Project Almanac

Last updated

Project Almanac
Project Almanac poster.jpg
Theatrical release poster
Directed by Dean Israelite
Written by
  • Jason Harry Pagan
  • Andrew Deutschman
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyMatthew J. Lloyd
Edited by
Production
companies
Distributed by Paramount Pictures
Release date
  • January 30, 2015 (2015-01-30)
Running time
106 minutes [1]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$12 million [2]
Box office$33.2 million [3]

Project Almanac is a 2015 American found footage science fiction film directed by Dean Israelite in his directorial debut, and written by Jason Harry Pagan and Andrew Deutschman. The film stars Jonny Weston, Sofia Black-D'Elia, Sam Lerner, Allen Evangelista, Virginia Gardner and Amy Landecker. The film tells the story of a group of high school students who build a time machine.

Contents

Filmed in 2013 and originally planned for an early 2014 release, the release date was later moved to January 30, 2015. [4] Upon release, Project Almanac received generally mixed reviews from critics and audiences, and grossed $33 million against a production budget of $12 million.

Plot

High school senior and aspiring inventor David Raskin is admitted into the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, but is unable to afford its exorbitant tuition. Upon learning his mother, Kathy, will be forced to sell the family's house, David enlists his sister Christina and his friends Adam Lee and Quinn Goldberg to search through the belongings of his father Ben, an inventor who died on David's seventh birthday, in the hopes of finding something David can use to get a scholarship, filming themselves all the while. He finds an old camera with a video recording of his seventh birthday party, in which he briefly spots himself (at his current age) in a reflection. Noting how he appears to be reaching for a basement light switch in the reflection, David and his friends enter the basement, which his father had forbidden. The group pull the switch, activate a trapdoor, and find blueprints for a time travel device that Ben was developing for a project called "Project Almanac," for DARPA, a government agency which allows them to build a functional time machine. They successfully send a toy car back in time, but cause a blackout in their neighborhood. When they get noticed by David's crush Jessie Pierce, whose car's fuel cell they use to power the device, they recruit her into their experiment.

The expanded group travel back to the day before and break into Quinn's house, where he draws on the back of his sleeping past self's neck, but the past Quinn awakens, causing a feedback loop that nearly erases them both from the timeline. Following this, they agree to use the machine for personal gain on the condition that they don't time jump solo. While at Lollapalooza three months prior, David hesitates to declare his feelings for Jessie, causing their relationship to become awkward, so he travels alone back to Lollapalooza to change that, leading to a future in which they are a couple. When he returns, he finds that the blackout they caused in the first experiment resulted in their school's star basketball player getting hit by a car and breaking his leg, which in turn caused the player's pilot father to crash a commercial airliner, among other global catastrophes. David goes back alone to save the player and avert the plane crash, only to discover that Adam was hospitalized and in a coma after a car accident.

David continues to travel back in time alone to rectify the accidents, but Jessie catches him during one of his trips and accidentally sends herself back with him. She confronts him, and David admits to using the time machine to win her affection. As Jessie lambastes David for his deception, her past self appears, causing a feedback loop that erases Jessie from the timeline. Seeing no other way out, David goes back to prevent the machine from ever being created, but it is out of hydrogen fuel. As David returns to the present, he is confronted by the police, who suspect him of being connected to Jessie's disappearance. Narrowly evading the resulting manhunt, David is able to break into his school and obtain a hydrogen canister. He activates the machine just as the police break in and sends himself back to his seventh birthday party ten years ago.

In the basement, David confronts Ben, who recognizes him and realizes that he will eventually complete the machine. David convinces Ben of the machine's dangers and tells him that he should say goodbye to his son before destroying the blueprints and a vital component. David is erased from the timeline, though he accidentally leaves behind his camera. In the alternate timeline, David and Christina go through their father's belongings when they find Ben's camera and the previous timeline's camera. While they are shocked by the second camera's footage of the previous timeline's events, David approaches Jessie at school, displays knowledge of the future, and confides in her that they are about to "change the world".

Cast

Members of rock bands Imagine Dragons and Atlas Genius appear briefly as themselves during the movie's Lollapalooza sequence.

Production

Principal photography began in June 2013 in Atlanta, Georgia. [5] [6] Shortly before the film's release, it was discovered that the footage turned in to Paramount featured 2 seconds of a real-life plane crash. [7] Although sources differ on where the film clip was from, Paramount has said the footage is of a 2009 crash while the Air Force Times reported that footage was "nearly identical" to a 1994 incident that happened at Fairchild Air Force Base, and two of the 1994 crash victim's families claimed that it was indeed the same footage. [7] Upon learning about this, producer Michael Bay publicly apologized stating that when he saw the footage he thought it was a special effect shot and asked Paramount to remove the footage from the film. [7]

Release

On February 5, 2014, Paramount Pictures postponed the release date from February 28, 2014, to an unknown date. Paramount partnered with MTV Films on the marketing of the film. On March 24, 2014, THR's Borys Kit tweeted that the film had been re-titled from Welcome to Yesterday to Project Almanac. [8] The film was released on January 30, 2015. [4]

Project Almanac grossed $22.3 million in North America and $10.9 million in other territories for a worldwide total of $33.2 million, against a budget of $12 million. [3]

The film earned $3.1 million in its opening day (including previews) which was far below industry’s estimate. [9] The film made a total of $3.9 million in its second day and $1.4 million for its third day, bringing in a weekend gross of $8.5 million from 2,893 theaters, with a per-theatre average of $2,938 and finishing third at the box office. [3] [10]

Reception

On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 38% based on 100 reviews with an average rating of 6.4/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Project Almanac isn't without wit or originality, but its thin story and irritating found-footage camerawork ultimately make it difficult to recommend." [11] On Metacritic, the film has a score of 47 out of 100, based on 25 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". [12] Audiences polled by CinemaScore on opening day gave the film an average grade of "B" on an A+ to F scale. [9] [13]

John DeFore of The Hollywood Reporter in his review said that the film "begins as a marginally fun diversion before proving to have nearly no interest in the possibilities of its premise." [14]

A. A. Dowd of The A.V. Club gave the film a C+ and said, "As found-footage thrillers go, Project Almanac is perfectly watchable, but it never taps into the adolescent joy of its premise, the way Chronicle did." [15]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shawn Levy</span> Canadian filmmaker (born 1968)

Shawn Adam Levy is a Canadian film director, film producer, screenwriter, actor, and founder of 21 Laps Entertainment. He has worked across genres and is perhaps best known as the director of the Night at the Museum film franchise and primary producer of the Netflix series Stranger Things.

<i>Paranormal Activity</i> 2007 film by Oren Peli

Paranormal Activity is a 2007 American supernatural horror film produced, written, directed, photographed and edited by Oren Peli. It centers on a young couple who are haunted by a supernatural presence inside their home. They then set up a camera to document what is haunting them. The film uses found-footage conventions that were mirrored in the later films of the series.

Found footage is a cinematic technique in which all or a substantial part of the work is presented as if it were film or video recordings recorded by characters in the story, and later "found" and presented to the audience. The events on screen are typically seen through the camera of one or more of the characters involved, often accompanied by their real-time, off-camera commentary. For added realism, the cinematography may be done by the actors themselves as they perform, and shaky camera work and naturalistic acting are routinely employed. The footage may be presented as if it were "raw" and complete or as if it had been edited into a narrative by those who "found" it.

<i>World War Z</i> (film) 2013 action horror film by Marc Forster

World War Z is a 2013 American action horror film directed by Marc Forster, with a screenplay by Matthew Michael Carnahan, Drew Goddard, and Damon Lindelof, from a story by Carnahan and J. Michael Straczynski, inspired by the 2006 novel of the same name by Max Brooks. It stars Brad Pitt as Gerry Lane, a former United Nations investigator who travels the world seeking a solution for a sudden zombie apocalypse, along with ensemble supporting cast including Mireille Enos and James Badge Dale.

<i>The Devil Inside</i> (film) 2012 American horror film

The Devil Inside is a 2012 American found footage supernatural horror film directed by William Brent Bell and written by Bell and Matthew Peterman. It is a documentary-style film about a woman who becomes involved in a series of exorcisms during her quest to determine what happened to her mother, a woman who murdered three people as a result of being possessed by a demon. Produced by Peterman and Morris Paulson, the film stars Fernanda Andrade, Simon Quarterman, Evan Helmuth, and Suzan Crowley, and was released theatrically on January 6, 2012.

<i>Paranormal Activity 4</i> 2012 film by Ariel Schulman and Henry Joost

Paranormal Activity 4 is a 2012 American found footage supernatural horror film, directed by Ariel Schulman and Henry Joost and written by Christopher Landon from a story by Chad Feehan. It is the fourth installment in the Paranormal Activity series, and a sequel to Paranormal Activity 2. The film features Katie Featherston, who starred in the first film. It was released by Paramount Pictures in theaters and IMAX on October 17, 2012, in the United Kingdom and on October 19, 2012, in the United States.

<i>Paranormal Activity</i> (film series) American supernatural horror film series

Paranormal Activity is an American supernatural horror franchise consisting of seven films and additional media. Created by Oren Peli, the original film premiered in 2007 and was widely released in 2009.

<i>The Intern</i> (2015 film) 2015 film by Nancy Meyers

The Intern is a 2015 American comedy-drama film directed, written, and produced by Nancy Meyers. The film stars Robert De Niro, Anne Hathaway, and Rene Russo, with supporting performances from Anders Holm, Andrew Rannells, Adam DeVine, and Zack Pearlman. The plot follows a 70-year-old widower who becomes a senior intern at a fashion website, where he forms an unlikely friendship with the company's workaholic CEO.

<i>Ben-Hur</i> (2016 film) 2016 film by Timur Bekmambetov

Ben-Hur is a 2016 epic historical drama film directed by Timur Bekmambetov and written by Keith Clarke and John Ridley. It is the fifth film adaptation of the 1880 novel Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ by Lew Wallace following the 1907 silent short film, the 1925 silent film, the Academy Award-winning 1959 film and the 2003 animated film; it is the third version produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. It has been termed a "re-adaptation", "reimagining", and "new interpretation" of the novel, and follows Judah Ben-Hur, a young prince who is falsely accused by his step-brother, an officer of the Roman army, and is sent to slavery, only to escape and seek vengeance. The film stars Jack Huston as the titular character, alongside Toby Kebbell, Rodrigo Santoro, Nazanin Boniadi, Ayelet Zurer, and Morgan Freeman. Principal photography began on February 2, 2015, in Matera, Italy and lasted about five months, finishing in June 2015.

<i>Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension</i> 2015 film by Gregory Plotkin

Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension is a 2015 American 3D found footage supernatural horror film directed by Gregory Plotkin in his directorial debut, and written by Jason Harry Pagan, Andrew Deutschman, Adam Robitel, and Gavin Heffernan. It is the sixth installment in the Paranormal Activity series. Most of the film takes place after Paranormal Activity 4 (2012), though the plot ties in heavily with the events of Paranormal Activity 3 (2011). It is the first installment not to star Katie Featherston as Katie, but she is referred to often. Most of the film involves the young 1988 Katie from the third film.

<i>Suicide Squad</i> (2016 film) Superhero film by David Ayer

Suicide Squad is a 2016 American superhero film based on the DC Comics supervillain/anti-hero team of the same name. Produced by Warner Bros. Pictures, RatPac-Dune Entertainment, DC Films, and Atlas Entertainment, and distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, it is the third installment in the DC Extended Universe (DCEU). The film was written and directed by David Ayer and stars an ensemble cast led by Will Smith, Jared Leto, Margot Robbie, Joel Kinnaman, Viola Davis, Jai Courtney, Jay Hernandez, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Ike Barinholtz, Scott Eastwood, and Cara Delevingne. In the film, a secret government agency led by Amanda Waller recruits imprisoned supervillains to execute dangerous black ops missions and save the world from a powerful threat in exchange for reduced sentences.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wes Ball</span> American film director

Wes Ball is an American film director and producer. He is best known for directing the Maze Runner film trilogy (2014–2018), based on James Dashner's series of novels of the same name, as well as Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes (2024), the fourth installment in the Planet of the Apes reboot series.

<i>Terminator Genisys</i> 2015 science-fiction film directed by Alan Taylor

Terminator Genisys is a 2015 American science fiction action film that is the fifth installment in the Terminator franchise. It is a reboot of the franchise, taking the premise of the original film in another direction and ignoring the events depicted in sequels and the TV series. The film stars Arnold Schwarzenegger, who reprises his role as the Terminator. It is directed by Alan Taylor and written by Laeta Kalogridis and Patrick Lussier. Along with Schwarzenegger, the film's cast features Jason Clarke, Emilia Clarke, Jai Courtney, J. K. Simmons, Dayo Okeniyi, Matt Smith, Courtney B. Vance, Michael Gladis, Sandrine Holt, and Lee Byung-hun. The story follows Kyle Reese, a soldier in a post-apocalyptic war against Skynet, who is sent from 2029 to 1984 to prevent Sarah Connor's death. When Kyle arrives in the past, he discovers that the timeline has been altered by Skynet and that Sarah has been raised by a reprogrammed Terminator sent to protect her.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Andy Muschietti</span> Argentine film director and screenwriter

Andrés Walter Muschietti is an Argentine film director and screenwriter who achieved wide recognition with the 2013 film Mama. He gained further recognition for directing both films in the It film series, the 2017 film adaptation of the Stephen King novel and its sequel, It Chapter Two. In 2023, he directed the DC Extended Universe film The Flash.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dean Israelite</span> South African film director

Dean Israelite is a South African film director, writer, and producer, best known for directing the found footage film Project Almanac, the 2017 reboot of Power Rangers, and the 2019 reboot of Are You Afraid of the Dark.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Christina Hodson</span> English screenwriter

Christina Hodson is an English screenwriter. She is best known for writing the films Bumblebee (2018), Birds of Prey (2020), and The Flash (2023). Her film Shut In (2016) appeared on the 2012 edition of the Black List, an annual list of Hollywood's best unproduced screenplays, but its resulting film was critically panned; two more of her screenplays remain on the Black List.

<i>Top Gun: Maverick</i> 2022 film directed by Joseph Kosinski

Top Gun: Maverick is a 2022 American action drama film directed by Joseph Kosinski and written by Ehren Kruger, Eric Warren Singer, and Christopher McQuarrie from stories by Peter Craig and Justin Marks. The film is a sequel to the 1986 film Top Gun. Tom Cruise reprises his starring role as the naval aviator Maverick. It is based on the characters of the original film created by Jim Cash and Jack Epps Jr. It also stars Miles Teller, Jennifer Connelly, Jon Hamm, Glen Powell, Monica Barbaro, Lewis Pullman, Ed Harris and Val Kilmer, who reprises his role as Iceman. The story involves Maverick confronting his past while training a group of younger Top Gun graduates, including the son of his deceased best friend, for a dangerous mission.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michael Bay's unrealized projects</span>

The following is a list of unproduced Michael Bay projects in roughly chronological order. During his career, American film director and producer Michael Bay has worked on a number of projects which never progressed beyond the pre-production stage under his direction. Some of these projects fell in "development hell" or are officially canceled.

<i>The Adam Project</i> 2022 American film by Shawn Levy

The Adam Project is a 2022 American science-fiction action comedy film directed by Shawn Levy and written by Jonathan Tropper, T. S. Nowlin, Jennifer Flackett, and Mark Levin. The movie stars Ryan Reynolds, Walker Scobell in his film debut, Mark Ruffalo, Jennifer Garner, Catherine Keener and Zoe Saldaña. In the film, fighter pilot Adam Reed (Reynolds) crash lands in 2022 after getting injured while stealing a time jet, and meets his 12-year-old self (Scobell) in the process, who had been dealing with the loss of his father Louis (Ruffalo) the year before. All the while, Maya Sorian (Keener), leader of the dystopian world and head of her company Sorian, plans to monopolize time travel.

References

  1. ↑ "PROJECT ALMANAC (12A)". British Board of Film Classification . November 25, 2014. Retrieved November 25, 2014.
  2. ↑ Antonio, Jon (June 15, 2013). "Michael Bay's super-secret Movie "Almanac" is Now Casting Extras in Atlanta". Project Casting. Retrieved January 28, 2015.
  3. 1 2 3 "'Project Almanac (2015)". Box Office Mojo . IMDb . Retrieved November 28, 2015.
  4. 1 2 Anderton, Ethan (March 25, 2014). "'Welcome to Yesterday' Renamed 'Project Almanac,' Moving to 2015". firstshowing.net. Retrieved March 26, 2014.
  5. ↑ "Michael Bay's super-secret movie 'Almanac' aka 'Cinema One' begins filming in Atlanta". onlocationvacations.com. June 13, 2013. Retrieved July 10, 2013.
  6. ↑ "Talent in Michael Bay's Almanac: Atlanta". onesourcetalent.com. Archived from the original on December 3, 2013. Retrieved July 10, 2013.
  7. 1 2 3 Losey, Stephen. "Michael Bay apologizes, will cut B-52 crash from film". Air Force Times. Retrieved August 18, 2015.
  8. ↑ Kit, Borys (March 24, 2014). "Borys Kit of THR - Tweet". twitter.com. Retrieved March 26, 2014.
  9. 1 2 Anthony D'Alessandro (January 31, 2015). "'Sniper' Still Blowing Away Competition; Eyes Super Bowl Record – Update". Deadline Hollywood . Retrieved January 31, 2015.
  10. ↑ "Project Almanac daily gross". boxofficemojo.com. Retrieved August 16, 2015.
  11. ↑ "Project Almanac". Rotten Tomatoes . Retrieved April 29, 2019.
  12. ↑ "Project Almanac Reviews". Metacritic . Retrieved February 19, 2015.
  13. ↑ Subers, Ray. "Weekend Report: 'Sniper' Sets Super Bowl Record". Box Office Mojo . Retrieved February 3, 2015.
  14. ↑ John DeFore (January 28, 2015). "'Project Almanac': Film Review". The Hollywood Reporter . Retrieved February 1, 2015.
  15. ↑ A.A. Dowd (January 30, 2015). "It would take a time machine to fix the problems with Project Almanac". The A.V. Club . Retrieved January 31, 2015.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.