Jumper (film)

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Jumper is a 2008 science fiction film based on the 1992 science fiction novel Jumper by Steven Gould. The film is directed by Doug Liman and stars Hayden Christensen, Jamie Bell, Rachel Bilson, Max Thieriot, AnnaSophia Robb with Diane Lane and Samuel L. Jackson. Jumper was released on February 14, 2008.

Plot

As a adolescent, David Rice (Max Thieriot) lived with his father William (Michael Rooker). Due to her status as a Paladin, David's mother Mary (Diane Lane) left him because she knew he was a Jumper.

When David falls through the ice covering on a river, he saves himself from a watery grave by reflexively teleporting himself into his local library; and discovers that he is a Jumper. Using this ability he leaves his childhood home behind. He decides to set himself up in New York City, using money he has stolen from the local bank. Over the course of the next eight years, David (now played by Hayden Christensen) lives life to excess, traveling all across the world and living a consequence-free life.

This all changes when he meets Roland Cox (Samuel L. Jackson), a Paladin who has been tracking David for several years after investigating the mysterious bank robbery he accomplished. Roland uses a variety of advanced technologies to inhibit David’s ability to Jump while trying to kill him, but David manages to escape. After David tracks down Millie (Rachel Bilson), his childhood friend, he encounters Mark (Teddy Dunn), a childhood bully who was responsible for David nearly drowning in the river. The two get into a fight after Mark insults Millie. During the fight, David Jumps with Mark into the bank vault from his robbery 8 years before, and leaves Mark inside. After this, David Jumps back to Millie, and uses his considerable wealth to fly her to Rome for a holiday. After interrogating Mark in jail, Roland sets out to find David.

While the two are exploring the Roman Colosseum, David meets a young Jumper named Griffin (Jamie Bell) (who had been tracking David since he noticed him jump at the bar in London). After being attacked by Paladins, they Jump to his hideout (Griffin since it is one of his Jump Sites, David by entering Griffin's Jump Scar). Once there, David learns about a centuries-old war between Jumpers and Paladins, and about how Griffin is trying to track down and kill as many of the Paladins as he can.

Fearing for Millie’s safety, David returns to Rome to see her safely on a homebound plane, but is arrested by the police for trespassing. While in custody he is visited by his mother, Mary, and warned that the Paladins are on their way. After receiving a warning to run, David puts Millie on a plane to Detroit, and then Jumps to his father’s house to check on him. Unfortunately, William is dead, killed by Roland for refusing to sell out his son.

While working with Griffin, David Jumps to Millie's home in order to take her to safety. After David arrives at Griffin's hideout, Griffin panics, telling David that the Paladins have technology that allows them to travel through the scars left after a jump. Roland arrives minutes later with a team of Paladins and attacks the group. Griffin kills the team with a flamethrower and fights against Roland one-on-one; Roland eventually retreats back through the jump scar into Millie's home, taking Millie with him.

Griffin prepares a bomb to use against Roland, but David won’t let him as this would kill Millie as well. David then steals the detonator and the two Jump across the world, through each other’s Jump Scars; until David manages to trap Griffin in a collapsed electrical tower which prevents him from Jumping. He then Jumps to Millie’s apartment, only to be caught by Roland and the Paladins. With great effort David manages to Jump a large portion of Millie’s apartment into a lake, shorting out the Paladins’ equipment. From there, he jumps a portion of the apartment, Millie, Roland, and himself into a library. David then jumps Roland into a cave in the Grand Canyon. Sparing Roland's life, David states that not all Jumpers end up being evil...

Some time later, David pays a visit to his mother, Mary, in the process learning that he has a sister. When he confronts her about her being a Paladin, she tells him that she loves him and therefore will give him a head start.

Terminology

Jumper : One who has the ability to teleport anywhere they have been previously. A Jumper can use visual reminders to reach their destinations; such as a photograph. If a Jumper has not physically been to an intended location, or it is not within their line of sight, they cannot Jump there. By using a picture or a distant viewpoint of a location, they can perform a sort of "rough Jump," which can cause damage to both the origin and destination, primarily in the form of a spherical depression in the area where the Jumper was/is standing. Jump : The act of teleporting. Although normally utilized by Jumpers, humans can Jump as well. This happens if the Jumper wishes for the person to Jump with them; or if the human has a device that allows them to create a wormhole from a Jump Scar. Paladins are the only humans shown to possess these devices.

The ability is diminished if a Jumper cannot think clearly - pain and disorientation cause Jumps to become erratic, and Paladins make use of continuous electric shocks to prevent Jumps entirely.

There are limits to what a Jumper can and cannot Jump, Griffin stated that one Jumper tried to Jump an entire building, but only managed to shake it, and the attempt killed him. Griffin is able to Jump any object, as long as it is moving; this is seen several times throughout the film, as he frequently uses automobiles as weapons. David ultimately Jumps a significant part of a building by tearing it from its surroundings. Jump Scar : The rip in the third dimension that is left when a Jumper Jumps. It is these pre-existing rips that allows for a Paladin to Jump (by turning the scar in to a worm hole using one of their machines). Other jumpers are able to follow the first jumper through it. Paladin : A member of an organization dedicated to the eradication of all Jumpers.

They believe that only God can have the power to "be anywhere and everywhere at once." They consider Jumpers as abominations.

They possess many weapons and technology that allow them to effectively capture and terminate Jumpers. Jump Site : Places a Jumper is familiar with and can therefore Jump to. Experienced Jumpers keep records to keep their memories of these places fresh in their minds - i.e. photographs or sketches.

Cast

Hayden Christensen as David Rice (adult): a young man who discovers the ability to "jump", or teleport.
Samuel L. Jackson as Roland Cox: the leader of the Paladin organization, whose goal is to kill jumpers, who are deemed too powerful to exist.
Jamie Bell as Griffin: A fellow Jumper.
Rachel Bilson as Millie Harris (adult): David's childhood friend and crush, who later becomes his girlfriend.
Diane Lane as Mary Rice: David's mother who separated from her son when he was five years old.
Michael Rooker as William Rice: David's father.
Teddy Dunn as Mark Kobold (adult); David's childhood bully.
AnnaSophia Robb as Millie Harris (teenager)
Max Thieriot as David "Rice Ball" Rice (teenager)
Jesse James as Mark Kobold (teenager)

Production

In November 2005, New Regency Productions hired director Doug Liman to helm the film adaptation of the science fiction novel Jumper by Steven Gould. Screenwriter Jim Uhls was hired to rewrite an adapted screenplay by David S. Goyer. The studio announced plans to develop a trilogy based on the novel's premise. In April 2006, actors Siraj Shaik, Teresa Palmer, and Sai Chand were cast for Jumper with Sturridge in the lead role. The following July, actor Samuel L. Jackson was cast into Jumper as an NSA agent, with producer Simon Kinberg rewriting the original screenplay draft by Goyer. Principal photography was scheduled to take place in Tokyo, Rome, Toronto, and New York. In August, actor Hayden Christensen replaced Sturridge in the lead role as David just two weeks before the beginning of shooting, as the studio "became concerned about not having a more prominent actor in their trio of young stars." Rapper Eminem was also considered for the role.

In September 2006, Jumper was filmed at various locations in Peterborough, Ontario. The next October, actress Rachel Bilson replaced Palmer in the role opposite Christensen, with principal photography already underway in Toronto. In December 2006, Liman negotiated with the Rome Film Commission for rare access to film for three days in the Colosseum. The scene in the Colosseum was originally written for the Pantheon, at which exterior shots were also filmed. The crew was required to keep equipment off the ground by using harnesses and to rely on natural light for filming the Colosseum's scenes.

After filming in Rome, scenes were filmed in Toronto during December 2006 to January 2007 and wrapped at the Canadian location on January 19. Cast and crew traveled to Tokyo to film scenes. On January 26 in Toronto, 56-year-old David Ritchie, a set dresser, was fatally struck by frozen debris while dismantling an outdoor set in wintry conditions. Another worker was injured and was sent to a hospital with serious head and shoulder injuries. As a result of director Liman insisting Christensen perform his own stunts while filming various scenes, the actor injured his hand, split open his ear, and developed a hyperdilated pupil that required hospital care.

In February 2007, the next filming site was set up at Gallup Park in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Sixty students from the nearby Huron High School were cast as extras for the film. Since additional filming was required of the area, twenty other students were used for a day of filming in September.

While other films tend to use only one storyboard artist, Jumper required six artists who each worked on an individual action sequence. The artists were given specific instruction on the rules of the teleportation used in the film, to ensure accuracy in the storyboarding. One artist reflected on the instructions: "I was just thinking, 'How would a guy that can teleport fight?' So you were really pushing yourself to try to think of inventive, cool, spectacular ways that you could use this jumping talent that these characters have."

Marketing

The first teaser trailer for the film premiered on October 10, 2007.

The film has been involved in viral marketing using the site WhatWeird.com, and numerous YouTube videos semi-integrated into the lonelygirl15 storyline.

Samuel L. Jackson appeared on the FOX pregame show before Super Bowl XLII on February 3, 2008 to promote the film. A trailer for the film also appeared during the Super Bowl broadcast.

On Facebook's gift shop, 250,000 snow globes with the Jumper's logo were made available. While normally Facebook gifts cost a dollar, 20th Century Fox paid for the items so that they could be given out for free.

An episode of American Idol began with Hayden Christensen as David taking Ryan Seacrest to the Sphinx in Egypt, and then "jumping" back to the show, where Seacrest introduced the episode.

During Winter X-Games 12, Hayden Christensen helped narrarate various events. There was also a "Jumper Cam" throughout the Games, a camera that looked at high-flying images such as the "Big Air" event and others.

Critical reception

The film received generally negative reviews from critics. As of February 22, 2008, the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reported that 16% of critics gave the film positive reviews, based on 135 reviews – the consensus was "An erratic action pic with little coherence and lackluster special effects. Metacritic reported the film had an average score of 36 out of 100, based on 28 reviews.

Box office performance

The film was released Thursday, February 14, 2008 in the United States and Canada, in the hopes of pulling in business on Valentine's Day. Jumper grossed $27.3 million in 3,428 theaters from Friday to Sunday, ranking first for the weekend at the box office. In its first weekend, the film set the record for the largest February release in Korea and had the first place position in 11 of the 30 markets it was released in. For the first two weekends of its release, the film maintained its number one position in international markets, while slipping to the second position in the United States to the release of Vantage Point. As of March 10, 2008, its worldwide profits are $153,265,111 with $72,446,523 from the domestic box office and $80,818,588 from foreign markets.

Graphic novel

Oni Press released a graphic novel that portrays several back stories related to the film titled Jumper: Jumpscars. The novel was released on February 13, 2008, one day before the film's wide release. A publisher for Oni Press commented on the tie-in to the film, stating: "The world that was being built around these characters was so well-realized and the mythology so interesting that other stories about this conflict would be plentiful and add to what the filmmakers were building." The novel was written by Nunzio DeFilippis and Christina Weir and illustrated by Brian Hurtt.

Video game

A video game titled Jumper: Griffin's Story has been made for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 2, and Wii consoles. The storyline focuses on the characters Griffin and David as he attempts to avenge the death of his parents. Nicholas Longano of the video game publisher Brash Entertainment stated, "From the very first script read, we knew this had to be made into a game. The teleportation elements make for some very compelling gameplay." The game was released on February 12, 2008, two days before the film's wide release.

Sequel

In response to the film's box office performance, Doug Liman has spoken of his ideas for a sequel. Among them are that Jumpers can reach other planets and travel in time, as well as their capacity for espionage. He has also stated that Rachel Bilson's character will learn how to Jump, just as in Gould's sequel, Reflex.

References

External links

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Last updated on Thursday March 13, 2008 at 19:00:35 PDT (GMT -0700)
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