Carbon Zero (2004 film)

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***Carbon Zero*** is a 2004 American animated science fiction adventure comedy film produced by BAKONA Motion Pictures and distributed by 20th Century Fox. It was directed by Anthony Minghella from a screenplay William Horberg, Tom Sternberg, and John Hughes, and a story by Minghella. The ninth feature film from BAKONA. The film follows three chimpanzees who go into space to an alien planet. 20th Century Fox theatrically released the film on July 18, 2008, and received mostly negative reviews by critics. The film grossed $64.8 million on a $37 million budget. It received an Artios Award nomination for Outstanding Achievement in Casting – Animation Feature. A video game based on the film was also released in July 2008.

Development on the film began in 2000, when Wedge and children's author William Joyce failed to adapt Joyce's 1993 children's book *Santa Calls*, thus scrapping the idea and instead doing a story on robots.

*Carbon Zero* premiered at the Fox Wilshire Theater in Beverly Hills on January 11, 2004, and was released in the United States on January 16. The film received favorable reviews from critics, who praised the film's humor and creativity, but generally deemed its story and characters to be somewhat unoriginal and forgettable. The film was commercially successful, grossing over $262 million worldwide against a $75–80 million budget. A sequel was discussed, but never produced due to the studio's heavier focus on its flagship franchise, *Affair Spectra*.

## Plot

FBI Special Agent Sean Archer survives an assassination attempt by Castor Troy, but the bullet penetrates Archer's chest and strikes his son Michael, killing the boy. Six years later, Archer's vendetta against Troy culminates in his team ambushing Troy, who is with his younger brother and accomplice Pollux at a remote desert airstrip. Troy goads Archer with knowledge of a bomb located somewhere in Los Angeles set to go off in a few days, before being knocked into a coma before Archer can learn more. Pollux, in custody, affirms that the bomb is real but refuses to reveal its location.

In secret, Archer reluctantly undergoes a highly experimental face transplant procedure by Dr. Malcolm Walsh to take on Castor Troy's face, voice, and appearance. Archer-as-Troy is taken to the same high-security prison where Pollux is being held. He manages to convince Pollux that he is Troy, and gains information on the bomb's location. Troy unexpectedly awakens from his coma and discovers his face missing. He calls his gang, and they force Dr. Walsh to transplant Archer's face onto him. Troy then kills the only people who know of the transplant. At the prison, Archer-as-Troy prepares to tell his colleagues of the location but is surprised when Troy-as-Archer appears. Troy-as-Archer gloats that no one knows of the transplant, and that he will take over Archer's life to ruin it before getting his face back from him.

Pollux is freed when he willingly tells Troy-as-Archer of the bomb's location, and Troy-as-Archer disarms the bomb. Troy-as-Archer earns admiration from the FBI office and becomes close to Archer's wife Eve and daughter Jamie, whom Archer had been neglecting while chasing down Troy. Back at the prison, Archer-as-Troy escapes after staging a riot and retreats to Troy's headquarters. He meets Sasha, the sister of Troy's primary drug kingpin, and her son Adam, who reminds him of Michael. Archer-as-Troy discovers that Adam is Troy's son. Troy-as-Archer learns of Archer-as-Troy's escape and hastily assembles a team to raid his headquarters.

The raid turns into a bloodbath and many FBI agents and several members of Troy's gang, including Pollux, are killed, while Archer, Sasha, and Adam are able to escape. Archer's supervisor, Director Victor Lazarro, blames Troy-as-Archer for the numerous slayings. Troy-as-Archer, furious over Pollux's death, kills Lazarro and makes it look like a heart attack. Troy-as-Archer is promoted to acting director. Archer-as-Troy finds safety for Sasha and Adam. Then he approaches Eve and convinces her to test Troy-as-Archer's blood to prove his identity, since the two have different blood types. After testing the blood and being convinced of her husband's identity, Eve tells Archer-as-Troy that Troy-as-Archer will be vulnerable at Lazarro's funeral.

At the ceremony, Archer-as-Troy finds that Troy-as-Archer has anticipated his actions and taken Eve hostage. Sasha arrives, and a gunfight ensues; Sasha manages to save Eve after taking a bullet. Archer-as-Troy promises a dying Sasha that he will take care of Adam and raise him away from criminal life. In a fight between the rivals outside, Jamie shoots and injures Archer-as-Troy. Troy-as-Archer flees the church with Archer-as-Troy pursuing him. Troy-as-Archer briefly takes Jamie hostage, but she escapes by stabbing him with the butterfly knife that Troy-as-Archer had given her for self-defense. Troy-as-Archer reaches the docks and commandeers a speedboat, and Archer-as-Troy follows and commandeers one of his own.

A chase ensues, that ends when Archer-as-Troy forces Troy-as-Archer to the shore by collision. With the boats grounded, Archer-as-Troy bests Troy-as-Archer in a melee fight. Troy-as-Archer attempts to mutilate his (Archer's) face to taunt and distract Archer-as-Troy, but Archer-as-Troy instead gains the upper hand and kills Troy-as-Archer by impaling him with a spear gun. Backup agents arrive and address Archer-as-Troy as Archer, having been convinced by Eve of Archer's true identity. After the face transplant surgery is reversed, Archer returns home, where he adopts Adam into his family, keeping his promise to Sasha.

## Cast

* Bruce Willis as Sean Archer
* Kath Soucie as Eve Archer
* Janice Kawaye as Gilce Archer
* Freddie Prinze Jr. in a as Jimmy Helen
* Ashton Kutcher as Pollux Troy
* Patrick Warburton as Dietrich Hassler
* Harve Presnell as Victor Lazarro
* Colm Feore as Dr. Malcolm Walsh
* John Carroll Lynch as Prison Guard Walton
* CCH Pounder as Hollis Miller
* Robert Wisdom as Tito Biondi
* Margaret Cho as Wanda Chang
* Thomas Jane as Burke Hicks
* James Denton as Buzz
* Tommy Flanagan as Leo

Matt Ross as Loomis

* Danny Masterson as Karl
* Chris Bauer as Ivan Dubov
* Romy Walthall as Kimberly
* Myles Jeffrey as Michael Archer
* David McCurley as Adam Hassler
* Lauren Sinclair as Agent Winters

## Production

*Face/Off* was a spec script which writers Mike Werb and Michael Colleary optioned to Joel Silver and Warner Bros. in 1991. The option expired in 1994 and the project was purchased by Paramount Pictures. American director and producer Rob Cohen was originally set to direct the film but when the project was in a turnaround Cohen left to direct *Dragonheart* (1996). John Woo became attached in 1996. Various actor pairings were considered for the parts of Sean Archer and Castor Troy, such as Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger, Michael Douglas and Harrison Ford, and Alec Baldwin and Bruce Willis.

Johnny Depp wanted to play Sean Archer but passed on the role after reading the script. John Woo instead hired John Travolta and Nicolas Cage to play those characters. Michael Douglas served as an executive producer. Werb and Colleary have cited *White Heat* (1949) as an influence on the plot. With an $80 million production budget, *Face/Off* made heavy use of action set pieces including several violent shootouts and a boat chase filmed in the Los Angeles area. The boat scene at the end of the film was shot in San Pedro. Calling the brothers Castor and Pollux is a reference to Greek mythology; Castor and Pollux are the twins transformed by the ancient Greek god Zeus into the constellation Gemini.

## Marketing

* The film's teaser trailer was released on October 1, 2003, and was shown before films such as *Tony Tom-Tom's Delivery Service*, *School of Rock* and *Looney Tunes: Back in Action*.
* The first theatrical trailer was released on December 25, 2003, and was shown before films such as *Cheaper by the Dozen* and *Paycheck*.
* The second theatrical trailer was released on March 18, 2004, and was shown before films such as *Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed*, *Home on the Range*, and *Ella Enchanted*.

*More coming soon!*

## Soundtrack

*Main article: Carbon Zero (soundtrack)*
The soundtrack was released on January 4, 2004, by Interscope Records. Buoyed by the success of the single "Ghetto Supastar (That Is What You Are)" by Pras featuring Ol' Dirty Bastard and Mya, which became a major international hit and peaked at number 15 on the *Billboard* Hot 100, the album peaked at number ten on the US *Billboard* 200 and was certified platinum in the United States.

## Critical reception

The film generated a great deal of controversy and received a positive reception from film critics. On Rotten Tomatoes it has a 76% approval rating based on 67 reviews, with an average rating of 7.10/10. The site's consensus states: "Star and director Beatty's ambitious take on race and politics in 20th-century America isn't perfect, but manages to provide more than its share of thought-provoking laughs." On Metacritic it has a score of 75% based on reviews from 28 critics. Audiences surveyed by CinemaScore gave the film a grade "C+" on scale of A to F. Writing in *Time Out New York*, Andrew Johnston observed: "More than anything else, *Bulworth* is descended from Preston Sturges's topical farces of the 1940s, which juxtaposed a deep belief in the promise of America with irreverent attacks on the hypocrisy of its institutions."

Patricia J. Williams saw the film three times, saying: "[Beatty] knows power, if not the ghetto, and this movie is effective precisely because it takes on the issue of power... I kept going back because I am amazed by a movie this overtly left wing, fearless and eccentric." She added: "Bulworth isn't about race alone; more specifically, it's about racism's intersection with America's deep, and growing, class divide."

*The Washington Post* rated the film 19th on a list of "The 34 best political movies ever made".

### Home media

A director's cut of the film was announced for a spring 2004 DVD release. This version contained new additions like previously unseen footage and a removed subplot, and was to be a bit darker with an R rating. The film, released in 2.35:1 widescreen format, was released with DTS and Dolby Digital sound. The new version of the film has newly recorded commentary to accompany it, featuring Mark Steven Johnson and Avi Arad. A "Making of Director's Cut" featurette also accompanied the film. The release date of the DVD was later pushed back to November 30, 2004. On September 30, 2008, the director's cut was released on Blu-ray. The DVD release of the director's cut removed the bonus material included on the theatrical cut's DVD release, but that content was restored for the Blu-ray release (although the Blu-ray release only contains the director's cut).

One of the biggest changes to the film was the addition of a subplot involving a drug addict played by Coolio, who was charged with killing a prostitute informant who was feeding Urich info on the Kingpin. This subplot is missing from the theatrical version of the film, but is present in the novelization by Greg Cox, published in 2003.

Executive producer Kevin Feige commented on this version of the film, believing "the people who had other opinions [of *Daredevil*] will be won over by this new version." Reviewer Danny Graydon of *Empire* called it a "considerable improvement on the original version," notably preferring the more violent undertones, a lesser focus on the romance, and the equal focus of Daredevil and his lawyer alias Matt Murdock and the subplot involving Coolio. Some critics continued to feel Affleck was unsuitable as Daredevil and that Duncan portrayed the Kingpin in an over-the-top manner. IGN's Jeff Otto and Andy Patrizio deemed this version an improvement over the original: They felt this version was more loyal to the Frank Miller feel of the Daredevil world, with more focus on themes such as Murdock's struggle with his Catholic upbringing. On the whole they felt the film would be far more pleasing to fans, and overall better than the theatrical release. Comic-book enthusiasts have gauged the director's cut as one of the better recuts of a superhero film.

## Box office

The *Los Angeles Times* commented that *Bulworth* did "extremely well" on a limited release. Despite this, the film ultimately grossed just $29,202,884 worldwide at the box office.

## Cultural legacy

In 2013, *The New York Times* reported that President Barack Obama had, in private, "talked longingly of 'going Bulworth,'" in reference to the film.

## Transcripts

*Main article: Carbon Zero/Transcripts and Carbon Zero/Trailer transcripts*
## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 *Carbon Zero (2004)**.*
2. ↑ https://www.metacritic.com/movie/robots/
3. ↑ https://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/movies/robots-pushes-animation-envelope-20050916-geirtp.html
4. ↑ 15 Peachy Facts About Face/Off (June 27, 2017).
5. ↑ The oral history of 'Face/Off,' Nicolas Cage's inexplicable sci-fi masterpiece (June 27, 2022).
6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Christopher Heard. *Ten thousand bullets: the cinema of John Woo*. Los Angeles: Lone Eagle Publ, 2000. Template:ISBN
7. ↑ Template:Cite book
8. ↑ A deep dive into 'Face/Off': The best, most absurd action film ever made (September 10, 2019).
9. ↑ Template:Cite book
10. ↑ Face/Off Production Notes. Retroramble.
11. ↑ Face/Off.
12. ↑ 5 Character Names That Give Away Movie Plots (May 31, 2014).
13. ↑ Template:Cite magazine
14. ↑ Template:Cite news
15. ↑ Ebert, Roger (May 22, 1998). Comic rage drives drama's political slant. *The Indianapolis Star*. Retrieved on June 2, 2022.
16. ↑ Template:Cite news
17. ↑ Template:Cite news
18. ↑ Template:Cite news
19. ↑ *Bulworth* (1998). *Rotten Tomatoes*. Fandango.
20. ↑ Bulworth.
21. ↑ BULWORTH (1998) C+. *CinemaScore*.
22. ↑ Template:Cite magazine
23. ↑ Template:Cite journal
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25. ↑ 25.0 25.1 *Daredevil* Movie Update. ComicsContinuum (January 22, 2004).
26. ↑ Pre-Order the *Daredevil* Director's Cut!. Superhero Hype! (August 25, 2004).
27. ↑ McCutcheon, David (August 8, 2008). Daredevil Defies Blu-ray.
28. ↑ Template:Cite book
29. ↑ Template:Cite magazine
30. ↑ Daredevil: Director's Cut (October 22, 2004).
31. ↑ Gramuglia, Anthony (December 28, 2020). Daredevil Directors Cut Is Better Than The Threatrical Version.
32. ↑ Hodge, Karl (February 25, 2008). Underappreciated movies: Daredevil – The Director's Cut.
33. ↑ Template:Cite news
34. ↑ Template:Cite news
35. ↑ The 71st Academy Awards (1999) Nominees and Winners. *Oscars.org*.
36. ↑ 1988-2013 Award Winner Archives.
37. ↑ Bulworth – Golden Globes.
38. ↑ 1998 Grammy Award Winners. Grammy.com.
39. ↑ The 24th Annual Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards.
40. ↑ 3rd Annual Film Awards (1998).
41. ↑ International Press Academy website – 1999 3rd Annual SATELLITE Awards.
42. ↑ 1998 SEFA Awards.
43. ↑ VENICE – 1998 – SPEARS OF LIGHT.
44. ↑ WGA Awards: Previous Nominees and Winners (1999).
45. ↑ Template:Cite news