An unveiling and a new beginning

20th Century Fox spans a thousand years back as actors and filmmakers immortalize the once-great Mayan civilization in Mel Gibson's heart-stopping mythic action-adventure "APOCALYPTO" and in Darren Aronofsky's "THE FOUNTAIN" starring Hugh Jackman and Rachel Weisz.

The Mayas were advanced people and were superb mathematicians and astronomers who devised one of the most accurate calendars known to man, far more accurate than the modern Gregorian calendar.

The Mayas, in addition, possessed the required knowledge concerning the "Precession of the Equinoxes" that is necessary to create an accurate calendar. There is no question that the Mayas viewed time differently than Western man. Their magnificent pyramids were perfectly aligned to the sun. This effect could only be obtained by extremely precise architectural and astronomical measurements.

Mel Gibson's "Apocalypto" begins where something has to end. In the once-great Mayan civilization, a man is taken on a perilous journey from his idyllic existence to a world ruled by fear and oppression where a harrowing end awaits him. Through a twist of fate and spurred by the power of his love for a woman and his family, he will make a desperate break to return home and to ultimately save his way of life.

Filmed in an obscure Mayan dialect, the movie stars Rudy Youngblood, a neophyte cast indigenous to the region of Mexico. Youngblood, also known as Tee-Dee-Nae (which means "Strong Boy") is a gifted grass dancer, pow-wow singer and artist. Raised in Washington State, Texas and Arizona, his pow-wow circuit has taken him throughout the United States, Canada and abroad. In June 2005, he relocated to Los Angeles to pursue several new endeavors before landing the lead role in "Apocalypto."

"THE FOUNTAIN" which stars Hugh Jackman and Rachel Weisz is an odyssey about one man's thousand-year struggle to save the woman he loves. His epic journey begins in 16th century Spain, where conquistador Tomas Creo (Hugh Jackman) commences his search for the Tree of Life, the legendary entity believed to grant eternal life to those who drink of its sap. As modern-day scientist Tommy Creo, he desperately struggles to find a cure for the cancer that is killing his beloved wife Isabel (Rachel Weisz). Traveling through deep space as a 26th century astronaut, Tom begins to grasp the mysteries of life that have consumed him for more than a century.

Directed by Darren Aronofsky, "The Fountain" crisscrosses through three distinct time periods: 1535, during an ancient Mayan war; the present day, following one doctor's desperate search for the cure for cancer; and the far future through the vast exotic reaches of space. Interweaving these three periods, THE FOUNTAIN explores lofty themes on love, life and death.