NationMaster - Encyclopedia: The Butterfly Effect

The Butterfly Effect is a 2004 American fantasy/drama film directed and written by Eric Bress and J. Mackye Gruber. Starring Ashton Kutcher, Amy Smart, Eric Stoltz, and others, distributed by New Line Cinema. The title is a reference to the butterfly effect, which theorises that a change in something seemingly innocuous, such as a flap of a butterfly's wings, may cause unexpected larger changes in the future, such as a tornado. The butterfly effect may refer to: The butterfly effect a phrase describing the operation of some chaotic dynamical systems. ... Christopher Ashton Kutcher (pronounced , rhyming with butcher; born February 7, 1978) is an American actor best known for playing Michael Kelso in the television series That 70s Show. ... Toby Emmerich is a film executive and screenwriter. ... Christopher Ashton Kutcher (pronounced , rhyming with butcher; born February 7, 1978) is an American actor best known for playing Michael Kelso in the television series That 70s Show. ... Melora Walters (born October 21, 1968) is an American actress born in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. ... Amy Lysle Smart (born March 26, 1776) is an American actress and former fashion model. ... Elden Henson (Born on August 30, 1977) is an American actor from Rockville, Maryland. ... William Lee Scott (Born July 6, 1973) is an American actor born in Hudson, New York. ... Amedori (left) in The Butterfly Effect, 2004 John Patrick Amedori (born April 20, 1987) is an American actor. ... Irene Gorovaia in The Butterfly Effect. ... Kevin Schmidt (Born August 16, 1988) is an American actor from Andover, Kansas. ... Jesse James (b. ... Logan Wade Lerman (born January 19, 1992) is an American actor. ... Jake Kaese is an American child actor who appeared in The Butterfly Effect. ... Cameron Douglas Bright (born January 26, 1993[1]) is a Canadian child actor. ... Eric H. Stoltz (born September 30, 1961) is a Golden Globe-nominated American actor. ... Callum Keith Rennie (born September 14, 1960) is a Canadian television and film actor. ... Lorena Gale at a science fiction convention Lorena Gale (born May 9, 1958 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada) is a Canadian actress, director, and writer. ... Ethan Suplee (born May 25, 1976) is an American actor featured in the NBC sitcom My Name Is Earl as Earl Hickeys dimwitted but supportive brother, Randy Hickey. ... Tara Wilson was a fictional paralegal on the American legal drama The Practice. ... Jesse Hutch is a Canadian-born film and television actor. ... An editor has expressed a concern that the subject of the article does not satisfy the notability guideline or one of the following guidelines for inclusion on Wikipedia: Biographies, Books, Companies, Fiction, Music, Neologisms, Numbers, Web content, or several proposals for new guidelines. ... New Line redirects here. ... is the 23rd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... The year 2004 in film involved some significant events. ... A directors cut is a specially edited version of a film, and less often TV series, music video, commercials or video games, that is supposed to represent the directors own approved edit. ... Image File history File links This is a lossless scalable vector image. ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... The Butterfly Effect 2 is a 2006 sequel to the 2004 film The Butterfly Effect, starring Erica Durance. ... The year 2004 in film involved some significant events. ... For other uses, see Fantasy (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Drama (disambiguation). ... A reel of film, which predates digital cinematography. ... Director Herbert Brenon with actress Alla Nazimova on the set of War Brides, 1916 A director is a person who directs the making of a film. ... A writer is anyone who creates a written work, although the word more usually designates those who write creatively or professionally, or those who have written in many different forms. ... Christopher Ashton Kutcher (pronounced , rhyming with butcher; born February 7, 1978) is an American actor best known for playing Michael Kelso in the television series That 70s Show. ... Amy Lysle Smart (born March 26, 1776) is an American actress and former fashion model. ... Eric H. Stoltz (born September 30, 1961) is a Golden Globe-nominated American actor. ... New Line redirects here. ... Point attractors in 2D phase space. ... Superfamilies and families Superfamily Hedyloidea: Hedylidae Superfamily Hesperioidea: Hesperiidae Superfamily Papilionoidea: Papilionidae Pieridae Nymphalidae Lycaenidae Riodinidae A butterfly is an insect of the order Lepidoptera. ...

The movie was followed by a largely unrelated direct-to-DVD sequel, The Butterfly Effect 2. The Butterfly Effect 2 is a 2006 sequel to the 2004 film The Butterfly Effect, starring Erica Durance. ...

Plot

Backstory

The film begins with Even Treborn (Ashton Kutcher) writing a note underneath a desk, explaining that if someone can read his note, his plan did not work. Christopher Ashton Kutcher (pronounced , rhyming with butcher; born February 7, 1978) is an American actor best known for playing Michael Kelso in the television series That 70s Show. ...

The film then flashes back to 13 years earlier, where a young Evan Treborn (Logan Lerman) lives with his mother, Andrea, in a quiet surburban area. As Evan's mother drops him off at school, Evan's teacher warns his mother about a disturbing drawing he drew, but also he did not remember drawing it. Worried about her son's memory, Andrea takes him to the doctor for a head scan and he then asks her to give him a journal to record his life in, helping him to recover from his blackouts. The next morning, Evan blacks out again, and is holding a knife in the kitchen. Later on that day, Evan goes to his neighbour's house, where he is meant to play with Kayleigh (Sarah Widdows) and Tommy (Cameron Bright). However, Evan suffers another black out as their father George (Eric Stoltz) tells them they will be making a film. Evan wakes up noticing that they are in the basement. George then makes Kayleigh and Evan participate in child pornography, while an angry and spiteful Tommy watches on. Logan Wade Lerman (born January 19, 1992) is an American actor. ... For other uses, see Amnesia (disambiguation). ... Eric H. Stoltz (born September 30, 1961) is a Golden Globe-nominated American actor. ... Child pornography refers to pornographic material depicting children being sexually abused. ...

Andrea goes back to the doctor for Evans results, which prove negative of "his father's illness". The doctor then believes that the blackouts are stress-related due to not having a father. Evan then goes to visit his father Jason in a psychiatric hospital. As Evan nervously talks to his father, he blacks out again, and wakes up to find his father strangling him. In medical terms, stress is the disruption of homeostasis through physical or psychological stimuli. ...

The film jumps forward 6 years. Evan (John Patrick Amedori), Kayleigh (Irene Gorovaia) and another friend Lenny Kagan (Kevin G. Schmidt) are sitting in the Miller's basement while Tommy (Jesse James) is looking for his father's blockbuster. They find it and place it in a letterbox. As it is close to exploding, Evan places his hands over Kayleigh's ears, and then blacks out again. He wakes up in the forest, where Kayleigh and Tommy are panicking, and Lenny has passed out due to shock. Evan's mother asks him what happened, but he tries to explain that he doesn't remember as he blacked out. Later on, Evan receives hypnotherapy to try and remember the events of the latest blackout. Evan tries to remember but begins to have a seizure. Tommy, Kayleigh and Evan go to the cinemas but Kayleigh leaves as the movie is too disturbing. Evan comforts her, and Tommy is angry that Evan likes Kayleigh. Tommy beings to show signs of conduct disorder when he beats up a another person. Lenny, however, is confined to his bedroom making model aeroplanes. Evan tells Kayleigh that he and his mother are moving houses soon. Kayleigh and Evan break Lenny out of their room back to the forest, where Tommy is about to set Evan's captured dog on fire. Evan blacks out again and wakes up finding the ashes and remains of his dog. The next day, Evan and his mother move away. Amedori (left) in The Butterfly Effect, 2004 John Patrick Amedori (born April 20, 1987) is an American actor. ... Irene Gorovaia in The Butterfly Effect. ... ... For other persons named Jesse James, see Jesse James (disambiguation). ... A Lancaster drops bundles of incendiary bombs (left), incendiary bombs and a â€œcookieâ€ (right) on Duisburg on 15 October 1944 Blockbuster or Cookie was the name given to several of the largest conventional bombs used in World War II by the Royal Air Force (RAF). ... For the mail collector, see letter box. ... This article is about the medical condition. ... Hypnotherapy is therapy that is undertaken with a subject in hypnosis. ... Conduct disorder is a psychiatric category to describe a pattern of repetitive behavior where the rights of others or the social norms are violated. ...

Present Day

7 years later, Evan is majoring in psychology in college. He shares a room with his heavily gothic friend, Thumper (Ethan Suplee) and has been living a normal life without any blackouts. They go out to celebrate, and Evan meets a girl which he brings back to his room. She finds his old diaries under his bed and beckons him to read them. He reads back in his diary about his last blackout where his dog is being set on fire. As Even conitunes to read, he begins to transport to the moment he blacked out. He watches Tommy set fire to his dog first-hand. This article is about the subculture. ... Ethan Suplee (born May 25, 1976) is an American actor featured in the NBC sitcom My Name Is Earl as Earl Hickeys dimwitted but supportive brother, Randy Hickey. ...

Evan drives to meet Lenny (Elden Henson) who is still a reclusive in his bedroom, making modal aeroplanes. Evan goes back to his college room, and reads his diary about the blockbuster. He transports back in time, to watch a mother and her baby die as they open the letterbox. However, at the time Evan was smoking a cigarette that fell on him. As Evan wakes up back into the present day, he sees that the cigarette left a burn mark on his stomach from transporting back into his memory. That night, Evan and his mother go out for dinner. As a joke afterwards, they visit a fortune-teller, who tells Evan that he has no lifeline, and was never meant to be. Elden Henson (Born on August 30, 1977) is an American actor from Rockville, Maryland. ... Categories: Stub ...

Evan goes back to visit Kayleigh (Amy Smart) (for the first time since he left) who is now a waitress at a dingy café. Evan questions her about the time they were forced to make the pornographic film for her dad. The talk brings up old wounds for Kayleigh, and after Evan leaves, he receives a call from Tommy, saying that Kayleigh killed herself. Amy Lysle Smart (born March 26, 1776) is an American actress and former fashion model. ...

Prison Mate

Understanding that he can now go back to his black outs and changing the past to effect the present day, Evan reads about the blackout before making the porngraphic film with Kayleigh. He tells her father to love his daughter and to discipline his son. Evan comes back into the present day, where he and Kayleigh and boyfriend and girlfriend and are popular fraternity/sorority students. Evan discovers all his new friends, and now notices that he and Thumper do not talk. In a bid to show his love for Kayleigh, Evan arranges a special night for them two. The night is ruined when his car is vandalised and meets up Tommy. Kayleigh tells Evan that her father then abused Tommy after Evan told her father to treat her well. In self-defence, Evan kills Tommy, and goes to prison. To try and fix up the problems he has caused, Evan befriends his prison cellmate and tell him that he can travel back in time. Evan goes back to the time he blacked out while drawing the disturbing picture, and impales his hands on sharp note holders, making it look like he has stigmata. While quickly reading in jail, Evan transports back to the moment before Tommy kills Evan's dog. The terms fraternity and sorority (from the Latin words and , meaning brother and sister respectively) may be used to describe many social and charitable organizations, for example the Lions Club, Epsilon Sigma Alpha, Rotary International, Optimist International, or the Shriners. ... For other senses of this word, see stigma and stigmata (disambiguation). ...

Lenny in the psychiatric ward

Before they walk up to the scene of Tommy killing Evan's dog, Evan finds a sharp object to cut open the sack with. Just as Tommy is about to torch the sack with the dog inside it, Evan explains to Tommy that he can change. Tommy drops the torch, but Lenny stabs Tommy in the back with the object. Evans transports back to the present, where he is in his dorm room with Thumper, but the beds are on the opposite sides. Evan visits Lenny in the psychiatric hospital. He goes back to the college campus, and reads about the the time he met his father. However, the meeting does not change his future. He then later meets up with Kayleigh, who is now a prostitute. He tells her that her life can be better and he will go back in time to change it for her.

Amputee

Evan reads back to his blackout right before the blockbuster explodes. He runs up to the letterbox, telling the lady to stay back. Tommy pins the lady down to the ground, and Evan wakes up in the present.

Evan is in his room in college, however he shares his room with a normal Lenny. Evan notices that he is paraplegic and his arms are amputated at the elbows. Tommy is now wildly religious, and Kayleigh is dating Lenny. His mother is suffering from lung cancer as she began chain smoking after Evan's accident. Paraplegia is a condition where the lower half of a patients body is paralyzed and cannot move. ...

Evan in the psychiatric ward

Still unhappy with his life, Evan reads his diary, and transports himself back before he visits the Miller's house. Evan needs to bring something with him to destroy the blockbuster, so he heads into the kitchen and finds a knife. As nothing changed, Evan goes back to his present, and is still an amputee. He tries again, going to the point before making the pornographic film with Kayleigh. He finds the blockbuster in the basement and lightens it. It is knocked out of his hand, and rolls to the feet of Kayleigh, where she picks it up. In the present, Evan has in a psychiatric hospital for killing Kayleigh. He asks the doctors for his journals to go back and fix up his problems, however the doctor informs him that his mind has made up, and that he is sounding more and more like his father, who always asked for a photo album. Evan then realises that with photos he can travel back in time again. He watches a film of his mother about to give birth to him. Evan understands that to make everything right for everyone else, he needs to kill himself. He goes back in time, and strangles himself with his umbilical cord.

Kayleigh and Tommy are shown living happily with their mother, who they never lived with before as Kayleigh wanted to be close to Evan. Lenny also lives a happy life with his friends and family. Tommy and Kayleigh graduate from college, and Kayleigh gets married.

Cast

Christopher Ashton Kutcher (pronounced , rhyming with butcher; born February 7, 1978) is an American actor best known for playing Michael Kelso in the television series That 70s Show. ... Melora Walters (born October 21, 1968) is an American actress born in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. ... Amy Lysle Smart (born March 26, 1776) is an American actress and former fashion model. ... Elden Henson (Born on August 30, 1977) is an American actor from Rockville, Maryland. ... William Lee Scott (Born July 6, 1973) is an American actor born in Hudson, New York. ... Amedori (left) in The Butterfly Effect, 2004 John Patrick Amedori (born April 20, 1987) is an American actor. ... Irene Gorovaia in The Butterfly Effect. ... Kevin Schmidt (Born August 16, 1988) is an American actor from Andover, Kansas. ... Jesse James (b. ... Logan Wade Lerman (born January 19, 1992) is an American actor. ... Jake Kaese is an American child actor who appeared in The Butterfly Effect. ... Cameron Douglas Bright (born January 26, 1993[1]) is a Canadian child actor. ... Eric H. Stoltz (born September 30, 1961) is a Golden Globe-nominated American actor. ... Kevin Durand (born January 14, 1974) is a Canadian actor known for his role as Joshua in Dark Angel (2001-2002). ... Callum Keith Rennie (born September 14, 1960) is a Canadian television and film actor. ... Lorena Gale at a science fiction convention Lorena Gale (born May 9, 1958 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada) is a Canadian actress, director, and writer. ... Ethan Suplee (born May 25, 1976) is an American actor featured in the NBC sitcom My Name Is Earl as Earl Hickeys dimwitted but supportive brother, Randy Hickey. ... Tara Wilson was a fictional paralegal on the American legal drama The Practice. ... Jesse Hutch is a Canadian-born film and television actor. ...

DVD release

The DVD was released on July 6, 2004 in the Infinifilm edition. The Infinifilm edition was released with the theatrical cut (113 min.) on one side and the Director's cut (120 min.) on the other. is the 187th day of the year (188th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The introduction to this article provides insufficient context for those unfamiliar with the subject matter. ... A directors cut is a specially edited version of a film, and less often TV series, music video, commercials or video games, that is supposed to represent the directors own approved edit. ...

Theatrical trailers are 2-3 minute advertisements for movies that play in cinemas before another movie. ...

Sequel

The film was released on DVD on October 10, 2006, it was directed by John R. Leonetti and was largely unrelated. The Butterfly Effect 2 is a 2006 sequel to the 2004 film The Butterfly Effect, starring Erica Durance. ... is the 283rd day of the year (284th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... The year 2006 in film involved some significant events. ... John R. Leonetti is a cinematographer and film director whose career in film began in 1991. ...

Awards and nominations

Year 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Saturn Award is an award presented annually by the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films to honor the top works in science fiction, fantasy, and horror in film, television, and home video. ... The following are a list of Saturn Award winners for Best Science Fiction Film: See also Science fiction film Categories: | ... Year 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Brussels International Festival of Fantasy Film was created in 1983 as a venue for horror, thriller & science fiction films. ... Year 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Teen Choice Awards is an awards show presented annually by FOX (United States) and Global TV (Canada). ...

Reception

According to the aggregate movie site Rotten Tomatoes, the Butterfly Effect garnered poor reviews, with the film receiving a 33% rating classifying it as "Rotten". Based on 69,192 votes IMDB members gave it an average of 7.8 out of 10. Roger Ebert gave the film 2.5 stars out of 4. Roger Joseph Ebert (born June 18, 1942) is a Pulitzer Prize-winning American film critic. ...

The movie, however, was very popular with audiences, grossing around $57 million at the US box office, ($96 million worldwide,) despite the often difficult subject matter and low budget of only around $13 million. ^[1]

External links

Image File history File links This is a lossless scalable vector image. ... Wikiquote is one of a family of wiki-based projects run by the Wikimedia Foundation, running on MediaWiki software. ... For the in-memory database management system, see In-memory database. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... Along Came Polly is a 2004 American romantic comedy film written and directed by John Hamburg. ... This is a list of films which have placed number one at the weekend box office in the United States during 2004. ... is the 25th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ...

Contents

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