'Project Almanac' cuts controversial sequence a week before release

Project Almanac, once titled Welcome to Yesterday, Almanac and Cinema One, has had a bumpy road to the theaters, and even one week before it finally gets there, it's unable to avoid some extra controversy.

According to Air Force Times, families victimized by a 1994 B-52 plane crash at Fairchild Air Force Base in Washington were startled to find footage of the crash used in the upcoming sci-fi found-footage film's trailer. Clearly upset, they have spoken out to Paramount. Producer Michael Bay and his team at Platinum Dunes have issued an apology on the film's behalf and have cut the sequence from the final film, just a mere week away from hitting theaters.

"Unfortunately today I learned that the movie Project Almanac, produced by my Platinum Dunes company, directed by a talented first-time director, used a 2-second shot in a grainy news clip of a real B-52 crash," Bay said. "When the director presented his cut to me, I actually thought the short clip was a created visual effect like many of the other shots in the film."

Bay added, "My relationship with the United States military has been very strong my entire film career," Bay said. "Every branch of service has appeared in my past films or TV shows. I have encountered nothing more than extraordinary brave men and women who serve our country. I’m very proud to be able to represent them professionally in my films."

While he is sorry this has happened, Bay also is favorable towards his directors, in this case Dean Israelite.

"I let film directors make their movies at Platinum Dunes and give them tremendous responsibilities," the Transformers filmmaker said. "Well, unfortunately a very bad choice was made to use a real crash instead of creating a VFX shot, without realizing the impact it could have on the families. 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."

Since issuing this statement, the studio has confirmed the scene is no longer in the movie — even though, apparently, it is a big part of the plot — and the families involved have accepted the apology. It is possible this footage has been substituted by different footage, or will just be implied off-screen. Moviegoers will ultimately have to find out for themselves when the movie comes out on January 30.

Initially set to be released on February 28, 2014 under its Welcome to Yesterday, Bay and his team pushed the movie back to its new January release under its new title. The reason they said it was delayed at the time was so producer Bay could have more time to focus on completing Transformers: Age of Extinction. Although, Bay seemed to have no problem producing Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Ouija, The Purge: Anarchy and the TV series The Last Ship and Black Sails.

Image courtesy of Roger Wong/INFphoto.com