Synopsis

A New York police officer is recruited into a secret agency that monitors extraterrestrial activity on Earth. Taking the codename Agent J, he partners with the experienced Agent K and discovers that aliens live unnoticed among humanity. Their first major assignment involves an intergalactic threat, a stolen item, and a race to prevent a catastrophe while keeping the public unaware.

Factoids & Trivia

• The film adapts The Men in Black comic book series created by Lowell Cunningham, with artwork by Sandy Carruthers. The movie substantially reworked the comics' darker tone into a science-fiction action comedy.

• Tommy Lee Jones initially disliked the first screenplay draft because he felt it did not capture the comic's tone. He accepted the role of Agent K after Steven Spielberg promised that the script would be improved.

• Will Smith was hesitant to make another alien-themed film after appearing in Independence Day (1996). His wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, encouraged him to accept the role.

• Steven Spielberg served as an executive producer. Smith reportedly did not believe that Spielberg was really calling him when they first spoke about the project.

• Industrial Light & Magic created the film's visual effects, including the alien creatures, the destruction of the Edgar suit, and the expanding galaxy seen at the conclusion.

• Danny Elfman wrote the score after an unusual introduction to the production. Vincent D'Onofrio invited Elfman and Peter Jackson to watch him perform a scene while the films were being shot on neighboring sets.

• Two soundtrack releases were issued: an album of songs inspired by the film and a separate album containing Elfman's orchestral score. Will Smith's title song became a major international hit and won the 1998 Grammy Award for Best Rap Solo Performance.

• The film opened in the United States on July 2, 1997. Made for an estimated $90 million, it earned approximately $589 million worldwide and became one of the year's biggest commercial successes.

• Men in Black won the Academy Award for Best Makeup and received additional nominations for Best Art Direction and Best Original Score.

• The movie's success established a franchise that continued with Men in Black II in 2002, Men in Black 3 in 2012, and the spin-off Men in Black: International in 2019.