{"id":5211,"date":"2015-04-13T08:18:46","date_gmt":"2015-04-13T00:18:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/project-almanac-filmmaker-hits-the-jackpot\/"},"modified":"2022-12-07T13:07:15","modified_gmt":"2022-12-07T05:07:15","slug":"project-almanac-filmmaker-hits-the-jackpot","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/project-almanac-filmmaker-hits-the-jackpot\/","title":{"rendered":"Project Almanac filmmaker hits the jackpot"},"content":{"rendered":"

For Curtin alumnus Dean Israelite, director of the found footage science fiction thriller, Project Almanac<\/em>, life couldn\u2019t be more successful.<\/p>\n

Israelite\u2019s directorial debut film follows five teenagers \u2013 David, Jessie, Quinn, Adam and Christina \u2013 who MacGyver a time machine from an Xbox 360, hydrogen canisters, copper wires and a smartphone, based on schematics found in a character\u2019s basement.<\/p>\n

The resulting story mixes plenty of comedy and drama, as the teenagers attempt to solve their problems and become popular, whilst inadvertently unleashing a butterfly effect of ramifications upon their friends and family.<\/p>\n

The film has been heralded a time travel story for the modern audience, where the characters\u2019 actions are all skilfully captured on the shaky cam aesthetic prevalent in online video-sharing websites.<\/p>\n

But for the South African-born director, who had the opportunity to work with producer Michael Bay on the movie, the offer to direct Project Almanac <\/em>almost didn\u2019t come to pass.<\/p>\n

\u201cI had a movie fall apart three weeks from shooting and if that never happened I would never have gotten the opportunity to direct [Project Almanac<\/em>]. You can only connect the dots backwards,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

For Israelite, the dots started to take on their shape when he began studying at Curtin University.<\/p>\n

\u201cI love that Curtin afforded me the opportunity to go out and be really ambitious with my films,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy proudest moment at Curtin was completing my third-year short film. It was incredibly ambitious and it\u2019s a movie I still feel very proud of. The scope and scale taught me valuable lessons in my development as a young filmmaker.\u201d<\/p>\n

Israelite\u2019s career only continues to grow, with several opportunities on the horizon, including the chance to direct a remake of the 1983 film, WarGames<\/em>, in which a young hacker plays a nuclear war simulation that almost triggers World War III.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs the director of the film, you are in charge of every creative decision that ends up in the final piece. It is your vision that ends up on screen,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe best part of directing movies is the fact that you need to be versed and involved in so many different art forms: photography, acting, music, design, choreography, writing. Creatively, it is a very rich experience.\u201d<\/p>\n

Project Almanac <\/em>has been released on over 3000 screens in the United States and internationally and grossed more than $32 million worldwide.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

For Curtin alumnus Dean Israelite, director of the found footage science fiction thriller, Project Almanac, life couldn\u2019t be more successful.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4275,"featured_media":814,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_oasis_is_in_workflow":0,"_oasis_original":0,"_oasis_task_priority":"","_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","wds_primary_category":0,"wds_primary_research-areas":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"research-areas":[],"class_list":["post-5211","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-campus-and-global-community"],"acf":{"post_options":{"":null,"additional_content":{"title":"Graduate Snapshot","content":"

Name:<\/strong>\u00a0Dean Israelite
\nStudied:<\/strong>\u00a0Bachelor of Arts (Film & Television)
\nRelated Degree:\u00a0<\/strong>Bachelor of Arts (Screen Arts)<\/a>
\nGraduated:<\/strong>\u00a02005
\nArea of study:<\/strong>\u00a0Humanities<\/a><\/p>\n

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