CHALLENGING THE GREAT "WHAT-IFs"

Master storyteller Ray Bradbury first published the provocative short story A Sound of Thunder in 1952. Since its debut, this deliciously disturbing tale about the human race on the brink of annihilation due to one man’s reckless blunder has appeared in more than 80 anthologies worldwide, remains a perennial highlight in school texts and continues to inspire writers and filmmakers.

Nothing tantalizes the imagination like the notion of manipulating time and the possibilities that might arise from such a brazen – though irresistible – action. "It’s an endlessly intriguing and challenging subject," says Hyams. "I believe there are only two remaining frontiers for exploration: space and time. There’s a kind of voyeurism connected with time travel, a chance to see firsthand what you’ve only read about or conjectured. Time is certainly as exotic a location as any in the world."

"It’s the last dimension of exploration," says Oscar winner Sir Ben Kingsley, who stars as the shrewd and powerful Time Safari CEO Charles Hatton. He echoes the sentiments of the cast when crediting Hyams’ finesse in guiding the various narrative threads so the actors could focus on the action of the moment. "You cannot make a good suspense film unless you have a grasp of the facts behind the fiction," he says. "Peter clearly does, and because of that it’s an intellectually energizing process to work with him. We were dealing with parallel lines of evolution, playing scenes that our characters remain unaware of at the end of the film. With Peter managing the timelines we were free to work on the character relationships."

"It’s interesting how a story written in the 50s lends itself so perfectly to the film technology available today, as if it was written with knowledge of the scope of today’s computer-generated effects," adds Edward Burns, acknowledging Bradbury’s remarkable vision. Playing the role of Dr. Travis Ryer in the film, Burns believes he would jump at the chance to take such a trip. "I’d probably target New York City at the turn of the century," he muses. "I’d like to walk around my neighborhood and see what used to be there."