2012 (2009)

A frustrated writer struggles to keep his family alive when a series of global catastrophes threatens to annihilate mankind.

Director:

Roland Emmerich

Writers:

Roland Emmerich, Harald Kloser

Stars:

John Cusack, Thandie Newton, Chiwetel Ejiofor

5 wins & 21 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
John Cusack	...	Jackson Curtis
Amanda Peet	...	Kate Curtis
Chiwetel Ejiofor	...	Adrian Helmsley
Thandie Newton	...	Laura Wilson
Oliver Platt	...	Carl Anheuser
Tom McCarthy	...	Gordon Silberman
Woody Harrelson	...	Charlie Frost
Danny Glover	...	President Thomas Wilson
Liam James	...	Noah Curtis
Morgan Lily	...	Lilly Curtis
Zlatko Buric	...	Yuri Karpov
Beatrice Rosen	...	Tamara
Alexandre Haussmann	...	Alec
Philippe Haussmann	...	Oleg
Johann Urb	...	Sasha

Storyline

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.

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Plot Keywords:

apocalypse | earthquake | end of the world | elizabeth i character | juvenile bedwetting | 

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Taglines:

How would the governments of our planet prepare 6 billion people for the end of the world...? They wouldn't.

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Sci-Fi

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for intense disaster sequences and some language

Did You Know?

Trivia

The music in the teaser trailer is the same music that was used for the trailer for The Shining (1980).

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Goofs

The scientific paper on crustal shifting is said to have been published in 1958, and Albert Einstein agreed with it. Einstein died in 1955.

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Quotes

[from trailer]
President Thomas Wilson: Today we are one family.

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Crazy Credits

There are no opening credits at all, except the Columbia Pictures logo and the movie title "2012".

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Alternate Versions

There was an alternate ending that was featured on the DVD. After Captain Michaels announces that they are heading to the Cape of Good Hope, he tells Dr. Helmsley that he has a phone call waiting for him. Dr. Helmsley discovers that his dad Harry is still alive. Harry tells his son that he, Tony (whose arm is in a sling) and some of the passengers and crew survived the mega-tsunami that struck the Genesis. Captain Michaels states that they should have a visual on the ocean-liner shortly. After Kate thanks Laura for taking care of Lily, Laura tells Jackson that she liked his book. Lily then announces that she sees an island. The Arks arrive at the shipwrecked Genesis and the survivors on the beach.

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Connections

Referenced in Larry King Live: Thanksgiving Blockbuster! (2009)

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Soundtracks

Afreen Afreen
Written by Javed Akhtar and Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan
Performed by Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan
Courtesy of Saregama India Ltd.
By Arrangement with The Royalty Network, Inc.

User Reviews

A Silly and Corny Disaster Movie

When the geologist Dr. Adrian Helmsley and his team discover that the core of Earth is heating due to solar radiation, he advises the North American President about his findings. The American Govern collects money from the worldwide leaders to build arks to save them with necessary people to rebuild civilization. Meanwhile, the unsuccessful writer Jackson Curtis (John Cusack) discloses that the world is near to end and tries to save his son and his daughter from the tragic end.

In the 70's, there was a "fashion" of disaster movies, in general with dramatic stories but the special effects in those years were very simple. "2012" is the opposite: state-of-art special effects and an imbecile story, i.e., a silly and corny disaster movie. The physical absurd are usually OK for the action, but stupid attitudes is something that is annoying like, for example, the decision to open the gates with less than five minutes to be reached by the tsunami, or swimming wearing tie. There are some posts in the Message Board listing the implausible or stupid scenes and attitudes. The Church in Brazil is suing Columbia Picture for using the image of the Christ Redeemer without previous authorization in an absolute absurd and nonsense; could the true reason be indeed an indirect reprisal for the scene with the destruction of the Vatican? My vote is six.

Title (Brazil): "2012"

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English French Tibetan Mandarin Russian Hindi Portuguese Latin Italian Spanish

Release Date:

13 November 2009 (USA)

Also Known As:

Farewell Atlantis

Filming Locations:

Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$200,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$65,237,614, 15 November 2009

Gross USA:

$166,112,167

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$791,217,826

Company Credits

Production Co:

Columbia Pictures, Centropolis Entertainment, Farewell Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

158 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital DTS SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.39 : 1