My Favorite Martian (1999)

Director:

Donald Petrie

Writers (WGA):

John L. Greene (television series My Favorite Martian)
Sherri Stoner (written by) ...
(more)

Release Date:

12 February 1999 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Family | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

The Martian Has Landed. There Goes The Neighborhood.

Plot:

A martian lands on Earth and makes friends with a reporter.

Plot Keywords:

Martian | Spaceship | Miniaturization | Antenna | Plumber's Snake

Cast

Christopher Lloyd	...	Uncle Martin
Jeff Daniels	...	Tim O'Hara
Elizabeth Hurley	...	Brace Channing
Daryl Hannah	...	Lizzie
Wallace Shawn	...	Coleye
Christine Ebersole	...	Mrs. Brown
Michael Lerner	...	Mr. Channing
Ray Walston	...	Armitan
Shelley Malil	...	Felix
Jeremy Hotz	...	Billy
T.K. Carter	...	Lenny
Dawn Maxey	...	Salesgirl
Steven Anthony Lawrence	...	Nurplex Kid
Michael Chieffo	...	Earl Metz
Troy Evans	...	Captain Dalton
Arthur Senzy	...	Cmdr. Murdoch
Charles Rahi Chun	...	Radar Controller (as Charles Chun)
Michael Dempsey	...	Van Gundy
David St. James	...	Prescott
Dee Anne Helsel	...	Dressing Room Woman
Joe Garrett	...	Hardware Store Employee
Lorin McCraley	...	Cool Dude
Ken Thorley	...	KGSC-TV Floor Manager
Tom Hallick	...	Howard Greenly
Barry Pearl	...	News Director
Buck Kartalian	...	Muscle Man
Steve Bond	...	The SETI Group Driver
Sylvester 'Bear' Terkay	...	Huge Guard
Michael Bailey Smith	...	Big Guard
Jean-Luc Martin	...	Guard at Gate
Christian Keiber	...	Lt. Murphy
Rick Kleber	...	Mr. Butz
Debra Christofferson	...	Mrs. Butz
Howard H. Ross	...	Newspaper Man
Allan Kolman	...	Scientist
Robert Rigamonti	...	Scientist
Pamela Gordon	...	Scientist
Beau Billingslea	...	Scientist
Michael Adler	...	Scientist
Frank Cavestani	...	Tanning Contest Emcee
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Wayne Knight	...	Zoot, Martin's Talking Space Suit (voice) (uncredited)

Directed by
Donald Petrie

Writing credits (WGA)
John L. Greene		(television series My Favorite Martian)
Sherri Stoner		(written by) &
Deanna Oliver		(written by)

Produced by
Barry Bernardi	....	executive producer
Daryl Kass	....	co-producer
Jerry Leider	....	producer
Robert Shapiro	....	producer
Marc Toberoff	....	producer

Original Music by
John Debney

Cinematography by
Thomas E. Ackerman

Film Editing by
Malcolm Campbell

Casting by
Janet Hirshenson
Jane Jenkins

Production Design by
Sandy Veneziano

Art Direction by
Christopher Burian-Mohr

Set Decoration by
Michael Taylor

Costume Design by
Hope Hanafin

Makeup Department
Karen Asano-Myers	....	hair department head
Kathryn Fenton	....	key makeup artist (as Kathryn Miles Kelly)
Alec Gillis	....	special makeup effects
David Hoehn	....	creature effects artist: Amalgamated Dynamics, Inc.
Kenny Myers	....	makeup department head
Tom Woodruff Jr.	....	special makeup effects
Kelly Mann	....	special makeup effects artist (uncredited)

Production Management
Daryl Kass	....	unit production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Martha M. Elcan	....	first assistant director
Scottie Gissel	....	second second assistant director
Michelle Head	....	dga trainee
Tony Schwartz	....	second assistant director

Art Department
Damon Bard	....	sculptor
Kinney Booker	....	set dresser
Bruce Di Valerio	....	construction coordinator
Paul Ford	....	lead man
Michael Goss	....	paint runner
Tom Jung	....	storyboard artist
Steven B. Melton	....	property master
Nancy Mickelberry	....	set designer
Melody Miller	....	props
King Orba	....	property assistant (as Mark Wallace)
Roya Parivar	....	art department administrator
Jordu Schell	....	conceptual creature designer
David Storm	....	set dresser
Daren Dochterman	....	illustrator (uncredited)

Sound Department
Robert J. Anderson Jr.	....	production sound mixer
James Ashwill	....	foley mixer
Odin Benitez	....	sound effects supervisor
Mike Chock	....	sound effects editor
Norval D. Crutcher III	....	sound editor
Linda Folk	....	adr supervisor
Alexandra Gonzales	....	foley editor
Laura Graham	....	adr editor
Michael Jonascu	....	sound editor
Elliott Koretz	....	co-supervising sound editor
Anne Laing	....	adr assistant sound editor
Linda Lew	....	foley recordist
Kenneth C. Mantlo	....	boom operator
Michael Mason	....	auricle operator
Brian Risner	....	sound effects editor
Solange S. Schwalbe	....	sound editor
Marsha Sorce	....	sound recordist
Michael Stern	....	pre-record engineer
Elliot Tyson	....	sound re-recording mixer

Special Effects by
Enrique Bilsland	....	mechanical designer
Steve Fink	....	prosthetics technician
Alec Gillis	....	animatronic Martian effects
Timothy B. Graham	....	special effects
Grady Holder	....	lab technician: Amalgamated Dynamics, Inc.
Greg C. Jensen	....	special effects on-set supervisor
Steve Koch	....	sculptor: Amalgamated Dynamics Inc.
Ken Niederbaumer	....	special effects technician
Richard Ratliff	....	special effects coordinator
Andy Schoneberg	....	art department supervisor: Amalgamated Dynamics
Tom Woodruff Jr.	....	animatronic Martian effects
Rick Bongiovanni	....	effects crew: Amalgamated Dynamics Inc. (uncredited)
Shea Clayton	....	special effects technician (uncredited)
Steve Newburn	....	mold department: Amalgamated Dynamics, Inc. (uncredited)
Paul Pistore	....	puppeteer (uncredited)

Visual Effects by
David Wallace Allen	....	visual effects coordinator
William L. Arance	....	animator
Damon Bard	....	sculptor
R. Christopher Biggs	....	3D matte paintings (3D modeling) (texturing)
Renee Binkowski	....	editorial assistant
Bill Black	....	visual effects editor
Alan Boucek	....	digital compositor: Tippett Studio
Grant Boucher	....	visual effects executive producer
Constance Bracewell	....	CGI animator
Danny Braet	....	digital artist: SXS
Danny Braet	....	digital compositor: SXS
Steward Burris	....	senior animator: DQI
Greg Butler	....	lead technical director: Tippett Studio
Jeremy Cantor	....	animation supervisor: Tippett Studio
Jeremy Cantor	....	animator: Tippett Studio
Deborah Carlson	....	software developer: Tippett Studio
Grace Cheney	....	digital painter
Blair Clark	....	animator: Tippett studio
Chadd B. Cole	....	visual effects
Scott Coulter	....	digital artist
Doug Creel	....	CG software programmer: Tippett Studio
Michael Curtis	....	digital compositor
Sean Dever	....	lead animator: Hammerhead
Brennan Doyle	....	lead digital compositor: Tippett Studio
Douglas Epps	....	CG supervisor
Colin Epstein	....	digital compositor: Tippett Studio
Bill Eyler	....	digital compositor: Tippett Studio
Page Frakes	....	digital color corrector: Tippett Studio
Mark Franco	....	visual effects executive producer: Rainmaker Digital
Andrea A. Friedland	....	production coordinator
Charles Granich	....	digital compositor: Tippett Studio
Bryan Greenberg	....	visual effects
Matt Haslam	....	visual effects
Craig Hayes	....	visual effects art director
Craig Hayes	....	visual effects supervisor
Cynthia Hyland	....	effects animator
Matt Jacobs	....	rotoscoper
Jeff A. Johnson	....	data wrangler: Tippett Studio
Darby Johnston	....	lead digital effects animator
Darren Jones	....	digital Film I/O technician: Tippett Studio
Peter Juneau	....	compositor
Kim Keith	....	rigger: motion control & model unit
Eric Krogh	....	model maker
Joanne Ladolcetta	....	digital roto supervisor: Tippett Studio
Tim Landry	....	visual effects supervisor: opening sequence
April Lawrence	....	visual effects editor
Matt Logue	....	rotoscope artist
Suzanne Lowe	....	visual effects coordinator
Susan MacLeod	....	visual effects producer
Ajoy Mani	....	visual effects
Andrew McPhillips	....	digital artist
Jim McVay	....	digital compositor: Tippett Studio
Josh Minor	....	lead software developer: Tippett Studio
Sarah Moore	....	digital compositor: Buena Vista Imaging
Desiree Mourad	....	lighting technical director
Alfred Mürrle	....	digital compositor: Tippett Studio
Julie Newdoll	....	department head/technical direction: Tippett Studio
Eileen O'Connor	....	visual effects producer: Station X Studios
Kim O'Donnell	....	digital compositor
Jeff Olm	....	digital compositor: DQI
Zoe Peck-Eyler	....	digital compositor: Tippett Studio (as Zoe Peck)
Frank Petzold	....	technical director: Tippett Studio
Liz Radley	....	video & computer graphics supervisor
David Rosenthal	....	digital film I/O supervisor: Tippett Studio
Alonzo Ruvalcaba	....	visual effects production manager
Joe Salazar	....	digital compositor
Jeff Sargent	....	digital compositor: Tippett Studio
Thomas Schelesny	....	computer graphics animation supervisor
Chris B. Schnitzer	....	visual effects coordinator
Mark Schreiber	....	character animator
Mark A. Shelton	....	visual effects director of photography
Mark A. Shelton	....	visual effects producer
Suzanne Smith	....	visual effects
Tanya Spence	....	character animator: Tippett studio
Stephen Stanton	....	scanner operator: Tippett Studio
Trey Stokes	....	animation supervisor: Tippett Studio
R. Michael Stringer	....	grip: visual effects unit
Russ Sueyoshi	....	digital compositor
Phil Tippett	....	visual effects supervisor
Allison Torres	....	senior digital lighting
Guerdon Trueblood	....	digital compositor: Tippett Studio
Aristomenis Tsirbas	....	visual effects supervisor: Station X
Belinda van Valkenburg	....	digital paint supervisor
John T. Van Vliet	....	visual effects supervisor
Maia Veres	....	visual effects editor
Grant Viklund	....	digital coordinator
Robin Watts	....	character animator: Tippett Studio
Matthew P. Welker	....	technical director
Vicki Wong	....	digital film I/O coordinator: Tippett Studio
Jim Davidson	....	model maker: visual effects rigger (uncredited)
Kyle J. Healey	....	CG artist (uncredited)
James Healy	....	digital systems administrator (uncredited)
Marty Holthaus	....	production assistant: Tippett Studio (uncredited)
Alan Precourt	....	digital coordinator: Station X Studios (uncredited)
Kevin Rose-Williams	....	visual effects editor (uncredited)

Stunts
Todd Bryant	....	stunts
Edward Conna	....	stunts
Donna Evans	....	stunts
Frankie 'G' Garbutt	....	stunts (as Frank Garbutt)
Tom Jo-Jo Gianelli	....	stunts (as Thomas Gianelli)
Dale Gibson	....	stunts
Mickey Gilbert	....	stunts
Dana Hee	....	stunts
Fred Lerner	....	stunts
Irving E. Lewis	....	stunts (as Irving Lewis)
Ray Lykins	....	stunts
Robert Martinez	....	stunts
Alan Oliney	....	stunts
Ernie F. Orsatti	....	stunt coordinator
Noon Orsatti	....	stunts
Chad Parker	....	stunts
Ben Scott	....	stunts
Spike Silver	....	stunts
Chad Stahelski	....	stunts
Pete Turner	....	stunts
Bob Yerkes	....	stunts
Mark Yerkes	....	stunts

Camera and Electrical Department
Alfred Ainsworth	....	video playback operator
James Barrett	....	electrician
Sean Devine	....	grip
Linda Gacsko	....	assistant camera
Harry K. Garvin	....	camera operator
Cranston Gobbo	....	key grip: second unit
Peter Gulla	....	camera operator
Steven Hiller	....	assistant camera
Jeffrey A. Johnson	....	best boy grip
Alex Klabukov	....	grip
Rick Lamb	....	assistant camera
Scott MacDonald	....	first assistant camera
Scott MacDonald	....	steadicam operator
Annie McEveety	....	first assistant camera
Linda Morgenstern	....	assistant camera
Lloyd Moriarity	....	key grip
Jon D. Morrison	....	set lighting
John Murphy	....	dolly grip
Michael K. O'Melia	....	assistant chief lighting technician
Ron Provenzano	....	set lighting
Bryce Shields	....	video assist operator
Bob Snowdon	....	grip
David Thielhart	....	rigging gaffer
Jimi Udel	....	key grip: second unit
H. Mark Vuille	....	gaffer
Tom Wholey	....	electrician
Brett Crutcher	....	motion control technician (uncredited)
Terry Meadows	....	gaffer: mini-effects (uncredited)

Animation Department
Bobby Beck	....	animator
Jeremy Cantor	....	animation supervisor: Tippett Studio
Peter Carisi-de Lappe	....	animator
Chadd B. Cole	....	animator: Available Light
Tom Gibbons	....	animator: Tippett Studio
Peter Konig	....	animator
Jesse Sugarman	....	animator
Kevin VanHook	....	animator: Available Light
Tony Venezia	....	2-D animator

Casting Department
Matthew Messinger	....	casting: New York (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Mitzi Haralson	....	costumer
Marjorie McCown	....	assistant costume designer

Editorial Department
James A. Brewer	....	first assistant editor
Lisa Dannenbaum	....	assistant editor
Jeff Etcher	....	first assistant film editor
April Lawrence	....	assistant editor
Ray Neapolitan	....	assistant editor

Music Department
Tom Boyd	....	musician: oboe soloist
Brad Dechter	....	orchestrator
Sandy DeCrescent	....	orchestra contractor
Craig Marks	....	music programmer
George A. Martin	....	music editor
Don Nemitz	....	orchestrator
Andrew Silver	....	music editor
Steven L. Smith	....	music preparation
Jacqueline Tager	....	assistant music editor
Michael Fey	....	music executive (uncredited)
Christopher Klatman	....	orchestrator (uncredited)

Transportation Department
Hedy Phil Balani	....	driver generator operator
Edward Flotard	....	transportation coordinator
Chris Haynes	....	driver
Shaun Ryan	....	production driver
David G. Todd	....	production van operator

Other crew
Rick Baca	....	payroll accountant
Susan Bierbaum	....	script supervisor
Steve Buscaino	....	creature effects technician
Steve Buscaino	....	puppeteer
Karla Carnewal	....	production assistant
Lisa Davidson	....	assistant production coordinator
Karlene Gallegly	....	location manager
Terri Greening	....	assistant accountant
Ron Griffith	....	assistant accountant
Patti Hawn	....	unit publicist
Greg C. Jensen II	....	production assistant
Brian R. Keathley	....	production assistant
Sarah Knight	....	assistant: Robert Shapiro
Byron MacDonald	....	accountant
Desiree Mourad	....	matchmove/environment supervisor
Tony Nudo	....	stand-in
Christine Papalexis	....	puppeteer
R. Scott Poole	....	assistant location manager
Marshal Silverman	....	stand-in
B.J. Smith	....	set medic
Michelle Stevens	....	assistant accountant
Joe Walser	....	key production assistant
Sharon 'Mae' West	....	additional script supervisor
Jennifer Wilson	....	production secretary
Casey Cavalier	....	production assistant (uncredited)
Anne Lockhart	....	adr loop group (uncredited)
Dave Mallow	....	adr artist (uncredited)
Paul Pistore	....	puppeteer (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Walt Disney Pictures

Distributors

• Buena Vista Pictures (1999) (USA) (theatrical)
• Buena Vista International (1999) (Germany) (theatrical)
• American Broadcasting Company (ABC) (2002) (USA) (TV) (broadcast premiere)
• Buena Vista Home Entertainment (2004) (Brazil) (DVD)
• Buena Vista Home Video (2000) (Sweden) (DVD)
• Buena Vista International Spain (Spain)
• Buena Vista International (Argentina)
• Filmes Lusomundo (Portugal)
• Gativideo (1999) (Argentina) (VHS)
• Touchstone Home Video (2003) (Germany) (DVD)
• Walt Disney Home Video (2000) (USA) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (1999) (Germany) (DVD)

Special Effects

• Amalgamated Dynamics (additional visual effects)
• Available Light Productions
• Dream Quest Images
• Hammerhead Productions (additional visual effects)
• Jim Henson's Creature Shop
• Station X Studios
• Tippett Studio

Other Companies

• Chapman/Leonard Studio Equipment  camera cranes
• Chapman/Leonard Studio Equipment  camera dollies
• Direct Tools & Fasteners  expendables
• Paradigm Ranch Animation Studios  graphics and animation (uncredited)

Also Known As:

MPAA:

Rated PG for some crude humor, action-violence, sensuality, partial nudity and language

Runtime:

94 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Argentina:Atp | Australia:PG | Chile:TE | Germany:6 (f) | New Zealand:PG | Peru:PT | Portugal:M/6 | Singapore:PG | Spain:T | UK:PG | USA:PG (certificate #36483) | Iceland:L | Iceland:LH (video rating) | Finland:K-8 | South Korea:All

Filming Locations:

Best Western Carpinteria Inn - 4558 Carpinteria Avenue, Carpinteria, California, USA

Company:

Walt Disney Pictures

Trivia:

At the first crash site, Dr. Coli mentions the "Martian Incident of 1963". Armitan replies, "Not only is that incident classified, but it never happened!" This refers to the original "My Favorite Martian" (1963) TV show, which debuted in 1963, and Ray Walston playing Uncle Martin.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Uncle Martin is showing Tim the nurplex in the dressing room, his hand changes position to prevent his hand from blocking the viewpoint of the camera. it switches from an over-hand grip to an under-hand grip.

Quotes:

Uncle Martin:You Earthlings don't know how lucky you are. The only water we get on Mars has to be squeezed from rocks.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Showbiz Today: Episode dated 20 June 1997" (1997)

Soundtrack:

Also Sprach Zarathustra

Why Was This Movie Made?

There is no possible reason I can fathom why this movie was ever made.

Why must Hollywood continue to crank out one horrible update of a classic after another? ( Cases in point: Mister Magoo, The Avengers - awful! )

Christopher Lloyd, whom I normally enjoy, was so miserably miscast in this role. His manic portrayal of our beloved "Uncle Martin" is so unspeakably unenjoyable to be almost criminal. His ranting, groaning, grimacing and histrionics provide us with no reason to care for his character except as some 1 dimensional cartoon character.

The director must have thought that fast movements, screaming dialogue and "one-take" slapstick had some similarity to comedy. Apparently he told EVERY ACTOR to act as if they had red ants in their pants.

Fault must lie with the irresponsibly wrought script. I think the writer used "It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World" as an example of a fine comedy script. As manic as that 1963 classic is, it is far superior to this claptrap - in fact - suddenly it looks pretty good in comparison.

What is most sad about this movie is that it must have apparently been written to appeal to young children. I just am not sure whose children it was made for. Certainly no self-respecting, card-carrying child I know!

If they HAD to remake "My Favorite Martian", why didn't they add some of the timeless charm of the original classic?

Unfortunately, IMDB.com cannot factor in "zero" as a rating for its readers, that is the only rating that comes to mind in describing this travesty.

One good thing did come from this movie, the actors and crew were paid - I think.