Men in Black
Protecting the Earth from the scum of the universe.
Men in Black (1997)
Budget
$90 000 000
Revenue
$589 390 539
Director
Scenario
Composer
Producer
Walter F. Parkes
Actors
Will Smith
Jay
Linda Fiorentino
Laurel
Vincent D'Onofrio
Edgar
Rip Torn
Zed
Tony Shalhoub
Jeebs
Siobhan Fallon Hogan
Beatrice
Mike Nussbaum
Gentle Rosenburg
Short description
A New York City police officer finds himself drawn into a secret world after a chase that reveals aliens are living among humans. He is recruited by a covert government agency that monitors and controls extraterrestrial activity on Earth, an organization so hidden that most people never suspect it exists. Paired with a veteran agent who erased his own past to serve, the new recruit learns the trade while the two investigate a threat from off-world: a hostile visitor has arrived with plans that put the planet at risk.
Barry Sonnenfeld directed the film, his fifth feature after The Addams Family, Addams Family Values, For Love or Money and Get Shorty, and the first of several he would make in this series. Ed Solomon wrote the screenplay, with Walter F. Parkes and Laurie MacDonald producing. Tommy Lee Jones plays the experienced Agent Kay and Will Smith the rookie Agent Jay, supported by Linda Fiorentino, Vincent D'Onofrio, Rip Torn and Tony Shalhoub. The credited cast runs to 66 names and the crew to 332.
Made for 90 million dollars, the film took 589 million dollars worldwide, a strong return that made it one of the year's biggest releases. On IMDb it holds 7.3/10 from 661,000 votes and on TMDB 7.2/10 from 15,210 votes, while a critics' rating of 7.5/10 from 92 reviews places it slightly above the audience scores.
What's left behind the scenes
- The role of the bug Edgar was intended for John Turturro, but he declined due to commitments to other projects.
- At the 46th minute of the film, when Kay buys newspapers at a kiosk to look for clues, after payment, the vendor briefly glances towards the camera.
- Will Smith initially didn't want to star in the film after reading the script, but his wife (Jada Pinkett Smith) convinced him to accept the role.
- Clint Eastwood was offered the role of K, but he declined.
- At the 40th minute of the film, Key is sitting in an armchair with one leg crossed over the other. In one of the shots, the pose changes – he is sitting with his legs wide apart. With the next cut, Key is back in his original pose.
- Bruce Campbell was originally intended to play a cameo role.
- At the 42nd minute of the film, when the Arcillian ruler exits the taxi, a sign on the restaurant window reads “Good Cuisine.” When the ruler and his agent sit down at a table inside in the next scene, the first two letters on the sign disappear – “roshaya cuisine.”
- At the 11th minute of the film, when the yellow van James is clinging to turns, a crew member with a spotlight can be seen in the cab next to the driver.
- At the 69th minute of the film, Edgar enters the morgue and leaves his shotgun at the reception desk, which disappears in subsequent scenes. When Jay enters the morgue, the shotgun is no longer at the desk, and when Edgar takes Laurel hostage, he threatens her with a revolver.
- Men in Black appear in episode 20 of season 3 of the series 'The X-Files' (1993-2002) and are mentioned in episode 15 of season 9 of the same series, while the film itself is referenced in episode 1 of season 6.
- At the 65th minute of the film, Jay shoots at the tow truck stolen by Edgar and hits a truck passing by on the street. In one of the following shots, you can see pyrotechnics burning out near the curb in front of the truck, depicting a smoke screen.
- Chris O'Donnell declined to participate, believing it was too similar to his roles in “Batman Forever” (1995) and “Batman & Robin” (1997).
- At the 69th minute of the film, Laurel examines the cat's collar and learns its name is Orion. The collar in this scene is different from the one the cat was wearing in the restaurant scene at the 43rd minute.
- Many celebrities can be seen as observers of the aliens on screen, such as Sylvester Stallone, Danny DeVito, Isaac Mizrahi, Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, and director’s daughter Chloe Sonnenfeld.
- The film is based on the comic book series of the same name by Lowell Cunningham, which was published from 1990 to 1991 by Marvel under its Aircel Comics and Malibu Comics imprints.
- At the 53rd minute of the film, when Laurel and Jay are examining the body of the Arcillian, the scale pointer on the right behind them changes position with each cut.
- When the flying saucer crashes onto Edgar's pickup truck at the 14th minute of the film, the engine is missing from under the car's hood during the explosion.
- According to actress Linda Fiorentino, she landed the role of pathologist Laurel not through auditions, but by winning it from director Barry Sonnenfeld in a poker game. During the game, Barry ran out of money and decided to wager the role. Linda ultimately beat the director, securing a place in the film and a thousand dollars as her winnings.
- At the 16th minute, the bug disguised as Edgar stretches the skin on his face, and his wife faints. In the next shot, Edgar is simply holding the back of his head.
- Quentin Tarantino could have taken the director's chair.
- Chris O'Donnell and David Schwimmer were considered for the role of Agent J.
- At the 90th minute of the film, a newspaper reports that a baseball player with number 20 missed the ball while watching a UFO, although at the 81st minute, the player was number 23.
- The film's producer specifically ordered asymmetrical watches for the actors, believing it would better suit their image. Special replicas of classic Hamilton Ventura models with black dials were released for this purpose.
- At the 63rd minute of the film, when Jay shoots Edgar and the recoil throws him against the wall, two pairs of boots near the wall change position with each cut. At the moment of impact, the shoes fall to the floor, but when Jay gets to his feet, the boots are standing upright again. In the next shot, when Jay steps over Kay, the boots are lying on the floor again.
- Agent K (Tommy Lee Jones) accuses Edgar the Bug (Vincent D'Onofrio) of violating Article 4153 of the Quietus Treaty. This is a reference to director Barry Sonnenfeld's date of birth, April 1, 1953.
- Early script drafts featured the main action taking place underground, from Kansas to Nevada. Sonnenfeld decided to change the location to New York, explaining that many of the city’s buildings and technical structures had something unusual about them, resembling various spacecraft and rockets.
- At the 60th minute of the film, Zed shows Jay the Orion constellation on the screen. The positions of the stars on the screen differ drastically from their actual positions. Also, the stars of Orion's Belt are shown in reverse order, as if the projection was made from the Southern Hemisphere, and there’s a mistake in the name of the star Alnitak – it's written as Alintak on the screen.
Auditions in India
Casting calls in USA
Castingi w Polsce
Кастинги в Україні
