12 Monkeys is a 1995 science fiction film directed by Terry Gilliam and inspired by the French short film La Jetée (1962). 12 Monkeys stars Bruce Willis, Madeleine Stowe, Brad Pitt and Christopher Plummer. The film depicts a future world in 2035 devastated by disease, forcing the human population to live underground. Convict James Cole (Willis) "volunteers" for time travel duty to gather information in exchange for prison release. When he first arrives in the past, Cole is arrested and locked up in a psychiatric hospital, where he meets Dr. Kathryn Railly (Stowe), a psychiatrist, and Jeffrey Goines (Pitt), the insane son of a scientist and virus expert.

After Universal Pictures acquired the rights to remake La Jetée as a full-length film, David and Janet Peoples were hired to write the script. Under Terry Gilliam's direction, Universal granted the filmmakers a $29.5 million budget, and filming for 12 Monkeys lasted from February to May 1995. The film was shot mostly in Philadelphia and Baltimore, the setting of the story.