Race to Witch Mountain

Race to Witch Mountain
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Andy Fickman
Produced by	Andrew Gunn Mario Iscovich (executive) Anne Marie Sanderlin (executive)[1]
Written by	Andy Fickman Mark Bomback
Starring	Dwayne Johnson AnnaSophia Robb Carla Gugino Alexander Ludwig Tom Everett Scott Chris Marquette
Music by	Trevor Rabin
Cinematography	Greg Gardiner
Editing by	David Rennie
Studio	Gunn Films
Distributed by	Walt Disney Pictures
Release date(s)	March 13, 2009 (2009-03-13)
Running time	98 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$50 million[2]
Box office	$106,303,988 [3]

Race to Witch Mountain is a 2009 science fiction/thriller film and a remake of the original 1975 fantasy film, Escape to Witch Mountain. Both versions of the film are based on the 1968 novel Escape to Witch Mountain by Alexander Key. The film is directed by Andy Fickman and stars Dwayne Johnson, AnnaSophia Robb, Alexander Ludwig, Ciarán Hinds, and Carla Gugino.

Filming began in Los Angeles in March 2008. It was released on March 13, 2009.

Plot

An alien spaceship crashes near Searchlight, Nevada, outside Las Vegas. Project Moon Dust, a secret Defense Department unit led by Henry Burke (Ciarán Hinds) and one of his young unnamed task forces, arrives in black helicopters. Men in Black seize the ship and search for its passengers.

Jack Bruno (Dwayne Johnson) is a former mob get-away driver who drives a cab to avoid returning to jail. One of his passengers is Dr. Alex Friedman (Carla Gugino), a failed scientist who is in Las Vegas to speak at a UFO convention at the Planet Hollywood hotel.

After resisting two thugs who seek his services for a mob boss, Bruno finds two teenagers, Sara (AnnaSophia Robb) and Seth (Alexander Ludwig), in his cab. They offer $15,000 to drive to a certain destination. Burke's men follow the cab; Bruno believes that the government agents are more mob thugs, and evades them with his driving skills. Seth's ability to vary his molecular density helps the group to escape.

When they arrive at an abandoned house, Bruno follows them out of concern and curiosity. The teenagers retrieve the device they were looking for within a hidden underground laboratory, but the three are attacked by a "Siphon" (Tom Woodruff, Jr.), a powerful armored alien assassin. The Siphon pursues the group until its spaceship crashes into a train and the creature is wounded. The three again escape Burke's agents, in part due to Sara's telepathy and telekinetics.

The teenagers explain to Bruno that they are from a dying planet 3,000 light years from Earth. Its government intends to invade Earth, despite the idea being unpopular among the majority of their race, so that their kind may survive. Seth and Sara's parents are scientists who sought a way to save their planet without invasion but were arrested before completing their experiment. The teenagers came to retrieve the successful results, but the alien government sent the assassin to stop them. To save both worlds, they must retrieve their spaceship and return home.

Bruno brings Seth and Sara to Dr. Friedman at the UFO convention, who realizes that the teenagers are what she has been searching for and joins the group. Fellow UFOlogist and conspiracy theorist Dr. Donald Harlan (Garry Marshall) tells them that the spaceship was taken to the secret California government base Witch Mountain. The group arrives at the base but are captured; Burke orders that the teenagers be prepared for vivisection, but feels that no one will believe the adults.

The Siphon attacks Witch Mountain and battles the soldiers, allowing Bruno and Friedman to infiltrate the base and free Seth and Sara. They launch the ship, escape through the mountain's tunnels, and finally kill the assassin who has stowed away on the spaceship. The teenagers give Bruno and Friedman a tracking device that will allow the aliens to always find them, tearfully wish them farewell, and return to their planet.

Bruno and Friedman become successful authors of Race to Witch Mountain: A True Story. They promote their book and knowledge on the UFO convention circuit, explaining that the publicity protects them from government reprisal. As they leave a convention the alien device activates, implying that the teenagers may be returning to Earth.

Cast

• Dwayne Johnson as Jack Bruno, a Las Vegas cab driver, a former convict.^[4] The director wrote in a cab driver as a main character because there was a unique relationship between the driver and his passengers. Fickman explained, "When Dwayne's driving and two aliens appear in his cab, he's stuck with them, there is an implied contract that I will get you to your destination, because that's what he does."^[5] This is Dwayne Johnson's second Disney film, the first one being the 2007 family comedy film The Game Plan, also directed by Andy Fickman.
• AnnaSophia Robb as Sara, sister of Seth, a girl with telekinetic and telepathic powers.^[6] Fickman chose Robb based on her performance in Bridge to Terabithia. She is very kind to Bruno and is the more compassionate of the two siblings. The only time she does not refer to Jack by his full name (Jack Bruno) is when she says goodbye to him, when she refers to him only as "Jack".^[7]
• Alexander Ludwig as Seth, brother of Sara, a boy with the power to control his molecular density - "phasing" and becoming very dense to some degree of invulnerability. He is very cold to Bruno at first, not trusting him very much, but apologizes in the end saying that if it weren't for him they would have not finished their mission. Both siblings talk using overly formal, emotionless voices, and are always addressing Bruno by both his first and last name at and in all situations.^[6]
• Ciarán Hinds as Henry Burke, Leader of Project Moon Dust. He is very sarcastic and unscrupulous, having no regard to morality as demonstrated after Seth and Sara are imprisoned in Witch Mountain when he orders them to be experimented on so he can harness their powers, regardless of the possibility that they could die. To him, as long as he gets results, whether they live or die does not matter to him. ^[8] Hinds described his character as a man in black, explaining, "I'm the head of the operation who's contacted directly by a man you never see...[It] is about protecting the country. He's responsible for it, and he'll do whatever needs to be done. That's how he sees it."^[9]
• Carla Gugino as Dr. Alex Friedman,^[5] a discredited astrophysicist.^[6] Fired from her university, she is relegated to giving a lecture at a UFO conference about hard science. She is named for Stanton T. Friedman, the Nuclear Physicist and noted Ufologist. She also becomes Jack's love interest.^[9] Fickman cast Gugino into the role since he was a fan of the short-lived television series Threshold, in which the actress starred.^[10]
• Tom Woodruff, Jr. as The Siphon, A well-trained alien assassin.
• Garry Marshall as 'Harlan' a friend of Alex's and an author of books who thinks he can "tell when people are lying to me". He is seen tricking Burke into going after him by trading cars with Jack.^[6]
• Cheech Marin as Eddie Cortez, the auto mechanic who gets frustrated when people come to his shop in the middle of the night, when it is closed.^[11]
• Chris Marquette as Pope.^[11]
• William J. Birnes, the host of UFO Hunters, in a cameo.^[11]
• Whitley Strieber, author of Communion, in a cameo.^[11][12]

Kim Richards and Ike Eisenmann, who portrayed Tia and Tony in the original Witch Mountain films of the 1970s, made cameo appearances in Race to Witch Mountain. Richards appears as a roadhouse waitress (named "Tina," a minor change from the character [Tia] she played in the 1975 and 1978 films) and Eisenmann appears as Sheriff Anthony. In addition, Meredith Salenger, the star of Disney's 1985 adventure The Journey of Natty Gann has a cameo as a TV reporter named "Natalie Gann." ^[13][14]

Production

In July 2007, Walt Disney Pictures hired Andy Fickman to direct Witch Mountain, a "modern re-imagining" of Escape to Witch Mountain, using a script by Matt Lopez.^[15] The following August, Dwayne Johnson (most notably famous for portraying The Rock in the WWE) was cast into a lead role, with filming scheduled to begin in March 2008.^[4] Fickman did not describe the film as a remake, defining his production as "a new chapter within the world of Witch Mountain". The director also described the book, in which the films are based as "a very cool dark thriller" and anticipated drawing elements from it that did not exist in the 1975 film.^[16] By March 2008, filmmakers were using a new script written by Mark Bomback.^[17] The film was re-titled Race to Witch Mountain, and it began filming in Los Angeles in the same month.^[8]

The convention center in Pomona, California was converted into the film's UFO Expo 9, and the interior of Witch Mountain was designed using photographs from a tour of NORAD's Cheyenne Mountain.^[11] A cabin for the story was also built in Agua Dulce, California.^[18] The director sought assistance from UFO experts, the military, and CIA advisers to shape the elements of the film.^[19] He also introduced a new element in the remake, an extraterrestrial creature called Siphon. The creature was conceived by the design team who created the look for Alien and Predator in the film Alien vs Predator.^[12]

Music

Offspring song "Stuff is Messed Up" and Future World Music song "Heart of Fury" were used in promos for the movie. The score to Race to Witch Mountain was composed by Trevor Rabin, who recorded his score with a 78-piece ensemble of the Hollywood Studio Symphony and a 24-person choir at the Sony Scoring Stage.^[20] Two of the songs in the film were written and performed by country and western band Brokedown Cadillac, which appears briefly in an opening scene.

The film also features the hit single "Fly on the Wall" by Miley Cyrus and "Emergency" by Hollywood Records artist Steve Rushton, featured on the soundtrack.

Home media

Race to Witch Mountain was released on DVD and Blu-ray August 4, 2009 in three different sets; first, a single disc containing a wide-screen version of the film with no bonus features; second, a Deluxe-Edition that contains deleted scenes as well as other bonus features and a Digital Copy; third, a Blu-ray release with the same extras as the Deluxe Edition, along with a DVD copy of the film and a Digital Copy in the Blu-ray format.^{[citation needed]}

Reception

Critical response

Reviews for Race to Witch Mountain have been mixed. Based on 74 reviews collected by Rotten Tomatoes, the film a 42% rating from critics, with an average score of 5.1/10 based on NaN reviews. ^[21] Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the film has received an average score of 50%, based on 23 reviews.^[22]

Box office

Despite the mixed outcome, the film turned to be a box office hit. It became the first Disney film in 2009 to open at #1, grossing $24.4 million. The film would go on to gross over $67 million domestically, and over $39 million overseas, for a total of $106 million.^[23]

References

1. ^ "Race to Witch Mountain". Blethen Maine Newspapers, Inc.. http://movies.mainetoday.com/movie.html?FilmID=66692. Retrieved 2009-03-03. 
2. ^ "Watchmen Falls; Witch Mountain Rises". Yahoo! News. http://news.yahoo.com/s/eonline/20090317/en_movies_eo/104481. Retrieved 2009-03-28. ^{[dead link]}
3. ^ Race to Witch Mountain at Box Office Mojo
4. ^ ^{a b} Fleming, Michael (August 28, 2007). "The Rock set for 'Witch Mountain'". Variety. http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117970997.html. Retrieved July 15, 2008. 
5. ^ ^{a b} Perkis, Ed (July 31, 2008). "Comic Con: Interview With The Stars And Director Of Witch Mountain". Cinemablend.com (Cinema Blend, LLC). http://www.cinemablend.com/new/Comic-Con-Interview-With-The-Stars-And-Director-Of-Witch-Mountain-9688.html. Retrieved November 26, 2008. 
6. ^ ^{a b c d} Goldstein, Gregg (March 14, 2008). "Carla Gugino scratches "Witch" itch". Reuters. http://www.reuters.com/article/filmNews/idUSN1435377520080316. Retrieved July 15, 2008. 
7. ^ Chen, Sandie Angulo (October 2, 2008). "Andy Fickman". Variety. http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117993343.html?categoryId=3262&cs=1. Retrieved November 26, 2008. 
8. ^ ^{a b} "Irishman Hinds playing bad guy in "Witch" redo". Reuters. March 4, 2008. http://www.reuters.com/article/filmNews/idUSN0555485120080305. Retrieved July 15, 2008. 
9. ^ ^{a b} "Set Visit: Race to Witch Mountain - Part Two". IGN (News Corporation). July 21, 2008. http://movies.ign.com/articles/892/892378p1.html. Retrieved July 25, 2008. 
10. ^ Lee, Patrick (July 30, 2008). "Witch's Gugino Chases UFOs". Sci Fi Wire (Sci Fi Channel). http://www.scifi.com/scifiwire/index.php?category=3&id=58190. Retrieved July 30, 2008. 
11. ^ ^{a b c d e} Chupnick, Steve (July 16, 2008). "Race to Witch Mountain Set Visit: Part I". ComingSoon.net (Coming Soon Media, L.P). http://www.comingsoon.net/news/movienews.php?id=46483. Retrieved July 16, 2008. 
12. ^ ^{a b} "Set Visit: Race to Witch Mountain — Part One". IGN (News Corporation). July 16, 2008. http://movies.ign.com/articles/890/890774p1.html. Retrieved July 25, 2008. 
13. ^ Kit, Borys (April 29, 2008). ""Witch Mountain" kids return for remake". Reuters. http://www.reuters.com/article/filmNews/idUKN2921597420080429. Retrieved July 15, 2008. 
14. ^ John Hough (1975). Escape to Witch Mountain (Motion picture). The Walt Disney Company. 
15. ^ Kit, Borys (July 23, 2007). "Director Fickman to conjure "Witch" redo". Reuters. http://www.reuters.com/article/filmNews/idUSN2327028520070723. Retrieved July 15, 2008. 
16. ^ Adler, Shawn (September 25, 2007). "AnnaSophia Robb To Climb ‘Witch Mountain’". MTV Movies Blog (MTV). http://moviesblog.mtv.com/2007/09/25/annasophia-robb-to-climb-witch-mountain/. Retrieved July 15, 2008. 
17. ^ "Carla Gugino Joins Race to Witch Mountain". ComingSoon.net (Coming Soon Media, L.P). March 14, 2008. http://www.comingsoon.net/news/movienews.php?id=42952. Retrieved July 16, 2008. 
18. ^ Newgen, Heather (August 4, 2008). "Race to Witch Mountain Set Visit: Fickman & Gunn". ComingSoon.net (Coming Soon Media, L.P). http://www.comingsoon.net/news/interviewsnews.php?id=47595. Retrieved November 26, 2008. 
19. ^ Vejvoda, Jim (July 24, 2008). "SDCC 08: IGN Scales Witch Mountain". IGN. http://movies.ign.com/articles/893/893415p1.html. Retrieved July 25, 2008. 
20. ^ Dan Goldwasser (2009-02-18). "Trevor Rabin scores Race to Witch Mountain". ScoringSessions.com. http://www.scoringsessions.com/news/176/. Retrieved 2009-02-18. 
21. ^ "Race to Witch Mountain Movie Reviews, Pictures". Rotten Tomatoes. IGN Entertainment. http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/race_to_witch_mountain/. Retrieved 2009-03-11. 
22. ^ "Race to Witch Mountain (2009): Reviews". Metacritic. CNET Networks. http://www.metacritic.com/film/titles/witchmountain. Retrieved 2009-03-11. 
23. ^ Race to Witch Mountain at Box Office Mojo

External links

• Official website
• Race to Witch Mountain at the Internet Movie Database
• Race to Witch Mountain at AllRovi