Mars Attacks!
Short description
Mars Attacks! is a science fiction comedy about an invasion that begins when hundreds of Martian spacecraft take up positions above major cities around the world. Humanity waits to learn the visitors' intentions. President James Dale is assured by his scientific adviser that the Martians come in peace, while military figures urge a preemptive strike. A public ceremony meant to mark peaceful contact goes catastrophically wrong, and the question of how to respond divides the president's advisers, setting off a scramble to stop the invaders.
Tim Burton directed the film, working from a screenplay by Jonathan Gems, with Larry J. Franco, Burton and Laurie Parker producing. It is the ninth of the twenty-two films Burton has directed, arriving between Ed Wood and Sleepy Hollow. The large ensemble cast includes Jack Nicholson in a dual role as President Dale and Las Vegas developer Art Land, with Glenn Close, Annette Bening, Pierce Brosnan, Danny DeVito and Martin Short among the principal players; seventy-one cast members and seventy-four crew members are credited.
The film was produced for about 70 million dollars and took roughly 101 million dollars worldwide, a modest return relative to its cost. On IMDb it holds 6.4 out of 10 from around 258,000 votes, and on TMDB 6.4 out of 10 from a much smaller number of votes. A critics' rating of 6.3 out of 10 from 87 reviews places professional assessments close to the audience scores.
What's left behind the scenes
- The film is based on a series of trading cards from chewing gum packs from the late 1950s, drawn by artists: Len Brown, Woody Gelman, Wally Wood, Bob Powell, and Norman Saunders.
- Meryl Streep was initially invited for the role of the First Lady, followed by Goldie Hawn.
- This is Tim Burton's first film to use computer graphics.
- The soldiers of the American army in the film wear uniforms from the 1950s and are armed with M14 rifles, which have been decommissioned. However, the Secret Service agent at the White House is armed with a Beretta 92FS pistol, developed in 1983. The agent guarding the President is armed with a Micro Uzi submachine gun, created in the same year.
- Initially, Warren Beatty was supposed to play the role of the US President, and Johnny Depp was to play the role of Jason Stone.
- The sounds of ray gun fire were taken from the film "The War of the Worlds" (1953).
- The film used footage from American science fiction films of the 1950s, particularly from "The Day the Earth Stood Still" (1951).
- The filmmakers didn't know how the Martians would speak and wrote "ack, ack, ack, ack" in the script as a substitute for dialogue. Ultimately, this "working version" became the official language of the Martians.
- The film includes footage of the real (demolition) explosion of a casino in Las Vegas, captured by Tim Burton. The casino, with a tower resembling a flying saucer (or an airport control tower), was called "The Landmark" and was blown up on November 7, 1995.
- The "Martian beauty's" dress, as if she had crept into the president's bedroom, had no buttons, zippers, or other fasteners, so actress Liza Mari had to literally "sew herself" into it each time.
Auditions in India
Casting calls in USA
Castingi w Polsce
Кастинги в Україні
