| Final Destination | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | James Wong |
| Produced by | Glen Morgan Warren Zide Craig Perry |
| Screenplay by | James Wong Glen Morgan Jeffrey Reddick |
| Story by | Jeffrey Reddick |
| Starring | Devon Sawa Ali Larter Kerr Smith Tony Todd |
| Music by | Shirley Walker |
| Cinematography | Robert McLachlan |
| Editing by | James Coblentz |
| Studio | Zide/Perry Productions Hard Eight Pictures |
| Distributed by | New Line Cinema |
| Release date(s) |
|
| Running time | 98 minutes |
| Country | ‹See Tfd› Canada United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $23 million[1] |
| Box office | $112,880,294[1] |
Final Destination is a 2000 American supernatural horror film directed by James Wong. The screenplay was by Glen Morgan, Wong and Jeffrey Reddick, based on a story by Reddick. The film stars Devon Sawa, Ali Larter, Kerr Smith and Tony Todd. Sawa portrays a teenager who "cheats death" after having a premonition of himself and others perishing in a plane explosion and uses it by saving himself and a handful of other passengers, but is continued to be stalked by Death by claiming back their lives which should have been lost in the plane.
The film was based on a spec script intended for The X-Files, written by Reddick. X-Files writing partners Wong and Morgan were interested and agreed to re-write and direct a feature film of it, marking Wong's film directing debut.[2][3][4][5] Filming took place in Alabama and Vancouver. Final Destination was released on March 17, 2000, and was a financial success, making $10 million on its opening weekend.[1] The film score was released on the same date comprising original compositions by Shirley Walker.[6][7] The film was released on DVD on September 26, 2000 in theUSA and Canada,[8] which includes commentaries, deleted scenes, and documentaries.[3][9][10]
The film received mixed reviews from critics; where negative reviews classified the film as "dramatically flat" and "aimed at the teen dating crowd", while positive reviews praised the film for "generating a respectable amount of suspense", "playful and energized enough to keep an audience guessing" and as "an unexpectedly alert teen-scream disaster chiller".[11][12] It received the Saturn Award for Best Horror Film and Best Performance by a Younger Actor for Sawa's performance.[13][14] The film's success spawned three sequels composed of Final Destination 2 (2003), Final Destination 3 (2006), The Final Destination (2009) and one prequel Final Destination 5 (2011), all distributed by New Line Cinema; as well as a series of novels and comic books published by Black Flame and Zenescope Entertainment respectively.
Plot
On May 13, 2000, Alex Browning (Devon Sawa), a senior high school student, boards Volée Airlines Flight 180 with his fellow classmates and teachers for their senior trip to Paris. Before the plane ascends, Alex has a premonition that the flight will explode on take off, killing everyone on board. As events from his vision express themselves in reality, he panics and attempts to stop the flight. The resulting commotion leads to the removal of some passengers, including Alex, orphan Clear Rivers (Ali Larter), Alex' best friend Tod Waggner (Chad E. Donella), teacher Valerie Lewton (Kristen Cloke), Alex' rival Carter Horton (Kerr Smith), Carter's girlfriend Terry Chaney (Amanda Detmer) and student Billy Hitchcock (Seann William Scott). After they are exited from the plane, none of the passengers believe Alex' statement until the airliner explodes in mid-air. The survivors are devastated, and are investigated by two FBI agents (Daniel Roebuck and Roger Guenveur Smith) who are particularly interested with Alex' vision.
After attending a memorial for the Flight 180 victims, Tod accidentally hangs himself within his clothesline and is deemed as a suicide. When Alex and Clear locates his body, mortician William Bludworth (Tony Todd) tells them that Death is reclaiming the lives of those who escaped its original plan, as proven after Terry is killed by a speeding bus. Whilst watching a newsfeed detailing Flight 180's aftermath, Alex concludes that Death is executing the survivors in accordance with the sequence of their intended demises on the plane. Nonetheless, he is too late to save Ms. Lewton from a kitchen knife impalement which ultimately causes a house explosion. The remaining survivors (Alex, Clear, Carter, and Billy) are reunited as Alex explains the situation. Frustrated by Terry's loss and no control over his life, Carter attempts suicide by stalling his car along railroad tracks. Though he changes his mind, Alex rescues him by ripping his seatbelt before the train collides his car. Billy is unexpectedly decapitated by a shrapnel from the wreckage.
Withdrawing himself from the group, Alex believes that Death skipped Carter and progressed to Billy. Realizing Clear is actually next rather than himself, Alex rushes to her aid and encounters the FBI agents along the way. Meanwhile, Clear is trapped inside her vehicle surrounded by loose livewires. Alex sacrifices himself on behalf of Clear's safety by grabbing the wires, initiating an explosion which incapacitates him as the screen fades to white. Six months later, Alex, Clear, and Carter arrive in Paris and discuss their survival. Fearing that their struggle is unfinished, Alex narrowly avoids a bus. The bus hurls a parking signage towards a neon sign, which descends to Alex. Carter tackles Alex in time and asks him of the next quarry, inadvertently standing in the way of the swinging neon sign as the credits roll, implying Alex and Clear as the last survivors of Flight 180.
Production
| "One thing we were all in agreement on from the start is that we didn't want to do a slasher movie. We didn't want a guy in a dark cloak or some kind of monster chasing after these kids. That's been done again and again. I became very excited when we decided to make the rold at large, in the service of death, our antagonist. Everyday objects and occurrences then take on ominous proportions and it becomes less about whether or not our characters are going to die and more about how they will die and how they can delay their deaths. The entertainment value is in the 'ride' not in the outcome, and by placing the premise of the film on the inevitability of death, we play a certain philosophical note." |
| — James Wong on how he accepted the directing and writing privileges for the film.[5] |
Development
The development for the film and its respective franchise all began after Jeffrey Reddick took notice of the TWA Flight 800 explosion and its investigation, which gathered much attention to the media. "I was actually flying home to Kentucky and I read this story about a woman who was on vacation and her mom called her and said ‘Don’t take the flight tomorrow, I have a really bad feeling about it.’ She switched flights and the plane that she would have been on crashed. I thought, that’s creepy- what if she was supposed to die on that flight?" Reddick explained.[4] Afterwards, Reddick decided to write a 14-page script about it entitled Flight 180 for The X-Files. His script was ignored by series creator/producer Chris Carter and his staff of writers, except for writing partners James Wong andGlen Morgan, who took an interest in it. Both writers were willing to make it into a film, though they rewrote the script to comply with their standards. "I believe that at one time or another we've all experienced a sense of prescience. We have a hunch, a feeling, and then that hunch proves true," Wong uttered. "We want to do for planes and air travel what Jaws did for sharks and swimming," Wong appended. "The main thing they wanted about Death coming to get people is that you never saw a kind of a Michael Myers figure. You never saw a killer. And they liked that idea and they said 'Okay. Go write it,'" Morgan revealed. "Once we had a basic story, I started cataloguing the strange coincidences in my own life. For example, I was in the Vancouver airport waiting for a flight whenJohn Denver cam on over the loudspeaker. I remember saying to myself, 'Hey, he just died in a plane crash -- that's a little weird.' We wrote that version of that experience into the script," Morgan recalled.[2][3][5] Producers Craig Perry and Warren Zide from Zide/Perry Productions also helped for the film's budget, both similarly fascinated about the idea of an invisible force executing its victims. Perry, a fan of The X-Files, claimed that he "responded to Wong and Morgan's work for one specific reason: dread."[2][4] New Line Cinema accepted financing and distributing rights for the film, after Reddick came to them personally.[3][5]
Casting
Main article: List of characters in Final Destination
"One of the most important things we were looking for in casting was the actors' ability to play the subtleties - the little things that a character doesn't say or do that create the edge. The things that get under your skin and spook you," Morgan pointed out during auditions. The role of Alex Browning was the last one casted, the role going to Canadian actor Devon Sawa, who previously starred in the 1999 filmIdle Hands. Sawa commented that when "[he] read the script on a plane, [he] found [himself] peeking out the window at the engine every couple of minutes" and "[he] went down and met Glen and Jim and [he] thought they were amazing and already had some great ideas".[3][15] However, Morgan and Wong were still uncertain of casting him for the part, so they wanted him to perform again as they reviewed his previous works. Morgan was astounded by his performance in Idle Hands, and Sawa was hired.[2] Sawa described his role as "in the beginning, [Alex] was kinda loopy and cotter, and you know, probably not the most popular guy in school. I think he might have been a dork, you know, doing their stuff and they had their own thing going and they're after the two beautiful girls in school, but there's no chance of that happening. I guess after the plane goes down, his world completely changes." "Devon has an every man quality that makes him accessible," Wong remarked. "He doesn't appear as if he's supremely self-assured, he's more of a regular kid who can take on the complexities of the role and become a hero."[2][3][5] Perry was amazed by Sawa's vulnerability in acting, describing him as "a very distinctive actor". "He's very loose and he's kind of a cut-up when he's not on camera; but the moment the camera's on, I'd never seen anybody to completely slide right through the moment." Perry added.[2]
Ali Larter, who starred in the 1999 film Varsity Blues, was casted as female lead Clear Rivers. Larter asserted that "the film shows how easy it is to turn on someone, to blame someone when you're scared. It's also about trusting your intuitions and yourself." Larter defined her part as "that girl who has a lot of loss in her life and has fallen for herself, and had made a life within that. She's an artist, she lives by herself, and she's kinda' holding to her grip for what the world has given her."[2][3][5] Seann William Scott, famous for portraying Steve Stifler in the 1999 film American Pie, was hired as class clown Billy Hitchcock. Scott admired the film for "its dark and eerie as any "Twilight Zone".[5] Scott laughed at his role, claiming that "[he] is lacking some social skills, he doesn't have quite few friends, and he's like the tag-along."[2] Scott was surprised when in the script he was fat. The writers eventually changed it for Scott.[3] Dawson's Creek star Kerr Smith was cast as jock Carter Horton. Smith identified Carter as "your typical high school bully whose life depends on anger" and even mentioned the fact of Carter's fear against Alex for not having control of his own life.[2]
"There's not a lot of good stuff, you know, for my age. You get a lot of scripts and all but their teen ensembles and they're just "crap". And then I got Flight 180..... I mean, it's just awesome."
Kristen Cloke, who is Morgan's wife, appeared as teacher Valerie Lewton.[16] "I have incredible respect for them," said Cloke. "Jim's the kind of director who knows exactly what he wants. As an actor I can find a way to get there if I know specifically what I'm going for and Jim gives me that. The fact that he won't move on until he's got exactly what he wants creates a safe environment which allows me to experiment and try different things." Cloke described her part as "strong and sassy -- in control. After the crash she comes unglued, probably more than any of the kids, and it's a quick, drastic change. I had to understand the psychology of a person who can turn on a dime like that."[5] Newcomers Amanda Detmer and Chad E. Donella were hired as students Terry Chaney and Tod Waggner, respectively.[16] "When I first read the script the thing that struck me most was that the characters were well-written and the relationships between them were strong and believable," Detmer enthused. "That's important because you have to care about these people in order to be worried about what might happen to them." Detmer defined Terry as "very put-together [and] seems content to defer to [Carter] - to not make waves. But the stress of what happens affects their relationship and interestingly enough brings out a certain strength in her."[5] On the other hand, Donella mused how similar his role is to himself. "I believe in fate. I think you come into this life with some things to accomplish and you're taken out earlier or later depending on the game plan."[5] Tony Todd, who played Candyman in the 1992 film Candyman, was cast as mortician William Bludworth.[16] Morgan initially wanted Todd for the role for his deep voice that will give the film an eerie tone.[3]
Additional cast members included Daniel Roebuck and Roger Guenveur Smith as FBI agents Agent Weine and Agent Schreck correspondingly; Brendan Fehr, Christine Chatelain and Lisa Marie Caruk as students George Waggner, Blake Dreyer and Christa Marsh, respectively; Barbara Tyson and Robert Wisden as Barbara and Ken Browning, Alex' parents; and Forbes Angus as teacher Larry Murnau.[16]
Posting Komentar