Men in Black (1997 film)


Men in Black is a 1997 American science fiction action comedy film directed by Barry Sonnenfeld, based on a script by Ed Solomon, that adapts the Marvel Comics series The Men in Black by Lowell Cunningham. Tommy Lee Jones and Will Smith respectively star as Agent K and Agent J, who investigate a series of seemingly unrelated criminal incidents related to the extraterrestrials who live in secret on Earth. Linda Fiorentino, Vincent D'Onofrio, and Rip Torn also appear in supporting roles.
Development for the film began in 1992, after producers Walter F. Parkes and Laurie MacDonald optioned the rights to the comic book series. Solomon was soon hired to write the screenplay; Sonnenfeld was the preferred directorial choice, which resulted in delays due to his commitments to other film projects and a failure to secure any alternative directors. Principal photography began in March 1996 and lasted until that June, with filming primarily taking place in New York City. The film's visual effects were helmed by Industrial Light & Magic. The film's soundtrack contains the theme song of the same name, performed by Smith, as well as the score, composed by Danny Elfman.
Men in Black premiered at Pacific's Cinerama Dome in Hollywood on June 25, 1997, and was theatrically released in the United States on July 2 by Sony Pictures Releasing through the Columbia Pictures label. It received critical acclaim for its screenplay, humour, action sequences, and the performances and chemistry between Jones and Smith. The film was a box-office success, grossing more than $589.4 million worldwide and becoming the third-highest-grossing film of 1997 as well as the ninth-highest-grossing film of the decade. It won for Best Makeup and was also nominated for Best Art Direction and Best Original Score at the 70th Academy Awards, among numerous other accolades. A sequel was released in 2002, a third film was released in 2012, and a stand-alone sequel was released in 2019, with Jones and Smith absent.

Plot

In 1961, the Men in Black organization is founded after secretly making first contact with extraterrestrials. The MIB designates Earth as a neutral zone for alien refugees who live in secret among humans. Agents monitor alien activity and use memory-erasing neuralyzer devices to maintain secrecy.
In 1997, MIB Agents K and D disrupt a border patrol operation at the Mexico–United States border to capture an alien named Mikey. When Mikey becomes violent, K kills him and neuralyzes the patrol officers. D, feeling too old to continue, asks K to neuralyze him so he can retire.
Soon after, NYPD officer James Darrell Edwards III apprehends a suspect, unaware they are an alien. The alien warns of a coming threat before committing suicide. K, impressed by James's performance, recruits him into the MIB. After completing a series of tests, James becomes Agent J, and his previous identity is erased from public records.
Meanwhile, a hostile alien known as a "Bug" crash-lands in upstate New York. The Bug kills a farmer named Edgar and uses his skin as a disguise. K and J, tipped off by a tabloid news article, question Edgar's wife. They learn that the Bug has killed two aliens who were living on Earth in disguise. Their bodies, along with their pet cat, are sent to a morgue overseen by coroner Laurel Weaver.
At the morgue, the alien tells J and Laurel that "the galaxy is on Orion's Belt" before dying. After neuralyzing Laurel, K identifies the alien as Rosenberg, a prince from the Arquillian Empire. K and J visit Frank the Pug, an alien informant, who explains that Rosenberg was protecting a miniature galaxy. The galaxy is a powerful energy source which the Bug wants to use to destroy the Arquillians. An Arquillian warship soon arrives in Earth's orbit and demands the MIB return the galaxy or they will destroy the Earth.
J and the Bug both realize the galaxy is on the collar of Rosenberg's cat, Orion, which is now with Laurel. The Bug captures her and swallows the galaxy. As the Arquillians prepare to destroy Earth to stop the Bug, the MIB locks down all transportation. J guesses the Bug will head to the New York State Pavilion, where the MIB hid flying saucers during the 1964 World's Fair.
At the site, the Bug tries to escape with Laurel. She briefly breaks free, and the agents shoot down the ship. The Bug sheds its human skin and reveals its true form, swallowing the agents’ weapons. K allows himself to be eaten so he can retrieve his weapon from inside. J distracts the Bug until K shoots the Bug apart from within. Laurel uses J's gun to finish the bug off.
After returning the galaxy to the Arquillians, K reveals that he was training J to take his place. J neuralyzes him so he can retire. Later, J continues his work with Laurel, who has joined the MIB as Agent L.

Cast

  • Tommy Lee Jones as Kevin Brown / Agent K: J's grizzled mentor. The studio wanted Clint Eastwood for the part, while Jones only accepted the role after Steven Spielberg promised the script would improve, based on his respect for Spielberg's track record. He had been disappointed with the first draft, which he reportedly said "stank", feeling it did not capture the tone of the comic.
  • Will Smith as James Darrell Edwards III / Agent J: A former NYPD detective, newly recruited to the MIB. Smith was cast because Barry Sonnenfeld's wife was a fan of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. Sonnenfeld also liked his performance in Six Degrees of Separation. The studio and Spielberg preferred Chris O'Donnell for the role, fresh off his portrayal of Dick Grayson, whom he played in Batman Forever and Batman & Robin, and Spielberg told Sonnenfeld to take him to dinner to convince him to do it. However, Sonnenfeld got him to not accept the role by saying that he was not a good director and that the script was one O'Donnell should skip. David Schwimmer also turned down the part, a decision he later regretted when reflecting in 2024. Like Jones, Smith said he accepted the role after meeting with Spielberg and cited his success as a producer.
  • Linda Fiorentino as Dr. Laurel Weaver / Agent L: A deputy medical examiner, and later J's partner.
  • Vincent D'Onofrio as Edgar / The Bug: An abusive farmer who is killed and eaten by a giant alien insect, which then wears his skin in order to search for the Galaxy and incite a war from the Arquillians. John Turturro and Bruce Campbell were both offered the role, but they turned it down due to scheduling conflicts. D'Onofrio based Edgar's voice on actors such as George C. Scott and John Huston.
  • Rip Torn as Chief Zed: The head of the MIB.
  • Tony Shalhoub as Jack Jeebs: An alien arms dealer who runs a pawn shop as a front.
  • Siobhan Fallon Hogan as Beatrice: Edgar's abused wife.
  • Mike Nussbaum as Gentle Rosenberg: An Arquillian royal family member, posing as a jeweler, who is the guardian of "the Galaxy".
  • Jon Gries as Nick the van driver: the American smuggler who unknowingly carries a literal alien among his posse.
  • Sergio Calderón as Jose
  • John Alexander as Mikey: An alien who poses as a Mexican being smuggled across the border.
  • Patrick Breen as Mr. Redgick
  • Becky Ann Baker as Mrs. Redgick
  • Carel Struycken as Arquillian
  • Fredric Lehne as Agent Janus
  • Kent Faulcon as 2nd Lieutenant Jake Jensen
  • Richard Hamilton as Agent D: K's former partner who retires after deciding he is too old for the job.
  • Ken Thorley as Zap-Em Man, an Exterminator who is killed by Edgar the Bug
  • David Cross as Newton, Morgue Attendant
  • Sean Whalen as Passport Officer
  • Verne Troyer as the Alien son
  • Harsh Nayyar as News Vendor
  • Bernard Gilkey as himself

    Voices/Puppeteers

  • Tim Blaney as Frank the Pug: A smart-talking pug-like alien.
  • Mark Setrakian as Rosenberg Alien
  • Brad Abrell, Thom Fountain, Carl J. Johnson, and Drew Massey as the Worm Guys: A quartet of worm-like aliens that work for Men in Black.

    Production

Development

The film is loosely based on Lowell Cunningham and Sandy Carruthers's comic book The Men in Black. 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 Sonnenfeld as director because he had helmed the darkly humorous The Addams Family and its sequel Addams Family Values. However, Sonnenfeld was attached to Get Shorty, so they instead approached Les Mayfield. Mayfield was briefly attached before it fell through. John Landis and Quentin Tarantino were asked to direct but each declined. As a result, Men in Black was delayed, allowing Sonnenfeld to make it his next project after Get Shorty. David Schwimmer was offered the role of Agent J but he declined due to scheduling conflicts.
Much of the initial script drafts were set underground, with locations ranging from Kansas to Washington, D.C., and Nevada. Sonnenfeld decided to change the location to New York City, because Sonnenfeld felt New Yorkers would be tolerant of aliens who behaved oddly while disguised, terming the movie as "The French Connection with aliens". He also felt much of the city's structures resembled flying saucers and rocket ships. One of the locations Sonnenfeld thought perfect for the movie was a giant ventilation structure for the Brooklyn–Battery Tunnel, which became the outside of the MIB headquarters.

Filming

began in March 1996. Many last-minute changes ensued during production. First, the scene where James Edwards was chasing a disguised alien was to be filmed at Lincoln Center, but the New York Philharmonic decided to charge the filmmakers for using their buildings, prompting Sonnenfeld to film the scene at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum instead. Then, five months into the shoot, Sonnenfeld decided that the original ending, with a humorous existential debate between Agent J and the Bug, was unexciting and lacking the action that the rest of the film had. Five potential replacements were discussed. One of these had Laurel Weaver being neuralyzed and K remaining an agent. Eventually it boiled down to the Bug eating K and fighting J, replacing the animatronic Bug Rick Baker's crew had developed with a computer-generated Bug with an appearance closer to a cockroach. The whole action sequence cost an extra $4.5 million to the filmmakers.
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 and steal the galaxy in order to continue the war. Through changing of subtitles, the images on M.I.B.'s main computer 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 destroyed by the Arquillians themselves to prevent the Bugs from getting the galaxy. These changes to the plot were carried out when only two weeks remained in the film's post-production, but the film's novelization still contains the Baltians.