Men in Black (film)

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Men in Black
Image:Men in Black Poster.jpg
Men in Black movie poster
Directed by Barry Sonnenfeld
Produced by Steven Spielberg
Laurie MacDonald
Walter F. Parkes
Written by Comic Book:
Lowell Cunningham
Screenplay & Story:
Ed Solomon
Starring Tommy Lee Jones
Will Smith
Linda Fiorentino
Vincent D'Onofrio
Rip Torn
Music by Danny Elfman
Distributed by Columbia Pictures
Release date(s) July 2, 1997
Running time 98 min.
Language English
Budget $90 million (estimated)
Gross revenue Domestic:
$250,690,539[1]
Worldwide: $589,390,539
Followed by Men in Black II
IMDb profile

Men in Black is a 1997 science fiction comedy action film directed by Barry Sonnenfeld, starring Tommy Lee Jones, Will Smith and Vincent D'Onofrio. The film was based on the comic book series The Men in Black by Lowell Cunningham, originally published by Aircel Comics. The film featured the creature animation of Rick Baker. The movie was a hit, grossing over USD $250 million in the United States and over $589 million worldwide. It was followed by a sequel, Men in Black II, in 2002.

Contents

[edit] Plot

The MIB, a top-secret agency that polices, monitors and directs alien activity on Earth, has established the Earth as an apolitical "neutral zone". MIB agents have no identity or any public record of existence, and the MIB agency answers to no government. The funding for their agency comes from the patents they own on technology confiscated from aliens, such as velcro, microwave ovens, and liposuction. Any memory of MIB activity upon "mustering out" of the MIB is erased and a new identity is created for the departing agent. Into this strange world is ushered the initially skeptical James Edwards (Will Smith), an NYPD officer, as he becomes Agent J, one of the newest MIB personnel. Tommy Lee Jones plays K, a senior MIB agent who recruits and guides J as he learns the ropes.

MIB agents wear sunglasses and dark suits, and appear at UFO landing sites, similar to paranormal reports of real-world Men in Black. Instead of intimidating or threatening witnesses, the MIB use devices known as Neuralizers to wipe their memories and suggest more mundane causes to the encounter (to the amazement of Agent J, such explanations are uniformly and horribly bland). Neuralizers are typically the size and shape of an oversized pen (although a giant version is seen in the second movie, hidden in the Statue of Liberty's torch), and can be set to erase memories as far back as several decades. Neuralizers are also used on agents who leave the organization for any reason. The MIB's sunglasses protect them from the effects of the Neuralizer.

The main conflict of the film is as follows: A Bug (member of an alien species that similar in many ways to a very large cockroach) is trying to steal a tiny galaxy, which is later revealed to be secretly contained in an ornament hanging from the neck of Orion, a cat who belongs to a member of the royal family of another planet. The government of this planet, Arquil, is willing to have the Earth destroyed rather than let this galaxy fall into the hands of the Bugs. During their mission, the agents investigate a morgue where they meet Dr. Laurel Weaver (Linda Fiorentino), a cynical, dryly funny deputy medical examiner. Eventually, the Galaxy is recovered, the Bug is exterminated, and K asks J to erase his memory so that he can retire. Dr. Weaver then becomes J's new partner, L.

In the final scene of the film the camera pulls back into the sky and continues to pull-back through space past our solar system, past millions of stars, ultimately revealing that our galaxy is contained within a circular container resembling a marble. The container is then picked up by an alien hand which throws it, hitting another 'marble' which also contains a galaxy. Both marbles are then picked up by the hand and placed into a bag full of galaxy-containing marbles. This ending suggests that our entire galaxy exists in an alien child's toy - similar to the way the alien galaxy the agents were attempting to recover was contained in the cat's necklace.

[edit] Cast

[edit] Production

The film is based upon the comic book The Men in Black by Lowell Cunningham. Producers Walter F. Parkes and Laurie MacDonald optioned the rights to The Men in Black in 1992 and hired Ed Solomon to write a very faithful script. Parkes and MacDonald wanted Barry Sonnenfield as director because he had helmed the darkly humorous The Addams Family and its sequel Addams Family Values. Sonnenfield was attached to Get Shorty (1995), so they approached Les Mayfield to direct, as they had heard about the positive reception to his remake of Miracle on 34th Street. They actually saw the film later and decided he was inappropriate. Men in Black was delayed so as to allow Sonnenfield to make it his next project after Get Shorty.[2]

Much of the initial script drafts were set underground, with locations ranging from Kansas to Washington DC and Nevada. Sonnenfield decided to change the location to New York City, because the director felt New Yorkers would be tolerant of aliens who behaved oddly while disguised. He also felt much of the city's structures resembled flying saucers and rocket ships. Production designer Bo Welch design the MIB headquarters with a 1960s tone in mind, because that was when their organization is formed. He cited influences from Finnish architect Eero Saarinen, who designed a terminal at John F. Kennedy International Airport. Being the arrival point of aliens on Earth, Welch felt MIB HQ had to resemble an airport.[2]

Rick Baker led the special effects of the film, which was the most complex in his career to date. He had to have approval from both director Barry Sonnenfield and executive producer Steven Spielberg: "It was like, 'Steven likes the head on this one and Barry really likes the body on this one, so why don't you do a mix and match?' And I'd say, because it wouldn't make any sense." Sonnenfield also changed a lot of the film's aesthetic during pre-production: "I started out saying aliens shouldn't be what humans perceive them to be. Why do they need eyes? So Rick did these great designs, and I'd say, 'That's great — but how do we know where he's looking?' I ended up where everyone else did, only I took three months."[4]

Filming began in March 1996. Filming went smoothly, but the crew were faced with a problem five months into the shoot, when they realized their ending was unexciting. The climax would originally be a humorously existential debate between Agent J and the Bug, and five potential replacements were discussed. One of these had Laurel Weaver being neuralized and K remaining an agent. The change to a fight sequence annoyed Rick Baker, as their animatronic Bug had to be replaced with computer generated imagery. Further changes were made during post-production to simplify the plotline involving the possession of the tiny galaxy. The Arquillians would hand over the galaxy to the Baltians, ending a long war. The bugs need to feed on the casualties of the war and steal it to continue the war. Through changing of subtitles, changing the images on MIB's main computer and and Frank the Pug's dialogue, the Baltians were eliminated from the plot. Earth goes from being potentially destroyed in the crossfire between the two races into being possibly being destroyed by the Arquillians to prevent the bugs getting the galaxy.[2]

[edit] Soundtrack

Image:Mibsoundtrack.jpg
Men In Black soundtrack cover.

Two different soundtracks were released in the US: a score soundtrack and an album, featuring various songs. In the UK only the album was released, but the score is readily available for import.

[edit] Track listing: Original score

  1. "M. I. B. Main Theme"
  2. "D's Memories / Chase"
  3. "Edgar's Truck / A New Man"
  4. "Imports / Quiet Moment"
  5. "J Contemplates"
  6. "Headquarters"
  7. "The Suit"
  8. "Morgue Time"
  9. "Petit Mort"
  10. "K Reminisces"
  11. "Orion's Belt / Cat Stinger"
  12. "Noisy Cricket / Impending Trouble"
  13. "Sexy Morgue Babe / Icon"
  14. "Promised Land / Tunnel ride"
  15. "Take Off / Crash"
  16. "Finale"
  17. "M. I. B. Closing Theme"

Danny Elfman composed the score for the film, making use of his usual combination of orchestra and electronics. The score also makes prominent use of jazz for the M.I.B. theme, which consists of an ostinato, usually played on lower instruments.

[edit] Track listing: Album

  1. "Men in Black" - Will Smith (also on Will Smith's album Big Willie Style)
  2. "We Just Wanna Party With You" - Snoop Doggy Dogg featuring JD
  3. "I'm Feelin' You" - Ginuwine
  4. "Dah Dee Dah (Sexy Thing)" - Alicia Keys
  5. "Just Cruisin'" - Will Smith
  6. "The 'Notic" - The Roots featuring D'Angelo
  7. "Make You Happy" - Trey Lorenz (with Mariah Carey's back vocals. Carey also wrote and produced the song.)
  8. "Escobar '97" - Nas
  9. "Erotik City" - Emoja
  10. "Same Ol' Thing" - A Tribe Called Quest
  11. "Killing Time" - Destiny's Child
  12. "Waiting for Love" - 3T
  13. "Chanel No. Fever" - De La Soul
  14. "Some Cow Fonque (More Tea Vicar?)" - Buckshot LeFonque
  15. "M.I.B. Main Theme" - Danny Elfman
  16. "M.I.B. Closing Theme" - Danny Elfman

The theme song to the film was the pop/rap song of the same name and was based on the song "Forget Me Nots" by Patrice Rushen. The song was released as a single and topped the UK charts for 4 weeks. It was also released on Big Willie Style, Will Smith's first solo studio album. The album was certified double platinum after selling 2.6 million albums and holding the 14th position on US Best-Selling Records-Albums in 1997 sales index.

[edit] Promotion

The official Men in Black game is a third-person shooter developed by Gremlin Interactive and released to lackluster reviews in October '97 for the PC and the following year for the PlayStation. Men in Black: The Animated Series was created by Sony Pictures Television, and also inspired several games. Men in Black was the inspiration behind the Men in Black: Alien Attack ride at Universal Studios Orlando, in which Will Smith and Rip Torn reprised their roles.

[edit] Reception

Men in Black won the Academy Award for Best Makeup, and was nominated for Best Original Musical or Comedy Score and Best Art Direction. It was also nominated for the Golden Globe of Best Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy.[5]

[edit] References

  1. ^ Box Office Mojo: Men in Black (Retrieved on December 14, 2007)]
  2. ^ a b c d e f g David Hughes (2003). Comic Book Movies. London: Virgin Books, 123-129. ISBN 0-7535-0767-6. 
  3. ^ "Summer Movie Preview", Entertainment Weekly, 1997-05-16. Retrieved on 2007-09-17. 
  4. ^ Steve Daly. "Men in Black: How'd they do that?", Entertainment Weekly, 1997-07-18. Retrieved on 2007-09-17. 
  5. ^ Men in Black (1997) — Awards and Nominations. Yahoo!. Retrieved on 2007-09-17.

[edit] External links

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Awards
Preceded by
Independence Day 		Saturn Award for Best Science Fiction Film
1997 		Succeeded by
Armageddon (1998 film) &
Dark City
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Films directed by Barry Sonnenfeld
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