrupt billionaire Santiago Moncada (Banderas) and mercenary leader Jo Braddock (Gabrielle) to locate the fabled treasure of the Magellan expedition.