10,000 BC (film)

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10,000 BC

Promotional poster
Directed by Roland Emmerich
Produced by Michael Wimer
Roland Emmerich
Written by Harald Kloser
Roland Emmerich
Narrated by Omar Sharif
Starring Steven Strait
Camilla Belle
Cliff Curtis
Music by Harald Kloser
Thomas Wander
Distributed by Warner Bros.
Release date(s) March 6, 2008 (AUS)
March 7, 2008 (USA)
March 14, 2008 (UK)
Running time 109 min.
Country United States
Language English
Budget $105 million
Gross revenue Domestic:
$94,683,772
Worldwide:
$268,683,772
Rental Gross:
--
DVD Sales:
--
Official website
Allmovie profile
IMDb profile

10,000 BC is a 2008 American film from Warner Bros. Pictures set in the prehistoric era, directed by Roland Emmerich and starring Steven Strait and Camilla Belle. The world premiere of the movie was held on February 10, 2008 at Potsdamer Platz in Berlin.[1][2] General release was on March 6, 2008.[3]

Contents

[edit] Plot

Among a remote central Eurasian mountain tribe of hunter-gatherers called the Yaghal, who live by trapping and killing mammoths, the young hunter D'Leh has found his heart's desire - the beautiful Evolet. When a band of mysterious horse-riding warlords raid the Yaghal camp and kidnap Evolet (along with many others), D'Leh is forced to lead a small group of hunters south to pursue the warlords to the end of the world to save her. Driven by destiny, the unlikely band of warriors must battle saber-toothed cats and terror birds in the Levant. Along their journey they meet other tribes of warriors, who have also had loved ones kidnapped by the marauding horsemen. Together they form a coalition and march in pursuit of the captors. At their heroic journey's end through a vast desert, they discover an Unknown Civilization. Their ultimate fate lies in a city beyond imagination, where great pyramids reach into the skies, laboriously erected by the captive slaves. Here they will take their stand against a powerful "god" who has brutally enslaved their people.

[edit] Cast

  • Steven Strait as D'Leh (an anagram for "Held" which is the German word for "hero"), a mammoth hunter and the main protagonist. He is actually the "Hunter", a Chosen One who is prophesied to destroy the Almighty.
  • Camilla Belle as Evolet, D'Leh's love and the only survivor of a different tribe; one which was killed off by the "four legged demons" (fierce warriors on horseback). While kidnapped, her hands were whipped, leaving a scar in the shape of the "hunter" - a foreshadowing of the one who will defeat the Almighty. She is unique in that she has blue eyes.
  • Cliff Curtis as Tic Tic, D'Leh's mentor.[4]
  • Joel Virgel as Nakudu, leader of the Naku tribe.
  • Afif Ben Badra as Warlord, leader of the "four legged demons"
  • Mo Zinal as Ka'Ren
  • Nathanael Baring as Baku
  • Mona Hammond as Old Mother, the Yagahl wise old woman.
  • Marco Khan as One-Eye, Warlord's main henchman.
  • Reece Ritchie as Moha
  • Joel Fry as Lu'kibu
  • Kristian Beazley as D'Leh's father, who had lived with the Naku tribe and learned agriculture from them..
  • Junior Oliphant as Tudu, Nakudu's son.
  • Boubacar Badaine as Quina, leader of another tribe.
  • Tim Barlow as the Almighty. The last of the three surviving Atlanteans, he is a tyrant who seeks to enslave all people on earth. The Almighty is a tall, emaciated albino man who dresses in long white robes and a face-concealing veil. He also fears the "Hunter", who is foretold to bring about his downfall.
  • Omar Sharif as the Narrator

[edit] Casting process

Emmerich opened casting sessions in late October 2005.[5] In February 2006, Camilla Belle and Steven Strait were announced to star in the film, with Strait as the mammoth hunter and Belle as his love.[6] Emmerich felt that casting well known actors would distract from the realistic feel of the prehistoric setting. "If like, Jake Gyllenhaal turned up in a movie like this, everybody would be, 'What's that?'", he explained. Unknown casting also helped keep the film's budget down.[7]

[edit] Production

Director Roland Emmerich and composer Harald Kloser originally penned a script for 10,000 BC. When the project received the greenlight from Columbia Pictures, screenwriter John Orloff began work on a new draft of the original script. Columbia Pictures, under Sony Pictures Entertainment, dropped the project due to a busy release calendar, and Warner Bros. picked up the project in Sony's vacancy.[8] The script went through a second revision with Matthew Sand and a final revision with Robert Rodat.[6] Emmerich rejected making the film in an ancient language (similar to The Passion of the Christ or Apocalypto), feeling it would not be as emotionally engaging.[9]

Production began in spring 2006 in South Africa and Namibia.[6] Location filming also took place in southern New Zealand[10] and Thailand. Before shooting began, the production had spent eighteen months on research and development for the computer generated imagery. Two companies recreated prehistoric animals. To cut time (it was taking sixteen hours to render a single frame) 50% of the CGI models' fur was removed, as "it turned out half the fur looked the same" to the director.[7]

[edit] Critical reception

The film received largely negative reviews from critics. As of March 30, 2008, the review aggregator at Rotten Tomatoes has reported that 9% of critics gave the film positive reviews, based on 119 reviews.[11] Metacritic reported the film had an average score of 37 out of 100, based on 25 reviews.[12] The movie received an average score of 35.5% from 43 film critics according to Movie Tab. [13] Richard Roeper named it the worst movie of the year so far in 2008, calling it "more historically inaccurate than The Flintstones".

[edit] Influences of other works

Similarities to One Million Years B.C. have been pointed out by some critics.[14] Glenn Whipp of the Los Angeles Daily News draws numerous comparisons between 10,000 BC and other films in the prehistoric and historic film genre, especially One Million Years B.C.[15] and Apocalypto[16][17] A. O. Scott of The New York Times compared it to John Ford's film The Searchers and also the animated film Ice Age.[18]

At the 2008 Wondercon, Emmerich mentioned the fiction of Robert E. Howard as a primary influence for the film's setting, as well as his love for Quest for Fire and the book Fingerprints of the Gods.[19], which also inspired the Stargate universe[citation needed].

[edit] DVD Release

The DVD of the film is scheduled for release on June 24, 2008 in the United States and 14 July 2008 in the United Kingdom.[20]

[edit] Box office performance

In its opening weekend, the film grossed $35.8 million in 3,410 theaters in the United States and Canada, ranking #1 at the box office, and grossing over $22 million more than the film in second place, College Road Trip.[21][22] As of April 29, 2008, it has grossed approximately $268.6 million worldwide — $94.6 million in the United States and Canada and $174 million in other territories[23] — including $17.2 million in Mexico, $12.9 million in Spain, $11.4 million in the United Kingdom, and $10.8 million in China. This also makes it the first film of 2008 to surpass the $200 million mark.[24]

[edit] References

  1. ^ Welt Online. "Emmerich feiert Start seines Steinzeit-Films (German)", Die Welt, 2008-02-26. Retrieved on 2008-03-11. 
  2. ^ Hilary Whiteman. "10,000 BC: The premiere (English)", CNN, 2008-03-03. Retrieved on 2008-03-11. 
  3. ^ imdb.com. "10,000 BC (2008) IMDb", IMDb, 2008-03-06. Retrieved on 2008-03-11. 
  4. ^ Shawn Adler. "Emmerich Heads Back In Time For ‘10000 B.C.’", MTV, 2007-06-29. Retrieved on 2007-07-11. 
  5. ^ Michael Fleming. "Sci-fi guy follows primal instinct", Variety, 2005-10-05. Retrieved on 2006-08-20. 
  6. ^ a b c Borys Kit. "Strait, Belle fight for mankind", The Hollywood Reporter, 2006-02-27. Retrieved on 2006-08-20. 
  7. ^ a b Adam Smith. "News Etc.", Empire, January 2008, pp. 16. 
  8. ^ Pamela McClintock. "Warners goes on time trek", Variety, 2006-01-30. Retrieved on 2006-08-20. 
  9. ^ "Exclusive CS Featurette: 10,000 BC", ComingSoon.net, 2008-03-05. Retrieved on 2008-03-05. 
  10. ^ "Principal Photography Commences on the Epic Adventure 10,000 B.C, Directed by Roland Emmerich for Warner Bros. Pictures", Forbes, 2006-05-09. Retrieved on 2006-08-20. 
  11. ^ 10,000 B.C. - Movie Reviews, Trailers, Pictures - Rotten Tomatoes. Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved on 2008-03-07.
  12. ^ 10,000 B.C. (2008): Reviews. Metacritic. Retrieved on 2008-03-07.
  13. ^ 10,000 B.C. Reviews - Movie Tab. Retrieved on 2008-05-24.
  14. ^ Lewis Beale. "'10,000 B.C.' marks a new era of caveman flicks", Newsday, 2008-03-02. Retrieved on 2008-03-07. 
  15. ^ Glenn Whipp. "Cheesy ‘10,000 B.C.’ adheres closely to Ten Commandments of prehistoric movies", Los Angeles Daily News, 2008-03-07. Retrieved on 2008-03-07. 
  16. ^ Alex Markerson. "10,000 B.C. E! Reviews", E! Reviews, 2008-03-08. Retrieved on 2008-03-08. 
  17. ^ Ty Burr, Globe Staff. "Yabba-dabba-don't", boston.com, 2008-03-08. Retrieved on 2008-03-08. 
  18. ^ A. O. Scott (2008-03-07). Human Civilization: The Prequel. The New York Times. Retrieved on 2008-04-06.
  19. ^ WonderCon 2008: Day 2 - Part 1! - ComingSoon.net
  20. ^ Play.com http://www.play.com/DVD/DVD/4-/5305386/10-000-BC/Product.html
  21. ^ 10,000 B.C. (2008) - Weekend Box Office Results. Box Office Mojo. Retrieved on 2008-03-16.
  22. ^ '10,000 B.C.' roars to top of box office. CNN. Retrieved on 2008-03-09.
  23. ^ 10,000 B.C. (2008). Box Office Mojo. Retrieved on 2008-04-06.
  24. ^ 10,000 B.C. (2008) - International Box Office Results. Box Office Mojo. Retrieved on 2008-03-30.

[edit] External links

Preceded by
Semi-Pro		 Box office number-one films of 2008 (USA)
March 9, 2008		 Succeeded by
Horton Hears a Who!
v • d • e
Films directed by Roland Emmerich
Moon 44 (1990) • Universal Soldier (1992) • Stargate (1994) • Independence Day (1996) • Godzilla (1998) • The Patriot (2000) • The Day After Tomorrow (2004) • 10,000 BC (2008)