Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief

Name: Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief

Directed by: Chris Columbus

Written by: Craig Titley

Based on the Novel by: Rick Riordan

Produced by: Michael Barnathan Chris Columbus Mark Radcliffe Karen Rosenfelt

Executive Producers: Thomas M. Hammel Greg Mooradian Mark Morgan Guy Oseary

Associate Producer: Karen Swallow

Director of Photography: Stephen Goldblatt

Production Designer: Howard Cummings

Film Editor: Peter Honess

Music by: Christophe Beck

Art Directors: Ross Dempster Dan Hermansen Aaron Sims James Steuart Greg Venturi

Supervising Art Director: Sandi Tanaka

Costume Designer: Renée April

Set Decorator: Peter Lando

Casting by: Heike Brandstatter Janet Hirshenson Jane Jenkins Michelle Lewitt Coreen Mayrs

Casting Director from New York: Kathleen Chopin

Studio: Pixar Animation Studios

Production Companies: Dune Entertainment 1492 Pictures Sunswept Entertainment

Producer/Release: Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation

Airdate: February 12, 2010

Length: 1 hour, 59 minutes, 10 seconds

Budget: $95 million

Box Office: $226.5 million

Pixar Movie Number: 2096

Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief (also known as Percy Jackson & the Lightning Thief) is a 2010 fantasy film directed by Chris Columbus. The film is loosely based on The Lightning Thief, the first novel in the Percy Jackson & the Olympians series by Rick Riordan. It stars Logan Lerman as Percy Jackson alongside an ensemble cast that includes Brandon T. Jackson, Alexandra Daddario, Jake Abel, Rosario Dawson, Steve Coogan, Uma Thurman, Catherine Keener, Kevin McKidd, Sean Bean and Pierce Brosnan. It was released to theaters on February 12, 2010 in the United States by 20th Century Fox. The film cost $95 million to make. In its opening weekend in North America, it ranked number two at the box office, making $38.8 million. Though it received mixed reviews from critics, the film grossed $226,497,209 worldwide. A stand-alone sequel, Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters, was released on August 7, 2013.

Plot
In New York City, Zeus and Poseidon meet at the top of the Empire State Building, where Zeus reveals that his master lightning bolt has been stolen and accuses Poseidon's demigod son, Percy Jackson, of the theft. Poseidon reminds him that Percy is unaware of his true identity, but Zeus declares that unless his master bolt is returned to Mount Olympus before the summer solstice, in two weeks' time, war will be waged between all the gods.

Percy is a 16-year-old boy who appears to his peers to be dyslexic and has a unique ability to stay underwater for a long time. While on a school field trip to the local museum, Percy is attacked by Alecto, a Fury disguised as his substitute English teacher, Mrs. Dodds, who demands the lightning bolt. Percy's best friend, Grover Underwood, and his Latin teacher, Mr. Brunner— both of whom appear disabled— help Percy and scare off Alecto. Upon learning of Alecto's reason for the attack, Mr. Brunner gives Percy a pen, claiming that it is a powerful weapon, and tells Grover to take Percy and his mother, Sally, to Camp Half-Blood, leaving behind Sally's abusive husband, Gabe Ugliano. However, upon arriving at the camp, the three are attacked by the Minotaur, who appears to kill Sally, after she is unable to enter the camp. Grover tells Percy to use the pen that he received from Mr. Brunner, and Percy discovers it is a sword. He uses his sword to fight the Minotaur, initially without success. Percy kills the Minotaur with his own horn, then faints from intense shock.

Three days later, Percy wakes up in the camp. He learns he is the son of Poseidon, Grover is a disguised Satyr and his junior protector and Mr. Brunner is the Centaur, Chiron, also initially disguised. Chiron suggests that Percy go to Mount Olympus to convince Zeus of his innocence. Percy begins training to use his demigod powers, which include water manipulation and using water to heal. He also meets other demigods, including Annabeth Chase, daughter of Athena; and Camp Leader, Luke Castellan, son of Hermes. Percy is visited by a fiery apparition of his uncle Hades, who reveals that Sally is with him in the Underworld and that he will return her safely if Percy hands over the lightning bolt. Defying Chiron's orders, Percy decides to go to the Underworld believing if he can convince Hades of his innocence, Hades will release his mother, joined by Grover and Annabeth. They visit Luke, who gives Percy a map showing the location of three green pearls belonging to Hades' wife, Persephone, which the trio can use to escape the Underworld by stepping on them and visualizing where they wish to be taken. Percy is also given a pair of flying Converse All-Star shoes which Luke stole from his father, and a shield, which Luke describes as his favorite.

The trio heads out, and they start by searching for the first pearl at the old, abandoned Auntie Em's Garden Emporium in Leeds Point, which turns out to be the lair of Medusa, who tries to kill them until Percy decapitates her from behind; they take her head with them for later use, along with locating the pearl on a bracelet, which she has been wearing on her wrist. They locate the second pearl in the Parthenon in Nashville; Percy uses the flying shoes to take it from the crown of the reproduction Athena Parthenos statue. However, they are then confronted by the Hydra, which Grover turns to stone using Medusa's head. The last pearl is searched for at the Lotus Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, where, at the casino's cocktail waitress' offer, the three sample the casino's signature dish, lotus flowers, which make them forget their reason for being there. They stay in the casino for five days until Poseidon abruptly speaks in Percy's mind, helping Percy return to his senses. Percy frees Grover and Annabeth from the effects of the flowers, and after locating the pearl on a roulette wheel (being used as the roulette ball), they escape by stealing a winnable Maserati. As they leave, Annabeth realizes that the casino is actually the lair of the Lotus-Eaters, and they have been luring people into their trap and keeping them captive since ancient times, which explains why the casino's motto is "You will never want to leave." With all three pearls, Percy, Grover, and Annabeth head into the Underworld, the portal to which is located behind the Hollywood Sign, and they are able to receive a ferry ride from Charon by paying him a fistful of gold drachmas, which they found in a fountain in Medusa's garden.

In the Underworld, they meet Hades and Persephone. Though Percy tells Hades that he does not have the lightning bolt, Hades finds it hidden inside Luke's shield, revealing that Luke is the lightning thief. However, instead of allowing Percy, Sally, Grover, and Annabeth to go free, Hades, being the heartless jerk that he is, cruelly goes back on the deal and has Persephone feed the group to the souls by using magic to open gates which lets the souls in, and summoning the hellhounds to chase the group into the gates. Persephone proceeds to do so, but then suddenly knocks Hades unconscious by tasing him with the lightning bolt to get her revenge on him for imprisoning her for all eternity, intervenes by closing the gates to the souls and commanding the hounds to leave, and then hands the bolt to Percy. However, because they only have three pearls, Grover remains with Persephone to allow Percy's mother to leave. Percy, Annabeth, and Sally teleport to the Empire State Building, but before they can enter Mount Olympus, they are ambushed by Luke, who reveals that the reason for him stealing the bolt is that he wants to destroy Mount Olympus to secure the demigods' place as the new rulers of Western Civilization. After a fight across Manhattan, Percy defeats and apparently kills Luke and returns the lightning bolt to Zeus, who forgives Percy and allows Poseidon to briefly speak with his son. The film ends with Percy and Annabeth reuniting with Grover, furloughed from the Underworld and sporting a new pair of small horns that designate his promotion to Percy's senior protector. Percy and Annabeth are reunited, and they nearly kiss but Annabeth tricks Percy and they continue to train.

In the mid-credits scene, Ugliano is kicked out of the apartment by Sally. He decides to get a beer on his way out, but finds a note from Percy saying that he should not open the refrigerator under any circumstance. He breaks the lock anyway and is turned to stone and killed by Medusa's head inside, on the shelf. One of her snakes blurs the screen, revealing the movie's end. The sound of Ugliano turning to stone is heard while the screen is black.

Voice Talent
Logan Lerman as Percy Jackson, the demigod son of Poseidon

Brandon T. Jackson as Grover Underwood, Percy's protector, a satyr

Alexandra Daddario as Annabeth Chase, the demigod daughter of Athena, and Percy's romantic foil

Jake Abel as Luke Castellan, the demigod son of Hermes

Sean Bean as Zeus, god of the sky, thunder, lightning, king of the twelve gods of Mount Olympus and brother of Poseidon and Hades. He blames Percy for stealing his bolt.

Kevin McKidd as Poseidon, Percy's father, god of the seas, earthquakes, horses and brother of Zeus and Hades

Steve Coogan as Hades, god of the Underworld, the dead, riches and brother of Zeus and Poseidon

Melina Kanakaredes as Athena, Annabeth's mother, goddess of crafts, domestic arts, strategic warfare, peace and wisdom

Rosario Dawson as Persephone, goddess of springtime and wife of Hades

Dylan Neal as Hermes, Luke's father, god of trade, thieves, travelers, sports, athletes, and messenger of the gods of Mount Olympus.

Erica Cerra as Hera, goddess of birth, family, marriage, women and queen of the twelve gods of Mount Olympus, sister and wife of Zeus

Stefanie von Pfetten as Demeter, goddess of agriculture, fertility, and the harvest, sister of Zeus and mother of Persephone

Dimitri Lekkos as Apollo, god of the sun, light, knowledge, healing, plague and darkness, the arts, music, poetry, prophecy, archery, and twin brother of Artemis

Ona Grauer as Artemis, goddess of the hunt, virginity, the moon, and all animals, and twin sister of Apollo

Serinda Swan as Aphrodite, goddess of love, beauty, wife of Hephaestus and lover of Ares

Conrad Coates as Hephaestus, god of fire, forge, blacksmiths, craftsmen and husband of Aphrodite

Ray Winstone as Ares, god of war, lover of Aphrodite (uncredited)

Luke Camilleri as Dionysus, god of wine, celebrations, ecstasy, and theatre

Uma Thurman as Medusa, a gorgon cursed by Athena

Pierce Brosnan as Chiron, also known as Mr. Brunner, a centaur who trains heroes at Camp Half-Blood, the immortal son of Kronos and brother of Zeus, Poseidon, Hades, Demeter, and Hera

Maria Olsen as Mrs. Dodds / Alecto, a Fury, servant to Hades

Julian Richings as Charon, ferryman of the River Styx, servant to Hades

Catherine Keener as Sally Jackson, Percy's mother

Joe Pantoliano as Gabe Ugliano, Percy's stepfather

Home Media Release
Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief was released on June 29, 2010 on DVD and Blu-ray. A video game based on the film developed by Activision was released for Nintendo DS on February 11, 2010.

DVD Menu

 * Play
 * Setup
 * Languages: English 5.1, English 5.1 Descriptive Audio, Spanish Dolby Surround and French Dolby Surround
 * Subtitles: English, Spanish, Danish, Norwegian, Swedish and Finnish
 * Scenes
 * 1) Zeus And Poseidon
 * 2) Seven Minutes Underwater (Opening Credits)
 * 3) Home Sweed Home
 * 4) The Greek Museum
 * 5) Your Protector
 * 6) Camp Half Blood
 * 7) The Centaurs
 * 8) The Camp Battle
 * 9) Healing Water
 * 10) Hades From Hell
 * 11) Beginning The Quest
 * 12) Gadgets For The Journey
 * 13) Auntie Em's Garden Emporium
 * 14) Medusa - Don't Look!
 * 15) Driving To Nashville
 * 16) Annabeth's Mom - Athena
 * 17) The Flying Shoes
 * 18) Vegas Diner
 * 19) Don't Eat the Lotus Flower
 * 20) Cateway To Hell
 * 21) Hellhounds
 * 22) Zeus' Lightning Bolt
 * 23) Entrance To Olympus
 * 24) Son of Poseidon
 * 25) Gods Of Olympus
 * 26) Father And Son Reunion
 * 27) Welcome Home
 * 28) End Titles
 * Extras

Previews

 * Digital Copy of 20th Century Fox TV Commercial (Dawn of the Dinosaurs)
 * The A-Team Trailer (In Theaters June 11th)
 * Diary of a Wimpy Kid Trailer (Look for it on Blu-Ray and DVD August 3rd)
 * Marley and Me: The Terrible Two's Trailer (Coming Soon to Blu-Ray and DVD)
 * The Tooth Fairy Trailer (Now Available on Blu-Ray and DVD)
 * Percy Jackson Books Commercial

Aspect Ratios
2.35:1 (CinemaScope)

1.85:1 (Full Open Matte)

1.33:1 (Standard Deviation)

Language Dubs

 * Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief/Language Dubs

Other Languages

 * Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief/Other Languages

Quotes

 * Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief/Quotes

Credits

 * Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief/Credits