Battlefield Earth (film)
Encyclopedia
Battlefield Earth is a 2000 American science fiction film
adapted
from L. Ron Hubbard
's novel of the same name
. It was directed by Roger Christian
, and stars John Travolta
, Forest Whitaker
, and Barry Pepper
. The film depicts an Earth that has been under the rule of the alien Psychlos for 1,000 years and tells the story of the rebellion that develops when the Psychlos attempt to use the surviving humans as gold miners
.
Travolta, a long-time Scientologist
, had sought for many years to make a film of the novel by Hubbard, the founder of Scientology. He was unable to obtain funding from any major studio due to concerns about the film's script, prospects, and connections with Scientology. The project was eventually taken on by an independent production company
, Franchise Pictures
, which specialized in rescuing stars' stalled pet projects. Travolta signed on as a co-producer and contributed millions of dollars of his own money to the production, which was largely funded by a German film distribution company. Franchise Pictures was later sued by its investors and was bankrupted
after it emerged that it had fraud
ulently overstated the film's budget by $31 million.
Battlefield Earth was released on May 12, 2000. The film was a major commercial failure
and critical flop and has been widely acknowledged as being one of the worst films ever made. Reviewers universally panned the film, criticizing virtually every aspect of the production including Travolta's acting, overuse of angled shots and slow-motion, incoherent narrative and redundant dialogue. Audiences were reported to have ridiculed early screenings and stayed away from the film after its opening weekend. This resulted in Battlefield Earth failing to recoup its costs. Travolta originally envisioned the film as the first of two adapted from the book, as the screenplay only covered the first half of the novel. However, the film's poor showing at the box office
, as well as the collapse of Franchise, killed off plans for a sequel.
by the Psychlos and used for manual labor or survive in primitive tribes living in remote areas outside Psychlo control. Jonnie Goodboy Tyler (Barry Pepper
), a member of one such tribe, leaves his home in the Rocky Mountains
on a journey of exploration. He joins forces with Carlo (Kim Coates
), a hunter, but both men are captured by a Psychlo raiding party and transported to a slave camp at the Psychlos' main base on Earth, a giant dome built over the ruins of Denver, Colorado.
Terl (John Travolta
), the Psychlo security chief on Earth, has been condemned by his superiors to remain indefinitely at his post on Earth as punishment for an unclear incident involving "the Senator's daughter." Aided by his deputy, Ker (Forest Whitaker
), Terl devises a plan to buy his way off the planet by making a fortune using human slaves to mine gold in radioactive areas. Psychlos are unable to visit such areas due to the explosive interaction of the gas that they breathe with radionuclide particles. Terl selects Jonnie as his "foreman" for the project and gives him a Psychlo education using a rapid-learning machine. Terl gives Jonnie a party of slaves and a Psychlo flying shuttle and orders him to go out and find gold.
After learning the Psychlos' language, history, and myriad other educational forms from the rapid learning machine, Jonnie plots a human uprising against the Psychlos. He obtains gold from Fort Knox
to satisfy Terl's demands, instead of mining gold as ordered. Jonnie and his followers find an abandoned underground US military base with working aircraft, weapons, fuel, and nuclear weapons. They use the base's flight simulators to train themselves in aerial combat.
After a week of training, the rebels launch a mass uprising against the Psychlos using Harrier jump-jets and other weapons. Carlo sacrifices himself to destroy the dome over Denver, and the Psychlos inside suffocate in Earth's atmosphere, which they are unable to breathe. Jonnie captures a Psychlo teleportation
device and uses it to teleport an atomic bomb to the Psychlo home world. The ensuing detonation causes the entire Psychlo atmosphere to explode, wiping out the planet. Ker and Terl survive on Earth but face different fates: Ker sides with the victorious humans, while Terl is imprisoned as a hostage within a vault in Fort Knox. The film ends with the humans in control of Earth but facing an uncertain future.
one of these days and probably on location in the Denver area for Battlefield Earth when they film it."
Hubbard's comments suggest that he saw himself being directly involved in the film's production; author Stewart Lamont suggests that Hubbard may even have envisioned directing it, given his previous work on Scientology
training films. In October 1983, the film rights were sold by the Church of Scientology
's in-house literary agency, Author Services Inc.
, to Salem Productions of Los Angeles. Two films were envisaged, each covering half of the book and tentatively budgeted at $15 million each. William Immerman was set as the producer for the film. Veteran screenwriter Abraham Polonsky
and British director Ken Annakin
were hired to produce a film breakdown, with production scheduled to begin in 1985. In November 1984, Santa Monica
public relations firm Dateline Communications announced a nationwide contest to promote the film. First and second place prizes were an all-expense paid trip to the film's production location and a paid walk-on part
in the film, and other announced prizes included a trip to Los Angeles for the world premiere, records, cassettes, and hardcover and paperback copies of the novel. A 30-foot (10 m) high inflatable figure of the film's villain, Terl, was erected by Scientology officials on Hollywood Boulevard
in 1984 in an effort to promote the production, and auditions were held in Denver. The low-budget project soon collapsed.
Travolta had converted to Scientology in 1975 and subsequently became one of the Church of Scientology's most prominent supporters. Hubbard sent him an autographed copy of Battlefield Earth when the book was first published in 1982; he reportedly hoped that Travolta would turn the book into a film "in the vein of Star Wars
and Close Encounters of the Third Kind
". While Travolta was interested, his influence in Hollywood at the time was at a low after participating in a series of flops. He gained renewed influence with the success of the 1994 film Pulp Fiction
, which garnered Travolta an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor
. He had not forgotten Hubbard's wishes to see the book on the big screen and took on the task of making Battlefield Earth into a movie. Travolta described the book in interviews as "like Pulp Fiction for the year 3000" and "like Star Wars
, only better".
He lobbied influential figures in Hollywood to fund the project and was reported to have recruited the aid of fellow Scientologists in promoting it. According to Bill Mechanic
, the former head of Twentieth Century Fox, "John wanted me to make Battlefield Earth. He had Scientologists all over me. They come up to you and they know who you are. And they go, 'We're really excited about Battlefield Earth." This did not impress Mechanic: "Do you think in any way, shape, or form that weirding me out is going to make me want to make this movie?"
Travolta's involvement in Battlefield Earth was first publicized in late 1995. He told the New York Daily News
that "Battlefield Earth is the pinnacle of using my power for something. I told my manager, 'If we can't do the things now that we want to do, what good is the power? Let's test it and try to get the things done that we believe in.' " It was assumed from the start that Travolta would star in and produce the film, which would be distributed by MGM; J.D. Shapiro would write the screenplay. Shapiro was eventually fired because he refused to accept some suggestions from the studio producers that changed the tone of his script, including removing key scenes and characters. In 1997 Travolta's long-time manager Jonathan Krane signed a two-year deal with Twentieth Century Fox under which that studio would release Battlefield Earth instead of MGM, but the deal with Fox also fell through. James Robert Parish, author of Fiasco: A History of Hollywood's Iconic Flops, comments that both studios regarded the project as too risky on several grounds. Its heavy reliance on special effects would be very expensive, pushing the budget up to as much as $100 million; Hubbard's narrative was seen as naïve and outdated; and the "Scientology factor" could work against the film, negating Travolta's star power. As one studio executive put it, "On any film there are ten variables that can kill you. On this film there was an eleventh: Scientology. It just wasn't something anyone really wanted to get involved with."
, a recently established company whose head Elie Samaha, a former dry cleaning
mogul turned nightclub owner, specialized in rescuing stars' pet projects. Franchise sought out stars whose projects were stalled at the major studios, bringing them aboard at reduced salaries. Samaha's approach made waves in Hollywood, earning him a reputation of being able to produce star vehicles more cheaply than the larger studios. His unorthodox deals raised eyebrows and the entertainment industry magazine Variety
commented that they were "often so complex and variable as to leave outsiders scratching their heads". As Samaha put it, "I said, 'If John wants to make this movie, what does he want to get paid?' ... Because I do not pay anybody what they make. That is not my business plan.'" He learned of Battlefield Earth from Cassian Elwes
, an agent at the theatrical agency William Morris
, and approached Travolta. A deal was soon struck and financing was arranged; Travolta significantly reduced his normal fee of $20 million, lowering the film's cost from the $100 million that had previously been forecast, and costs were reduced further by using Canadian locations and facilities.
The film was set up as an independent production for Morgan Creek Productions
which would release the film through Warner Bros.
in the U.S. under an existing distribution agreement. Travolta's company JTP Films was also involved, and Travolta invested $5 million of his own money in the production. Warner Bros. allocated $20 million for the film's marketing and distribution. Franchise retained the foreign rights, licensing the European distribution rights to the German group Intertainment AG in exchange for 47% of the production costs which were set at $75 million. The Intertainment deal later became the focus of a legal action that bankrupted Franchise. Samaha forecast that the film would be a hit: "My projected numbers on Battlefield Earth are really conservative. I'm already covered internationally, and there's no way I'm going to lose if the movie does $35 million domestically. And Travolta has never had an action movie do under $35 million."
According to Samaha, he got around the "negative factor" of the Scientology connection by the simple expedient of "yell[ing] at everyone, 'This is a science-fiction film starring John Travolta!' again and again". Samaha acknowledged that "everyone thought I was crazy or mentally retarded" for taking on the project, but pitched the film as "Planet of the Apes
starring John Travolta". Others in Hollywood were still skeptical; an unnamed producer was quoted by the Los Angeles Daily News
as saying that "Battlefield Earth has the stench of death. It should never have been made. It's an $80 million vanity project for Travolta." Travolta's theatrical agency William Morris
was also said to be unenthusiastic, reportedly leading to Travolta threatening to leave them if they did not help him to set up the film. Fellow Scientologist Tom Cruise
was said to have warned Warner Bros. that he thought the movie was a bad idea. This was later denied by his spokesperson.
said that it was "donating its share of the profits from the film to charitable organizations that direct drug education and drug rehabilitation programs around the world". It was reported that the merchandising revenues would be passed on to the Scientology-linked groups Narconon
, a drug rehabilitation program, and Applied Scholastics
, which promotes Hubbard's Study tech
, with movie-related sales of the book funding the marketing of Hubbard's fiction books and the L. Ron Hubbard Writers of the Future
contest. The size of the revenue deal was not disclosed by the parties; Trendmasters, the makers of the Battlefield Earth range of toys, stated that its deal was strictly with Franchise Pictures, which declined to comment, and Warner Bros. stated that its role was limited to distribution and had nothing to do with the associated merchandising deals.
In February 2000, Church of Scientology spokesman Mike Rinder
told Tribune Media Services
that any spinoff deals based on Hubbard's novel would benefit Author Services Inc. while another church spokesman, Aron Mason, stated, "The church has no financial interest in Battlefield Earth. Author Services is not part of the Church of Scientology. They are a literary agency without any connection to the church."
Travolta's manager Jonathan Krane denied that the Church of Scientology was playing any part in the production: "I've never even dealt with or talked to the church on this. This is an action-adventure, science-fiction story. Period. The movie has nothing to do with Scientology." Krane stated that the film had been financed "without a dollar coming from the Scientologists". Some in Hollywood feared that Travolta was using his box office draw to promote Scientology teachings, and one film producer stated, "This film could encourage kids to embrace the whole strange world of Scientology." Travolta stated, "I'm doing it because it's a great piece of science fiction. This is not about Hubbard. I'm very interested in Scientology, but that's personal. This is different." In a separate interview Travolta commented on the perceived similarities between Battlefield Earth and Scientology: "Well, they are kind of synonymous ... L. Ron Hubbard is very famous for Scientology and Dianetics
. On the other hand, he's equally as famous in the science fiction world. So for people to think that ... look, I don't want everybody to try Scientology. I don't really care if somebody thinks that. I'm not worried about it. You can't be. The truth of why I'm doing it is because it's a great piece of science fiction. I'm going to be the wickedest 9-foot alien you've ever seen in your life."
to direct the film. When Tarantino declined, Roger Christian
, a protégé of George Lucas
, was recruited as the director on the advice of Lucas. Christian had most recently been the second unit
director on Lucas' Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace
. Patrick Tatopoulos
was signed to develop the production design and costumes, including the design of the alien Psychlos, and Czech-American composer Elia Cmiral
was signed to provide the film's score. Travolta and Krane also signed the cinematographer and most of the principal actors. Corey Mandell, a screenwriter who had previously worked with Ridley Scott
on Blade Runner
, signed on to write the script for the film, which had previously gone through 10 revisions. Mandell stated in an interview, "I am not a Scientologist ... I came on board because John asked me to read the book and said, 'It's not a religious book. It's a science-fiction story. There's nothing sacred about the story, nothing of the religious philosophy. I was given this to read purely as science fiction — to see whether it was intriguing as a movie. And it was."
The cast included Travolta, Barry Pepper, Forest Whitaker, Kim Coates, Richard Tyson
, Sabine Karsenti
, and Michael Byrne
. Travolta's wife Kelly Preston
also appeared in one scene, playing Terl's "baldish Psychlo girlfriend". Travolta originally saw himself in the role of Tyler, but by the time the movie was actually made, Travolta felt he was too old to play the role, and took the role of the main villain instead. Travolta's role in the film required what he described as an amazing physical transformation: "I wear a tall head apparatus with strange hair. I have amber eyes and talons for hands. It's quite remarkable ... I'm on 4-foot stilts." To star in the film, Travolta turned down the movie The Shipping News
and postponed production on Standing Room Only
.
Filmed in Canada, principal filming took place in Montreal
and several other Quebec
locations during the summer and autumn of 1999. In January 1999, Travolta flew his private Boeing 727
on a secret visit to Montreal to scout out locations for shooting. The film was reported to have been the most expensive production shot in Canada up to that point. It was also reported that the production costs would have been twice as high had the film been shot in the United States.
In an ominous sign for the film's prospects, it was "plagued by bad buzz" before release with the media speculating about the possible influence of Scientology and commenting on the production's tight security. As the film was entering post-production
, the alternative newspaper Mean Magazine obtained a copy of the screenplay. Mean's staffers changed the script's title to "Dark Forces" by "Desmond Finch" and circulated it to readers at major Hollywood film production companies. The comments that came back were universally unfavorable: "a thoroughly silly plotline is made all the more ludicrous by its hamfisted [sic] dialog and ridiculously shallow characterizations", "a completely predictable story that just isn't written well enough to make up for its lack of originality". One reviewer labeled the screenplay "as entertaining as watching a fly breathe".
Battlefield Earth was released on May 12, 2000, three days after the 50th anniversary of the publication of Hubbard's book Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health
, a date celebrated by Scientologists worldwide as a major Scientology holiday
. Its premiere was held on May 10, 2000 at Mann's Chinese Theater on Hollywood Boulevard
in Los Angeles.
.
The film's exceptionally bad reviews and poor word-of-mouth led to a precipitous falling-off in its grosses. Having earned $11,548,898 from 3,307 screens on its opening weekend, its take collapsed by 67 percent to $3,924,921 the following weekend, giving an average take of $1,158 per screen. The film made 95 percent of its entire domestic gross in the first two weekends and flatlined thereafter, with earnings dropping a further 75 percent by the end of its third week to $1 million.
The following week, facing earnings of just $205,745, Warner Bros. attempted to cut its losses by slashing the number of screens at which the film was being shown. The number was reduced from 2,587 to 641. By its sixth weekend on release, the film was showing on 95 screens and had made $18,993 in a week – less than $200 per screen. International earnings were equally dire. The film finished with a gross of $21.4 million in the US and just $8.2 million from the rest of the world.
Critically, the film was viewed as a disaster and was universally panned by critics; it received a 2% 'rotten' rating on the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes
, based on 123 reviews. The site's consensus states: "Ugly, campy, and poorly acted, Battlefield Earth is a stunningly misguided, aggressively bad sci-fi folly." On Metacritic
, the film had an average score of 9 out of 100, based on 33 reviews. Film critic Roger Ebert
gave the film the rating of half a star out of four and described it as "something historic, a film that for decades to come will be the punch line of jokes about bad movies".Leonard Maltin
rated the film a "BOMB" in his book Leonard Maltin's Movie Guide
, writing: "Clumsy plot, misplaced satire
, unbelievable coincidences and a leaden pace trample Travolta's weird but amusing performance." David Bleiler gave the film one star out of four in the TLA Video & DVD Guide, writing: "This is disjointed, tedious and every bit as bad as its reputation." Jon Stewart
mocked the film on his television program The Daily Show
, describing it as "a cross between Star Wars
and the smell of ass".
Rita Kempley of The Washington Post
commented: "A million monkeys with a million crayons would be hard-pressed in a million years to create anything as cretinous as Battlefield Earth. This film version of L. Ron Hubbard's futuristic novel is so breathtakingly awful in concept and execution, it wouldn’t tax the smarts of a troglodyte." Elvis Mitchell of The New York Times
wrote: "It may be a bit early to make such judgments, but Battlefield Earth may well turn out to be the worst movie of this century" and called it "Plan 9 From Outer Space
for a new generation". The British film critic Jonathan Ross
said: "Everything about Battlefield Earth sucks. Everything. The over-the-top music, the unbelievable sets, the terrible dialogue, the hammy acting, the lousy special effects, the beginning, the middle and especially the end."
The Hollywood Reporter summarized the film as being "a flat-out mess, by golly, with massive narrative sinkholes, leading to moments of outstanding disbelief in the muddled writing and shockingly chaotic mise en scène
that's accompanied by ear-pummeling sound and bombastic music".
Particular points that critics held up for censure included its overuse of angled camera shots
(which, according to the director himself in different reports, are used in all but one frame of the film or even in every single frame), derivative special effects, and unbelievable plotting. The Providence Journal highlighted the film's unusual color scheme: "Battlefield Earth's primary colors are blue and gray, adding to the misery. Whenever we glimpse sunlight, the screen goes all stale yellow, as though someone had urinated on the print. This, by the way, is not such a bad idea."
The film is profiled in Better Living Through Bad Movies by Scott Clevenger and Sheri Zollinger, who comment: "So what new truths have we gleaned from Battlefield Earth? First, we have learned that spirituality is a fine thing, but it's probably best to avoid joining denominations that make action movies." In 2010, screenwriter J.D. Shapiro wrote an apology letter in The New York Post, saying that his draft was completely different from the final product, and he was very ashamed of the poor quality of Battlefield Earth - " The only time I saw the movie was at the premiere, which was one too many times."
The film was reported to have been greeted with widespread derision in preview screenings for the public and critics. An audience of Los Angeles entertainment journalists, critics and others greeted the film with guffaws and hoots at a screening in Century City, while other viewers in Washington, D.C. and Baltimore
responded with derisive laughter or simply walked out. At a post-launch publicity event, Travolta, on asking assembled journalists if they had enjoyed it, received no reply. He later asserted that other film-makers had enjoyed the movie: "When I felt better about everything was when George Lucas and Quentin Tarantino, and a lot of people that I felt knew what they were doing, saw it and thought it was a great piece of science fiction." Christian also spoke of an initially positive reception, mentioning an enthusiastic response from both the audience and Tarantino.
Responding to the criticism, the film's producer Elie Samaha complained: "[The] critics were waiting for us to ... chop our heads off. Everybody hated Scientology for some reason. I didn't know people were so prejudiced." He argued that despite the film's poor performance it would cover its costs in due course: "Maybe [in] the second cycle with Internet
, and HBO, and DVD, you always make your money ... so I'm not going to lose sleep over one movie that did not perform for us."
The reviews were not uniformly negative. Bob Graham of the San Francisco Chronicle
wrote that the film "effectively presented" the "wary, uncomprehending relationship" between the humans and the Psychlos. A review at JoBlo's Movie Reviews
was also positive; Berge Garabedian wrote, "Despite starting off like a bad Star Trek
episode, this film eventually graduates to a higher level with great special effects, some really slick bad-ass aliens, an intriguing premise and a good flow of loud, campy fun." Luke Thompson of New Times LA
wrote: "Think Independence Day
without the ponderous build-up or self-importance. Imagine how much more enjoyable the other blockbuster-of-the-moment, Gladiator
, might have been if Joaquin Phoenix had addressed every one of his rivals as 'Rat brain.'" Sean Axmaker of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer
wrote positively of the interaction between Travolta and Whitaker in the film, comparing them to Abbot and Costello. Axmaker wrote that they provide "... much-needed comic relief in an otherwise humorless paean to freedom". Axmaker also wrote positively of the production design used in the film, commenting that the director had created "a world of crumbling dead cities and empty malls turned into human hunting grounds..." Hap Erstein of The Palm Beach Post commented: "..production designer Patrick Tatopulos contributes some good work, imagining the ruins of Denver and Washington, D.C., with echoes of Planet of the Apes."
Battlefield Earth frequently appears on worst film lists, and is included on Rotten Tomatoes' "100 Worst Of The Worst Movies" list. Rotten Tomatoes ranked the film 27th in the 100 worst reviewed films of the first decade of the 21st century. The Arizona Republic
listed it as the worst film of 2000, and called it a "monumentally bad sci-fi flick". Richard Roeper
placed the film at number five on his list of "40 movies that linger in the back chambers of my memory vault like a plate of cheese left behind a radiator in a fleabag hotel". In 2001 the film received the "Worst Picture" award from the Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association
. James Franklin of McClatchy-Tribune News Service put the film as the worst of his "summer blockbuster bombs" list, giving it a rating of four stars for "traumatic" on his scale of how the films "generate a perverse sense of nostalgia". Christopher Null
of Filmcritic.com listed the film's villain Terl at number 8 of his "10 Least Effective Movie Villains", writing: "we still can't imagine how anyone would go face to face with one of these creatures and react with anything other than simple laughter".
It was also subjected to extensive criticism at Agony Booth in its mega recap.
and received seven "Razzies", including Worst Movie of the Year, Worst Actor (Travolta), Worst Supporting Actor (Pepper), Worst Supporting Actress (Preston), Worst Director (Christian), Worst Screenplay (Mandell and Shapiro), and Worst Screen Couple (Travolta and "anyone sharing the screen with him"). This tied for the highest number of Razzies won by a single film at that time, with Showgirls
achieving seven wins in 1995. Battlefield Earth was later awarded an eighth Razzie for "Worst Drama of Our First 25 Years". In 2010, the film received an award for "Worst Picture of the Decade", bringing its total number of Razzie Awards to nine.
As Travolta did not attend to collect his trophies, an action figure of Terl, his character, accepted them in his place. Travolta responded a week later to the awards: "I didn't even know there were such awards. I have people around me whose job it is to not tell me about such things. They're obviously doing their job. Not every film can be a critical and box office success. It would have been awful only if Battlefield Earth was neither. That's not the case. It is edging toward the $100m mark which means it has found an audience even if it didn't impress critics. I'd rather my films connect with audiences than with critics because it gives you more longevity as a performer." He later insisted that he still felt "really good about it. Here I was taking big chances, breaking a new genre."
Pepper said that he regretted not having been invited to the Razzies and blamed the movie's failure on "a weak script and poor production values". Writer J.D. Shapiro received his Worst Screenplay award from Razzies founder John J.B. Wilson
during a radio program; he commented that Travolta had called the script "the Schindler's List
of science fiction". Shapiro also appeared to pick up the Worst Picture of the Decade award at the 30th Golden Raspberry Awards
, giving a speech quoting negative reviews, and thanking both the studio for firing him and Corey Mandell for "rewriting my script in a way I never, ever, ever - could have imagined or conceived of myself."
The film's producer, Elie Samaha, declared that he welcomed the "free publicity", as "the more the critics hit Battlefield Earth, the more DVDs it sells. It is the kind of film that makes a movie legend and we feel we have enough staying power to last long after the critics have quieted down."
recorded by the Seattle Symphony
, and a re-released version of the novel with a new cover based on the film's poster. Trendmasters
also produced a range of action figure
s of the main characters, including an 11 inches (279.4 mm) figure of Travolta as Terl voicing lines from the film such as "Exterminate all man-animals at will!", "You wouldn't last one day at the academy", "Man is an endangered species", and "Ratbastard!". In Hubbard's novel the term "Ratbastard" is never used, and Terl instead refers to Jonnie Goodboy Tyler as "rat brain".
was released in 2001, including two additional scenes which added two minutes to the film's running time. The DVD includes commentary tracks with director Roger Christian and production, costume and creature designer Patrick Tatopoulos, as well as special features including John Travolta's alien makeup test. Jeff Berkwits of SCI FI WEEKLY wrote that "... the Battlefield Earth Special Edition DVD is packed with information, offering an enlightening glimpse into the creative process behind this imperfect but entertaining picture". Randy Salas of the Star Tribune
described it as the "Best DVD for a bad movie." A review of the DVD release in the Los Angeles Times
was more critical: "A dated visual style, patched-together special effects and ludicrous dialogue combine in a film that is a wholly miserable experience."
, then-president of the Lisa McPherson Trust
stated, "There's no way that this movie would be happening without Scientology's backing… This is one example of how Scientology insinuates itself in various aspects of the culture." Mark Bunker
characterized the film as a recruitment tactic for the Church of Scientology, stating, "It's designed to introduce L. Ron Hubbard to a whole new generation of kids. It's there to plant a favorable seed in children's minds." Bunker criticized the promotional methods of the film—instead of granting interviews about the film to the press, John Travolta went on a book tour and signed copies of L. Ron Hubbard's novel. Bunker stated, "When Michael Caine
goes around to promote The Cider House Rules
, he doesn't tour bookstores and sign copies of John Irving
's novel ... Through the movie tie-in with the book, kids will send in the card to get their free poster, and eventually be introduced to Dianetics." Scientologist Nancy O'Meara, at the time treasurer of the Foundation for Religious Freedom and currently treasurer of the Scientology-run Cult Awareness Network
, responded to Bunker's statement: "Gimme a break ... That's like saying people are going to go see Gladiator
and then suddenly find themselves wanting to explore Christianity
."
Before the film was released, rumors and allegations began to circulate that Battlefield Earth contained subliminal messages promoting Scientology. Former Scientologist Lawrence Wollersheim, in a press release issued by his group Fight Against Coercive Tactics Network
, said that the Church of Scientology
"has placed highly advanced subliminal messages in the Battlefield Earth film master to surreptitiously recruit new members from the movie audience and to get the audience to develop a revulsion for psychiatry and current mental health organizations and practices". Other critics said that the film "is a veiled attempt to gain converts and influence", and that writers were gagged from making connections between Scientology and the film with threats of lawsuits. Warner Bros. dismissed the claims as "silly nonsense", the Church of Scientology denounced them as "hogwash" and the media reacted with skepticism; as the Scottish
journalist Duncan Campbell
put it, "the only subliminal voice I could detect came about 10 minutes into this 121-minute film and it seemed to be saying Leeeaaave thisssss cinemmmaaa nooow". When asked about the similarities between the film and Scientology beliefs in intergalactic travel and aliens, church spokesman Aron Mason stated, "That's a pretty crude parallel ... You'd have to make some serious leaps of logic to make that comparison." John Travolta also stated that the film was not inspired by Scientology tenets.
reported that the FBI was probing "the question of whether some independent motion picture companies have vastly inflated the budget of films in an effort to scam investors". In December 2000 the German-based Intertainment AG filed a lawsuit alleging that Franchise Pictures had fraudulently inflated budgets in films including Battlefield Earth, which Intertainment had helped to finance. Intertainment had agreed to pay 47% of the production costs of several films in exchange for European distribution rights, but ended up paying for between 60 and 90% of the costs instead. The company alleged that Franchise had defrauded it to the tune of over $75 million by systematically submitting "grossly fraudulent and inflated budgets".
The case was heard before a jury in a Los Angeles federal courtroom in May–June 2004. The court heard testimony from Intertainment that according to Franchise's bank records the real cost of Battlefield Earth was only $44 million, not the $75 million declared by Franchise. The remaining $31 million had been fraudulent "padding". Intertainment's head Barry Baeres told the court that he had only funded Battlefield Earth because it was packaged as a slate that included two more commercially attractive films, the Wesley Snipes
vehicle The Art of War
and the Bruce Willis
comedy The Whole Nine Yards
. Baeres testified that "Mr. Samaha said, 'If you want the other two pictures, you have to take Battlefield Earth — it's called packaging'". Baeres commented: "We would have been quite happy if he had killed [Battlefield Earth]".
Intertainment won the case and was awarded $121.7 million in damages. Samaha himself was declared by the court to be personally liable for $77 million in damages. The jury rejected Intertainment's claims under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act
(RICO) statute, which would have trebled the damages
if Franchise had been convicted on that charge. The judgment forced Franchise into bankruptcy a few months later. The failure of the film was also reported to have led in 2002 to Travolta firing his manager Jonathan Krane, who had set up the deal with Franchise in the first place.
, stating that there were already fan websites dedicated to the film. Corey Mandell, the scriptwriter for the first film, was commissioned to deliver the script for the sequel and Travolta, Pepper and producer Krane were all signed up to the sequel in their contracts for the first film. Christian and Whitaker were approached to reprise their respective roles, and the producers planned for a 2002 release date so as not to compete with George Lucas' Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones
.
According to James Robert Parish's Fiasco: A History of Hollywood's Iconic Flops, the disastrous performance of Battlefield Earth and the collapse of its financial backers made it very unlikely that a live-action sequel will be made. In a 2001 interview, Travolta stated that a sequel was not planned: "Ultimately the movie did $100 million when you count box office, DVD sales, video and pay per view ... But I don't know what kind of number it would have to do to justify filming the second part of the book. And I don't want to push any buttons in the press and stir anybody up about it now." Author Services announced in 2001 that Pine Com International, a Tokyo-based animation studio, would produce 13 one-hour animated television segments based on the book and rendered in a manga
style. The plans appear to have fallen through, and according to Parish, "little has been heard of the series since".
parodied
the film at the 2000 MTV Movie Awards
. The MTV short was the first time South Park had satirized Scientology, in a piece entitled: "The Gauntlet". The short was primarily a Gladiator
parody, with the characters fighting Russell Crowe
in the Roman Colosseum
, it included "John Travolta and the Church of Scientology" arriving in a spaceship to defeat Crowe and attempting to recruit the boys into Scientology. Travolta, along with his fellow Scientologists, was depicted as a Psychlo, as he appeared in the film.
A commentary for the film was released by RiffTrax
on January 28, 2007. The RiffTrax includes comedic audio commentary
from Mystery Science Theater 3000
veterans Michael J. Nelson
, Kevin Murphy
, and Bill Corbett
.
Science fiction film
Science fiction film is a film genre that uses science fiction: speculative, science-based depictions of phenomena that are not necessarily accepted by mainstream science, such as extraterrestrial life forms, alien worlds, extrasensory perception, and time travel, often along with futuristic...
adapted
Film adaptation
Film adaptation is the transfer of a written work to a feature film. It is a type of derivative work.A common form of film adaptation is the use of a novel as the basis of a feature film, but film adaptation includes the use of non-fiction , autobiography, comic book, scripture, plays, and even...
from L. Ron Hubbard
L. Ron Hubbard
Lafayette Ronald Hubbard , better known as L. Ron Hubbard , was an American pulp fiction author and religious leader who founded the Church of Scientology...
's novel of the same name
Battlefield Earth (novel)
Battlefield Earth: A Saga of the Year 3000 is a 1982 science fiction novel written by the Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard. He composed a soundtrack to the book called Space Jazz....
. It was directed by Roger Christian
Roger Christian (filmmaker)
-External links:*...
, and stars John Travolta
John Travolta
John Joseph Travolta is an American actor, dancer and singer. Travolta first became known in the 1970s, after appearing on the television series Welcome Back, Kotter and starring in the box office successes Saturday Night Fever and Grease...
, Forest Whitaker
Forest Whitaker
Forest Steven Whitaker is an American actor, producer, and director. He has earned a reputation for intensive character study work for films such as Bird and Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai, and for his recurring role as ex-LAPD Lieutenant Jon Kavanaugh on the gritty, award-winning television...
, and Barry Pepper
Barry Pepper
Barry Robert Pepper is a Canadian actor. He is best known for playing roles like Sergeant Michael Strank in the Clint Eastwood film, Flags of Our Fathers, Private Daniel Jackson in Saving Private Ryan, Roger Maris in 61*, Ned Pepper in True Grit and for his recent role as Robert F...
. The film depicts an Earth that has been under the rule of the alien Psychlos for 1,000 years and tells the story of the rebellion that develops when the Psychlos attempt to use the surviving humans as gold miners
Gold mining
Gold mining is the removal of gold from the ground. There are several techniques and processes by which gold may be extracted from the earth.-History:...
.
Travolta, a long-time Scientologist
Scientology
Scientology is a body of beliefs and related practices created by science fiction and fantasy author L. Ron Hubbard , starting in 1952, as a successor to his earlier self-help system, Dianetics...
, had sought for many years to make a film of the novel by Hubbard, the founder of Scientology. He was unable to obtain funding from any major studio due to concerns about the film's script, prospects, and connections with Scientology. The project was eventually taken on by an independent production company
Production company
A production company provides the physical basis for works in the realms of the performing arts, new media art, film, television, radio, and video.- Tasks and functions :...
, Franchise Pictures
Franchise Pictures
Franchise Pictures LLC was an independent motion picture production and distribution company founded by Elie Samaha and Andrew Stevens. They were known for their production in the action film genre...
, which specialized in rescuing stars' stalled pet projects. Travolta signed on as a co-producer and contributed millions of dollars of his own money to the production, which was largely funded by a German film distribution company. Franchise Pictures was later sued by its investors and was bankrupted
Bankruptcy
Bankruptcy is a legal status of an insolvent person or an organisation, that is, one that cannot repay the debts owed to creditors. In most jurisdictions bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debtor....
after it emerged that it had fraud
Fraud
In criminal law, a fraud is an intentional deception made for personal gain or to damage another individual; the related adjective is fraudulent. The specific legal definition varies by legal jurisdiction. Fraud is a crime, and also a civil law violation...
ulently overstated the film's budget by $31 million.
Battlefield Earth was released on May 12, 2000. The film was a major commercial failure
Box office bomb
The phrase box office bomb refers to a film for which the production and marketing costs greatly exceeded the revenue regained by the movie studio. This should not be confused with Hollywood accounting when official figures show large losses, yet the movie is a financial success.A film's financial...
and critical flop and has been widely acknowledged as being one of the worst films ever made. Reviewers universally panned the film, criticizing virtually every aspect of the production including Travolta's acting, overuse of angled shots and slow-motion, incoherent narrative and redundant dialogue. Audiences were reported to have ridiculed early screenings and stayed away from the film after its opening weekend. This resulted in Battlefield Earth failing to recoup its costs. Travolta originally envisioned the film as the first of two adapted from the book, as the screenplay only covered the first half of the novel. However, the film's poor showing at the box office
Box office
A box office is a place where tickets are sold to the public for admission to an event. Patrons may perform the transaction at a countertop, through an unblocked hole through a wall or window, or at a wicket....
, as well as the collapse of Franchise, killed off plans for a sequel.
Plot
In the year 3000, Earth has been ruled for 1,000 years by the Psychlos, a brutal race of giant humanoid aliens. The remnants of humanity are either enslavedSlavery
Slavery is a system under which people are treated as property to be bought and sold, and are forced to work. Slaves can be held against their will from the time of their capture, purchase or birth, and deprived of the right to leave, to refuse to work, or to demand compensation...
by the Psychlos and used for manual labor or survive in primitive tribes living in remote areas outside Psychlo control. Jonnie Goodboy Tyler (Barry Pepper
Barry Pepper
Barry Robert Pepper is a Canadian actor. He is best known for playing roles like Sergeant Michael Strank in the Clint Eastwood film, Flags of Our Fathers, Private Daniel Jackson in Saving Private Ryan, Roger Maris in 61*, Ned Pepper in True Grit and for his recent role as Robert F...
), a member of one such tribe, leaves his home in the Rocky Mountains
Rocky Mountains
The Rocky Mountains are a major mountain range in western North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch more than from the northernmost part of British Columbia, in western Canada, to New Mexico, in the southwestern United States...
on a journey of exploration. He joins forces with Carlo (Kim Coates
Kim Coates
Kim Coates is a Canadian-American actor who has worked in both Canadian and American movies and television series. He has worked on Broadway portraying Stanley Kowalski in A Streetcar Named Desire and in the lead role of Macbeth performed at the Stratford Theatre...
), a hunter, but both men are captured by a Psychlo raiding party and transported to a slave camp at the Psychlos' main base on Earth, a giant dome built over the ruins of Denver, Colorado.
Terl (John Travolta
John Travolta
John Joseph Travolta is an American actor, dancer and singer. Travolta first became known in the 1970s, after appearing on the television series Welcome Back, Kotter and starring in the box office successes Saturday Night Fever and Grease...
), the Psychlo security chief on Earth, has been condemned by his superiors to remain indefinitely at his post on Earth as punishment for an unclear incident involving "the Senator's daughter." Aided by his deputy, Ker (Forest Whitaker
Forest Whitaker
Forest Steven Whitaker is an American actor, producer, and director. He has earned a reputation for intensive character study work for films such as Bird and Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai, and for his recurring role as ex-LAPD Lieutenant Jon Kavanaugh on the gritty, award-winning television...
), Terl devises a plan to buy his way off the planet by making a fortune using human slaves to mine gold in radioactive areas. Psychlos are unable to visit such areas due to the explosive interaction of the gas that they breathe with radionuclide particles. Terl selects Jonnie as his "foreman" for the project and gives him a Psychlo education using a rapid-learning machine. Terl gives Jonnie a party of slaves and a Psychlo flying shuttle and orders him to go out and find gold.
After learning the Psychlos' language, history, and myriad other educational forms from the rapid learning machine, Jonnie plots a human uprising against the Psychlos. He obtains gold from Fort Knox
United States Bullion Depository
The United States Bullion Depository, often known as Fort Knox, is a fortified vault building located adjacent to Fort Knox, Kentucky, used to store a large portion of United States official gold reserves and occasionally other precious items belonging or entrusted to the federal government.The...
to satisfy Terl's demands, instead of mining gold as ordered. Jonnie and his followers find an abandoned underground US military base with working aircraft, weapons, fuel, and nuclear weapons. They use the base's flight simulators to train themselves in aerial combat.
After a week of training, the rebels launch a mass uprising against the Psychlos using Harrier jump-jets and other weapons. Carlo sacrifices himself to destroy the dome over Denver, and the Psychlos inside suffocate in Earth's atmosphere, which they are unable to breathe. Jonnie captures a Psychlo teleportation
Teleportation
Teleportation is the fictional or imagined process by which matter is instantaneously transferred from one place to another.Teleportation may also refer to:*Quantum teleportation, a method of transmitting quantum data...
device and uses it to teleport an atomic bomb to the Psychlo home world. The ensuing detonation causes the entire Psychlo atmosphere to explode, wiping out the planet. Ker and Terl survive on Earth but face different fates: Ker sides with the victorious humans, while Terl is imprisoned as a hostage within a vault in Fort Knox. The film ends with the humans in control of Earth but facing an uncertain future.
Initial deals
After Battlefield Earth was published in 1982, L. Ron Hubbard suggested that a film version of the book was in the works. He gave an interview in February 1983 to the Rocky Mountain News in which he told the reporter, "I've recently written three screenplays, and some interest has been expressed in Battlefield Earth, so I suppose I'll be right back in HollywoodHollywood, Los Angeles, California
Hollywood is a famous district in Los Angeles, California, United States situated west-northwest of downtown Los Angeles. Due to its fame and cultural identity as the historical center of movie studios and movie stars, the word Hollywood is often used as a metonym of American cinema...
one of these days and probably on location in the Denver area for Battlefield Earth when they film it."
Hubbard's comments suggest that he saw himself being directly involved in the film's production; author Stewart Lamont suggests that Hubbard may even have envisioned directing it, given his previous work on Scientology
Scientology
Scientology is a body of beliefs and related practices created by science fiction and fantasy author L. Ron Hubbard , starting in 1952, as a successor to his earlier self-help system, Dianetics...
training films. In October 1983, the film rights were sold by the Church of Scientology
Church of Scientology
The Church of Scientology is an organization devoted to the practice and the promotion of the Scientology belief system. The Church of Scientology International is the Church of Scientology's parent organization, and is responsible for the overall ecclesiastical management, dissemination and...
's in-house literary agency, Author Services Inc.
Author Services Inc.
Author Services Inc. represents the literary, theatrical and musical works of the late Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Church of Spiritual Technology....
, to Salem Productions of Los Angeles. Two films were envisaged, each covering half of the book and tentatively budgeted at $15 million each. William Immerman was set as the producer for the film. Veteran screenwriter Abraham Polonsky
Abraham Polonsky
Abraham Lincoln Polonsky was an American film director, Academy-Award-nominated screenwriter, essayist, and novelist blacklisted by the Hollywood movie studios in the 1950s, in the midst of the McCarthy era.-Early life:...
and British director Ken Annakin
Ken Annakin
Kenneth Cooper Annakin, OBE was an English film director.- Biography :Annakin grew up in Beverley, Yorkshire where he attended the local school. He began his career in feature films following an early experience making documentaries. His first filmwork was in 1947 with the Rank Organisation...
were hired to produce a film breakdown, with production scheduled to begin in 1985. In November 1984, Santa Monica
Santa Monica, California
Santa Monica is a beachfront city in western Los Angeles County, California, US. Situated on Santa Monica Bay, it is surrounded on three sides by the city of Los Angeles — Pacific Palisades on the northwest, Brentwood on the north, West Los Angeles on the northeast, Mar Vista on the east, and...
public relations firm Dateline Communications announced a nationwide contest to promote the film. First and second place prizes were an all-expense paid trip to the film's production location and a paid walk-on part
Bit part
A bit part is a supporting acting role with at least one line of dialogue . In British television, bit parts are referred to as under sixes...
in the film, and other announced prizes included a trip to Los Angeles for the world premiere, records, cassettes, and hardcover and paperback copies of the novel. A 30-foot (10 m) high inflatable figure of the film's villain, Terl, was erected by Scientology officials on Hollywood Boulevard
Hollywood Boulevard
-Revitalization:In recent years successful efforts have been made at cleaning up Hollywood Blvd., as the street had gained a reputation for crime and seediness. Central to these efforts was the construction of the Hollywood and Highland shopping center and adjacent Kodak Theatre in 2001...
in 1984 in an effort to promote the production, and auditions were held in Denver. The low-budget project soon collapsed.
Travolta had converted to Scientology in 1975 and subsequently became one of the Church of Scientology's most prominent supporters. Hubbard sent him an autographed copy of Battlefield Earth when the book was first published in 1982; he reportedly hoped that Travolta would turn the book into a film "in the vein of Star Wars
Star Wars
Star Wars is an American epic space opera film series created by George Lucas. The first film in the series was originally released on May 25, 1977, under the title Star Wars, by 20th Century Fox, and became a worldwide pop culture phenomenon, followed by two sequels, released at three-year...
and Close Encounters of the Third Kind
Close Encounters of the Third Kind
Close Encounters of the Third Kind is a 1977 science fiction film written and directed by Steven Spielberg. The film stars Richard Dreyfuss, François Truffaut, Melinda Dillon, Teri Garr, Bob Balaban, and Cary Guffey...
". While Travolta was interested, his influence in Hollywood at the time was at a low after participating in a series of flops. He gained renewed influence with the success of the 1994 film Pulp Fiction
Pulp Fiction (film)
Pulp Fiction is a 1994 American crime film directed by Quentin Tarantino, who co-wrote its screenplay with Roger Avary. The film is known for its rich, eclectic dialogue, ironic mix of humor and violence, nonlinear storyline, and host of cinematic allusions and pop culture references...
, which garnered Travolta an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor
Academy Award for Best Actor
Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize an actor who has delivered an outstanding performance while working within the film industry...
. He had not forgotten Hubbard's wishes to see the book on the big screen and took on the task of making Battlefield Earth into a movie. Travolta described the book in interviews as "like Pulp Fiction for the year 3000" and "like Star Wars
Star Wars
Star Wars is an American epic space opera film series created by George Lucas. The first film in the series was originally released on May 25, 1977, under the title Star Wars, by 20th Century Fox, and became a worldwide pop culture phenomenon, followed by two sequels, released at three-year...
, only better".
He lobbied influential figures in Hollywood to fund the project and was reported to have recruited the aid of fellow Scientologists in promoting it. According to Bill Mechanic
Bill Mechanic
Bill Mechanic was chairman and chief executive officer of Fox Filmed Entertainment from 1994 to 2000. He oversaw all operations of the studio including worldwide feature film production, marketing and distribution activities; as well as all worldwide operations for Fox Video, Fox Interactive,...
, the former head of Twentieth Century Fox, "John wanted me to make Battlefield Earth. He had Scientologists all over me. They come up to you and they know who you are. And they go, 'We're really excited about Battlefield Earth." This did not impress Mechanic: "Do you think in any way, shape, or form that weirding me out is going to make me want to make this movie?"
Travolta's involvement in Battlefield Earth was first publicized in late 1995. He told the New York Daily News
New York Daily News
The Daily News of New York City is the fourth most widely circulated daily newspaper in the United States with a daily circulation of 605,677, as of November 1, 2011....
that "Battlefield Earth is the pinnacle of using my power for something. I told my manager, 'If we can't do the things now that we want to do, what good is the power? Let's test it and try to get the things done that we believe in.' " It was assumed from the start that Travolta would star in and produce the film, which would be distributed by MGM; J.D. Shapiro would write the screenplay. Shapiro was eventually fired because he refused to accept some suggestions from the studio producers that changed the tone of his script, including removing key scenes and characters. In 1997 Travolta's long-time manager Jonathan Krane signed a two-year deal with Twentieth Century Fox under which that studio would release Battlefield Earth instead of MGM, but the deal with Fox also fell through. James Robert Parish, author of Fiasco: A History of Hollywood's Iconic Flops, comments that both studios regarded the project as too risky on several grounds. Its heavy reliance on special effects would be very expensive, pushing the budget up to as much as $100 million; Hubbard's narrative was seen as naïve and outdated; and the "Scientology factor" could work against the film, negating Travolta's star power. As one studio executive put it, "On any film there are ten variables that can kill you. On this film there was an eleventh: Scientology. It just wasn't something anyone really wanted to get involved with."
Franchise Pictures
In 1998 the project was taken over by Franchise PicturesFranchise Pictures
Franchise Pictures LLC was an independent motion picture production and distribution company founded by Elie Samaha and Andrew Stevens. They were known for their production in the action film genre...
, a recently established company whose head Elie Samaha, a former dry cleaning
Dry cleaning
Dry cleaning is any cleaning process for clothing and textiles using a chemical solvent other than water. The solvent used is typically tetrachloroethylene , abbreviated "perc" in the industry and "dry-cleaning fluid" by the public...
mogul turned nightclub owner, specialized in rescuing stars' pet projects. Franchise sought out stars whose projects were stalled at the major studios, bringing them aboard at reduced salaries. Samaha's approach made waves in Hollywood, earning him a reputation of being able to produce star vehicles more cheaply than the larger studios. His unorthodox deals raised eyebrows and the entertainment industry magazine Variety
Variety (magazine)
Variety is an American weekly entertainment-trade magazine founded in New York City, New York, in 1905 by Sime Silverman. With the rise of the importance of the motion-picture industry, Daily Variety, a daily edition based in Los Angeles, California, was founded by Silverman in 1933. In 1998, the...
commented that they were "often so complex and variable as to leave outsiders scratching their heads". As Samaha put it, "I said, 'If John wants to make this movie, what does he want to get paid?' ... Because I do not pay anybody what they make. That is not my business plan.'" He learned of Battlefield Earth from Cassian Elwes
Cassian Elwes
Cassian Elwes is an independent film producer and agent, and is widely regarded as one of the most influential people in the independent film industry.-Biography:...
, an agent at the theatrical agency William Morris
William Morris Agency
WME is the largest talent agency in the world, with offices in Beverly Hills, New York City, Nashville, London, and Miami. WME represents elite artists from all facets of the entertainment industry, including motion pictures, television, music, theatre, publishing, and physical production...
, and approached Travolta. A deal was soon struck and financing was arranged; Travolta significantly reduced his normal fee of $20 million, lowering the film's cost from the $100 million that had previously been forecast, and costs were reduced further by using Canadian locations and facilities.
The film was set up as an independent production for Morgan Creek Productions
Morgan Creek Productions
Morgan Creek Productions is an American film studio that has released box-office hits like Young Guns, Dead Ringers, Major League, True Romance, Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, The King and I, The Crush, and Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, and others. The studio was co-founded in 1987 by James G...
which would release the film through Warner Bros.
Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., also known as Warner Bros. Pictures or simply Warner Bros. , is an American producer of film and television entertainment.One of the major film studios, it is a subsidiary of Time Warner, with its headquarters in Burbank,...
in the U.S. under an existing distribution agreement. Travolta's company JTP Films was also involved, and Travolta invested $5 million of his own money in the production. Warner Bros. allocated $20 million for the film's marketing and distribution. Franchise retained the foreign rights, licensing the European distribution rights to the German group Intertainment AG in exchange for 47% of the production costs which were set at $75 million. The Intertainment deal later became the focus of a legal action that bankrupted Franchise. Samaha forecast that the film would be a hit: "My projected numbers on Battlefield Earth are really conservative. I'm already covered internationally, and there's no way I'm going to lose if the movie does $35 million domestically. And Travolta has never had an action movie do under $35 million."
According to Samaha, he got around the "negative factor" of the Scientology connection by the simple expedient of "yell[ing] at everyone, 'This is a science-fiction film starring John Travolta!' again and again". Samaha acknowledged that "everyone thought I was crazy or mentally retarded" for taking on the project, but pitched the film as "Planet of the Apes
Planet of the Apes (1968 film)
Planet of the Apes is a 1968 American science fiction film directed by Franklin J. Schaffner, based on the 1963 French novel La Planète des singes by Pierre Boulle. The film stars Charlton Heston, Roddy McDowall, Kim Hunter, Maurice Evans, James Whitmore, James Daly and Linda Harrison...
starring John Travolta". Others in Hollywood were still skeptical; an unnamed producer was quoted by the Los Angeles Daily News
Los Angeles Daily News
The Los Angeles Daily News is the second-largest circulating daily newspaper of Los Angeles, California. It is the flagship of the Los Angeles Newspaper Group, a branch of Colorado-based MediaNews Group....
as saying that "Battlefield Earth has the stench of death. It should never have been made. It's an $80 million vanity project for Travolta." Travolta's theatrical agency William Morris
William Morris Agency
WME is the largest talent agency in the world, with offices in Beverly Hills, New York City, Nashville, London, and Miami. WME represents elite artists from all facets of the entertainment industry, including motion pictures, television, music, theatre, publishing, and physical production...
was also said to be unenthusiastic, reportedly leading to Travolta threatening to leave them if they did not help him to set up the film. Fellow Scientologist Tom Cruise
Tom Cruise
Thomas Cruise Mapother IV , better known as Tom Cruise, is an American film actor and producer. He has been nominated for three Academy Awards and he has won three Golden Globe Awards....
was said to have warned Warner Bros. that he thought the movie was a bad idea. This was later denied by his spokesperson.
Author Services Inc. and Church of Scientology
In 1999, Author Services Inc.Author Services Inc.
Author Services Inc. represents the literary, theatrical and musical works of the late Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Church of Spiritual Technology....
said that it was "donating its share of the profits from the film to charitable organizations that direct drug education and drug rehabilitation programs around the world". It was reported that the merchandising revenues would be passed on to the Scientology-linked groups Narconon
Narconon
Narconon is a residential program aimed at substance abusers, headquartered in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California. It operates through several dozen treatment centers worldwide, chiefly in the United States and Western Europe. Each Narconon center is independently owned and operated under a license...
, a drug rehabilitation program, and Applied Scholastics
Applied Scholastics
Applied Scholastics is a non-profit corporation founded in 1972 to promote the use of study techniques created by L. Ron Hubbard, a science fiction author and the founder of the Church of Scientology...
, which promotes Hubbard's Study tech
Study Tech
Study Technology, or Study Tech, is a methodology for learning developed by L. Ron Hubbard, founder of the Church of Scientology. Hubbard's "Study Technology" is used by Church of Scientology members as part of their training, and is also promoted outside the church by a church-affiliated...
, with movie-related sales of the book funding the marketing of Hubbard's fiction books and the L. Ron Hubbard Writers of the Future
Writers of the Future
Writers of the Future is a science fiction and fantasy story contest that was originated by L. Ron Hubbard in the early 1980s. Hubbard...
contest. The size of the revenue deal was not disclosed by the parties; Trendmasters, the makers of the Battlefield Earth range of toys, stated that its deal was strictly with Franchise Pictures, which declined to comment, and Warner Bros. stated that its role was limited to distribution and had nothing to do with the associated merchandising deals.
In February 2000, Church of Scientology spokesman Mike Rinder
Mike Rinder
Michael "Mike" Rinder is an Australian Scientologist who was a former chief spokesman of the Church of Scientology. Rinder served as Executive Director of the Office of Special Affairs and was a director of the Church of Scientology International...
told Tribune Media Services
Tribune Media Services
Tribune Media Services is a syndication company owned by the Tribune Company.The company has two divisions, "News and Features" and "Entertainment Products"...
that any spinoff deals based on Hubbard's novel would benefit Author Services Inc. while another church spokesman, Aron Mason, stated, "The church has no financial interest in Battlefield Earth. Author Services is not part of the Church of Scientology. They are a literary agency without any connection to the church."
Travolta's manager Jonathan Krane denied that the Church of Scientology was playing any part in the production: "I've never even dealt with or talked to the church on this. This is an action-adventure, science-fiction story. Period. The movie has nothing to do with Scientology." Krane stated that the film had been financed "without a dollar coming from the Scientologists". Some in Hollywood feared that Travolta was using his box office draw to promote Scientology teachings, and one film producer stated, "This film could encourage kids to embrace the whole strange world of Scientology." Travolta stated, "I'm doing it because it's a great piece of science fiction. This is not about Hubbard. I'm very interested in Scientology, but that's personal. This is different." In a separate interview Travolta commented on the perceived similarities between Battlefield Earth and Scientology: "Well, they are kind of synonymous ... L. Ron Hubbard is very famous for Scientology and Dianetics
Dianetics
Dianetics is a set of ideas and practices regarding the metaphysical relationship between the mind and body that was invented by the science fiction author L. Ron Hubbard and is practiced by followers of Scientology...
. On the other hand, he's equally as famous in the science fiction world. So for people to think that ... look, I don't want everybody to try Scientology. I don't really care if somebody thinks that. I'm not worried about it. You can't be. The truth of why I'm doing it is because it's a great piece of science fiction. I'm going to be the wickedest 9-foot alien you've ever seen in your life."
Production
Travolta and his manager, Jonathan Krane, took the lead in hiring the on-set personnel. They initially approached Quentin TarantinoQuentin Tarantino
Quentin Jerome Tarantino is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, cinematographer and actor. In the early 1990s, he began his career as an independent filmmaker with films employing nonlinear storylines and the aestheticization of violence...
to direct the film. When Tarantino declined, Roger Christian
Roger Christian (filmmaker)
-External links:*...
, a protégé of George Lucas
George Lucas
George Walton Lucas, Jr. is an American film producer, screenwriter, and director, and entrepreneur. He is the founder, chairman and chief executive of Lucasfilm. He is best known as the creator of the space opera franchise Star Wars and the archaeologist-adventurer character Indiana Jones...
, was recruited as the director on the advice of Lucas. Christian had most recently been the second unit
Second unit
In film, the second unit is a team that shoots subsidiary footage for a motion picture. Its work is distinct from that of the first unit, which shoots all scenes involving principal actors...
director on Lucas' Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace
Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace
Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace is a 1999 American epic space opera film written and directed by George Lucas. It is the fourth film to be released in the Star Wars saga, as the first of a three-part prequel to the original Star Wars trilogy, as well as the first film in the saga in terms...
. Patrick Tatopoulos
Patrick Tatopoulos
Patrick Tatopoulos is a French-Greek production designer, who lives and works in the United States. His designs have appeared in numerous motion pictures, including Pitch Black, Underworld, I, Robot, The Chronicles of Riddick, Independence Day, Bram Stoker's Dracula, Stargate, Spawn, Godzilla,...
was signed to develop the production design and costumes, including the design of the alien Psychlos, and Czech-American composer Elia Cmiral
Elia Cmiral
Elia David Cmíral is a film composer. He was born in Czechoslovakia and emigrated to Sweden, moving to the United States in 1987. There, he attended the University of Southern California and scored for an independent film entitled Apartment Zero...
was signed to provide the film's score. Travolta and Krane also signed the cinematographer and most of the principal actors. Corey Mandell, a screenwriter who had previously worked with Ridley Scott
Ridley Scott
Sir Ridley Scott is an English film director and producer. His most famous films include The Duellists , Alien , Blade Runner , Legend , Thelma & Louise , G. I...
on Blade Runner
Blade Runner
Blade Runner is a 1982 American science fiction film directed by Ridley Scott and starring Harrison Ford, Rutger Hauer, and Sean Young. The screenplay, written by Hampton Fancher and David Peoples, is loosely based on the novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K...
, signed on to write the script for the film, which had previously gone through 10 revisions. Mandell stated in an interview, "I am not a Scientologist ... I came on board because John asked me to read the book and said, 'It's not a religious book. It's a science-fiction story. There's nothing sacred about the story, nothing of the religious philosophy. I was given this to read purely as science fiction — to see whether it was intriguing as a movie. And it was."
The cast included Travolta, Barry Pepper, Forest Whitaker, Kim Coates, Richard Tyson
Richard Tyson
Richard Martin Tyson is an American actor.-Biography:His most prominent role was as the villain Cullen Crisp, Sr. in Kindergarten Cop co-starring alongside Arnold Schwarzenegger. He also starred as high school bully Buddy Revell in the 1987 comedy Three O'Clock High...
, Sabine Karsenti
Sabine Karsenti
Sabine Karsenti is a French-Canadian actress. Sabine Karsenti has played in both film and television, in French and in English from Montreal to Los Angeles....
, and Michael Byrne
Michael Byrne (actor)
Michael Byrne is an English actor noted for his roles on film and television. He has often been cast in Nazi military roles such as Colonel Vogel in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade and Obergruppenführer Odilo Globocnik in the BBC radio dramatisation of the novel Fatherland by Robert Harris...
. Travolta's wife Kelly Preston
Kelly Preston
Kelly Preston is an American actress and former model.- Early years :Preston was born Kelly Kamalelehua Smith in Honolulu, Hawaii. Her mother, Linda, was an administrator of a mental health center, and her father, who worked for an agricultural firm, drowned when Preston was three years old...
also appeared in one scene, playing Terl's "baldish Psychlo girlfriend". Travolta originally saw himself in the role of Tyler, but by the time the movie was actually made, Travolta felt he was too old to play the role, and took the role of the main villain instead. Travolta's role in the film required what he described as an amazing physical transformation: "I wear a tall head apparatus with strange hair. I have amber eyes and talons for hands. It's quite remarkable ... I'm on 4-foot stilts." To star in the film, Travolta turned down the movie The Shipping News
The Shipping News (film)
The Shipping News is a 2001 drama film directed by Lasse Hallström, based on the Pulitzer Prize winning novel by E. Annie Proulx.It stars Kevin Spacey as the protagonist Quoyle, Judi Dench as Agnis Hamm and Julianne Moore as Wavey Prowse...
and postponed production on Standing Room Only
Standing Room Only (2004 film)
Standing Room Only is a 2004 film directed by Deborra-Lee Furness and starring Hugh Jackman, Michael Gambon and Joanna Lumley.The film starts off with Larry, Michael Gambon character, walking up to a theatre door on an empty wet side street in what appears to be the West End...
.
Filmed in Canada, principal filming took place in Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
and several other Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
locations during the summer and autumn of 1999. In January 1999, Travolta flew his private Boeing 727
Boeing 727
The Boeing 727 is a mid-size, narrow-body, three-engine, T-tailed commercial jet airliner, manufactured by Boeing. The Boeing 727 first flew in 1963, and for over a decade more were built per year than any other jet airliner. When production ended in 1984 a total of 1,832 aircraft had been produced...
on a secret visit to Montreal to scout out locations for shooting. The film was reported to have been the most expensive production shot in Canada up to that point. It was also reported that the production costs would have been twice as high had the film been shot in the United States.
In an ominous sign for the film's prospects, it was "plagued by bad buzz" before release with the media speculating about the possible influence of Scientology and commenting on the production's tight security. As the film was entering post-production
Post-production
Post-production is part of filmmaking and the video production process. It occurs in the making of motion pictures, television programs, radio programs, advertising, audio recordings, photography, and digital art...
, the alternative newspaper Mean Magazine obtained a copy of the screenplay. Mean's staffers changed the script's title to "Dark Forces" by "Desmond Finch" and circulated it to readers at major Hollywood film production companies. The comments that came back were universally unfavorable: "a thoroughly silly plotline is made all the more ludicrous by its hamfisted [sic] dialog and ridiculously shallow characterizations", "a completely predictable story that just isn't written well enough to make up for its lack of originality". One reviewer labeled the screenplay "as entertaining as watching a fly breathe".
Battlefield Earth was released on May 12, 2000, three days after the 50th anniversary of the publication of Hubbard's book Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health
Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health
Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health is a book by L. Ron Hubbard which sets out self-improvement techniques he developed, called Dianetics. The book is also one of the canonical texts of Scientology. It is colloquially referred to as Book One...
, a date celebrated by Scientologists worldwide as a major Scientology holiday
Scientology holidays
There are many holidays, commemorations and observances in the Church of Scientology, including:*February 22: Celebrity DayThis is a major holiday for Scientology's many Celebrity Centres, highlighting their achievements and celebrating their existence...
. Its premiere was held on May 10, 2000 at Mann's Chinese Theater on Hollywood Boulevard
Hollywood Boulevard
-Revitalization:In recent years successful efforts have been made at cleaning up Hollywood Blvd., as the street had gained a reputation for crime and seediness. Central to these efforts was the construction of the Hollywood and Highland shopping center and adjacent Kodak Theatre in 2001...
in Los Angeles.
Box office
Battlefield Earth grossed $21,471,685 in the United States and Canada and a total of $29,725,663 worldwide, falling well short of its $75 million production budget and $20 million in estimated marketing costs. Financially, it is regarded as one of the most expensive flops in film history, and a box office bombBox office bomb
The phrase box office bomb refers to a film for which the production and marketing costs greatly exceeded the revenue regained by the movie studio. This should not be confused with Hollywood accounting when official figures show large losses, yet the movie is a financial success.A film's financial...
.
The film's exceptionally bad reviews and poor word-of-mouth led to a precipitous falling-off in its grosses. Having earned $11,548,898 from 3,307 screens on its opening weekend, its take collapsed by 67 percent to $3,924,921 the following weekend, giving an average take of $1,158 per screen. The film made 95 percent of its entire domestic gross in the first two weekends and flatlined thereafter, with earnings dropping a further 75 percent by the end of its third week to $1 million.
The following week, facing earnings of just $205,745, Warner Bros. attempted to cut its losses by slashing the number of screens at which the film was being shown. The number was reduced from 2,587 to 641. By its sixth weekend on release, the film was showing on 95 screens and had made $18,993 in a week – less than $200 per screen. International earnings were equally dire. The film finished with a gross of $21.4 million in the US and just $8.2 million from the rest of the world.
Critical reception
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
, based on 123 reviews. The site's consensus states: "Ugly, campy, and poorly acted, Battlefield Earth is a stunningly misguided, aggressively bad sci-fi folly." On Metacritic
Metacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
, the film had an average score of 9 out of 100, based on 33 reviews. Film critic Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Roger Joseph Ebert is an American film critic and screenwriter. He is the first film critic to win a Pulitzer Prize for Criticism.Ebert is known for his film review column and for the television programs Sneak Previews, At the Movies with Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, and Siskel and Ebert and The...
gave the film the rating of half a star out of four and described it as "something historic, a film that for decades to come will be the punch line of jokes about bad movies".Leonard Maltin
Leonard Maltin
Leonard Maltin is an American film and animated film critic and historian, author of several mainstream books on cinema, focusing on nostalgic, celebratory narratives.-Personal life:...
rated the film a "BOMB" in his book Leonard Maltin's Movie Guide
Leonard Maltin's Movie Guide
Leonard Maltin's Movie Guide is a book-format collection of movie capsule reviews that began in 1969 and has been updated yearly since 1978. It was originally called TV Movies, which became Leonard Maltin's TV Movies and Video Guide, which then became Leonard Maltin's Movie and Video Guide...
, writing: "Clumsy plot, misplaced satire
Satire
Satire is primarily a literary genre or form, although in practice it can also be found in the graphic and performing arts. In satire, vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, ideally with the intent of shaming individuals, and society itself, into improvement...
, unbelievable coincidences and a leaden pace trample Travolta's weird but amusing performance." David Bleiler gave the film one star out of four in the TLA Video & DVD Guide, writing: "This is disjointed, tedious and every bit as bad as its reputation." Jon Stewart
Jon Stewart
Jon Stewart is an American political satirist, writer, television host, actor, media critic and stand-up comedian...
mocked the film on his television program The Daily Show
The Daily Show
The Daily Show , is an American late night satirical television program airing each Monday through Thursday on Comedy Central. The half-hour long show premiered on July 21, 1996, and was hosted by Craig Kilborn until December 1998...
, describing it as "a cross between Star Wars
Star Wars
Star Wars is an American epic space opera film series created by George Lucas. The first film in the series was originally released on May 25, 1977, under the title Star Wars, by 20th Century Fox, and became a worldwide pop culture phenomenon, followed by two sequels, released at three-year...
and the smell of ass".
Rita Kempley of The Washington Post
The Washington Post
The Washington Post is Washington, D.C.'s largest newspaper and its oldest still-existing paper, founded in 1877. Located in the capital of the United States, The Post has a particular emphasis on national politics. D.C., Maryland, and Virginia editions are printed for daily circulation...
commented: "A million monkeys with a million crayons would be hard-pressed in a million years to create anything as cretinous as Battlefield Earth. This film version of L. Ron Hubbard's futuristic novel is so breathtakingly awful in concept and execution, it wouldn’t tax the smarts of a troglodyte." Elvis Mitchell of The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
wrote: "It may be a bit early to make such judgments, but Battlefield Earth may well turn out to be the worst movie of this century" and called it "Plan 9 From Outer Space
Plan 9 from Outer Space
Plan 9 from Outer Space is a 1959 science fiction film written and directed by Edward D. Wood, Jr. The film features Gregory Walcott, Mona McKinnon, Tor Johnson and Maila "Vampira" Nurmi...
for a new generation". The British film critic Jonathan Ross
Jonathan Ross (television presenter)
Jonathan Stephen Ross, OBE is an English television and radio presenter, best known for presenting the BBC One chat show Friday Night with Jonathan Ross from 2001 until he left the BBC in 2010. Ross began hosting a new chat show on ITV1 starting 3 September 2011...
said: "Everything about Battlefield Earth sucks. Everything. The over-the-top music, the unbelievable sets, the terrible dialogue, the hammy acting, the lousy special effects, the beginning, the middle and especially the end."
The Hollywood Reporter summarized the film as being "a flat-out mess, by golly, with massive narrative sinkholes, leading to moments of outstanding disbelief in the muddled writing and shockingly chaotic mise en scène
Mise en scène
Mise-en-scène is an expression used to describe the design aspects of a theatre or film production, which essentially means "visual theme" or "telling a story"—both in visually artful ways through storyboarding, cinematography and stage design, and in poetically artful ways through direction...
that's accompanied by ear-pummeling sound and bombastic music".
Particular points that critics held up for censure included its overuse of angled camera shots
Dutch angle
Dutch tilt, Dutch angle, Dutch shot, oblique angle, German angle, canted angle, Batman angle, or jaunty angle are terms used for one of many cinematic techniques often used to portray the psychological uneasiness or tension in the subject being filmed...
(which, according to the director himself in different reports, are used in all but one frame of the film or even in every single frame), derivative special effects, and unbelievable plotting. The Providence Journal highlighted the film's unusual color scheme: "Battlefield Earth's primary colors are blue and gray, adding to the misery. Whenever we glimpse sunlight, the screen goes all stale yellow, as though someone had urinated on the print. This, by the way, is not such a bad idea."
The film is profiled in Better Living Through Bad Movies by Scott Clevenger and Sheri Zollinger, who comment: "So what new truths have we gleaned from Battlefield Earth? First, we have learned that spirituality is a fine thing, but it's probably best to avoid joining denominations that make action movies." In 2010, screenwriter J.D. Shapiro wrote an apology letter in The New York Post, saying that his draft was completely different from the final product, and he was very ashamed of the poor quality of Battlefield Earth - " The only time I saw the movie was at the premiere, which was one too many times."
The film was reported to have been greeted with widespread derision in preview screenings for the public and critics. An audience of Los Angeles entertainment journalists, critics and others greeted the film with guffaws and hoots at a screening in Century City, while other viewers in Washington, D.C. and Baltimore
Baltimore
Baltimore is the largest independent city in the United States and the largest city and cultural center of the US state of Maryland. The city is located in central Maryland along the tidal portion of the Patapsco River, an arm of the Chesapeake Bay. Baltimore is sometimes referred to as Baltimore...
responded with derisive laughter or simply walked out. At a post-launch publicity event, Travolta, on asking assembled journalists if they had enjoyed it, received no reply. He later asserted that other film-makers had enjoyed the movie: "When I felt better about everything was when George Lucas and Quentin Tarantino, and a lot of people that I felt knew what they were doing, saw it and thought it was a great piece of science fiction." Christian also spoke of an initially positive reception, mentioning an enthusiastic response from both the audience and Tarantino.
Responding to the criticism, the film's producer Elie Samaha complained: "[The] critics were waiting for us to ... chop our heads off. Everybody hated Scientology for some reason. I didn't know people were so prejudiced." He argued that despite the film's poor performance it would cover its costs in due course: "Maybe [in] the second cycle with Internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
, and HBO, and DVD, you always make your money ... so I'm not going to lose sleep over one movie that did not perform for us."
The reviews were not uniformly negative. Bob Graham of the San Francisco Chronicle
San Francisco Chronicle
thumb|right|upright|The Chronicle Building following the [[1906 San Francisco earthquake|1906 earthquake]] and fireThe San Francisco Chronicle is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California, but distributed throughout Northern and Central California,...
wrote that the film "effectively presented" the "wary, uncomprehending relationship" between the humans and the Psychlos. A review at JoBlo's Movie Reviews
JoBlo.com
JoBlo.com is a website primarily focused on the film industry.JoBlo.com was started in 1998 by Berge Garabedian , a movie reviewer who is known for critiquing movies from the perspective of an average movie-goer. The website's name is, in fact, a play on the term Joe Shmoe, and registered users of...
was also positive; Berge Garabedian wrote, "Despite starting off like a bad Star Trek
Star Trek
Star Trek is an American science fiction entertainment franchise created by Gene Roddenberry. The core of Star Trek is its six television series: The Original Series, The Animated Series, The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager, and Enterprise...
episode, this film eventually graduates to a higher level with great special effects, some really slick bad-ass aliens, an intriguing premise and a good flow of loud, campy fun." Luke Thompson of New Times LA
New Times LA
New Times LA is a now-defunct alternative weekly newspaper that was published in Los Angeles, California by the New Times Media corporation from 1996 until 2002. The editor-in-chief for its entire run was Rick Barrs...
wrote: "Think Independence Day
Independence Day (film)
Independence Day is a 1996 science fiction film about an alien invasion of Earth, focusing on a disparate group of individuals and families as they converge in the Nevada desert and, along with the rest of the human population, participate in a last-chance counterattack on July 4 – the same...
without the ponderous build-up or self-importance. Imagine how much more enjoyable the other blockbuster-of-the-moment, Gladiator
Gladiator (2000 film)
Gladiator is a 2000 historical epic film directed by Ridley Scott, starring Russell Crowe, Joaquin Phoenix, Connie Nielsen, Ralf Möller, Oliver Reed, Djimon Hounsou, Derek Jacobi, John Shrapnel and Richard Harris. Crowe portrays the loyal Roman General Maximus Decimus Meridius, who is betrayed...
, might have been if Joaquin Phoenix had addressed every one of his rivals as 'Rat brain.'" Sean Axmaker of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
The Seattle Post-Intelligencer is an online newspaper and former print newspaper covering Seattle, Washington, United States, and the surrounding metropolitan area...
wrote positively of the interaction between Travolta and Whitaker in the film, comparing them to Abbot and Costello. Axmaker wrote that they provide "... much-needed comic relief in an otherwise humorless paean to freedom". Axmaker also wrote positively of the production design used in the film, commenting that the director had created "a world of crumbling dead cities and empty malls turned into human hunting grounds..." Hap Erstein of The Palm Beach Post commented: "..production designer Patrick Tatopulos contributes some good work, imagining the ruins of Denver and Washington, D.C., with echoes of Planet of the Apes."
Battlefield Earth frequently appears on worst film lists, and is included on Rotten Tomatoes' "100 Worst Of The Worst Movies" list. Rotten Tomatoes ranked the film 27th in the 100 worst reviewed films of the first decade of the 21st century. The Arizona Republic
The Arizona Republic
The Arizona Republic is a daily newspaper published in Phoenix. Circulated throughout Arizona, it is the state's largest newspaper. Since 2000, it has been owned by the Gannett newspaper chain. It was ranked tenth in US daily newspapers by circulation in 2007.-Early years:The newspaper was founded...
listed it as the worst film of 2000, and called it a "monumentally bad sci-fi flick". Richard Roeper
Richard Roeper
Richard E. Roeper is an American columnist and film critic for The Chicago Sun-Times and now a co-host on The Roe Conn Show on WLS-AM...
placed the film at number five on his list of "40 movies that linger in the back chambers of my memory vault like a plate of cheese left behind a radiator in a fleabag hotel". In 2001 the film received the "Worst Picture" award from the Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association
Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association
The Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association is an organization of 35 print, radio/TV and internet journalists from Dallas-Fort Worth-based publications...
. James Franklin of McClatchy-Tribune News Service put the film as the worst of his "summer blockbuster bombs" list, giving it a rating of four stars for "traumatic" on his scale of how the films "generate a perverse sense of nostalgia". Christopher Null
Christopher Null
Christopher Null is a film critic, columnist and former blogger for Yahoo! Tech, editor of Drinkhacker.com, and is the founder and editor in chief of Filmcritic.com.-Publications:...
of Filmcritic.com listed the film's villain Terl at number 8 of his "10 Least Effective Movie Villains", writing: "we still can't imagine how anyone would go face to face with one of these creatures and react with anything other than simple laughter".
It was also subjected to extensive criticism at Agony Booth in its mega recap.
Golden Raspberry Awards
Battlefield Earth swept the 2000 Golden Raspberry Awards2000 Golden Raspberry Awards
The 21st Golden Raspberry Awards were held on March 24, 2001 at the Radisson-Huntley Hotel in Santa Monica, California, USA, to recognize the worst the movie industry had to offer in 2000...
and received seven "Razzies", including Worst Movie of the Year, Worst Actor (Travolta), Worst Supporting Actor (Pepper), Worst Supporting Actress (Preston), Worst Director (Christian), Worst Screenplay (Mandell and Shapiro), and Worst Screen Couple (Travolta and "anyone sharing the screen with him"). This tied for the highest number of Razzies won by a single film at that time, with Showgirls
Showgirls
Showgirls is a 1995 American drama film directed by Paul Verhoeven and starring former teen actress Elizabeth Berkley, Kyle MacLachlan, and Gina Gershon...
achieving seven wins in 1995. Battlefield Earth was later awarded an eighth Razzie for "Worst Drama of Our First 25 Years". In 2010, the film received an award for "Worst Picture of the Decade", bringing its total number of Razzie Awards to nine.
As Travolta did not attend to collect his trophies, an action figure of Terl, his character, accepted them in his place. Travolta responded a week later to the awards: "I didn't even know there were such awards. I have people around me whose job it is to not tell me about such things. They're obviously doing their job. Not every film can be a critical and box office success. It would have been awful only if Battlefield Earth was neither. That's not the case. It is edging toward the $100m mark which means it has found an audience even if it didn't impress critics. I'd rather my films connect with audiences than with critics because it gives you more longevity as a performer." He later insisted that he still felt "really good about it. Here I was taking big chances, breaking a new genre."
Pepper said that he regretted not having been invited to the Razzies and blamed the movie's failure on "a weak script and poor production values". Writer J.D. Shapiro received his Worst Screenplay award from Razzies founder John J.B. Wilson
John J.B. Wilson
John J. B. Wilson is an American copywriter and publicist. He was born in Chicago, and moved with his parents to Santa Monica, California at an early age...
during a radio program; he commented that Travolta had called the script "the Schindler's List
Schindler's List
Schindler's List is a 1993 American film about Oskar Schindler, a German businessman who saved the lives of more than a thousand mostly Polish-Jewish refugees during the Holocaust by employing them in his factories. The film was directed by Steven Spielberg, and based on the novel Schindler's Ark...
of science fiction". Shapiro also appeared to pick up the Worst Picture of the Decade award at the 30th Golden Raspberry Awards
30th Golden Raspberry Awards
The 30th Golden Raspberry Awards or Razzies were held on March 6, 2010 in Hollywood to honor the worst films of 2009. The nominations were announced on February 1...
, giving a speech quoting negative reviews, and thanking both the studio for firing him and Corey Mandell for "rewriting my script in a way I never, ever, ever - could have imagined or conceived of myself."
The film's producer, Elie Samaha, declared that he welcomed the "free publicity", as "the more the critics hit Battlefield Earth, the more DVDs it sells. It is the kind of film that makes a movie legend and we feel we have enough staying power to last long after the critics have quieted down."
| Year | Award | Category | Nominee | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Golden Raspberry Award | Razzie Award for Worst Picture Razzie Award for Worst Picture The Razzie Award for Worst Picture is an award given out at the annual Golden Raspberry Awards to the worst film of the past year. Following is a list of nominees and recipients of that award, including each film's distribution company and producer.-1980s:... |
Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., also known as Warner Bros. Pictures or simply Warner Bros. , is an American producer of film and television entertainment.One of the major film studios, it is a subsidiary of Time Warner, with its headquarters in Burbank,... |
Won |
| Razzie Award for Worst Director Razzie Award for Worst Director The Razzie Award for Worst Director is an award presented at the annual Golden Raspberry Awards to the worst director of the previous year. The following is a list of nominees and recipients of that award, along with the film for which they were nominated.... |
Roger Christian Roger Christian (filmmaker) -External links:*... |
Won | ||
| Razzie Award for Worst Screenplay Razzie Award for Worst Screenplay The Razzie Award for Worst Screenplay is an award presented at the annual Golden Raspberry Awards for the worst film screenplay of the past year. The following is a list of nominees and recipients of that award, including each screenplay's author... |
Corey Mandell and J.D. Shapiro, based on the novel by L. Ron Hubbard L. Ron Hubbard Lafayette Ronald Hubbard , better known as L. Ron Hubbard , was an American pulp fiction author and religious leader who founded the Church of Scientology... |
Won | ||
| Razzie Award for Worst Actor Razzie Award for Worst Actor The Razzie Award for Worst Actor is an award presented at the annual Golden Raspberry Awards to the worst actor of the previous year. The following is a list of nominees and recipients of that award, along with the film for which they were nominated.... |
John Travolta John Travolta John Joseph Travolta is an American actor, dancer and singer. Travolta first became known in the 1970s, after appearing on the television series Welcome Back, Kotter and starring in the box office successes Saturday Night Fever and Grease... |
Won | ||
| Razzie Award for Worst Supporting Actor Razzie Award for Worst Supporting Actor The Razzie Award for Worst Supporting Actor is an award presented at the annual Golden Raspberry Awards to the worst supporting actor of the previous year. The following is a list of nominees and recipients of that award, along with the film for which they were nominated. Brooke Shields is the... |
Barry Pepper Barry Pepper Barry Robert Pepper is a Canadian actor. He is best known for playing roles like Sergeant Michael Strank in the Clint Eastwood film, Flags of Our Fathers, Private Daniel Jackson in Saving Private Ryan, Roger Maris in 61*, Ned Pepper in True Grit and for his recent role as Robert F... |
Won | ||
| Razzie Award for Worst Supporting Actress Razzie Award for Worst Supporting Actress The Razzie Award for Worst Supporting Actress is an award presented at the annual Golden Raspberry Awards to the worst supporting actress of the previous year... |
Kelly Preston Kelly Preston Kelly Preston is an American actress and former model.- Early years :Preston was born Kelly Kamalelehua Smith in Honolulu, Hawaii. Her mother, Linda, was an administrator of a mental health center, and her father, who worked for an agricultural firm, drowned when Preston was three years old... |
Won | ||
| Razzie Award for Worst Screen Couple Razzie Award for Worst Screen Couple The Razzie Award for Worst Screen Couple is an award presented at the annual Golden Raspberry Awards to the worst movie pairing of the previous year. The following is a list of nominees and recipients of that award, along with the film for which they were nominated. The category has been created... |
John Travolta John Travolta John Joseph Travolta is an American actor, dancer and singer. Travolta first became known in the 1970s, after appearing on the television series Welcome Back, Kotter and starring in the box office successes Saturday Night Fever and Grease... and anyone sharing the screen with him in Battlefield Earth |
Won | ||
| Razzie Award for Worst Supporting Actor Razzie Award for Worst Supporting Actor The Razzie Award for Worst Supporting Actor is an award presented at the annual Golden Raspberry Awards to the worst supporting actor of the previous year. The following is a list of nominees and recipients of that award, along with the film for which they were nominated. Brooke Shields is the... |
Forest Whitaker Forest Whitaker Forest Steven Whitaker is an American actor, producer, and director. He has earned a reputation for intensive character study work for films such as Bird and Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai, and for his recurring role as ex-LAPD Lieutenant Jon Kavanaugh on the gritty, award-winning television... |
Nominated | ||
| 2005 | Worst "Drama" of Our First 25 Years | Battlefield Earth | Won | |
| 2010 30th Golden Raspberry Awards The 30th Golden Raspberry Awards or Razzies were held on March 6, 2010 in Hollywood to honor the worst films of 2009. The nominations were announced on February 1... |
Worst Actor of the Decade | John Travolta | Nominated | |
| Worst Picture of the Decade | Battlefield Earth | Won |
Merchandising
A limited range of merchandising was produced for the film, including posters, a soundtrack CD by Elia CmiralElia Cmiral
Elia David Cmíral is a film composer. He was born in Czechoslovakia and emigrated to Sweden, moving to the United States in 1987. There, he attended the University of Southern California and scored for an independent film entitled Apartment Zero...
recorded by the Seattle Symphony
Seattle Symphony
The Seattle Symphony is an American orchestra based in Seattle, Washington. Since 1998, the orchestra is resident at Benaroya Hall. The orchestra's season runs from September through July, and serves as the pit orchestra for most productions of the Seattle Opera in addition to its own concerts...
, and a re-released version of the novel with a new cover based on the film's poster. Trendmasters
Trendmasters
Trendmasters was an American toy company most notable for its figures based on the Godzilla series, as well as the 1998 film of the same name...
also produced a range of action figure
Action figure
An action figure is a posable character figurine, made of plastic or other materials, and often based upon characters from a film, comic book, video game, or television program. These action figures are usually marketed towards boys and male collectors...
s of the main characters, including an 11 inches (279.4 mm) figure of Travolta as Terl voicing lines from the film such as "Exterminate all man-animals at will!", "You wouldn't last one day at the academy", "Man is an endangered species", and "Ratbastard!". In Hubbard's novel the term "Ratbastard" is never used, and Terl instead refers to Jonnie Goodboy Tyler as "rat brain".
Home media
A special edition DVDDVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
was released in 2001, including two additional scenes which added two minutes to the film's running time. The DVD includes commentary tracks with director Roger Christian and production, costume and creature designer Patrick Tatopoulos, as well as special features including John Travolta's alien makeup test. Jeff Berkwits of SCI FI WEEKLY wrote that "... the Battlefield Earth Special Edition DVD is packed with information, offering an enlightening glimpse into the creative process behind this imperfect but entertaining picture". Randy Salas of the Star Tribune
Star Tribune
The Star Tribune is the largest newspaper in the U.S. state of Minnesota and is published seven days each week in an edition for the Minneapolis-Saint Paul metropolitan area. A statewide version is also available across Minnesota and parts of Wisconsin, Iowa, South Dakota, and North Dakota. The...
described it as the "Best DVD for a bad movie." A review of the DVD release in the Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
was more critical: "A dated visual style, patched-together special effects and ludicrous dialogue combine in a film that is a wholly miserable experience."
Scientology influence and subliminal messages
Stacy BrooksStacy Brooks
Stacy Brooks is a critic of the Church of Scientology. Like her late ex-husband Robert Vaughn Young, a Scientology whistleblower employed by Scientology for over 20 years, Brooks was also a member of the Church, working in its upper level management in Los Angeles for almost fifteen years.After...
, then-president of the Lisa McPherson Trust
Lisa McPherson Trust
The Lisa McPherson Trust was an organisation created in 1999 by Bob Minton. The trust was named after Lisa McPherson, a Scientology member who died in 1995 after being in the Church of Scientology’s care for 17 days...
stated, "There's no way that this movie would be happening without Scientology's backing… This is one example of how Scientology insinuates itself in various aspects of the culture." Mark Bunker
Mark Bunker
Mark Bunker is a television journalist. He won an Emmy Award in 2006 from the Pacific Southwest Emmy Awards division of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences...
characterized the film as a recruitment tactic for the Church of Scientology, stating, "It's designed to introduce L. Ron Hubbard to a whole new generation of kids. It's there to plant a favorable seed in children's minds." Bunker criticized the promotional methods of the film—instead of granting interviews about the film to the press, John Travolta went on a book tour and signed copies of L. Ron Hubbard's novel. Bunker stated, "When Michael Caine
Michael Caine
Sir Michael Caine, CBE is an English actor. He won Academy Awards for best supporting actor in both Hannah and Her Sisters and The Cider House Rules ....
goes around to promote The Cider House Rules
The Cider House Rules (film)
The Cider House Rules is a 1999 American drama film directed by Lasse Hallström, based on John Irving's novel of the same name. The film won two Academy Awards, and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture, along with four other nominations at the 72nd Academy Awards...
, he doesn't tour bookstores and sign copies of John Irving
John Irving
John Winslow Irving is an American novelist and Academy Award-winning screenwriter.Irving achieved critical and popular acclaim after the international success of The World According to Garp in 1978...
's novel ... Through the movie tie-in with the book, kids will send in the card to get their free poster, and eventually be introduced to Dianetics." Scientologist Nancy O'Meara, at the time treasurer of the Foundation for Religious Freedom and currently treasurer of the Scientology-run Cult Awareness Network
Cult Awareness Network
The Cult Awareness Network was founded in the wake of the November 18, 1978 deaths of members of the group Peoples Temple and assassination of Congressman Leo J. Ryan in Jonestown, Guyana. CAN is now owned and operated by associates of the Church of Scientology, an organization that the original...
, responded to Bunker's statement: "Gimme a break ... That's like saying people are going to go see Gladiator
Gladiator (2000 film)
Gladiator is a 2000 historical epic film directed by Ridley Scott, starring Russell Crowe, Joaquin Phoenix, Connie Nielsen, Ralf Möller, Oliver Reed, Djimon Hounsou, Derek Jacobi, John Shrapnel and Richard Harris. Crowe portrays the loyal Roman General Maximus Decimus Meridius, who is betrayed...
and then suddenly find themselves wanting to explore Christianity
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
."
Before the film was released, rumors and allegations began to circulate that Battlefield Earth contained subliminal messages promoting Scientology. Former Scientologist Lawrence Wollersheim, in a press release issued by his group Fight Against Coercive Tactics Network
Fight Against Coercive Tactics Network
Fight Against Coercive Tactics Network, also known as FACTNet, co-founded by Robert Penny and Lawrence Wollersheim, is a Colorado-based organization committed to educating and facilitating communication about destructive mind control...
, said that the Church of Scientology
Church of Scientology
The Church of Scientology is an organization devoted to the practice and the promotion of the Scientology belief system. The Church of Scientology International is the Church of Scientology's parent organization, and is responsible for the overall ecclesiastical management, dissemination and...
"has placed highly advanced subliminal messages in the Battlefield Earth film master to surreptitiously recruit new members from the movie audience and to get the audience to develop a revulsion for psychiatry and current mental health organizations and practices". Other critics said that the film "is a veiled attempt to gain converts and influence", and that writers were gagged from making connections between Scientology and the film with threats of lawsuits. Warner Bros. dismissed the claims as "silly nonsense", the Church of Scientology denounced them as "hogwash" and the media reacted with skepticism; as the Scottish
Scottish people
The Scottish people , or Scots, are a nation and ethnic group native to Scotland. Historically they emerged from an amalgamation of the Picts and Gaels, incorporating neighbouring Britons to the south as well as invading Germanic peoples such as the Anglo-Saxons and the Norse.In modern use,...
journalist Duncan Campbell
Duncan Campbell (The Guardian)
Duncan Campbell is a British journalist and author. He was a senior reporter/correspondent for The Guardian from 1987 until 2010. He was the Los Angeles and crime correspondent for the paper at one point.-Education:...
put it, "the only subliminal voice I could detect came about 10 minutes into this 121-minute film and it seemed to be saying Leeeaaave thisssss cinemmmaaa nooow". When asked about the similarities between the film and Scientology beliefs in intergalactic travel and aliens, church spokesman Aron Mason stated, "That's a pretty crude parallel ... You'd have to make some serious leaps of logic to make that comparison." John Travolta also stated that the film was not inspired by Scientology tenets.
Fraud by Franchise Pictures
Following the failure of Battlefield Earth and other films independently produced by Franchise Pictures, The Wall Street JournalThe Wall Street Journal
The Wall Street Journal is an American English-language international daily newspaper. It is published in New York City by Dow Jones & Company, a division of News Corporation, along with the Asian and European editions of the Journal....
reported that the FBI was probing "the question of whether some independent motion picture companies have vastly inflated the budget of films in an effort to scam investors". In December 2000 the German-based Intertainment AG filed a lawsuit alleging that Franchise Pictures had fraudulently inflated budgets in films including Battlefield Earth, which Intertainment had helped to finance. Intertainment had agreed to pay 47% of the production costs of several films in exchange for European distribution rights, but ended up paying for between 60 and 90% of the costs instead. The company alleged that Franchise had defrauded it to the tune of over $75 million by systematically submitting "grossly fraudulent and inflated budgets".
The case was heard before a jury in a Los Angeles federal courtroom in May–June 2004. The court heard testimony from Intertainment that according to Franchise's bank records the real cost of Battlefield Earth was only $44 million, not the $75 million declared by Franchise. The remaining $31 million had been fraudulent "padding". Intertainment's head Barry Baeres told the court that he had only funded Battlefield Earth because it was packaged as a slate that included two more commercially attractive films, the Wesley Snipes
Wesley Snipes
Wesley Trent Snipes is an American actor, film producer, and martial artist, who has starred in numerous action films, thrillers, and dramatic feature films. Snipes is known for playing the Marvel Comics character Blade in the Blade film trilogy, among various other high profile roles...
vehicle The Art of War
The Art of War (film)
The Art of War is a 2000 Canadian-American action film directed by Christian Duguay, and starring Wesley Snipes, Michael Biehn, Anne Archer and Donald Sutherland...
and the Bruce Willis
Bruce Willis
Walter Bruce Willis , better known as Bruce Willis, is an American actor, producer, and musician. His career began in television in the 1980s and has continued both in television and film since, including comedic, dramatic, and action roles...
comedy The Whole Nine Yards
The Whole Nine Yards (film)
The Whole Nine Yards is a 2000 American adventure crime comedy film directed by Jonathan Lynn, starring Bruce Willis, Matthew Perry, Amanda Peet, Michael Clarke Duncan and Natasha Henstridge. The title derives from a popular expression possibly dating from World War II naval aviation which means...
. Baeres testified that "Mr. Samaha said, 'If you want the other two pictures, you have to take Battlefield Earth — it's called packaging'". Baeres commented: "We would have been quite happy if he had killed [Battlefield Earth]".
Intertainment won the case and was awarded $121.7 million in damages. Samaha himself was declared by the court to be personally liable for $77 million in damages. The jury rejected Intertainment's claims under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act
Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act
The Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, commonly referred to as the RICO Act or simply RICO, is a United States federal law that provides for extended criminal penalties and a civil cause of action for acts performed as part of an ongoing criminal organization...
(RICO) statute, which would have trebled the damages
Treble damages
Treble damages, in law, is a term that indicates that a statute permits a court to triple the amount of the actual/compensatory damages to be awarded to a prevailing plaintiff, generally in order to punish the losing party for willful conduct. Treble damages are a multiple of, and not an addition...
if Franchise had been convicted on that charge. The judgment forced Franchise into bankruptcy a few months later. The failure of the film was also reported to have led in 2002 to Travolta firing his manager Jonathan Krane, who had set up the deal with Franchise in the first place.
Follow-ups and sequels
Battlefield Earth is significantly shorter than its source novel, covering only the first 436 pages of the 1,050-page book. A sequel covering the remainder of the book was originally planned at the outset. When asked during promotion of the film if there would be a Battlefield Earth 2, Travolta responded, "Sure. Yeah." Travolta asserted that the first film would become a cult classicCult following
A cult following is a group of fans who are highly dedicated to a specific area of pop culture. A film, book, band, or video game, among other things, will be said to have a cult following when it has a small but very passionate fan base...
, stating that there were already fan websites dedicated to the film. Corey Mandell, the scriptwriter for the first film, was commissioned to deliver the script for the sequel and Travolta, Pepper and producer Krane were all signed up to the sequel in their contracts for the first film. Christian and Whitaker were approached to reprise their respective roles, and the producers planned for a 2002 release date so as not to compete with George Lucas' Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones
Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones
Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones is a 2002 American epic space opera film directed by George Lucas and written by Lucas and Jonathan Hales. It is the fifth film to be released in the Star Wars saga and the second in terms of the series' internal chronology...
.
According to James Robert Parish's Fiasco: A History of Hollywood's Iconic Flops, the disastrous performance of Battlefield Earth and the collapse of its financial backers made it very unlikely that a live-action sequel will be made. In a 2001 interview, Travolta stated that a sequel was not planned: "Ultimately the movie did $100 million when you count box office, DVD sales, video and pay per view ... But I don't know what kind of number it would have to do to justify filming the second part of the book. And I don't want to push any buttons in the press and stir anybody up about it now." Author Services announced in 2001 that Pine Com International, a Tokyo-based animation studio, would produce 13 one-hour animated television segments based on the book and rendered in a manga
Manga
Manga is the Japanese word for "comics" and consists of comics and print cartoons . In the West, the term "manga" has been appropriated to refer specifically to comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th...
style. The plans appear to have fallen through, and according to Parish, "little has been heard of the series since".
Parodies
South ParkSouth Park
South Park is an American animated television series created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone for the Comedy Central television network. Intended for mature audiences, the show has become famous for its crude language, surreal, satirical, and dark humor that lampoons a wide range of topics...
parodied
Parody
A parody , in current usage, is an imitative work created to mock, comment on, or trivialise an original work, its subject, author, style, or some other target, by means of humorous, satiric or ironic imitation...
the film at the 2000 MTV Movie Awards
2000 MTV Movie Awards
The 2000 MTV Movie Awards were hosted by Sarah Jessica Parker. In conjunction with the success of a certain HBO Original Series at the time, the awards show presented a parody of Sex and the City and The Matrix during the program's opening...
. The MTV short was the first time South Park had satirized Scientology, in a piece entitled: "The Gauntlet". The short was primarily a Gladiator
Gladiator (2000 film)
Gladiator is a 2000 historical epic film directed by Ridley Scott, starring Russell Crowe, Joaquin Phoenix, Connie Nielsen, Ralf Möller, Oliver Reed, Djimon Hounsou, Derek Jacobi, John Shrapnel and Richard Harris. Crowe portrays the loyal Roman General Maximus Decimus Meridius, who is betrayed...
parody, with the characters fighting Russell Crowe
Russell Crowe
Russell Ira Crowe is a New Zealander Australian actor , film producer and musician. He came to international attention for his role as Roman General Maximus Decimus Meridius in the 2000 historical epic film Gladiator, directed by Ridley Scott, for which he won an Academy Award for Best Actor, a...
in the Roman Colosseum
Colosseum
The Colosseum, or the Coliseum, originally the Flavian Amphitheatre , is an elliptical amphitheatre in the centre of the city of Rome, Italy, the largest ever built in the Roman Empire...
, it included "John Travolta and the Church of Scientology" arriving in a spaceship to defeat Crowe and attempting to recruit the boys into Scientology. Travolta, along with his fellow Scientologists, was depicted as a Psychlo, as he appeared in the film.
A commentary for the film was released by RiffTrax
RiffTrax
RiffTrax are downloadable audio commentaries featuring comedians Michael J. Nelson, Kevin Murphy and Bill Corbett heckling films in the style of Mystery Science Theater 3000, a TV show in which Nelson was the head writer, and later the host. The RiffTrax are sold online and delivered by digital...
on January 28, 2007. The RiffTrax includes comedic audio commentary
Audio commentary
On disc-based video formats, an audio commentary is an additional audio track consisting of a lecture or comments by one or more speakers, that plays in real time with video...
from Mystery Science Theater 3000
Mystery Science Theater 3000
Mystery Science Theater 3000 is an American cult television comedy series created by Joel Hodgson and produced by Best Brains, Inc., that ran from 1988 to 1999....
veterans Michael J. Nelson
Michael J. Nelson
Michael John Nelson is a U.S. comedian and writer, most famous for his work on the cult television series Mystery Science Theater 3000 . Nelson was the head writer of the series for most of the show's 11-year run, and spent half of that time playing the on-air host, also named Mike Nelson...
, Kevin Murphy
Kevin Murphy (actor)
Kevin Wagner Murphy is an American actor and writer best known as the voice and puppeteer of Tom Servo on the Peabody Award-winning comedy series Mystery Science Theater 3000.- Early career :...
, and Bill Corbett
Bill Corbett
Bill Corbett is an American writer and performer for television, film and theatre. He was a writer and performer on the cult television show Mystery Science Theater 3000 , for which he voiced the robot Crow T. Robot during the show's later seasons on the Sci Fi Channel and played the character...
.
See also
- 21st Golden Raspberry Awards
- List of films considered the worst
- Box office bombBox office bombThe phrase box office bomb refers to a film for which the production and marketing costs greatly exceeded the revenue regained by the movie studio. This should not be confused with Hollywood accounting when official figures show large losses, yet the movie is a financial success.A film's financial...