Galaxy Quest

Galaxy Quest (1999)

Timing: 1:42 (102 min)

7.082/10
2487

7.125/10
15428

7.4/10
172759

All about film

Video 3

Photo 80

Actors and characters

Release date

1999-12-25

Country

United States, Turkey

Production

DreamWorks Pictures, Gran Via Productions, Mark Johnson Productions

Genre

Comedy, Science Fiction, Adventure

Budget

$45 000 000

Revenue

$90 683 916

Website

Director

Dean Parisot

Actors

Tim Allen, Sigourney Weaver, Alan Rickman, Tony Shalhoub, Sam Rockwell, Daryl Mitchell, Enrico Colantoni, Robin Sachs, Jed Rees, Justin Long
All actors and roles (10)

Scenario

Producer

Mark Johnson, Charles Newirth

Operator

Jerzy Zielinski

Composer

David Newman

Artist

Sally Thornton

Audition

Debra Zane

Editing

Don Zimmerman
All team (130)

• Dain Bachar played the role of the alien engineer in the film, however, most of his scenes were cut and are only present in the full DVD version.
• Initially, according to the script, Rickman's character held a knightly title. The actor asked to remove this fact as incompatible with the image. It was removed, but Dane is still listed as 'Sir' in the credits.
• The scene with Tim Allen in the men's restroom, where he overhears a conversation about how all the actors in leading roles in the series are terrible, and the other cast members dislike him intensely, describes an episode from William Shatner's life. He learned much the same about himself and his standing during a 'Star Trek' franchise fan convention in 1986.
• Initially, the overall atmosphere of the film was much darker, with many scenes of violence. However, after preview screenings, the film was re-edited to emphasize the humorous aspects of the plot and obtain a PG rating (parental guidance suggested).
• In one episode, Lieutenant Laredo scolds Dr. Lazarus for holding the tracking device upside down. This is a nod to the first season of the series "Star Trek" (1966-1969), where Mr. Spock sometimes holds the tricorder backwards, possibly because the actor who played him, Leonard Nimoy (1931-2015), was still unfamiliar with the props at the time.
• The casting director was so impressed with Enrico Colantoni's audition that, breaking all the rules, she showed it to the rest of the cast so that everyone would understand how the Thermians (the cephalopod alien race) should behave.
• Missy Pyle's first major role in a feature film. The role was expanded once the producers noticed that Sigourney Weaver was playing the only female character in the film.
• Harold Ramis wanted Alec Baldwin to star in the lead role, but the actor declined the offer. Steve Martin and Kevin Kline were also considered for the lead role, although Kline immediately refused due to family circumstances. When Tim Allen was cast in the role, Ramis himself left the project. However, after seeing the film, he told Allen that he liked his performance.
• Initially, there were plans to make a sequel, but they all fell through due to the sudden death of Alan Rickman (1946-2016).
• Alan Rickman disliked science fiction and only agreed to participate here because he found the script very funny.
• The sets for the starship 'Protector' were built on a hinged lift platform that could shift in any direction by a couple of meters. The first time it was used, the platform dropped half a meter and tilted over, causing the actors to fall from their chairs and two light bulbs to break.
• The first 20 minutes of the film were shown in theaters in a 1.85:1 aspect ratio. Then, when Tim Allen's character realizes he is on a starship and a Terminian landscape is revealed, the aspect ratio was supposed to change to 2.35:1. However, in most cinemas, they only briefly glanced at the film from the very first reel and simply set the screens to a 1.85:1 aspect ratio, so part of the image after the aspect ratio change was cut off. This happened so frequently that when the film was distributed to theaters, owners were specifically notified of the need to adjust the aspect ratio at the appropriate moment. Director Dean Parisot later admitted that he regretted allowing the aspect ratio to change.
• For the reptiloid Sarris, they decided to use technology originally developed for the then-in-production 'Planet of the Apes' project. It allowed them to transfer the actor's facial expression onto the outer contour of the makeup. Stan Winston (1946-2008) worked on this task ever since he created the Wookiee heads 20 years earlier for 'The Star Wars Holiday Special'.