Poseidon (film)

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Poseidon
Directed by Wolfgang Petersen
Written by Paul Gallico (novel)
Paul Attanasio (screenplay)
Mark Protosevich (screenplay)
Starring Kurt Russell
Freddy Rodriguez
Josh Lucas
Jacinda Barrett
Richard Dreyfuss
Jimmy Bennett
Emmy Rossum
Mike Vogel
Mía Maestro
Stacy Ferguson
Andre Braugher
Kevin Dillon
Music by Klaus Badelt
Cinematography John Seale
Editing by Peter Honess
Distributed by Warner Bros.
Release date(s) May 12, 2006
Running time 98 min.
Country Flag of the United States United States
Language English
Budget $160 Million
Official website
Allmovie profile
IMDb profile

Poseidon is a 2006 action adventure disaster film and the third film adaptation of The Poseidon Adventure by Paul Gallico. It stars Kurt Russell, Josh Lucas, Emmy Rossum and Richard Dreyfuss. It is directed by Wolfgang Petersen and was produced and distributed by Warner Bros., in association with Virtual Studios. The film also had a simultaneous release in the IMAX format. The film's executive producers were Kevin Burns and Jon Jashni, Sheila Allen and Benjamin Waisbren. It was nominated for an Academy Award in the visual effects category, and was released on May 12, 2006.

Contents

[edit] Plot

The Poseidon, a luxury ocean liner, named for the Greek god of the sea, is making a transatlantic crossing.

The opening focuses on an introduction of the main characters. 19-year-old[1][2][3][4] heroine[5] Jennifer "Jen" Ramsey (Emmy Rossum) and her boyfriend Christian (Mike Vogel) are a young couple hoping to be engaged, but her father, former New York City Mayor Robert (Kurt Russell), has doubts about their relationship. Elena (Mía Maestro), a travelling stowaway, is going to see her ill brother in New York. She was found in the ship's dining room by Valentin (Freddy Rodriguez), who is a waiter on the ship's staff. Dylan Johns (Josh Lucas) is a smooth-talking professional gambler, and Richard Nelson (Richard Dreyfuss) is a distraught architect.

The rogue wave arrives.
The rogue wave arrives.

In the ship's ballroom, most of the passengers are at a New Year's Party, unaware of the danger about to befall them. However, a depressed Richard Nelson sees a rogue wave heading for the ship while he is sulking on the deck. The wave crashes into the ship, capsizing it.

Calm is restored in the ballroom after the captain assures the passengers that rescue boats are on their way, and will be here in a couple of hours. A group of passengers attempt to head toward the bow of the ship, where they believe they will have the best chance of escaping the capsized liner. They attempt to make their way through many hazards, such as fire and water, ultimately arriving at the stern and escaping through the propeller tube. They are rescued after the ship sinks.

[edit] Sets

Water floods into the ballroom through the imploding windows.
Water floods into the ballroom through the imploding windows.

Like the film The Poseidon Adventure, Poseidon based many of its sets on rooms aboard the RMS Queen Mary. The set designers for the 2006 movie Poseidon drew inspiration for some of the spaces on board the fictional Poseidon from rooms aboard the RMS Queen Mary 2, most notably in the Poseidon's ballroom, which is modeled in the main dining room of the Queen Mary 2.

On the sound stage, at Warner Brothers studios in Burbank, California, separate sets for each main room were built - one "right-side-up" and the other "upside-down." The "upside-down" ballroom set was built on top of a large water tank in the sound stage so that it could be filled with water and drained in a matter of hours. The interior (and exterior) shots of the ship rolling were constructed using CGI. The VFX were completed by ILM and used the most advanced version of Mental Ray technology.

[edit] Cast

Actor/Actress Role
Josh Lucas Dylan Johns
Kurt Russell Robert Ramsey
Jacinda Barrett Maggie James
Richard Dreyfuss Richard Nelson
Emmy Rossum Jennifer Ramsey
Mía Maestro Elena
Mike Vogel Christian
Kevin Dillon Lucky Larry
Freddy Rodriguez Valentin
Jimmy Bennett Conor James
Andre Braugher Captain Michael Bradford
Stacy Ferguson (Fergie) Gloria
Kirk B.R. Woller Chief Officer Reynolds
Kelly McNair Emily
Gabriel Jarret First Officer Chapman
The set of the ballroom for the Poseidon.
The set of the ballroom for the Poseidon.

[edit] Soundtrack

Released at May 9, 2006, the soundtrack includes the music composed by Klaus Badelt and the songs performed by Fergie (who played Gloria) and Federico Aubele.

  1. Won't Let You Fall - Fergie
  2. Bailamos - Fergie
  3. Postales - Federico Aubele
  4. Be With You (Club Mix) - Mary J. Blige (Bonus Track)
  5. The Poseidon
  6. The Wave
  7. A Map & A Plan
  8. Fire Dive
  9. Claustrophobia
  10. Drowning
  11. Don't Look Down
  12. Escape

[edit] Reaction

With a reported $150 million budget, Poseidon received mixed to negative reviews with critics (with the exception of Entertainment Weekly, MAXIM and Empire Magazine), and grossed a disappointing $20.3 million in its opening weekend, failing to knock Mission: Impossible III from the top of the box office (by sales).[6] Warner Brothers President & Chief Operating Officer Alan F. Horn called the results, "very, very disappointing."

The movie was commended for its realistic use of CGI effects in the capsizing scenes.[7]

Poseidon generated $61 million domestically and $121 million overseas, for a $182 million worldwide total [8]. On January 23, 2007, it was nominated for the Academy Award for Visual Effects.[9] It lost to Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest.

The film holds a Guinness World Record: The Most detailed CGI Model In A Film. The exterior shots included 181,579 individual objects, including; 382 cabins, 876 portholes, 73 towels, and 681 deckchairs, all created by digital-effects company ILM.

[edit] DVD release

Poseidon was released on DVD August 22, 2006, in both a single disc and double disc edition. The single disc edition has a behind-the-scenes feature and the theatrical trailer. The double disc edition adds the documentaries Poseidon: Upside Down: A Unique Set Design Chronicle, A Shipmate's Diary, which covers a film school intern's experience on the set, and a History Channel documentary that explores rogue waves.[10]

[edit] High Definition

Despite Warner being a format neutral company at the time of the film's home video release, Poseidon was released exclusively on HD DVD. It is unknown whether Poseidon will be re-released on Blu Ray after Warner's switch to Blu Ray in 2008 and the subsequent demise of HD DVD.

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ Diana Saenger's Review Express
  2. ^ The Trades - Movie Review: Poseidon
  3. ^ Poseidon (2006) - Starring Josh Lucas, Kurt Russell, Emmy Rossum, Jacinda Barrett, Mike Vogel, Jimmy Bennett, Mia Maestro, Andre Braugher, Richard Dreyfuss
  4. ^ Poseidon
  5. ^ INT: Emmy Rossum
  6. ^ Poseidon sinks at US box office, Guardian Unlimited, May 15, 2006, accessed September 16, 2007
  7. ^ Variety, broken link as of September 16, 2007
  8. ^ Poseidon Profile on Box Office Mojo, accessed September 16, 2007
  9. ^ IMDb 2006 Oscar page; Retrieved on 2007-01-23
  10. ^ Poseidon on DVD Active, accessed September 16, 2007

[edit] External links

v • d • e
Films directed by Wolfgang Petersen

Das Boot (1981) • The NeverEnding Story (1984) • Enemy Mine (1985) • Shattered (1991) • In the Line of Fire (1993) • Outbreak (1995) • Air Force One (1997) • The Perfect Storm (2000) • Troy (2004) • Poseidon (2006) •