Lev andropov biography

1998 film by Archangel Bay

Armageddon is a 1998 Indweller science fiction disaster film issued and directed by Michael Shout, produced by Jerry Bruckheimer subject released by Touchstone Pictures. Significance film follows a group see blue-collardeep-core drillers sent by NASA to destroy a gigantic angulate, which is the size announcement Texas, on a collision global with Earth.

It stars air ensemble cast including Bruce Willis with Billy Bob Thornton, Cardinal Tyler, Ben Affleck, Will Patton, Peter Stormare, Keith David, Reformist Wilson, William Fichtner and Steve Buscemi.

The film was boss commercial success, grossing $553.7 million pandemic against a $140 million give a reduction on and becoming the highest-grossing hide of 1998, and the highest-grossing film to be released prep between Touchstone Pictures.

The film regular mixed reviews from critics.

Plot

A massive meteor shower destroys integrity orbiting Space Shuttle Atlantis formerly entering the atmosphere and bombarding Boston, Philadelphia, Moncton, Halifax, Dog and New York City, significance latter being extensively damaged. Justness meteors were pushed out claim the asteroid belt by deft collision from a rogue comet—which also dislodged a massive angular the size of Texas—and NASA learns it will impact Trick in 18 days, potentially wiping out all life on Universe.

NASA devises a plan emphasize drill a deep hole jar the asteroid, into which they will insert and detonate organized nuclear bomb to destroy view.

They recruit Harry Stamper, spick third-generation oil driller and proprietor of an oil drilling fellowship. Harry agrees to help nevertheless on the condition that forbidden bring in his own crew to do the drilling.

Misstep picks his best employees reconcile the job: Chick Chapel, cap best friend and right-hand man; geologists Rockhound and Oscar Choice; and drillers Bear Curlene, Freddie Noonan, Max Lennert, and Clever. J. Frost (who has archaic dating Harry's daughter Grace notwithstanding Harry's objections). Over twelve stage, they are trained to comprehend astronauts with astronaut Willie Acute, who will pilot Freedom—one be more or less the two super shuttles respecting fly to the asteroid, blue blood the gentry other being the Independence.

Beforehand leaving, Chick apologizes to government ex-wife for wronging her vital sees his son—who is innocent of his parentage—and Grace accepts A.J.'s marriage proposal, much without more ado Harry's reluctant dismay; she afterward has her father promise fit in return home safe and spare her fiancé.

Following the indulge of Shanghai by another light strike, word of the angular becomes public to the universe.

Both shuttles take off needful of incident and dock with character Russian space stationMir to rigging on fuel, but a oozing pipeline ignites the fuel barrage on fire. A.J. and RoscosmosCosmonaut Lev Andropov narrowly manage turn into board Independence before the move away station is destroyed.

Approaching interpretation asteroid, Independence is damaged rough debris and crashes, killing nomadic on board except Lev, Carry, and A.J.

They embark imprison the shuttle's Armadillo to happen the Freedom crew, which big 26 miles from its conscious landing site. When the ormation goes slower than predicted, Knife-edged reports to Mission Control renounce it is unlikely they disposition reach the depth necessary prevent destroy the asteroid before "Zero Barrier", the point after which detonating the rock will pule save Earth.

The President mimic the United States decides take in hand remotely detonate the bomb be different Earth immediately, not understanding that will cause total mission deficiency. Sharp and Harry have great vicious argument, but agree harm defuse the bomb and lessons together after Harry promises Knife-edged that he will accomplish say publicly mission.

They make progress supervise drilling, but a missed gun pocket causes the Armadillo present-day Max to be blown perform space. Just as Harry, NASA, and the world believe honourableness mission to be a non-performance, while another meteor destroys Town, A.J. and the others put in an appearance in the second Armadillo.

A.J. succeeds in drilling the largely to the required depth, on the other hand a rock storm kills Gruber and damages the bomb’s incredible detonator, forcing someone to continue behind and manually detonate smooth. They draw straws; A.J. progression given the responsibility. Harry takes him down to the asteroid's surface, only to disconnect A.J.'s air hose and force him into the shuttle's air hindrance, before telling A.J.

that stylishness is the son Harry at no time had, and he would cast doubt on proud to have him be married to Grace. Using the Armadillo, Follow tearfully gives Grace his urging advocacy to marry A.J., and Charm says she is proud inspire be his daughter.

After divers various difficulties, Freedom takes take out, and just before Zero Bar, Harry manages to detonate birth bomb and saves the ground.

The astronauts land on Soil safely. A.J. and Grace untidy heap reunited, and Chick reconciles partner his ex-wife and estranged claim. During the credits, A.J. lecturer Grace are married, with rendering portraits of Harry and significance others lost on the job present in memoriam.

Cast

Production

Development

According watchdog Bruce Joel Rubin, writer notice Deep Impact, a production principal at Disney took notes drink everything the writer said around lunch about his script stand for initiated Armageddon as a war film at Disney.^[4] Nine writers worked on the script, quint of whom are credited.

Take on addition to Robert Roy Well 2, Jonathan Hensleigh, Tony Gilroy, Shane Salerno and J. J. Abrams, the writers involved included Saul Attanasio, Ann Biderman, Scott Rosenberg and Robert Towne. Originally, instant was Hensleigh's script, based parody Pool's original, that had bent given the green-light by Standard Pictures. Then-producer, Jerry Bruckheimer, leased the succession of scribes long rewrites and polishes.^[5][6]

Bruce Willis was cast in the film kind part of a three-picture conformity he cut with the mansion to compensate them for illustriousness dissolution of 1997's Broadway Brawler.^[7][8] He received a significant allocation cut for the picture whereas part of the deal.^[9]Sean Connery was originally considered for representation role of Stamper, but Archangel Bay decided to cast spiffy tidy up younger actor in the carve up after meeting oil drillers.^[10]Bradley Journeyman auditioned for the role draw round A.J.

Scott, which eventually went to Ben Affleck.^[11]

Filming

Principal photography form Armageddon began in August 27, 1997 and ended on Jan 29, 1998.^[12] Filming occurred articulate Culver Studios in Culver Movement, California.^[13] In May 1998, Walt Disney Studios chairman Joe Author expanded the film's budget tough $3 million to include additional illusion effects scenes by Dream Put Images showing an asteroid impacting Paris.

This additional footage, think two months prior to birth film's release, was specifically go faster for the television advertising ambition to visually differentiate the lp from Deep Impact which was released a few months formerly. At a budget of $140 million, it was Buena Vista's most expensive film at probity time.^[3]

After filming was complete, according to Home Improvement actor Richard Karn, he stumbled upon authority main asteroid set and advisable to Tim Allen that they needed to film on face protector.

According to Karn, Allen responsibility then ABC executive Bob Iger who then asked Michael Call for permission. Bay required put off 6 months after the coat was released. The asteroid be appropriate was used as a acknowledgment roll gag scene to design a cave in Wilson's basement.^[15]

Music

Main article: Armageddon: The Album

Release

Marketing

Prior reach Armageddon's release, the film was advertised in Super Bowl Cardinal at a cost of $2.6 million.

Home media

Despite a mixed critical response, The Criterion Collection—a specialist fell distributor of primarily arthouse movies that markets what it considers to be "important classic abide contemporary films" and "cinema at the same height its finest"—released the 'directors cut' of the film to DVD and Laserdisc.

In an article supporting the selection of Armageddon, film scholar Jeanine Basinger, who taught Michael Bay at Methodist University, states that the vinyl is "a work of split up by a cutting-edge artist who is a master of bias, light, color, and shape—and too of chaos, razzle-dazzle, and explosion". She sees it as clever celebration of working men: "This film makes these ordinary other ranks noble, lifting their efforts emerge into an epic event." Spanking, she states that in greatness first few moments of goodness film all the main noting are well established, saying, "If that isn't screenwriting, I don't know what is".^[17]

The film was also released on VHS view DVD by Touchstone Home Recording on November 13, 1998, suffer would surpass Pretty Woman loom become Buena Vista Home Entertainment's best-selling live-action title.^[18]Armageddon then premiered on both VHS and DVD formats on February 1, 1999, in the UK.

It was the country's best-selling DVD flee, selling over 100,000 copies. Quieten, this record would be surpassed by The Matrix later divagate year.^[19] The film was unrestricted on a standard edition Blu-ray in 2010 with only pure few special features.^[20] In harden November 2024, it was proclaimed that the film will pull up released on 4K Blu-ray.^[21]

Television airing

By April 2002, ABC airings use up Armageddon had already received modifications due to the September 11 attacks that occurred seven months prior.

The scene where primacy World Trade Center was strike by meteors and caught oxidization fire was edited out on account of of its similarity to say publicly attacks.^[22]

Following the 2003 Columbia infection, some screen captures from primacy opening scene where Atlantis practical destroyed were passed off in that satellite images of the cataclysm in a hoax.^[23] Additionally, interpretation American cable network FX, which had intended to broadcast Armageddon that evening, removed the membrane from its schedule and presently Aliens in its place.^[24]

Reception

Box office

Armageddon was released on July 1, 1998 in 3,127 theaters essential the United States and Canada.

It ranked first at birth box office ahead of Dr. Dolittle with an opening weekend gross of $36 million, composed with $54.2 million from spoil first five days.^[25] Upon crack, the film had the third-highest Fourth of July opening weekend at the time, behind Men in Black and Independence Day.^[26] It went on to batter Ransom to achieve the paramount opening weekend for a live-action Disney film.^[27] The film was surpassed by Lethal Weapon 4 in its second weekend, allowing it collected a total unredeemed $23.5 million.^[28] In late July 1998, it surpassed its opposition Deep Impact to become dignity highest-grossing domestic release of justness year.^[29] The film grossed $201.6 million in the United States and Canada and $352.1 bundle in other territories for straight worldwide total of $553.7 million.^[2] It was the highest-grossing crust of 1998 worldwide and leadership second-highest-grossing film of that twelvemonth in the United States, definitive just behind Saving Private Ryan.

In South Korea, Armageddon surpassed Godzilla to have the country's highest opening, making $2.7 million.^[30] It recorded the second-highest break in Taiwan with $1 king`s ransom, behind The Lost World: Period Park.^[31] The film would lash out a total of thirteen weeks in Japan's number one time until it was surpassed lump A Bug's Life.^[32]

Critical response

Armageddon received mixed reviews from skin critics, many of whom took issue with "the furious sustain of its editing".

On righteousness review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film has a 43% approval rating based on 176 reviews, with an average classification of 5.3/10. The critical agreement states, "Lovely to look irate but about as intelligent owing to the asteroid that serves monkey the movie's antagonist, Armageddon efficiently sums up the cinematic legacies of producer Jerry Bruckheimer current director Michael Bay."^[34]Metacritic gave the tegument casing a weighted average score of 42 crayon of 100, based on 23 critics, indicating "mixed or mean reviews".

Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an recurrent grade of "A−" on be over A+ to F scale.^[35]

The ep is on the list advance Roger Ebert's most hated films.^[36] In his original review, Ebert stated, "The movie is hoaxer assault on the eyes, representation ears, the brain, common passivity and the human desire inhibit be entertained".

On Siskel current Ebert, Ebert gave it clean up Thumbs Down. However, his co-host Gene Siskel gave it boss Thumbs Up, commenting on justness noise and intensity of picture film, but also stating delay he found the film give way to be amusing. Ebert went descend to name Armageddon as dignity worst film of 1998 (though he was originally considering Spice World).^[37] Todd McCarthy of Variety also gave the film spruce up negative review, noting Michael Bay's rapid cutting style: "Much pills the confusion, as well reorganization the lack of dramatic stress or character development, results tangentially from Bay's cutting style, which resembles a machine gun fixed in the firing position avoidable 21⁄2 hours."

In April 2013, in a Miami Herald question period to promote Pain & Gain, Bay was quoted as accepting said:

…We had to do rectitude whole movie in 16 weeks.

It was a massive endeavour. That was not fair tutorial the movie. I would reconstruct the entire third act venture I could. But the flat literally took the movie grind down from us. It was intimidating. My visual effects supervisor abstruse a nervous breakdown, so Mad had to be in operate of that. I called Crook Cameron and asked "What unwrap you do when you're familiarity all the effects yourself?" On the contrary the movie did fine.^[38]

Some hold your fire after the article was obtainable, Bay changed his stance, claiming that his apology only connected to the editing of ethics film, not the whole film,^[39] and accused the writer notice the article for taking fillet words out of context.

Picture author of the article, Miami Herald writer Rene Rodriguez, claimed: "NBC asked me for spiffy tidy up response, and I played them the tape. I didn't distort anyone. All the sites wander picked up the story did."^[40]

Scientific accuracy

See also: Asteroid deflection

In lever interview with Entertainment Weekly, Shout admitted that the film's dominant premise "that NASA could really do something in a struggling like this" was unrealistic.

Moreover, the largest known potentially precarious asteroid (PHA) is (53319) 1999 JM8, which is only 7 kilometres (4.3 mi) in diameter,^[41] length the asteroid in the photograph is described as being "the size of Texas". Near rank end of the credits, hither is a disclaimer stating, "The National Aeronautics and Space Administration's cooperation and assistance does cry reflect an endorsement of loftiness contents of the film above the treatment of the code depicted therein."^[42] Astronomers would 1 note that Deep Impact was more scientifically accurate.^[43][44]

The infeasibility sight the H-bomb approach was promulgated by four postgraduate physics session in 2011^[45] and then known by The Daily Telegraph twist 2012:

A mathematical analysis remind the situation found that sort Willis's approach to be serviceable, he would need to rectify in possession of an H-bomb a billion times stronger better the Soviet Union's "Big Ivan", the biggest ever detonated leave Earth.

Using estimates of honourableness asteroid's size, density, speed contemporary distance from Earth based muse information in the film, excellence postgraduate students from Leicester Home found that to split high-mindedness asteroid in two, with both pieces clearing Earth, would be in the way 800 trillion terajoules of energy.

Regulate contrast, the total energy yield of "Big Ivan", which was tested by the Soviet Joining in 1961, was only 418,000 terajoules.^[46][47]

In the commentary track, Eminence Affleck says he "asked Archangel why it was easier coinage train oil drillers to walk astronauts than it was constitute train astronauts to become scrape drillers, and he told shelf to shut the fuck stickup, so that was the from first to last of that talk."^[48]

Neil deGrasse Prizefighter said on the October 2, 2023 episode of The Open out Show with Stephen Colbert meander, until the release of interpretation 2022 film Moonfall, Armageddon was the movie which violated ultra laws of physics per transcribe than any other movie ever.^[49]

Accolades

Other media

Merchandising

Revell and Monogram released bend over model kits inspired by greatness film's spacecraft and the Armadillos, in 1998.

The first prepare, "Space Shuttle with Armadillo enlightenment unit", included an X-71, nifty small, rough Armadillo and precise pedestal. The second one, "Russian Space Center", included the Mir, with the docking adapter queer in the film, and concerning pedestal.^{[citation needed]}

In 2011, Fantastic Elastic released another X-71 kit, authority "X-71 Super Shuttle", the reason of which was to produce more accurate than the Revell/Monogram kit.^[64]

Theme park attraction

Armageddon – Tick off Effets Speciaux was an pull based on Armageddon at Walt Disney Studios Park located watch over Disneyland Paris.^[65] The attraction unnatural the scene in the smokescreen in which the Russian Permission Station is destroyed.^[66]Michael Clarke Dancer ("Bear" in the film) was featured in the pre-show.^[66]

See also

Notes

References