Men in Black (1997)

Men in Black (1997)

Director: Barry Sonnenfield

Plot Synopsis

A police officer (Will Smith) joins a secret organization that polices and monitors extraterrestrial interactions on Earth.

Male Deaths

• John Alexander [Mikey]
• Keith Campbell [Perp]
• David Cross [Morgue Attendant]
• Vincent D'Onofrio [Edgar The Bug]
• Peter Linari [Tow Truck Driver]
• Mike Nussbaum [Gentle Rosenberg]
• Mark Setrakian [Rosenberg Alien]
• Carel Struycken [Arquillian]
• Ken Thorley [Zap-Em Man]

Female Deaths

• None

Trivia

1. Vincent D'Onofrio researched his role as Edgar by watching a lot of bug documentaries. In order to achieve his character's distinctive walk, he put on knee braces so he couldn't bend his legs, and taped up his ankles.
2. Will Smith didn't believe it was really Steven Spielberg on the other end of the line when the executive producer first called to talk to him about Men in Black (1997).
3. The "known aliens" visible on the screen include Al Roker, Isaac Mizrahi, Danny DeVito, director Barry Sonnenfeld, Chloe Sonnenfeld (Barry's daughter), Sylvester Stallone, Dionne Warwick, Newt Gingrich, Anthony Robbins, George Lucas, and executive producer Steven Spielberg.
4. According to Tommy Lee Jones, he didn't mind being covered in slime, but Will Smith hated it.
5. Tommy Lee Jones only accepted the role of Kay after Steven Spielberg promised the script would improve. He had been disappointed with the first draft, which he felt did not capture the tone of the comic.
6. The little ball Jay accidentally sends smashing around MIB headquarters is said by Kay to be "a practical joke from the Great Attractor." The "Great Attractor" is a real thing, a gravitational anomaly about 250 million light-years from Earth which affects the motion of every galaxy within hundreds of millions of light-years. It was first detected by astronomers in 1973.
7. The film was going to be set in underground bases and locations, including Kansas, Washington, D.C., and Nevada, but Barry Sonnenfeld made New York City the film's main Earth location. He thought it was more believable that aliens could hide out in a large city (safety in crowds), and thought New Yorkers would be more tolerant of people who behaved oddly (who were, in fact, aliens in disguise). He also felt that many of the city structures resembled flying saucers and rocket ships, which could be REAL spacecraft, and other hidden alien technology.
8. Vincent D'Onofrio, who plays Edgar the Bug, went on to voice all the Bugs who appeared in Men in Black: The Series (1997).
9. Will Smith, after reading the script, did not want to accept the role because one year before he had starred in Independence Day (1996) and he didn't want to make another movie about aliens. His wife Jada Pinkett Smith convinced him to take the part.
10. The sunglasses used by the Men in Black are the Ray-Ban "Predator 2" glasses. After the film's release, Ray-Ban reported that sales of these glasses tripled from $1.6 million to $5 million.
11. The site BadAstronomy, famed for bashing science fiction movies (such as Armageddon (1998)) about their science blunders, praised this movie for being comedic, yet surprisingly accurate, when it comes to astronomy facts.
12. The American Humane Society made sure no animals were hurt during filming, including cockroaches. Will Smith was actually crushing mustard packets. At the end of the day, they had to count all the roaches and make sure none were missing.

Gallery

John Alexander second before his death

Vincent D'Onofrio (1st character)

Ken Thorley

David Cross

Vincent D'Onofrio (2nd character)