| My Science Project | |
|---|---|
Theatrical release poster |
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| Directed by | Jonathan R. Betuel |
| Produced by | E. Darrell Hallenbeck (associate producer) Jonathan Taplin (producer) |
| Written by | Jonathan R. Betuel |
| Starring | John Stockwell Danielle von Zerneck Fisher Stevens Raphael Sbarge Dennis Hopper Richard Masur Barry Corbin |
| Music by | Peter Bernstein |
| Cinematography | David M. Walsh |
| Editing by | Carroll Timothy O'Meara |
| Studio | Touchstone Films |
| Distributed by | Buena Vista Pictures |
| Release date(s) | August 9, 1985 |
| Running time | 94 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Box office | $4,122,748 (USA) |
My Science Project is a 1985 comedy science fiction film directed by Jonathan R. Betuel.
Gearhead Michael (John Stockwell) and bookworm Ellie (Danielle von Zerneck) break into a military junkyard to find a science project for Michael's class. Michael accidentally falls through a trap door into an old underground fallout shelter, and finds a strange glowing orb which, unknown to them, is the engine of a crashed UFO. Michael unknowingly activates the device while trying to clean it, so it could pass as his science project, referred to simply as the "gizmo". It demonstrates strange properties, such as absorbing electricity from any nearby devices. After Michael and his friends plug it into a power source, it begins to materialize objects from other times and dimensions. When his science teacher (Dennis Hopper) experiments by plugging the orb directly into the power grid, it starts a chain reaction that warp the dimensions and time around it. Past, present and future collide in a whirling vortex which engulfs the school and only Michael and his friends can stop it.
Explained in the beginning of the movie, the orb came from a crashed alien vessel found by the US Military in 1957. President Dwight D. Eisenhower ordered the vessel destroyed. The orb was placed in a military junkyard for future analysis. Over time the device was forgotten and became lost.
The distributors of the movie in Sweden thought it should be marketed as a mix of Ghostbusters and Back to the Future. It was subsequently renamed TimeBusters.