ILM used the most advanced version of mental ray to photorealistically light and render the shots, and was responsible for all of the ship's exterior shots. The primary visual effects were completed by Industrial Light & Magic and Moving Picture Company. The interior and exterior shots of the ship rolling were constructed with computer-generated imagery. The upside-down ballroom was built on top of a large water tank in the soundstage so it could be flooded and drained in a matter of hours. Studios, Burbank in California, two sets for each main room were built, one right-side-up and the other upside down. Sets Īs with the 1972 The Poseidon Adventure film, which based many of its sets on rooms aboard the RMS Queen Mary, the film's set designers drew inspiration for some of the spaces aboard the fictional 'Poseidon' from rooms aboard the Queen Mary 2, most notably in Poseidon's ballroom, which is modeled on the main dining room of Queen Mary 2. Production on the film began in July 2005.

Gabriel Jarret as First Officer Chapman.

Fergie as Gloria (credited as 'Stacy Ferguson').

Andre Braugher as Captain Michael Bradford.

After the survivors fire a flare, two helicopters and several ships arrive to rescue them, having tracked the location of the Poseidon's GPS beacon. Poseidon flips back over, and across the water, the survivors look on as she sinks stern-first deep into the ocean. As they are paddling away, the waves push the raft farther away from the sinking liner. The group jumps out the thruster and swims to a nearby inflatable raft, and as they are getting into the raft, the ship starts to sink.

With the propellers now spinning in the other direction, Dylan throws an acetylene tank into it, causing an explosion that destroys the propeller, and leaving an opening for them to escape through. He finds the 'shut off' switch to be broken, but presses the reverse button instead, before drowning. With their path blocked by the propellers, and knowing that the control room is submerged in water, Robert swims away to turn off the engine. The group enters the bow thruster room and are horrified to find the thrusters still running. With the ship slowly sinking, the survivors soon find themselves in a crew lounge where they find the bow section is flooded, until an explosion of the engine room lifts it out of the water. With the water rising rapidly, the group escapes through an air duct and some ballast tanks, although Elena hits her head underwater and drowns as a result. The pressure from the water finally cracks the ballroom windows, drowning the occupants, including Captain Bradford. The group crosses a makeshift bridge across the lobby, where Lucky Larry gets crushed by an engine. They reunite with Jennifer, Christian, Elena, and gambler Lucky Larry, who had all been in the nightclub section of the ship, and who are the only survivors out of all of the occupants in the nightclub. Unconvinced, Dylan leads Conor, Maggie, Robert, Richard, and Valentin as they make their way towards the bow, where he believes that they will have the best chance of escaping from the capsized liner.Īs they head up, they have to cross an elevator shaft, into which Valentin falls to his death before being crushed by the falling elevator.

In the ballroom, a badly injured Captain Bradford attempts to restore order and assures the surviving passengers that help is on the way, and tries to persuade them to stay put. The wave swamps and capsizes the ship, killing the bridge officers along with many passengers and crew. To survive the wave, they try to steer the ship to starboard to take the wave bow-first, but she does not turn fast enough. Also on board is former Navy submariner-turned-professional gambler Dylan Johns, architect Richard Nelson, widowed Maggie James and her son Conor, stowaway Elena Morales, waiter Marco Valentin, and Captain Michael Bradford.Īs the passengers are enjoying a New Year's Eve party, officers on the bridge see a huge rogue wave bearing down on the ship. Former New York City Mayor and firefighter Robert Ramsey is traveling with his daughter Jennifer and her boyfriend Christian Sanders to New York, soon to be engaged.

The RMS Poseidon, a luxury ocean liner, is making a transatlantic crossing.

Poseidon ferry