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World Trade Center
"World Trade Center" Promotional Poster
Directed by	Oliver Stone
Produced by	Moritz Borman Debra Hill Michael Shamberg Stacey Sher
Written by	Andrea Berloff
Starring	Nicolas Cage Michael Peña Maggie Gyllenhaal Maria Bello Stephen Dorff Jay Hernandez Michael Shannon Morgan Flynn Connor Paolo Anthony Piccininni Alexa Gerasimovich
Music by	Craig Armstrong
Cinematography	Seamus McGarvey
Editing by	David Brenner Julie Monroe
Distributed by	USA Theatrical and Worldwide DVD/Video Paramount Pictures Non-USA Theatrical United International Pictures
Release date(s)	August 9, 2006 (in U.S.) September 29, 2006 (in UK)
Running time	129 minutes
Language	English
Budget	$65,000,000
All Movie Guide profile
IMDb profile

World Trade Center is a dramatic film based on the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center towers of New York City(NY), USA, released by Paramount Pictures on August 9, 2006.

The movie was directed by Oliver Stone and stars Nicolas Cage, Michael Peña, Maria Bello, and Maggie Gyllenhaal. It is billed as an uplifting story about everyday New Yorkers helping one another amid a cataclysmic tragedy, and is the first theatrical motion picture to deal with the World Trade Center attacks on 9/11 and the heroic efforts of countless rescue workers and regular citizens. Critical reception of the film was generally favorable. Many of the re-created scenes at the Twin Towers were filmed at Playa Vista, Los Angeles, California, USA.

The true story of Port Authority police officers John McLoughlin and Will Jimeno, who, while patrolling the Port Authority Bus Terminal in Midtown Manhattan, saw a plane fly low overhead.

Nicolas Cage as John McLoughlin

As all of the police officers return to the station, they see the TV, and find that one of the massive twin towers of the World Trade Center has been hit by a plane. Sergeant McLoughlin assigns many of the officers to assist in an evacuation attempt of the (still undamaged) South Tower, and they board a commandeered Metropolitan Transit Authority bus.

When they arrive at the site of the World Trade Center, they see many disturbing things, including one of the first victims jumping out of the tower to their death to escape the flames. As Jimeno drops off their police equipment in 5 World Trade Center, officers proceed to get safety equipment and, walk into the concourse of the World Trade Center, between the two towers. The group consists of McLoughlin, Jimeno, Dominick Pezzulo, and Antonio Rodrigues (A-Rod).

The wives and families of McLoughlin and Jimeno are gradually introduced, unaware of their husbands' and fathers' fates.

An officer, named Chris Amoroso, runs along to tell them of the other events such as the Pentagon being hit by what they believed to be a missile, and the South Tower being hit by another plane. As the group prepare to enter the North Tower, the buildings begin to rumble. Looking around, McLoughlin realizes that the South Tower is collapsing onto them, and their only chance of survival is to run into the service elevator shaft. Chris trips and doesn't have time to get up. A-Rod isn't able to get to the shaft in time. McLoughlin, Jimeno and Pezzulo manage to escape the huge amounts of dust and rubble flying down from the South Tower. But as the rubble continues to crush the elevator shaft, the three are knocked out.

Maria Bello as John McLoughlin's wife, Donna

As the group wake up, Pezzulo realises he can free himself, and manages to go nearer to Jimeno in the rubble, who, along with McLoughlin, have survived the collapse of the South Tower. As Pezzulo gets optimistic that they will live, the rumbling starts up again, as the North Tower is now collapsing as well. Although Jimeno and McLoughlin are unharmed, Pezzulo is fatally wounded and, after firing his gun up through a gap in the rubble to try to alert rescuers to their position, dies.

After Jimeno and McLoughlin spend hours under the rubble, luckily two United States Marines, Dave Karnes and Jason Thomas, who are searching for survivors of the tower collapse find Jimeno and McLoughlin and call for help to dig them out.

Their families are called and told that their husbands have walked out of the rubble in perfect health, but this is wrong, in fact, they are both in danger of dying. When they arrive, they are told that their husbands are in hospital and they rush to meet them. McLoughlin's family manages to find him just before he is pulled into the operating room to be put in a medically induced coma.

Two years later, as they attend a celebration to receive an award for courage, their families are happy again that the two officers, McLoughlin and Jimeno, survived the biggest terrorist attack in US history.

2,749 people perished in the Twin Towers attacks (not including the hijackers) and only 20 people were pulled out alive. McLoughlin and Jimeno were numbers 18 and 19.

The recreated New York City skyline featuring, prominently, the World Trade Center

• The film has garnered moderate critical acclaim, with a 71% fresh rating at Rotten Tomatoes[1] and a 66% metascore at Metacritic[2].

• Best Picture - Online Film Fans Awards, October 23, 2006
• Best Director, Oliver Stone - Online Film Fans Awards

Jeanette Pezzulo, the widow of Port Authority police officer Dominick Pezzulo (who died on 9/11 and is played by Jay Hernandez in this film), has expressed anger with this film and feels it is wrong McLoughlin and Jimeno participated in the production. She's quoted as saying, "My thing is: this man died for you. How do you do this to this family?".^[1] Staten Island resident Jamie Amoroso, whose husband also died during the rescue operation, has also expressed her anger over the film and said she does "not need a movie" to tell her "what a hero" her husband was.^[1] Baltimore detective Ken Nacke, whose brother Louis died on Flight 93, said he would not be going to see the film. He criticised its producers for not involving enough of the survivors' families in its production, something he said did not happen with United 93 director Paul Greengrass, who collected the blessings of all the victims' families before shooting his controversial film (although it has been reported that the widow of United 93 victim Christian Adams refused to cooperate in the making of that film. See United 93 Controversy). He added: "I met a couple of people who lost relatives and had approached the producers and weren't allowed to be involved, and I think it would be disrespectful to them if I went to see it."^[1] The Port Authority police officers who are played by Cage and Peña, John McLoughlin and Will Jimeno, and their wives, played by Bello and Gyllenhaal, were involved with the production and continue to support the film. McLoughlin's wife Donna has said: "We got involved because we felt it needed to be done accurately. We wanted to do the right thing and I think the filmmakers wanted to do the right thing too."^[1] Both John McLoughlin and William Jimeno appear at the end of the film during the barbecue scene.

There were initial concerns this film would examine 9/11 conspiracy theories because director Oliver Stone is known for examining similar theories in his films (JFK in particular), and some 9/11 conspiracy websites are promoting the idea that the film does contain hints of the conspiracy. Stone and the producers, however, have said the film is a simple dedication to the heroism and sadness of the day with little-to-no political themes.^[1][2][3]

The Los Angeles Times reported that 9/11 conspiracy theorists were boycotting the film and were disappointed Stone didn't make a JFK style conspiracy film.^[4] "Was Stone used by the Illuminati as an unknowing pawn to whitewash the 9/11 conspiracy theories to the masses?" wondered author John Conner.^[5] Syndicated radio hosts Jack Blood and Alex Jones also expressed similar views that many in the 9/11 Truth Movement were expecting Stone to give them a voice and felt let down.^[4]

View of the smoking World Trade Center as seen from a bus full of police officers heading to the burning building. From this orientation, one can see that only one tower is hit (the north tower). Thus, the view is looking south and therefore the sunlight coming in from the right (west) would lead one to believe it's late afternoon. In actuality, the attacks on the towers took place in the morning. So the sun would be rising from the east and should be coming from the opposite (left) side of the frame. The RCN van represents the company's image from 2004.

• Commentators have pointed out a number of factual inaccuracies in the film, particularly concerning the rescue effort. The film has been accused of not providing a fair portrayal of the character and motives of rescuer Dave Karnes, a pivotal character in the film who did not cooperate in the making of the film. The film also inaccurately portrayed Jason Thomas, who joined Karnes in the rescue, as white when he was really black. The film's producers realized the mistake only after production began, and apologized to Thomas, whose identity had not been widely known for years after September 11. Also, on the DVD commentary, Oliver Stone refers to Jason Thomas as Mike Thomas.^[6]

• Critics of the film say it inaccurately identified the rescuers who worked to free Jimeno and McLouglin, failed to accurately convey the time required to dig the men out, and that it understated the dangers posed to the rescuers. Among other things, the film failed to properly acknowledge the role of paramedic Chuck Sereika. Contrary to that which is depicted in the film, Sereika began treating and extricating Jimeno a full 20 minutes before officers from the New York City Police Department's Emergency Services Unit arrived.^[7]

• The Region Two DVD release of the film (UK/ Ireland) incorrectly named Will Jimeno as Will Cimeno on the sleeve.

• While in the concourse, in the background you can see a sign for Chase Manhattan Bank. The name Chase wasn't used until 2005.

• During the scene where the MTA city bus is escorted to the World Trade Centers, a Nissan Armada is traveling behind the bus. The Nissan Armada was not manufactured until 2004.

• At the Port Authority the shadow of an airplane is shown against the Westin hotel. The Westin hotel was built in 2002.

• On opening weekend it gained approximately $18,730,762 in the U.S. and Canada.
• As of October 25, 2006 the film has made $70,278,893 at the North American Box-Office.
• Worldwide the film has taken in over $162,000,000.[3]

The Region 1 DVD was released on Tuesday, December 12, 2006 with the Region 2 release following on January 29, 2007. A special 2-disc set was also released, which includes the following bonus features:

• Commentary by Oliver Stone
• Commentary by Will Jimeno and rescuers Scott Strauss, John Busching and Paddy McGee
• Nine deleted/extended scenes with optional audio commentary

• A three-part making-of documentary
• A two-part "Common Sacrifices" featurette
• Q&A with Oliver Stone
• Theatrical Trailer
• 5 TV Spots
• Photo Gallery

A 3-Disc Deluxe Edition was produced exclusively for Target stores. The third disc came with "In Their Own Words," a 75 minute series of interviews, including survivors John McLoughlin and Will Jimeno, their spouses, and other survivors and rescuers.

A two Disc HD DVD version is also available with more features than that of the 3 disc Deluxe Edition DVD set.

(*The current information about the Region 1 2-disc DVD set and the 2-disc HD DVD set is incorrect. In addition to the listed extras, Disc 2 of the DVD set also has the "Building Ground Zero" and "Visual and Special Effects" featurettes. The 2-disc HD DVD set has the same bonuses as the 2-disc DVD set. There was also a 2-disc Blu-ray set with the same extras as the 2-disc DVD and 2-disc HD DVD releases. The Target 3-disc Deluxe Edition has more extras than any other release, including the HD DVD and Blu-ray versions.)

• Commentary by Oliver Stone
• Commentary by Will Jimeno and rescuers Scott Strauss, John Busching and Paddy McGee
• Nine deleted/extended scenes with optional audio commentary.

• The Making of World Trade Center HD
• Common Sacrifices HD
• Building Ground Zero HD
• Visual and Special Effects HD
• Oliver Stone's New York HD
• Q+A with Oliver Stone
• Theatrical Trailer
• 5 TV Spots
• Photo Gallery

There is also a Blu-Ray Disc version with the same features as the HD DVD release around. The Blu-Ray release is not being produced anymore (only DVD and HD DVD).

(*As Paramount has ceased support for the Blu-ray format for the time being, the studio will not press any more Blu-ray versions of the movie once current supplies are exhausted.)

• Oliver Stone & The Cast World Trade Center

• World Trade Center
• September 11, 2001 Attacks
• Collapse of the World Trade Center
• Will Jimeno
• Dave Karnes
• John McLoughlin
• Dominick Pezzulo
• Jason Thomas
• United 93
• List of firefighting films

Film Portal

• World Trade Center official site
• World Trade Center at the Internet Movie Database
• Article in Court TV Crime Library
• Craig Armstrong - Movie Score Composer
• 'World Trade Center' Movie Leaves Real Heroes Awestruck
• September 11th Remembered
• Images from the film
• Tribute to Will Jimeno

• World Trade Center at the Internet Movie Database
• World Trade Center at Rotten Tomatoes
• World Trade Center at Metacritic

• World Trade Center at Box Office Mojo