Project Zero is a 2000 American animated science fiction action comedy film produced by TjsWorld2011 Entertainment for Paramount Pictures. It was directed by TjsWorld2011, produced by Ntpockets, and written by both Tj and Nt, and was the fourth feature film from TW2011 Entertainment, as well its second to be distributed by Paramount Pictures. It was also TW2011 Entertainment's first film without the involvement of Pyro R. Productions since 1995's The Hub (Pyro R. served as an executive producer on this film). The film tells the story of a team of high school students venturing inside the cyberworld to find an unknown threat and stop it from breaching the barrier of their world.
The film's concept was one its director TjsWorld2011 originally came up with in 1998, while working on his Nickelodeon series Tj's World. He wrote a screenplay that he described was "superimposed" over the technology of the recently-emerged Internet at the time, and took inspiration from earlier films such as Tron (1982) and Akira (1988). Studio mate Ntpockets convinced him to pitch the screenplay to Paramount in January 1999. Tj recruited the help of the recently-founded visual effects company Blur Studio to create the three-dimensional backgrounds and scenes set inside the cyberworld, as well as various visual effects. John Debney composed the film's main score, and Tj composed several additional electronic pieces inspired by its settings. Production lasted from March to October 1999. The film was also Mary Kay Bergman's final voice role before her death on November 11, 1999.
Project Zero premiered in Los Angeles on March 14, 2000, and was released in the United States on March 17, 2000 by Paramount Pictures. It received generally positive reviews from critics and was a box office success, grossing $128.6 million worldwide on its $65 million budget. It was later released on DVD, VHS and LaserDisc on August 8, 2000; it was the last TW2011 film to be released on LaserDisc.
Plot
Jason (Matthew Broderick) is a struggling 16-year-old inventor and technician who strives to make his late father's vision of a gateway between the physical world and the electronic world a reality.
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Voice cast
- Matthew Broderick as Jason
- Kath Soucie as Ashley
- Grey DeLisle as Brenda / Amy
- Rob Paulsen as Michael
- Samuel L. Jackson as Cyrus
- Sam Register as Viro
- Mary Kay Bergman as Mrs. East
- Patrick Warburton as The Principal
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Production
Concept
Following the release of TjsWorld2011’s previous film Revolt Squad (1998) through Warner Bros., Tj and Ntpockets began work on Tj’s next television series Tj's World for Nickelodeon in September 1998. During production of the series, Tj frequently took breaks to work on a screenplay revolving around the then-recently emerged technology of the Internet. He recalled, “I was invited to an America Online presentation some years earlier and I was pretty amazed by it. They showed us various websites in the making, and I wanted to write a screenplay involving them, so that's what I did. [...] AOL’s technology had helped me expand my creativity for it in a way, so I had a lot in mind for the script.”
By January 1999, Tj had completed his original screenplay; upon its completion, he presented the first draft to Paramount Pictures, the sister company of Nickelodeon who was also owned by Viacom. Paramount responded by proposing to adapt it into a feature film co-branded under its Nickelodeon Movies label. Tj gladly accepted the film offer, but turned down the Nick branding offer. He recalled, “I wanted it to be a project separate from my Nickelodeon work. I said just because I was working with Nick now didn't necessarily mean I was willing to make movies with them, but not just yet.”
Development
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Animation
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The film was later completed on October 12, 1999.
Music
- Further info: Project Zero: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack and Project Zero: Original Motion Picture Score
The film's primary score was composed by John Debney with additional music composed by TjsWorld2011 himself. He stated that he was able to create his own original compositions to be used alongside Debney's score using the program FruityLoops, and described it as being inspired by ambient producers such as Aphex Twin, as well as film scores by producers such as Vangelis, Giorgio Moroder, Brad Fiedel and Tangerine Dream.
The film's accompanying soundtrack album was released on CD, cassette and vinyl on February 29, 2000 by Interscope Records. The film's accompanying score album, featuring both Debney and Tj's respective music for the film, was released on March 14, 2000 by Varèse Sarabande.
Marketing
Trailers
- A teaser trailer was released on October 3, 1999, and was shown before films such as Superstar, The World Is Not Enough, and Toy Story 2.
- The first theatrical trailer was released on December 4, 1999, and was shown before films such as Bicentennial Man, Stuart Little, and Galaxy Quest.
- The second theatrical trailer was released on January 26, 2000, and was shown before films such as Snow Day, Hanging Up, and Mission to Mars.
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Release
Box office
The film grossed $128.6 million worldwide against its $65 million budget, leaving it at number two behind Erin Brockovich on its opening weekend.
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Critical reception
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Home media
The film was originally released on DVD, VHS and LaserDisc on August 8, 2000 by Paramount Home Entertainment. It was the last film from TjsWorld2011 Entertainment to be released in the LaserDisc format, before LaserDisc manufacturing was ceased in the fall of 2000. Project Zero was the fifth and second-to-last TW2011 film to have a telecined copy of the film recorded for its home media release; the film was directly recorded from the reel of it that was screened for its Los Angeles premiere on March 14, 2000.
2013 Blu-ray reissue and remaster
In January 2013, TjsWorld2011 announced through his Facebook page that he was doing a "remastering job" of the film. It was later included as an additional setting on the Blu-ray reissue of the film, which was released on April 9, 2013. In a "mini" featurette about the remastering process, Tj explains that he used editing software to minimize shaking on the original converted telecine reel of the film, which had been used for its original home video release. He also explains that he used color correction on many parts of the film to give it "more brighter and clearer" colors, and also "went through the entire audiotrack and fixed some bugs up a bit".
Video game
Main article: Project Zero (video game)
A video game based on the film of the same name was released for Sony PlayStation, Nintendo 64, Sega Dreamcast, Game Boy Color and Microsoft Windows in April 2000, and was later ported to PlayStation 2 and Xbox in May 2001.