Mars Attacks

Mars Attacks! is a 1996 American Comic science fiction film[1] directed by Tim Burton and written by Jonathan Gems. Based on the cult trading card series of the same name, the film stars Jack Nicholson, Glenn Close, Annette Bening, Pierce Brosnan, and Danny DeVito with supporting roles done by Martin Short, Sarah Jessica Parker, Michael J. Fox, Rod Steiger, Tom Jones, Lukas Haas, Natalie Portman, Jim Brown, Lisa Marie Smith, and Sylvia Sidney. The film is a parody of science fiction B movies with elements of black comedy and political satire. Burton and Gems began development for Mars Attacks! in 1993, and Warner Bros. purchased the film rights to the trading card series on Burton's behalf. When Gems turned in his first draft in 1994, Warner Bros. commissioned rewrites from Gems, Burton, Martin Amis, Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski in an attempt to lower the budget to $60 million. The final production budget came to $80 million, while Warner Bros. spent another $20 million on the Mars Attacks! marketing campaign. Filming took place from February to November 1996. The soundtrack became famous for the Martians' quirky speech pattern, which was created by reversing the sound of a duck's quack. The filmmakers hired Industrial Light & Magic to create the Martians using computer animation after their previous plan to use stop motion, supervised by Barry Purves, fell through because of budget limitations. Mars Attacks! was released on December 13, 1996 to mixed reviews from critics. The film grossed approximately $101 million in box office totals, which was seen as a disappointment. Mars Attacks! was nominated for the Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation and earned multiple nominations at the Saturn Awards.