No matter where you run, no matter where you hide…you can't cheat death.
Or can you?  In "Final Destination 5," Death is just as omnipresent as ever, first revealing its menacing reality to a group of coworkers headed for a corporate retreat.  During the bus ride, Sam (Nicholas D'Agosto) has a premonition in which he and most of his friends, as well as numerous others, die in a horrific bridge collapse.  When his vision ends, events begin to mirror what he had seen, and he frantically ushers as many of his colleagues--including his friend, Peter (Miles Fisher), and girlfriend, Molly (Emma Bell)--away from the disaster before Death can claim them.
But these unsuspecting souls were never supposed to survive and, in a terrifying race against time, the ill-fated group tries to discover a way to escape Death's sinister agenda.

The second of the "Final Destination" films to be shot in 3D, "Final Destination 5" was directed by Steven Quale, marking his feature film directorial debut.  The screenplay was written by Eric Heisserer, based on characters created by Jeffrey Reddick. 

"You were supposed to die on that bridge--you're not supposed to be here.  You shorted Death."

With Death waiting at every street corner, lurking in restaurants and even hovering around the office water cooler, the filmmakers hope "Final Destination 5" will be the most heart-pounding installment to date.
Craig Perry, veteran of all five films, states, "That's what makes this franchise work--the anticipation of the most horrible things imaginable happening with just the simplest, most everyday elements.  It sounds a little crazy to sit back and wonder, 'How do you kill people?  What can we do to cause grievous bodily harm in a way we haven't done it before?'  But I think audiences will agree that we've managed to top ourselves once again."
Steven Quale is excited to be able to bring "Final Destination 5" to life on the big screen and in 3D, and is confident the legions of fans will be rewarded for their loyalty to the franchise.  "I think they are going to eat this up, because it delivers everything that makes this a great horror/thriller movie: compelling characters, some of the best deaths that have ever been conceived for a 'Final Destination' movie, and incredible and totally unexpected twists they won't see coming.  It's a major adrenaline rush."

ABOUT THE PRODUCTION

"Death doesn't like to be cheated…"

In "Final Destination 5," the fifth installment of the successful horror franchise, Death once again proves to be the ultimate stalker as it systematically hunts down a group of friends struggling to escape its relentless pursuit.
This time around, Death is unleashed on several coworkers as they embark on a corporate retreat for what should be a quick overnight trip. As the charter bus makes its way toward the location, the route takes them over a massive suspension bridge that arches over a river, where raging waters surge 200 feet below.  But their fates are seemingly sealed as the bridge splinters apart right in front of their eyes.  Sam, the character who had first presaged the accident, desperately tries to figure out a way to save them, with some degree of success…or so he thinks.
Director Steven Quale says, "In the previous 'Final Destination' films, it's inevitable that they're going to die, and the question is when and how--that's the adrenaline rush.  But in this movie, we've added a twist: a few may have found a way to survive."
For producer Craig Perry, the opportunity to come back for a fifth time offered a chance to not only meet the fans' expectations, but to rock them out of their seats.
"We're always looking at these films with an eye to taking it to the next level," Perry says.  "One of the things we've learned from fans is that they want a gripping, terrifying story that is also an entertaining ride, so we really tried to ramp it up."
Knowing that they wanted to shoot the film in 3D, producers Craig Perry and Warren Zide brought Quale, an expert in the field, on board.
"Steve has forgotten more about 3D than I'll ever know," Perry suggests.  "He has been doing this for 20 years with Jim Cameron, the grand master of not just 3D but of action movies.  Also, Steve genuinely loves movies and has a real passion that, married with his technical expertise, made him pretty much the perfect candidate for what we were trying to do here."
Quale felt that working on a film where the core premise was firmly established provided him with a creative challenge to enhance the bones of the franchise.  "I did a marathon screening of all four 'Final Destination' movies back-to-back with the mind of a moviegoer, noting what I liked best about each.  Then I began to think about what I was going to do once I was behind the camera."
Screenwriter Eric Heisserer says working on "Final Destination 5" was a writer's dream job, since setting up the hook of the story isn't needed.  "The 'Final Destination' conceit is one of those rare situations where, thanks to the previous four movies, I didn't need to spend a lot of time on exposition to make sure the audience would get it.  It was my intent from the start to write an engaging supernatural thriller that also happens to be a 'Final Destination' movie.  Like fans, I wanted some heinous kill sequences, but I also wanted to expand the mythology of the world by introducing a moral dilemma for the characters, which forces them to wrestle with the question of what, or who, they value most."
With the series' signature chain reaction-style kills always at the center of anticipation for audiences, the scenes have to be bigger and better each time, presenting a fun challenge for the writer.
"The toughest thing for me was definitely choreographing the death sequences.  I made several trips to various real-world locations where our scenarios are set.  I took pictures, drew diagrams, conducted interviews.  Often it felt like I was at the scene of some crime, even though none had been committed…yet," he laughs.  "The chain of small, mundane events that, when triggered in proper order, spell disaster for a character, took a lot of careful planning.  The flip side of that coin is that, when a death sequence worked, it was easily the most fun to write."
In addition to the death scenes, the producers and Quale were adamant that the story and character development take equal precedence, recognizing the value that comes from engaging the audience to care about the characters, which then makes watching their demise that much more of a visceral, horrifying event.
"We set out to make a visually stunning film with dynamic action sequences, beginning with the bridge," Quale states, "But I also think the characters are people the audience will want to follow.  Their storylines really help drive this movie, so we spent a lot of time looking for the right actors for each part.  We got very lucky with this group."
"I think we found a great balance with this film," Perry says.  "With the bridge collapse, we've got the biggest opening sequence we've ever had.  Then there's the sheer suspense of not only what will happen to each of these characters but, more importantly, how it will happen, which is really what sets 'Final Destination' movies apart."

"The lucky few survive the disaster.  And then one by one…Death comes for them all."

The story of "Final Destination 5" centers around Sam, a young professional in the midst of a career crisis: sticking with a job at a paper factory that pays the rent, or following his passion to become a chef and moving to Paris.  But Paris might cause him to lose the girl he loves, and that may be too big a price to pay. Read more

"The bridge is gonna collapse--we're all gonna die!"

"Final Destination 5" rolled into production at the beginning of September 2010 in Vancouver, British Columbia, the same location where the first three movies were shot, the first over 10 years before. 
"It felt like a high school reunion," Perry laughs.  "One of the tremendous benefits of coming back to Vancouver is that there's a wealth of great crew here who have worked on the previous films.  These movies are really hard to pull off.  They require an awful lot of technical know-how, and having people who have gone through the experience once or twice before makes it a lot easier.  In fact, it made it the easiest shoot of the franchise." Read more

ABOUT THE FILMMAKERS

STEVEN QUALE (Director) marks his feature film directing debut with "Final Destination 5."  He has worked in visual effects, cinematography and directing for over 20 years, including serving as second unit director on the two highest grossing films of all time, "Avatar" and "Titanic."
A longtime collaborator with James Cameron, Quale first served in Cameron's art department on "The Abyss," where he helped design complex action sequences by building and filming study models of various sets with a miniature camera.  After a summer working at George Lucas' Industrial Light & Magic, Quale was called back to work on "Terminator 2: Judgment Day," where Cameron enlisted his help in shooting second unit sequences.
Quale next served as director of photography on Alex Graves' "The Crude Oasis."  He also performed a multitude of duties on the special edition of "The Abyss," including picture editing and the insertion of all new music.
For "Titanic," Cameron recruited Quale to join his select crew aboard the Russian research ship Academik Keldysh, for the diving expedition to explore the wreckage.  When principal photography began one year later, Quale directed a large second unit shoot that by many standards was bigger than most first units.  He designed and executed the Engine Room sequences, the Boiler Room and all of the below-deck flooding shots as the Titanic strikes the iceberg.  Quale also supervised the visual effects for the Engine Room sequence.  The film won an Academy Award^® for its visual effects.
After "Titanic," Quale continued his second unit work on "The Adventures of Rocky & Bullwinkle" and "The Haunted Mansion."  In addition, he shot commercials and music videos, working with such artists as Eminem, Dream and Montell Jordan.
In 2001, Quale directed the ABC TV movie "Superfire," for which he created a blazing inferno in the woods of New Zealand.  The film, with its spectacular fire sequences, was nominated for an Emmy Award for Outstanding Special Visual Effects.
In 2004, Cameron asked Quale to return to the Russian research ship Keldysh to co-direct the 3D IMAX documentary "Aliens of the Deep."  Bitten by the documentary bug, Quale next directed "The Box and Beyond: Training our Troops for Iraq," for the History Channel.  For this project, Quale embedded with the Army's 2/7 Cavalry during their training at Fort Irwin's high-tech emulated Iraqi battlegrounds for a solid month of grueling hand-held shooting in record-breaking heat.
Cameron called Quale back to work on "Avatar" as second unit director and visual effects supervisor for non-Weta effects.  Quale became an expert on the revolutionary performance capture technology that allowed the film's actors to convey nuanced and emotional performances on digitally rendered creatures.  On "Avatar's" second unit, Quale applied all the knowledge he gained shooting 3D on "Aliens of the Deep" and took it to the next level to create stunning 3D action sequences.   
Quale has established himself as one of the leading pioneers in directing natively shot 3D material in a stunning yet organic manner that complements the storytelling process in major motion pictures.

ERIC HEISSERER (Screenwriter) wrote the upcoming film "The Thing," with Matthijs van Heijningen Jr. directing and Marc Abraham producing.  Prior to that, he wrote the screenplay for the recent "A Nightmare on Elm Street," starring Jackie Earle Haley as the iconic Freddy Krueger.
Heisserer currently has the actioner "Seized" in development, based on the book by Max Hardberger.  Also in development is Heisserer's "Inhuman," with Takashige Ichise producing, as well as "Hours," based on his short story for Popcorn Fiction.  Heisserer will make his directorial debut with the project.
He also wrote for the television series "Stranger Adventures," an interactive show that received an Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Achievement for Enhanced or Interactive Programming: New Delivery Platforms, as well as a Daytime Emmy Award nominations for Outstanding Achievement in Video Content for Non-Traditional Delivery Platforms and Outstanding Broadband Program - Drama.
Heisserer grew up in Oklahoma and moved to Houston after high school.  He worked for Space Industries at NASA as a computer artist for space program technologies before pursuing creative writing through tabletop gaming publications such as Cyberpunk 2020.

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