Image via YouTube
Michael Bay, the director and producer renowned for explosions on and off camera, apologized recently for Project Almanac's use of actual airplane crash footage.
The New York Post's Gregory E. Miller reports the producer offered his sincerest apologies for the gaffe of including a B-52 crash that purportedly transpired in Tokyo back in 2009.
The film, directed by Dean Israelite, is about a group of friends who happen across the ability to time travel.
As we know with this kind of trope, things go awry and mishaps take place. As Bay took a backseat as producer, the decision was made to include a crash scene that included real-life tragedy.
The footage, for the moment, remains in the trailer at the 1:59 mark on Paramount Pictures' YouTube channel:
Now there is some conjecture as to the footage producers decided to use for the film. Air Force Times' Stephen Losey reports on the unfolding story and states: "The footage appears nearly identical to actual video of a 1994 B-52 crash at Fairchild Air Force Base in Washington state, which killed four Air Force officers."
Losey states family members of the victims recognized the footage and were understandably shaken by its inclusion in a sci-fi movie about something whimsical like teenage time travel.
However, there's a peculiar debate on the footage-although officials do admit to using actual crash footage.
Losey continues, "Paramount Pictures said on Tuesday that the filmmakers used footage of a different crash that took place in Tokyo in 2009, but that crash does not resemble the film footage that angered Wolff's (Col. Robert Wolff) and McGeehan's (Lt. Col. Mark McGeehan) families."
The Air Force Times' report includes a side-by-side comparison of the Fairchild crash and the footage used in the movie. From this writer's untrained eye, it certainly seems as though the trailer's footage is a match with the addition of various items like a truck in the foreground.
Bay, for his part, released a statement, proclaiming that he assumed the clip was a visual effect used by Israelite. It's a safe assumption when you consider this is the same director who blew up half of Miami in Bad Boys I and Bad Boys II, brought Transformers to life and put Bruce Willis and Ben Affleck on an asteroid hurtling towards Earth.
One of his recent productions even featured a bunch of talking Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
You can argue about the man's antics behind the camera or his overuse of sweeping camera motions and incessant explosions, but you would never call him lazy. Grabbing a piece of archived crash footage for a few moments of film may just be, and Bay is sincerely sorry on behalf of those who decided to include it.
Bay states: "I let film directors make their movies at Platinum Dunes [Bay's production company] and give them tremendous responsibilities. Well, unfortunately a very bad choice was made to use a real crash instead of creating a VFX [visual effects] shot, without realizing the impact it could have on the families."
Bay continued: "I have asked Paramount Pictures to remove this shot immediately from the picture. I want to also extend my deepest apology to the families, and also to the U.S. Air Force."
According to Losey, Paramount is dedicated to removing the clip from the movie and "promotional materials." Rest assured, however, that the movie will open on Jan. 30.
In a touching turn, Whitney Wolff Thompson, the daughter of Col. Robert Wolff, sent an email accepting Bay's apology in full.
She wrote, in part: "Mr. Bay, thank you from the bottom of my heart for your apology and your quick response to this. I appreciate your willingness to admit that this was indeed a real plane crash, and that a mistake was made in choosing to use it."
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