Snakes on a Plane
Encyclopedia
Snakes on a Plane is a 2006 American horror
-action
-thriller film directed by David R. Ellis
and starring Samuel L. Jackson
. It was released by New Line Cinema
on August 18, 2006 in North America. The film was written by David Dalessandro
, John Heffernan, and Sheldon Turner
and follows the events of hundreds of snakes being released on a passenger plane in an attempt to kill a trial witness.
The film gained a considerable amount of attention before its release, forming large fanbases online and becoming an Internet phenomenon, due to the film's title, casting
, and premise
. In response to the Internet fan base, New Line Cinema
incorporated feedback from online users into its production, and added five days of reshooting. Before and after the film was released, it was parodied
and alluded to on television shows and films, fan-made videos, video games, and various forms of literature
.
Released in the United States and United Kingdom on August 18, 2006, the film received mixed to positive reviews with 69% of reviews positive and an average normalized score of 58%, according to the review aggregator websites Rotten Tomatoes
and Metacritic
, respectively. Despite the immense Internet buzz
, the film's gross revenue did not live up to expectations, earning US$
15.25 million in its opening weekend. The film grossed US$62 million worldwide before its release on home video on January 2, 2007.
Eddie Kim (Lawson
) brutally beat U.S. Prosecutor Daniel Hayes (Nicholson
) to death in Hawaii, Sean Jones (Nathan Phillips
) is escorted by FBI
agents Neville Flynn (Jackson
) and John Sanders (Houghton) on a Boeing 747-400
to testify in a trial in Los Angeles. Despite increased security for the flight, Kim arranges for a time-release crate full of venomous snakes to be placed in the cargo hold in an attempt to bring down the plane before it reaches Los Angeles International Airport
(LAX). To ensure the snakes attack the passengers without being provoked, he has one of his henchmen disguised as an airport ground employee spray the passengers' lei
s with a special pheromone
which make the snakes more aggressive in their attack.
The crate opens midway through the flight and the snakes make their way through the cabin. A couple having sex in the lavatory
are the first killed. The plane's captain, Sam McKeon, investigates and fixes an electrical short, but is killed by the viper
that caused it. Co-pilot Rick (Koechner
), unaware of the snake, believes Sam has suffered a heart attack
and continues toward LAX. Some of the snakes attack Rick, and while fending them off he accidentally releases the oxygen masks throughout the plane, and snakes drop into the cabin with them. Numerous passengers, including Agent Sanders, are killed. The surviving passengers, who have made their way to the front of the plane, put up blockades of luggage in a desperate attempt to stop the snakes.
Agent Flynn contacts FBI Special Agent Hank Harris (Cannavale
) on the ground who gets in touch with ophiologist
Dr. Steven Price (Louiso
). With pictures of the reptiles emailed to him via a mobile phone, Price believes a Los Angeles snake dealer to be responsible. After a shootout with the dealer, he reveals that Kim hired him to obtain the snakes. His supply of anti-venom is commandeered for the plane's victims, and Harris gives orders to have Eddie Kim arrested.
Rick is attacked and the plane starts to dip downwards, causing a food trolley to crash through the luggage blockade. The passengers flee to the upstairs first class cabin before blocking the stairwell with an inflatable liferaft. Agent Flynn and Flight Attendant Claire (Margulies
) regain control of the plane. Rick retakes the controls and has Flynn go into the cargo hold to restore the air conditioning/ventilation system.
Harris contacts Flynn telling him that anti-venom will be ready for the passengers when they land. However, Flynn discovers that the cockpit is filled with snakes and Rick is dead. After a brief discussion, Troy (Thompson
), Three Gs' (Alexander
) bodyguard, agrees to land the plane based on prior experience. After everybody gets prepared, Flynn shoots out two windows with his pistol, causing the plane to depressurize. The snakes are blown out of the cockpit and the lower floor of the plane.
Flynn and Troy take the controls of the plane and Troy reveals that his flight experience was from a video game flight simulator
. After an emergency landing, the plane makes it to the terminal. The passengers leave the plane and anti-venom is given to those who need it. Just as Flynn and Sean are about to disembark the plane, a final snake jumps out and bites Sean in the chest. Flynn draws his gun and shoots the snake, and paramedics rush to Sean, who is unharmed due to a bulletproof vest. Sean later takes Flynn to Bali and teaches him how to surf.
administrator and first-time Hollywood writer. He developed the concept in 1992 after reading a nature magazine article about Indonesian brown tree snake
s climbing onto planes in cargo during World War II. He originally wrote the screenplay about the brown tree snake loose on a plane, titling the film Venom. He soon revised it, expanding upon the premise to include a plague of assorted venomous snakes, then—crediting the film Alien
—revised it once again to include "lots of them loose in the fuselage
of a plane." Dalessandro's third draft of Venom was turned down by more than 30 Hollywood studios in 1995. However, in 1999, a producer for MTV
/Paramount
showed interest in the script, followed up by New Line Studios, which took over the rights for production.
Originally, the film, under the working title "Snakes on a Plane", was going to be directed by Hong Kong
action director Ronny Yu
. Jackson, who had previously worked with Yu on The 51st State
, learned about the announced project in the Hollywood trade newspapers and, after talking to Yu, agreed to sign on without reading the script based on the director, storyline, and the title.
The film's B movie-esque
title generated a lot of pre-release interest on the Internet. One journalist even wrote that Snakes on a Plane is "perhaps the most internet-hyped film of all time". Much of the initial publicity came from a blog
entry made by screenwriter Josh Friedman
, who had been offered a chance to work on the script. The casting of Jackson further increased anticipation. At one point, the film was given the title Pacific Air Flight 121, only to have it changed back to the working title at Jackson's request. In August 2005, Jackson told an interviewer, "We're totally changing that back. That's the only reason I took the job: I read the title." On March 2, 2006, the studio reverted the title to Snakes on a Plane. New Line hired two additional writers to smooth out the screenplay.
Taking advantage of the Internet buzz for what had been a minor film in their 2006 line-up, New Line Cinema ordered five days of additional shooting in early March 2006 (principal photography
had wrapped in September 2005). While re-shoots normally imply problems with a film, the producers opted to add new scenes to the film to change the PG-13 rating to R
and bring it in line with growing fan expectations. The most notable addition was a revision of a catchphrase from the film that was parodied on the Internet by fans of the film, capitalizing on Jackson's typically foul-mouthed and violent film persona: "Enough is enough! I have had it with these motherfucking snakes on this motherfucking plane!". Subsequently, the public responded favorably to this creative change and marketing strategy, leading some members of the press to speculate that "the movie has grown from something of a joke into a phenomenon".
More than 450 snakes were used for filming to represent thirty different species of snakes. The different species include a 19-foot Burmese python
named Kitty (which the crew called Kong for film purposes), a Scarlet Kingsnake
(the non-venomous double for the coral snake
), a milk snake
to fill in for the Taipan
(which attacks the couple having sex), corn snake
s, rattlesnake
s, and mangrove snakes
. About two-thirds of the snakes seen throughout the film were either animatronic or computer generated. The snakes that were real were mostly the non-venomous ones that are never seen attacking anyone. The scenes where someone is clearly bitten were often done with the most animation. According to the DVD, all the snakes had production names, but only Scarface (an animated pit viper), Peanut (a cobra
), and Kong are mentioned by name in the audio commentary. During filming, Jackson did not come into contact with any live snakes, due to a contract clause preventing snakes from being within 25 feet (8 m) of the actor.
When the film was released in theaters, rumors circulated that two live diamondback rattlesnakes
had been released at a showing of the film on August 22, 2006 in Phoenix
, Arizona
. It was later revealed that one snake had made its way into the lobby of the theater on its own, and another had been found in the parking lot in a separate incident. The snakes were later released back into the desert.
Print
Black Flame
published the novelization
of the film, written by Christa Faust. The 405–page novel contains significant backstories for the characters and introduces other characters that were not featured in the film. An illustrated book from Thunder's Mouth Press, Snakes on a Plane: The Guide to the Internet Ssssssensation by David Waldon, details the Internet phenomenon and was published July 28, 2006. Waldon details various viral video
s relating to the film's craze, and interviewed their producers to find out what about the film captured their attention.
Comic book writer Chuck Dixon
wrote a comic book adaptation of the film. DC Comics
released the two-issue miniseries on August 16, 2006 and September 27, 2006 under their Wildstorm
imprint.
(who ultimately won the contest), Louden Swain, the Former Fat Boys, Nispy, and others. In addition, a music video
for the film, "Snakes on a Plane (Bring It)
" by Cobra Starship
, was released on July 10, 2006 on MTV2
's Unleashed. The music video appeared on the film's soundtrack as well as during the film's closing credits.
In October 2005, Nathanial Perry and Chris Rohan recorded an audio trailer spoof
, which helped fuel the Internet buzz. Perry and Rohan recorded the "motherfucking snakes" line in the audio trailer which was added to the film during the week of re-shoots. In July 2006, New Line Cinema signed a worldwide licensing agreement with the Cutting Corporation to produce an audiobook of the film.
featured stories about the film and Internet buzz several times on his MSNBC
news program Countdown
. In addition, G4
's Attack of the Show!
featured a semi-regular segment entitled "Snakes on a Plane: An Attack of the Show Investigation", and even had a week dedicated to the film which included interviews and the appearance of hundreds of snakes on set.
, parody films, mock movie trailers, and even short film parody competitions. On July 6, 2006, the official Snakes on a Plane website started a promotional sweepstakes
called "The #1 Fan King Cobra Sweepstakes". The contest made innovative use of the publicity-generating potential of the Internet, requiring contestants to post links on forums, blogs, and websites and collecting votes from the users of those sites.
Many of the early fan-made trailers and later other viral videos and commercials circulated via YouTube, and captured media attention there with such titles as: Cats on a Plane (which was featured in Joel Siegel's review of Snakes on a Plane on Good Morning America
), Snakes Who Missed the Plane, All Your Snakes Are Belong To Us (a spoof of the All your base are belong to us
phenomenon), Steaks on a Train. and Badgers on a Plane (a spoof of Badger Badger Badger
). Several websites also held contests about the film in fan-submitted short films and posters.
In August 2006, Varitalk launched an advertising campaign in which fans could send a semi-personalized message in Jackson's voice to telephone numbers of their choosing. Within the first week, over 1.5 million calls were sent to participants.
ers and chop-up artists Addictive TV
to cut and sample
Snakes on a Plane to create trailers for the U.S. television networks. The official teaser trailer premiered before X-Men: The Last Stand
, and the first official trailer appeared online on June 26, 2006. Another trailer circulated in July 2006, showing several of the snake attacks and a missing pilot and co-pilot. Rotten Tomatoes
had video clips of the official trailers, as well as fan-made trailers.
During a July 21, 2006 panel discussion at the Comic-Con Convention
in San Diego, California
, a preview clip from the film was shown to a crowd of more than 6,500 people. The panel included actors Samuel L. Jackson and Kenan Thompson
, director David R. Ellis, and snake-handler Jules Sylvester
.
, was released on August 15, 2006, three days before the film's theatrical release.
reported that 68% of critics gave the favorable rating based on a sample of 169 and a consensus stating "Snakes on a Plane lives up to its title, featuring snakes on a plane. It isn't perfect, but then again, it doesn't need to be." reviews, with an average score of 6.2/10. At the website Metacritic
, which uses a normalized
rating system, the film earned a mixed rating of 58/100 based on 31 reviews by mainstream critics. Reviewers reported audiences cheering, applauding, and engaging in "call and response
", noting that audience participation was an important part of the film's appeal.
The Arizona Republic
s Randy Cordova gave the film a positive review, calling the film "... an exploitation flick that knows what it wants to do, and it gets the job done expertly." and a "... Mecca for B-movie lovers." Mick LaSalle of the San Francisco Chronicle
enjoyed the film, asking his readers "... if you can find a better time at the movies this year than this wild comic thriller, let me in on it." Boston Globe reviewer Ty Burr reacted to Samuel L. Jackson's performance by saying he "... bestrides this film with the authority of someone who knows the value of honest bilge. He's as much the auteur of this baby as the director and screenwriters, and that fierce glimmer in his eye is partly joy."
Peter Travers
of Rolling Stone
gave the film one and a half stars out of four, saying that "...after all the Internet hype about those motherfuckin' snakes on that motherfuckin' plane, the flick itself is a murky stew of shock effects repeated so often that the suspense quickly droops along with you[r] eyelids." David Denby of The New Yorker
claimed that the film "... may mark a new participatory style in marketing, but it still gulls an allegedly knowing audience with the pseudo-morality of yesteryear."
Film critic and radio host Michael Medved
criticized the film's production for allowing internet bloggers to insist on pushing the film up to an R rating from its original PG-13 by adding more racy content. He argued that the film would have grossed more revenue at the box office with a PG-13 rating, and stated that the demographic most likely to be drawn to the film is males between the ages of 12 and 15. "My fourteen-year-old son, Danny, for instance, felt a powerful inclination to go out and see the movie with his two sleep-over friends this Sunday night," he explained, "but I wouldn't permit it. It's rated R for good reason." Medved ultimately awarded the film 2 1/2 stars out of 4 in a radio review, but said that he did so "grudgingly."
20-30 million. While Snakes on a Plane did narrowly beat Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby
for the number one position during its opening weekend, it did not meet these estimates and grossed only $15.25 million in its opening days, a disappointment for New Line Cinema
. In its second weekend, the film fell to sixth place with $6.4 million, a more than fifty percent drop from its opening weekend revenue. By the end of its theatrical run, the film grossed $62,022,014 worldwide.
Robert K. Shaye
, the founder of New Line, stated that he was "disappointed" that Snakes on a Plane was a "dud" despite "higher expectations". The press declared that Snakes on a Plane was a "box office disappointment", with The New York Times
reporting that after all the "hype Online, Snakes on a Plane is letdown at box office" and Entertainment Weekly
reporting that the film was an "internet-only phenomenon."
December 26, 2006 in Region 2; December 28, 2006 in Region 4; and January 2, 2007 in Region 1. The DVD features commentaries
, deleted and extended scenes
, several featurettes, Cobra Starship
's music video, and trailers
. The U.S. Blu-ray
was released on September 29, 2009.
portion of the CD contains what was considered the "best of the best" of the amateur Internet creations inspired by the film, including the songs "Snakes on the Brain" by Captain Ahab
and "Here Come the Snakes (Seeing Is Believing)" by Louden Swain. The single "Snakes on a Plane (Bring It)
" peaked at the 32nd position of Billboards Hot Modern Rock Tracks in 2006.
Horror film
Horror films seek to elicit a negative emotional reaction from viewers by playing on the audience's most primal fears. They often feature scenes that startle the viewer through the means of macabre and the supernatural, thus frequently overlapping with the fantasy and science fiction genres...
-action
Action film
Action film is a film genre where one or more heroes is thrust into a series of challenges that require physical feats, extended fights and frenetic chases...
-thriller film directed by David R. Ellis
David R. Ellis
David Richard Ellis is an American film director and former stuntman.-Life and career:Ellis was born in Hollywood, California. He began his career in the film industry as a supporting actor in juvenile roles; his big screen debut was in the 1975 Kurt Russell film The Strongest Man in the World...
and starring Samuel L. Jackson
Samuel L. Jackson
Samuel Leroy Jackson is an American film and television actor and film producer. After becoming involved with the Civil Rights Movement, he moved on to acting in theater at Morehouse College, and then films. He had several small roles such as in the film Goodfellas before meeting his mentor,...
. It was released by New Line Cinema
New Line Cinema
New Line Cinema, often simply referred to as New Line, is an American film studio. It was founded in 1967 by Robert Shaye and Michael Lynne as a film distributor, later becoming an independent film studio. It became a subsidiary of Time Warner in 1996 and was merged with larger sister studio Warner...
on August 18, 2006 in North America. The film was written by David Dalessandro
David Dalessandro
David Dalessandro is a University of Pittsburgh administrator, currently serving as the associate vice chancellor of university development. Outside of his service to the Pitt community, Dalessandro is best known as the unlikely creator of Snakes on a Plane...
, John Heffernan, and Sheldon Turner
Sheldon Turner
Sheldon Turner is a screenwriter and producer. His produced credits as a screenwriter include The Longest Yard , The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning , Up in the Air and X-Men: First Class ....
and follows the events of hundreds of snakes being released on a passenger plane in an attempt to kill a trial witness.
The film gained a considerable amount of attention before its release, forming large fanbases online and becoming an Internet phenomenon, due to the film's title, casting
Casting
In metalworking, casting involves pouring liquid metal into a mold, which contains a hollow cavity of the desired shape, and then allowing it to cool and solidify. The solidified part is also known as a casting, which is ejected or broken out of the mold to complete the process...
, and premise
Premise
Premise can refer to:* Premise, a claim that is a reason for, or an objection against, some other claim as part of an argument...
. In response to the Internet fan base, New Line Cinema
New Line Cinema
New Line Cinema, often simply referred to as New Line, is an American film studio. It was founded in 1967 by Robert Shaye and Michael Lynne as a film distributor, later becoming an independent film studio. It became a subsidiary of Time Warner in 1996 and was merged with larger sister studio Warner...
incorporated feedback from online users into its production, and added five days of reshooting. Before and after the film was released, it was 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...
and alluded to on television shows and films, fan-made videos, video games, and various forms of literature
Literature
Literature is the art of written works, and is not bound to published sources...
.
Released in the United States and United Kingdom on August 18, 2006, the film received mixed to positive reviews with 69% of reviews positive and an average normalized score of 58%, according to the review aggregator websites Rotten Tomatoes
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...
and 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,...
, respectively. Despite the immense Internet buzz
Hype
Hype may refer to:*A media circus*Hype , 1981 album by Robert Calvert*Hype , American comedy television series*Hype!, documentary about the popularity of grunge rock in the early to mid 1990...
, the film's gross revenue did not live up to expectations, earning US$
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
15.25 million in its opening weekend. The film grossed US$62 million worldwide before its release on home video on January 2, 2007.
Plot
After witnessing gangsterGangster
A gangster is a criminal who is a member of a gang. Some gangs are considered to be part of organized crime. Gangsters are also called mobsters, a term derived from mob and the suffix -ster....
Eddie Kim (Lawson
Byron Lawson
Byron Lawson is a Canadian actor. He recently portrayed gangster Eddie Kim in the 2006 film Snakes on a Plane. His ethnic mix is Chinese, Japanese, and Korean....
) brutally beat U.S. Prosecutor Daniel Hayes (Nicholson
Scott Nicholson
Scott Nicholson is a U.S. author specializing in horror or thrillers, often set in rural Appalachia. His debut, The Red Church, was a finalist for the Bram Stoker Award.- Biography :...
) to death in Hawaii, Sean Jones (Nathan Phillips
Nathan Phillips (actor)
Nathan Scott Phillips is an Australian actor who is currently based in Los Angeles. He is perhaps best known for his role as backpacker Ben Mitchell in Wolf Creek and for his American film debut, Snakes on a Plane, opposite Samuel L...
) is escorted by FBI
Federal Bureau of Investigation
The Federal Bureau of Investigation is an agency of the United States Department of Justice that serves as both a federal criminal investigative body and an internal intelligence agency . The FBI has investigative jurisdiction over violations of more than 200 categories of federal crime...
agents Neville Flynn (Jackson
Samuel L. Jackson
Samuel Leroy Jackson is an American film and television actor and film producer. After becoming involved with the Civil Rights Movement, he moved on to acting in theater at Morehouse College, and then films. He had several small roles such as in the film Goodfellas before meeting his mentor,...
) and John Sanders (Houghton) on a Boeing 747-400
Boeing 747-400
The Boeing 747-400 is a major development and the best-selling model of the Boeing 747 family of jet airliners. While retaining the four-engine wide-body layout of its predecessors, the 747-400 embodies numerous technological and structural changes to produce a more efficient airframe...
to testify in a trial in Los Angeles. Despite increased security for the flight, Kim arranges for a time-release crate full of venomous snakes to be placed in the cargo hold in an attempt to bring down the plane before it reaches Los Angeles International Airport
Los Angeles International Airport
Los Angeles International Airport is the primary airport serving the Greater Los Angeles Area, the second-most populated metropolitan area in the United States. It is most often referred to by its IATA airport code LAX, with the letters pronounced individually...
(LAX). To ensure the snakes attack the passengers without being provoked, he has one of his henchmen disguised as an airport ground employee spray the passengers' lei
Lei (Hawaii)
Lei is a Hawaiian word for a garland or wreath. More loosely defined, a lei is any series of objects strung together with the intent to be worn. The most popular concept of a lei in Hawaiian culture is a wreath of flowers draped around the neck presented upon arriving or leaving as a symbol of...
s with a special pheromone
Pheromone
A pheromone is a secreted or excreted chemical factor that triggers a social response in members of the same species. Pheromones are chemicals capable of acting outside the body of the secreting individual to impact the behavior of the receiving individual...
which make the snakes more aggressive in their attack.
The crate opens midway through the flight and the snakes make their way through the cabin. A couple having sex in the lavatory
Mile High Club
The Mile High Club is a slang term applied collectively to individuals who have sex while on board an aircraft in flight. There is no known formally constituted club so named...
are the first killed. The plane's captain, Sam McKeon, investigates and fixes an electrical short, but is killed by the viper
Viperidae
The Viperidae are a family of venomous snakes found all over the world, except in Antarctica, Australia, Ireland, Madagascar, Hawaii, various other isolated islands, and above the Arctic Circle. All have relatively long, hinged fangs that permit deep penetration and injection of venom. Four...
that caused it. Co-pilot Rick (Koechner
David Koechner
David Michael Koechner is an American comedian, musician, and character actor. Koechner began studying improvisational comedy in Chicago at the ImprovOlympic, under the teachings of Del Close, before joining the Second City Northwest...
), unaware of the snake, believes Sam has suffered a heart attack
Myocardial infarction
Myocardial infarction or acute myocardial infarction , commonly known as a heart attack, results from the interruption of blood supply to a part of the heart, causing heart cells to die...
and continues toward LAX. Some of the snakes attack Rick, and while fending them off he accidentally releases the oxygen masks throughout the plane, and snakes drop into the cabin with them. Numerous passengers, including Agent Sanders, are killed. The surviving passengers, who have made their way to the front of the plane, put up blockades of luggage in a desperate attempt to stop the snakes.
Agent Flynn contacts FBI Special Agent Hank Harris (Cannavale
Bobby Cannavale
Robert M. "Bobby" Cannavale is an American actor known for his leading role as Bobby Caffey in the first two seasons of the television series Third Watch. He also had a recurring role as Officer Vince D'Angelo on the comedy series Will & Grace.-Early life:Cannavale grew up in Union City, New...
) on the ground who gets in touch with ophiologist
Ophiology
Ophiology is a branch of herpetology, the study of reptiles and amphibians, and deals with the scientific study of snakes, including the natural history and behavior of the animals. An individual who studies snakes is known as an ophiologist...
Dr. Steven Price (Louiso
Todd Louiso
Todd Louiso is an American film actor and film director best known for his role as timid record store clerk Dick in High Fidelity, opposite Jack Black and John Cusack. Other supporting roles include School For Scoundrels. Louiso directed his first film in 2002, the acclaimed Love Liza with Philip...
). With pictures of the reptiles emailed to him via a mobile phone, Price believes a Los Angeles snake dealer to be responsible. After a shootout with the dealer, he reveals that Kim hired him to obtain the snakes. His supply of anti-venom is commandeered for the plane's victims, and Harris gives orders to have Eddie Kim arrested.
Rick is attacked and the plane starts to dip downwards, causing a food trolley to crash through the luggage blockade. The passengers flee to the upstairs first class cabin before blocking the stairwell with an inflatable liferaft. Agent Flynn and Flight Attendant Claire (Margulies
Julianna Margulies
Julianna Luisa Margulies is an American actress and producer.After several small television roles, Margulies achieved success in her regular role as Nurse Carol Hathaway on NBC's long-running medical drama ER, for which she won an Emmy Award...
) regain control of the plane. Rick retakes the controls and has Flynn go into the cargo hold to restore the air conditioning/ventilation system.
Harris contacts Flynn telling him that anti-venom will be ready for the passengers when they land. However, Flynn discovers that the cockpit is filled with snakes and Rick is dead. After a brief discussion, Troy (Thompson
Kenan Thompson
Kenan Thompson is an American actor and comedian. He is best known for his work as a cast member of NBC's long-running sketch comedy series Saturday Night Live...
), Three Gs' (Alexander
Flex Alexander
Mark Alexander Knox , better known as Flex Alexander or Flex, is an American actor, comedian and dancer.-Early life:Born in New York City in Harlem, Alexander is the son of Alethia Knox and Robert Whitehead....
) bodyguard, agrees to land the plane based on prior experience. After everybody gets prepared, Flynn shoots out two windows with his pistol, causing the plane to depressurize. The snakes are blown out of the cockpit and the lower floor of the plane.
Flynn and Troy take the controls of the plane and Troy reveals that his flight experience was from a video game flight simulator
Flight simulator
A flight simulator is a device that artificially re-creates aircraft flight and various aspects of the flight environment. This includes the equations that govern how aircraft fly, how they react to applications of their controls and other aircraft systems, and how they react to the external...
. After an emergency landing, the plane makes it to the terminal. The passengers leave the plane and anti-venom is given to those who need it. Just as Flynn and Sean are about to disembark the plane, a final snake jumps out and bites Sean in the chest. Flynn draws his gun and shoots the snake, and paramedics rush to Sean, who is unharmed due to a bulletproof vest. Sean later takes Flynn to Bali and teaches him how to surf.
Cast
- Samuel L. JacksonSamuel L. JacksonSamuel Leroy Jackson is an American film and television actor and film producer. After becoming involved with the Civil Rights Movement, he moved on to acting in theater at Morehouse College, and then films. He had several small roles such as in the film Goodfellas before meeting his mentor,...
as Agent Neville Flynn, an FBIFederal Bureau of InvestigationThe Federal Bureau of Investigation is an agency of the United States Department of Justice that serves as both a federal criminal investigative body and an internal intelligence agency . The FBI has investigative jurisdiction over violations of more than 200 categories of federal crime...
agent assigned to protect Sean Jones on his flight to Los Angeles. - Julianna MarguliesJulianna MarguliesJulianna Luisa Margulies is an American actress and producer.After several small television roles, Margulies achieved success in her regular role as Nurse Carol Hathaway on NBC's long-running medical drama ER, for which she won an Emmy Award...
as Claire Miller, a flight attendant. - Nathan PhillipsNathan Phillips (actor)Nathan Scott Phillips is an Australian actor who is currently based in Los Angeles. He is perhaps best known for his role as backpacker Ben Mitchell in Wolf Creek and for his American film debut, Snakes on a Plane, opposite Samuel L...
as Sean Jones, a surfer and dirtbike racer who witnesses a brutal murder committed by Eddie Kim. - Rachel BlanchardRachel BlanchardRachel Elise Blanchard is a Canadian actress.-Early life:Blanchard was born in Toronto, Ontario, and graduated from Havergal College in Toronto, going on to Queen's University.-Career:...
as Mercedes, a socialiteSocialiteA socialite is a person who participates in social activities and spends a significant amount of time entertaining and being entertained at fashionable upper-class events....
passenger who brings her pet ChihuahuaChihuahua (dog)The ' is the smallest breed of dog and is so named for the state of Chihuahua in Mexico. Chihuahuas come in a wide variety of sizes, head shapes, colors and coat lengths.-History:...
Mary-Kate aboard. - Flex AlexanderFlex AlexanderMark Alexander Knox , better known as Flex Alexander or Flex, is an American actor, comedian and dancer.-Early life:Born in New York City in Harlem, Alexander is the son of Alethia Knox and Robert Whitehead....
as Clarence "Three Gs", a famous rapper who keeps a bottle of hand sanitizer with him and refuses to be touched by others. - Kenan ThompsonKenan ThompsonKenan Thompson is an American actor and comedian. He is best known for his work as a cast member of NBC's long-running sketch comedy series Saturday Night Live...
as Troy, Clarence's bodyguard. - Keith Dallas as Big Leroy, Clarence's second bodyguard.
- Lin ShayeLin ShayeLinda "Lin" Shaye is an American film, theatre and television actress.-Early life:Born in Detroit, Michigan, Shaye is the daughter of Dorothy , a homemaker, and Max Mendle Shaye, a painter and supermarket owner. Her brother is film executive Robert Shaye...
as Grace, the senior flight attendant who acts as the flight's purser. - Terry ChenTerry ChenTerry Chen is a Canadian movie and television actor.Chen was born to ethnic Chinese parents originating from Taiwan and mainland China in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. After an education at schools in his hometown and in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, he attended college in Calgary and...
as Chen Leong, a martial artist who is among the passengers. - Casey Dubois as Curtis, a young boy traveling with his younger brother who he is assigned to protect by their veteran father.
- Daniel Hogarth as Tommy, Curtis' younger brother who has difficulty with his first time on a plane.
- Gerard Plunkett as Paul, a disturbed British businessman waiting impatiently to arrive in Los Angeles for a meeting.
- Elsa PatakyElsa PatakyElsa Lafuente Pataky is a Spanish actress.-Personal life:Pataky was born in Madrid, Spain, the daughter of José Francisco Lafuente, a Spanish biochemist, and Cristina Pataky Medianu, a publicist of Hungarian and Romanian ancestry. Pataky attended the Universidad de San Pablo CEU and studied...
as Maria, a female passenger who brings her infant son aboard. - Bruce James as Ken, the only male flight attendant.
- Sunny MabreySunny MabreySunny Mabrey is an American model and actress who appeared in music videos, such as "Nookie" from Limp Bizkit, before debuting in movies. She appeared in The New Guy, XXX: State of the Union, and was the lead actress in Species III...
as Tiffany, a flight attendant who develops a crush on Sean. - Tygh RunyanTygh Runyan-Life and career:Runyan was born in Vancouver, British Columbia. His father is an environmental science professor at the University of British Columbia, and his mother is a poet...
as Tyler, a very allergenic passenger. - Emily HolmesEmily HolmesEmily Holmes is a Canadian television and film actress.Holmes was born in Ottawa, Ontario. She has appeared in such television series as Night Visions, Mysterious Ways, The Dead Zone , Stargate SG-1, Dark Angel and more. In 2002, Holmes appeared in Steven Spielberg's Taken as Julie Crawford...
as Ashley, Tyler's wife. - Tom Butler as Capt. Sam McKeon, the captain of the plane.
- David KoechnerDavid KoechnerDavid Michael Koechner is an American comedian, musician, and character actor. Koechner began studying improvisational comedy in Chicago at the ImprovOlympic, under the teachings of Del Close, before joining the Second City Northwest...
as Rick, Capt. McKeon's co-pilot. - Bobby CannavaleBobby CannavaleRobert M. "Bobby" Cannavale is an American actor known for his leading role as Bobby Caffey in the first two seasons of the television series Third Watch. He also had a recurring role as Officer Vince D'Angelo on the comedy series Will & Grace.-Early life:Cannavale grew up in Union City, New...
as Special Agent Hank Harris, Flynn's contact in Los Angeles. - Byron LawsonByron LawsonByron Lawson is a Canadian actor. He recently portrayed gangster Eddie Kim in the 2006 film Snakes on a Plane. His ethnic mix is Chinese, Japanese, and Korean....
as Eddie Kim, a crime syndicate leader. - Mark Houghton as Agent John Sanders, Flynn's partner also assigned to accompany Sean.
- Todd LouisoTodd LouisoTodd Louiso is an American film actor and film director best known for his role as timid record store clerk Dick in High Fidelity, opposite Jack Black and John Cusack. Other supporting roles include School For Scoundrels. Louiso directed his first film in 2002, the acclaimed Love Liza with Philip...
as Dr. Steven Price, a snake venom expert assigned by the FBI to communicate with Flynn. - Scott NicholsonScott NicholsonScott Nicholson is a U.S. author specializing in horror or thrillers, often set in rural Appalachia. His debut, The Red Church, was a finalist for the Bram Stoker Award.- Biography :...
as Daniel Hayes, a U.S. Prosecutor who is murdered by Kim at the start of the film. - Samantha McLeodSamantha McLeod-Career:Samantha McLeod has played various lesbian characters including Clea Jaffe from Showtime drama The L Word and Sophi from Insecticidal ....
as Kelly, where she is attacked by the snakes while having sex in the bathroom with her boyfriend.
Development
The story is credited to David Dalessandro, a University of PittsburghUniversity of Pittsburgh
The University of Pittsburgh, commonly referred to as Pitt, is a state-related research university located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded as Pittsburgh Academy in 1787 on what was then the American frontier, Pitt is one of the oldest continuously chartered institutions of...
administrator and first-time Hollywood writer. He developed the concept in 1992 after reading a nature magazine article about Indonesian brown tree snake
Brown tree snake
The brown tree snake is an arboreal rear-fanged colubrid snake native to eastern and northern coastal Australia, Papua New Guinea, and a large number of islands in northwestern Melanesia....
s climbing onto planes in cargo during World War II. He originally wrote the screenplay about the brown tree snake loose on a plane, titling the film Venom. He soon revised it, expanding upon the premise to include a plague of assorted venomous snakes, then—crediting the film Alien
Alien (film)
Alien is a 1979 science fiction horror film directed by Ridley Scott and starring Tom Skerritt, Sigourney Weaver, Veronica Cartwright, Harry Dean Stanton, John Hurt, Ian Holm and Yaphet Kotto. The film's title refers to its primary antagonist: a highly aggressive extraterrestrial creature which...
—revised it once again to include "lots of them loose in the fuselage
Fuselage
The fuselage is an aircraft's main body section that holds crew and passengers or cargo. In single-engine aircraft it will usually contain an engine, although in some amphibious aircraft the single engine is mounted on a pylon attached to the fuselage which in turn is used as a floating hull...
of a plane." Dalessandro's third draft of Venom was turned down by more than 30 Hollywood studios in 1995. However, in 1999, a producer for MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
/Paramount
Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film production and distribution company, located at 5555 Melrose Avenue in Hollywood. Founded in 1912 and currently owned by media conglomerate Viacom, it is America's oldest existing film studio; it is also the last major film studio still...
showed interest in the script, followed up by New Line Studios, which took over the rights for production.
Originally, the film, under the working title "Snakes on a Plane", was going to be directed by Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
action director Ronny Yu
Ronny Yu
Ronny Yu Yan-Tai is a Hong Kong director, producer, and movie writer. Yu was born in Hong Kong and graduated from Ohio University. He has worked on both Hong Kong and American films.- Career :...
. Jackson, who had previously worked with Yu on The 51st State
The 51st State
The 51st State is a 2001 British action comedy film written by Stel Pavlou and directed by Ronny Yu. Produced by Focus Films Ltd. . The film stars Samuel L. Jackson, Robert Carlyle, Emily Mortimer, Ricky Tomlinson, Sean Pertwee, Rhys Ifans and Meat Loaf...
, learned about the announced project in the Hollywood trade newspapers and, after talking to Yu, agreed to sign on without reading the script based on the director, storyline, and the title.
The film's B movie-esque
B movie
A B movie is a low-budget commercial motion picture that is not definitively an arthouse or pornographic film. In its original usage, during the Golden Age of Hollywood, the term more precisely identified a film intended for distribution as the less-publicized, bottom half of a double feature....
title generated a lot of pre-release interest on the Internet. One journalist even wrote that Snakes on a Plane is "perhaps the most internet-hyped film of all time". Much of the initial publicity came from a blog
Blog
A blog is a type of website or part of a website supposed to be updated with new content from time to time. Blogs are usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in...
entry made by screenwriter Josh Friedman
Josh Friedman
Josh Friedman is an American screenwriter best known as screenwriter of Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles and as the writer of the 2005 film adaptation of H.G. Wells' War of the Worlds....
, who had been offered a chance to work on the script. The casting of Jackson further increased anticipation. At one point, the film was given the title Pacific Air Flight 121, only to have it changed back to the working title at Jackson's request. In August 2005, Jackson told an interviewer, "We're totally changing that back. That's the only reason I took the job: I read the title." On March 2, 2006, the studio reverted the title to Snakes on a Plane. New Line hired two additional writers to smooth out the screenplay.
Taking advantage of the Internet buzz for what had been a minor film in their 2006 line-up, New Line Cinema ordered five days of additional shooting in early March 2006 (principal photography
Principal photography
thumb|300px|Film production on location in [[Newark, New Jersey]].Principal photography is the phase of film production in which the movie is filmed, with actors on set and cameras rolling, as distinct from pre-production and post-production....
had wrapped in September 2005). While re-shoots normally imply problems with a film, the producers opted to add new scenes to the film to change the PG-13 rating to R
MPAA film rating system
The Motion Picture Association of America's film-rating system is used in the U.S. and its territories to rate a film's thematic and content suitability for certain audiences. The MPAA system applies only to motion pictures that are submitted for rating. Other media may be rated by other entities...
and bring it in line with growing fan expectations. The most notable addition was a revision of a catchphrase from the film that was parodied on the Internet by fans of the film, capitalizing on Jackson's typically foul-mouthed and violent film persona: "Enough is enough! I have had it with these motherfucking snakes on this motherfucking plane!". Subsequently, the public responded favorably to this creative change and marketing strategy, leading some members of the press to speculate that "the movie has grown from something of a joke into a phenomenon".
Snakes
Burmese Python
The Burmese Python is the largest subspecies of the Indian Python and one of the 6 largest snakes in the world, native to a large variation of tropic and subtropic areas of Southern- and Southeast Asia. They are often found near water and are sometimes semi-aquatic, but can also be found in trees...
named Kitty (which the crew called Kong for film purposes), a Scarlet Kingsnake
Scarlet Kingsnake
The Scarlet kingsnake is a species of kingsnake found in the southeastern and eastern portions of the United States. They are found in pine flatwoods hardwood hammocks, prairies, cultivated fields, and suburban areas...
(the non-venomous double for the coral snake
Coral snake
The coral snakes are a large group of elapid snakes that can be subdivided into two distinct groups, Old World coral snakes and New World coral snakes...
), a milk snake
Milk Snake
The milk snake or milksnake is a species of king snake. There are 25 subspecies among the milk snakes, including the commonly named scarlet kingsnake...
to fill in for the Taipan
Taipan
The taipans are a genus of large, fast, highly venomous Australasian snakes of the elapid family.-Overview:The taipan was named by Donald Thomson after the word used by the Wik-Mungkan Aboriginal people of central Cape York Peninsula, Queensland, Australia.There are three known species: the coastal...
(which attacks the couple having sex), corn snake
Corn Snake
The Corn Snake , or Red Rat Snake, is a North American species of Rat Snake that subdues its small prey by constriction. The name "Corn Snake" is a holdover from the days when southern farmers stored harvested ears of corn in a wood frame or log building called a crib...
s, rattlesnake
Rattlesnake
Rattlesnakes are a group of venomous snakes of the genera Crotalus and Sistrurus of the subfamily Crotalinae . There are 32 known species of rattlesnake, with between 65-70 subspecies, all native to the Americas, ranging from southern Alberta and southern British Columbia in Canada to Central...
s, and mangrove snakes
Boiga
Boiga is a large genus of mildly venomous, rear-fanged, colubrid snakes typically known as the cat-eyed snakes or just cat snakes. They are primarily found throughout southeast Asia, India and Australia, but due to their extremely hardy nature and adaptability have spread to many other suitable...
. About two-thirds of the snakes seen throughout the film were either animatronic or computer generated. The snakes that were real were mostly the non-venomous ones that are never seen attacking anyone. The scenes where someone is clearly bitten were often done with the most animation. According to the DVD, all the snakes had production names, but only Scarface (an animated pit viper), Peanut (a cobra
Cobra
Cobra is a venomous snake belonging to the family Elapidae. However, not all snakes commonly referred to as cobras are of the same genus, or even of the same family. The name is short for cobra capo or capa Snake, which is Portuguese for "snake with hood", or "hood-snake"...
), and Kong are mentioned by name in the audio commentary. During filming, Jackson did not come into contact with any live snakes, due to a contract clause preventing snakes from being within 25 feet (8 m) of the actor.
When the film was released in theaters, rumors circulated that two live diamondback rattlesnakes
Crotalus atrox
Crotalus atrox, the "western diamondback rattlesnake", is a venomous rattlesnake species found in the United States and Mexico. It is likely responsible for the majority of snakebite fatalities in northern Mexico and the second greatest number in the USA after C. adamanteus. No subspecies are...
had been released at a showing of the film on August 22, 2006 in Phoenix
Phoenix, Arizona
Phoenix is the capital, and largest city, of the U.S. state of Arizona, as well as the sixth most populated city in the United States. Phoenix is home to 1,445,632 people according to the official 2010 U.S. Census Bureau data...
, Arizona
Arizona
Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...
. It was later revealed that one snake had made its way into the lobby of the theater on its own, and another had been found in the parking lot in a separate incident. The snakes were later released back into the desert.
Media coverage
Black Flame
Black Flame was an imprint of BL Publishing, the publishing arm of Games Workshop and a sister imprint to the Black Library and Solaris Books. Black Flame was devoted to publishing cult fiction in the fields of science fiction, fantasy and horror...
published the novelization
Novelization
A novelization is a novel that is written based on some other media story form rather than as an original work.Novelizations of films usually add background material not found in the original work to flesh out the story, because novels are generally longer than screenplays...
of the film, written by Christa Faust. The 405–page novel contains significant backstories for the characters and introduces other characters that were not featured in the film. An illustrated book from Thunder's Mouth Press, Snakes on a Plane: The Guide to the Internet Ssssssensation by David Waldon, details the Internet phenomenon and was published July 28, 2006. Waldon details various viral video
Viral video
A viral video is one that becomes popular through the process of Internet sharing, typically through video sharing websites, social media and email...
s relating to the film's craze, and interviewed their producers to find out what about the film captured their attention.
Comic book writer Chuck Dixon
Chuck Dixon
Charles "Chuck" Dixon is an American comic book writer, best known for long runs on Batman titles in the 1990s.-Biography:Dixon grew up in the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, area, reading comics of all genres...
wrote a comic book adaptation of the film. DC Comics
DC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. is one of the largest and most successful companies operating in the market for American comic books and related media. It is the publishing unit of DC Entertainment a company of Warner Bros. Entertainment, which itself is owned by Time Warner...
released the two-issue miniseries on August 16, 2006 and September 27, 2006 under their Wildstorm
Wildstorm
WildStorm Productions, or simply WildStorm, published American comic books. Originally an independent company established by Jim Lee and further expanded upon in subsequent years by other creators, WildStorm became a publishing imprint of DC Comics in 1999...
imprint.
Music
On March 16, 2006, New Line Cinema announced a contest on TagWorld and a website promoting the film. The contest allowed artists on TagWorld to have their music featured in the film. A flood of SoaP-themed songs were submitted by artists such as Captain AhabCaptain Ahab (band)
Captain Ahab is an electropop duo based in Los Angeles, California. They refer to their sound, a DIY take on dance music, as ravesploitation. The band is made up of Jonathan Snipes and Jim Merson....
(who ultimately won the contest), Louden Swain, the Former Fat Boys, Nispy, and others. In addition, a music video
Music video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
for the film, "Snakes on a Plane (Bring It)
Snakes on a Plane (Bring It)
"Snakes on a Plane ", is the debut single of dance rock band Cobra Starship from the soundtrack album Snakes on a Plane: The Album...
" by Cobra Starship
Cobra Starship
Cobra Starship is an American synthpop band created by former Midtown bassist and lead vocalist Gabe Saporta in 2003 in New York City, New York...
, was released on July 10, 2006 on MTV2
MTV2
MTV2 is a cable network that is widely available in the United States on digital cable and satellite television, and is progressively being added to analogue cable lineups across the nation...
's Unleashed. The music video appeared on the film's soundtrack as well as during the film's closing credits.
In October 2005, Nathanial Perry and Chris Rohan recorded an audio trailer spoof
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...
, which helped fuel the Internet buzz. Perry and Rohan recorded the "motherfucking snakes" line in the audio trailer which was added to the film during the week of re-shoots. In July 2006, New Line Cinema signed a worldwide licensing agreement with the Cutting Corporation to produce an audiobook of the film.
Television
Beginning in May 2006, episodes of The Daily Show with Jon Stewart and its sister show The Colbert Report contained references to Snakes on a Planes title, the catchphrase, and general premise. On August 15, 2006, Samuel L. Jackson guest featured on The Daily Show, opening with the film's catchphrase. Keith OlbermannKeith Olbermann
Keith Theodore Olbermann is an American political commentator and writer. He has been the chief news officer of the Current TV network and the host of Current TV's weeknight political commentary program, Countdown with Keith Olbermann, since June 20, 2011...
featured stories about the film and Internet buzz several times on his MSNBC
MSNBC
MSNBC is a cable news channel based in the United States available in the US, Germany , South Africa, the Middle East and Canada...
news program Countdown
Countdown with Keith Olbermann
Countdown with Keith Olbermann is an hour-long weeknight news and political commentary program that airs on Current TV, where it began airing on June 20, 2011. The program was broadcast on MSNBC from March 31, 2003, to January 21, 2011. On MSNBC, the show presented five selected news stories of...
. In addition, G4
G4 (TV channel)
G4, also known as G4 TV, is an American cable- and satellite-television channel originally geared primarily toward young adult viewers, originally based on the world of video games...
's Attack of the Show!
Attack of the Show!
Attack of the Show! is an American live television program shown weeknights on G4, G4 Canada and Fuel TV in Australia. The program is hosted by Kevin Pereira and Candace Bailey...
featured a semi-regular segment entitled "Snakes on a Plane: An Attack of the Show Investigation", and even had a week dedicated to the film which included interviews and the appearance of hundreds of snakes on set.
Internet
Snakes on a Plane generated considerable buzz on the Internet after Josh Friedman's blog entry and mentions on several Internet portals. The title inspired bloggers to create songs, apparel, poster art, pages of fan fictionFan fiction
Fan fiction is a broadly-defined term for fan labor regarding stories about characters or settings written by fans of the original work, rather than by the original creator...
, parody films, mock movie trailers, and even short film parody competitions. On July 6, 2006, the official Snakes on a Plane website started a promotional sweepstakes
Sweepstakes
The United States consumer sales promotion known as a sweepstake has become associated with marketing promotions targeted toward both generating enthusiasm and providing incentive reactions among customers by enticing consumers to submit free entries into drawings of chance...
called "The #1 Fan King Cobra Sweepstakes". The contest made innovative use of the publicity-generating potential of the Internet, requiring contestants to post links on forums, blogs, and websites and collecting votes from the users of those sites.
Many of the early fan-made trailers and later other viral videos and commercials circulated via YouTube, and captured media attention there with such titles as: Cats on a Plane (which was featured in Joel Siegel's review of Snakes on a Plane on Good Morning America
Good Morning America
Good Morning America is an American morning news and talk show that is broadcast on the ABC television network; it debuted on November 3, 1975. The weekday program airs for two hours; a third hour aired between 2007 and 2008 exclusively on ABC News Now...
), Snakes Who Missed the Plane, All Your Snakes Are Belong To Us (a spoof of the All your base are belong to us
All your base are belong to us
"All your base are belong to us" is a broken English phrase that became an Internet phenomenon or meme in 2000–2002...
phenomenon), Steaks on a Train. and Badgers on a Plane (a spoof of Badger Badger Badger
Badger Badger Badger
"Badger Badger Badger" or "The Badger Song" is a Flash cartoon by British animator Jonti Picking. It consists of images of badgers doing calisthenics, a toadstool in front of a tree, and a snake in the desert...
). Several websites also held contests about the film in fan-submitted short films and posters.
In August 2006, Varitalk launched an advertising campaign in which fans could send a semi-personalized message in Jackson's voice to telephone numbers of their choosing. Within the first week, over 1.5 million calls were sent to participants.
Previews
In June 2006, New Line commissioned famed UK audio-visual film remixRemix
A remix is an alternative version of a recorded song, made from an original version. This term is also used for any alterations of media other than song ....
ers and chop-up artists Addictive TV
Addictive TV
Addictive TV was formed in 1992. The UK DJ/producers and audiovisual artists are the team who ran Optronica - the visual music and VJ event held at the NFT and British Film Institute IMAX in London, UK....
to cut and sample
Sampling (music)
In music, sampling is the act of taking a portion, or sample, of one sound recording and reusing it as an instrument or a different sound recording of a song or piece. Sampling was originally developed by experimental musicians working with musique concrète and electroacoustic music, who physically...
Snakes on a Plane to create trailers for the U.S. television networks. The official teaser trailer premiered before X-Men: The Last Stand
X-Men: The Last Stand
X-Men: The Last Stand is a 2006 superhero film and the third in the X-Men series. It was directed by Brett Ratner and stars an ensemble cast including Hugh Jackman, Halle Berry, Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen, Famke Janssen, Kelsey Grammer, Anna Paquin, Shawn Ashmore, Aaron Stanford, Vinnie Jones,...
, and the first official trailer appeared online on June 26, 2006. Another trailer circulated in July 2006, showing several of the snake attacks and a missing pilot and co-pilot. Rotten Tomatoes
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...
had video clips of the official trailers, as well as fan-made trailers.
During a July 21, 2006 panel discussion at the Comic-Con Convention
Comic-Con International
San Diego Comic-Con International, also known as Comic-Con International: San Diego , and commonly known as Comic-Con or the San Diego Comic-Con, was founded as the Golden State Comic Book Convention and later the San Diego Comic Book Convention in 1970 by Shel Dorf and a group of San Diegans...
in San Diego, California
San Diego, California
San Diego is the eighth-largest city in the United States and second-largest city in California. The city is located on the coast of the Pacific Ocean in Southern California, immediately adjacent to the Mexican border. The birthplace of California, San Diego is known for its mild year-round...
, a preview clip from the film was shown to a crowd of more than 6,500 people. The panel included actors Samuel L. Jackson and Kenan Thompson
Kenan Thompson
Kenan Thompson is an American actor and comedian. He is best known for his work as a cast member of NBC's long-running sketch comedy series Saturday Night Live...
, director David R. Ellis, and snake-handler Jules Sylvester
Jules Sylvester
Jules Sylvester is a snake wrangler who works in film and television. He was born in England and raised in Kenya where he was first introduced to snake catching at age 16. He has appeared in numerous television shows including a series of appearances on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno and his own...
.
Release
Snakes on a Plane debuted on August 18, 2006. The film opened in 3,555 theaters and had some late-night screenings on August 17. In a move meant to exploit the attention from the film, a straight-to-DVD Z-movie horror film with a supernatural twist, Snakes on a TrainSnakes on a Train
Snakes on a Train is an action/horror Z movie released direct to DVD by The Asylum on August 15, 2006.Continuing The Asylum's notoriety of capitalizing on major films with low-budget films with similar titles and plots , many aspects of the film are inspired by the film Snakes on a Plane which was...
, was released on August 15, 2006, three days before the film's theatrical release.
Critical response
In mid-July 2006, New Line Cinema revealed that it would not be showing any advance screenings for critics. After the film opened, the review aggregator website Rotten TomatoesRotten 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...
reported that 68% of critics gave the favorable rating based on a sample of 169 and a consensus stating "Snakes on a Plane lives up to its title, featuring snakes on a plane. It isn't perfect, but then again, it doesn't need to be." reviews, with an average score of 6.2/10. At the website 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,...
, which uses a normalized
Standard score
In statistics, a standard score indicates how many standard deviations an observation or datum is above or below the mean. It is a dimensionless quantity derived by subtracting the population mean from an individual raw score and then dividing the difference by the population standard deviation...
rating system, the film earned a mixed rating of 58/100 based on 31 reviews by mainstream critics. Reviewers reported audiences cheering, applauding, and engaging in "call and response
Call and response
Call and response is a form of "spontaneous verbal and non-verbal interaction between speaker and listener in which all of the statements are punctuated by expressions from the listener."...
", noting that audience participation was an important part of the film's appeal.
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...
s Randy Cordova gave the film a positive review, calling the film "... an exploitation flick that knows what it wants to do, and it gets the job done expertly." and a "... Mecca for B-movie lovers." Mick LaSalle 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,...
enjoyed the film, asking his readers "... if you can find a better time at the movies this year than this wild comic thriller, let me in on it." Boston Globe reviewer Ty Burr reacted to Samuel L. Jackson's performance by saying he "... bestrides this film with the authority of someone who knows the value of honest bilge. He's as much the auteur of this baby as the director and screenwriters, and that fierce glimmer in his eye is partly joy."
Peter Travers
Peter Travers
Peter Travers is an American film critic, who has written for, in turn, People and Rolling Stone. Travers also hosts a celebrity interview show called Popcorn on ABC News Now and ABCNews.com.-Career:...
of Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
gave the film one and a half stars out of four, saying that "...after all the Internet hype about those motherfuckin' snakes on that motherfuckin' plane, the flick itself is a murky stew of shock effects repeated so often that the suspense quickly droops along with you[r] eyelids." David Denby of The New Yorker
The New Yorker
The New Yorker is an American magazine of reportage, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons and poetry published by Condé Nast...
claimed that the film "... may mark a new participatory style in marketing, but it still gulls an allegedly knowing audience with the pseudo-morality of yesteryear."
Film critic and radio host Michael Medved
Michael Medved
Michael Medved is an American radio host, author, political commentator and film critic. His Seattle, Washington-based nationally syndicated talk show, The Michael Medved Show, airs throughout the U.S...
criticized the film's production for allowing internet bloggers to insist on pushing the film up to an R rating from its original PG-13 by adding more racy content. He argued that the film would have grossed more revenue at the box office with a PG-13 rating, and stated that the demographic most likely to be drawn to the film is males between the ages of 12 and 15. "My fourteen-year-old son, Danny, for instance, felt a powerful inclination to go out and see the movie with his two sleep-over friends this Sunday night," he explained, "but I wouldn't permit it. It's rated R for good reason." Medved ultimately awarded the film 2 1/2 stars out of 4 in a radio review, but said that he did so "grudgingly."
Box office
Due to the Internet hype surrounding the film, industry analysts estimated the film's opening box office to be between US$United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
20-30 million. While Snakes on a Plane did narrowly beat Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby
Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby
Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby is a 2006 American comedy film, directed by Adam McKay and starring Will Ferrell. The film also features John C. Reilly, Michael Clarke Duncan, Leslie Bibb, Amy Adams, Gary Cole, Jane Lynch, and Sacha Baron Cohen. Various Saturday Night Live alumni also...
for the number one position during its opening weekend, it did not meet these estimates and grossed only $15.25 million in its opening days, a disappointment for New Line Cinema
New Line Cinema
New Line Cinema, often simply referred to as New Line, is an American film studio. It was founded in 1967 by Robert Shaye and Michael Lynne as a film distributor, later becoming an independent film studio. It became a subsidiary of Time Warner in 1996 and was merged with larger sister studio Warner...
. In its second weekend, the film fell to sixth place with $6.4 million, a more than fifty percent drop from its opening weekend revenue. By the end of its theatrical run, the film grossed $62,022,014 worldwide.
Robert K. Shaye
Robert Shaye
Robert Kenneth Shaye , often referred to as Bob Shaye, is an American businessman, film producer, director and actor.-Early life:...
, the founder of New Line, stated that he was "disappointed" that Snakes on a Plane was a "dud" despite "higher expectations". The press declared that Snakes on a Plane was a "box office disappointment", with 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...
reporting that after all the "hype Online, Snakes on a Plane is letdown at box office" and Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...
reporting that the film was an "internet-only phenomenon."
Home media
Snakes on a Plane released on 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....
December 26, 2006 in Region 2; December 28, 2006 in Region 4; and January 2, 2007 in Region 1. The DVD features commentaries
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...
, deleted and extended scenes
Deleted scene
In Entertainment, especially the film and television industry, Deleted scenes are parts of a film removed or censored from or replaced by another scene in the final "cut", or version, of a film...
, several featurettes, Cobra Starship
Cobra Starship
Cobra Starship is an American synthpop band created by former Midtown bassist and lead vocalist Gabe Saporta in 2003 in New York City, New York...
's music video, and trailers
Trailer (film)
A trailer or preview is an advertisement or a commercial for a feature film that will be exhibited in the future at a cinema. The term "trailer" comes from their having originally been shown at the end of a feature film screening. That practice did not last long, because patrons tended to leave the...
. The U.S. Blu-ray
Blu-ray Disc
Blu-ray Disc is an optical disc storage medium designed to supersede the DVD format. The plastic disc is 120 mm in diameter and 1.2 mm thick, the same size as DVDs and CDs. Blu-ray Discs contain 25 GB per layer, with dual layer discs being the norm for feature-length video discs...
was released on September 29, 2009.
TV version
The U.S. TV edit of the film purposely dubbed its foul language with nonsense words for a broader audience. The most notable example is Samuel L. Jackson's famous line toward the end of the film, which is replaced with "monkey fighting snakes on this Monday to Friday plane".Soundtrack
The soundtrack for the film was released on August 15, 2006. The enhancedEnhanced CD
Enhanced CD, also known as CD Extra and CD Plus, is a certification mark of the Recording Industry Association of America for various technologies that combine audio and computer data for use in both Compact Disc and CD-ROM players....
portion of the CD contains what was considered the "best of the best" of the amateur Internet creations inspired by the film, including the songs "Snakes on the Brain" by Captain Ahab
Captain Ahab (band)
Captain Ahab is an electropop duo based in Los Angeles, California. They refer to their sound, a DIY take on dance music, as ravesploitation. The band is made up of Jonathan Snipes and Jim Merson....
and "Here Come the Snakes (Seeing Is Believing)" by Louden Swain. The single "Snakes on a Plane (Bring It)
Snakes on a Plane (Bring It)
"Snakes on a Plane ", is the debut single of dance rock band Cobra Starship from the soundtrack album Snakes on a Plane: The Album...
" peaked at the 32nd position of Billboards Hot Modern Rock Tracks in 2006.
- "Snakes on a Plane (Bring It)Snakes on a Plane (Bring It)"Snakes on a Plane ", is the debut single of dance rock band Cobra Starship from the soundtrack album Snakes on a Plane: The Album...
" by Cobra StarshipCobra StarshipCobra Starship is an American synthpop band created by former Midtown bassist and lead vocalist Gabe Saporta in 2003 in New York City, New York...
, William BeckettWilliam Beckett (singer),William Eugene Beckett Jr. was the lead singer of the band The Academy Is... , who were signed to Atlantic Records/Fueled by Ramen/Decaydance Records. While still in high school in 2002, Beckett and guitarist Mike Carden came together from rival bands in Chicago to form The Academy Is......
, Maja IvarssonMaja IvarssonMaja Ivarsson, is a Swedish singer and lead vocalist of the Swedish New Wave band The Sounds.-Career:The Sounds were formed in 1998 in Helsingborg, by childhood friends guitarist and vocalist Felix Rodriguez and bassist Johan Bengtsson, who later invited drummer Fredrik Nilsson on board...
, Travie McCoyTravie McCoyTravie Lazarus McCoy is an American singer and rapper. He is the lead vocalist of the alternative hip-hop band Gym Class Heroes. He released his debut solo album Lazarus on June 8, 2010.... - "The Only Difference Between Martyrdom and Suicide Is Press CoverageThe Only Difference Between Martyrdom and Suicide Is Press Coverage"The Only Difference Between Martyrdom and Suicide Is Press Coverage", shortened to "The Only Difference" for radio and convenience, is a single from Panic! at the Disco's debut album A Fever You Can't Sweat Out . It achieved some commercial success and exposed the new band to an audience,...
" (Tommie SunshineTommie SunshineTommie Sunshine is a record producer, remixer, DJ and songwriter of electronic music from Chicago currently living in Brooklyn, New York. He is perhaps best known for creating dance remixes to popular rock and alternative songs, by artists such as Fall Out Boy, Panic at the Disco, Good Charlotte,...
Brooklyn Fire Remix) by Panic! at the DiscoPanic! at the DiscoPanic! at the Disco is an American alternative rock duo, formed in Las Vegas, Nevada in 2005. Since its split, the band's line-up includes Brendon Urie and Spencer Smith . Former members Ryan Ross and Jon Walker left the group in 2009... - "Black Mamba" (TeddybearsTeddybearsTeddybears is a Swedish band formed in 1991, known for mixing pop, rock, hip-hop, electronica, reggae, punk and many other genres.-History:...
Remix) by The Academy Is...The Academy Is...The Academy Is... was an American rock band from Chicago, Illinois, formed in 2003. Before dispersing, they were signed by the Decaydance imprint of the Fueled by Ramen label. They were originally known as "The Academy", but added the "Is..." in 2004 to avoid legal complications with other... - "OphidiophobiaOphidiophobiaOphidiophobia or ophiophobia is a particular type of specific phobia, the abnormal fear of snakes. Fear of snakes is sometimes called by a more general term, herpetophobia, fear of reptiles and/or amphibians...
" by Cee-Lo Green - "Can't Take It" (The Baldwin BrothersThe Baldwin BrothersThe Baldwin Brothers are a Chicago-based lounge/electronica duo composed of Jason Hinkle and TJ Widner. The two met in junior-high school and have been composing electronic dance, pop and jazz music since 1983. The band signed with TVT Records in 2001 and are now represented by The Orchard after...
"El Camino Prom Wagon" Remix) by The All-American RejectsThe All-American RejectsThe All-American Rejects are an American rock band formed in Stillwater, Oklahoma in 1999. The band consists of lead vocalist and bass guitarist Tyson Ritter, lead guitarist, Nick Wheeler, rhythm guitarist, Mike Kennerty, and drummer Chris Gaylor.... - "Queen of Apology" (Patrick StumpPatrick StumpPatrick Vaughn Stump is an American singer-songwriter, composer, record producer, and music critic. He is the composer, lead singer, and multi-instrumentalist of Fall Out Boy, an American rock band from Wilmette, Illinois, and is also a solo artist...
Remix) by The SoundsThe SoundsThe Sounds are a Swedish Indie Rock band. Formed in Helsingborg in 1999, the group's musical style has been compared to New Wave acts such as Blondie, The Cars, the Epoxies and Missing Persons.... - "Of All the Gin Joints in All the World" (Tommie SunshineTommie SunshineTommie Sunshine is a record producer, remixer, DJ and songwriter of electronic music from Chicago currently living in Brooklyn, New York. He is perhaps best known for creating dance remixes to popular rock and alternative songs, by artists such as Fall Out Boy, Panic at the Disco, Good Charlotte,...
's Brooklyn Fire Retouch) by Fall Out BoyFall Out BoyFall Out Boy is an American rock band from Wilmette, Illinois, formed in 2001. The band consists of vocalist, guitarist and composer Patrick Stump, bassist and lyricist Pete Wentz, guitarist Joe Trohman, and drummer Andy Hurley. The band released five studio albums from 2003–2008... - "New Friend Request" (Hi-TekHi-TekTony Cottrell, better known as Hi-Tek, is an American record producer and rapper from Cincinnati, Ohio. He is best known for his work with Talib Kweli on his Reflection Eternal album and on Black Star...
Remix) by Gym Class HeroesGym Class HeroesGym Class Heroes is an American hip hop rock band from Geneva, New York. They have collaborated with Fall Out Boy's Patrick Stump on numerous occasions, notably for providing backing vocals on the song "Cupid's Chokehold." Stump also produced the majority of their album The Quilt.The group formed... - "Around the Horn" (Louis XIV Remix) by The BronxThe Bronx (band)The Bronx is an American hardcore punk band from Los Angeles formed in 2002. The band's current lineup consists of vocalist Matt Caughthran, guitarists Joby J. Ford and Ken Horne, bass guitarist Brad Magers, and drummer Jorma Vik...
- "Remember to Feel Real" (Machine Shop Remix) by Armor for SleepArmor for SleepArmor for Sleep was an American rock band from New Jersey, formed in 2001 and disbanded in 2009. The final lineup consisted of lead vocalist, guitarist and songwriter Ben Jorgensen, lead guitarist PJ DeCicco, bassist Anthony DiIonno and drummer Nash Breen....
- "Wine Red" (Tommie SunshineTommie SunshineTommie Sunshine is a record producer, remixer, DJ and songwriter of electronic music from Chicago currently living in Brooklyn, New York. He is perhaps best known for creating dance remixes to popular rock and alternative songs, by artists such as Fall Out Boy, Panic at the Disco, Good Charlotte,...
's Brooklyn Fire Retouch) by The Hush SoundThe Hush SoundThe Hush Sound was an indie quartet originating in DuPage County, Illinois, United States. Initially named "The Hush," the band later changed their name to "The Hush Sound" due to the discovery of a rapper with the same name... - "Bruised" (Remix) by Jack's MannequinJack's MannequinJack's Mannequin is an American rock band formed in 2004, originally hailing from Orange County, California. The band began as a side project of Andrew McMahon, the frontman for Something Corporate, and is composed of guitarist Bobby Anderson, bassist Mikey "The Kid" Wagner, and drummer Jay...
- "Final Snakes" by Shranky Drank
- "Wake Up" (Acoustic) by Coheed and CambriaCoheed and CambriaCoheed and Cambria is an American progressive rock band from Nyack, New York. Formed in 1995, the group incorporates aspects of progressive rock, punk rock, metal and post-hardcore....
- "Lovely Day" by Donavon FrankenreiterDonavon FrankenreiterDonavon Frankenreiter is an American musician and surfer. He is a long-time friend of Jack Johnson and his debut self-titled album was released in 2004 on Johnson's Brushfire Records through Universal Music and made the Australian ARIA Top-40 charts in April 2004.-Surfing career:He took up surfing...
- "Hey Now Now" by Michael Franti & Spearhead
- "Snakes on a Plane - The Theme" (Score) by Trevor RabinTrevor RabinTrevor Charles Rabin is a South African born musician, best known as a guitarist, vocalist and songwriter for the British progressive rock band Yes from 1983–1994, and since then, as a film composer.- Early years :...