The Battlefield (also referred to as Battlefield: Saga Year 3000 ) is a 2000 American science fiction action film based on the first half of the 1982 novel L. Ron Hubbard of the same name. Directed by Roger Christian and starring John Travolta, Barry Pepper and Forest Whitaker, the film depicts an Earth that has been under the reign of the 1,000-year-old Psychlos aliens and tells the story of an uprising that flourished when Psychlos sought to use the living. man as a gold miner.
Travolta, an old Scientologist, has been trying for years to make a novel by Hubbard, the founder of Scientology. He was unable to raise funds from major studios due to concerns about movie scripts, prospects and connections with Scientology. The project was finally taken in 1998 by an independent production company, Franchise Pictures, which specializes in saving stoppage pet projects. Travolta signed as a co-producer and donated millions of dollars of his own money for production, which began in 1999 and is largely funded by the German film distribution company Intertainment AG. The franchise was later sued by its investors and went bankrupt in 2004 after it emerged that it had fraudulently overstated the film's budget of $ 31 million.
Battlefield Earth was released on May 12, 2000, and is a critical and commercial failure, often described as one of the worst films of all time. Reviewers criticize almost every aspect of production including Travolta's acting, overuse of slanted and slow motion, poor manuscripts, mediocre special effects, multiple plot holes and narrative inconsistencies, art direction and dialogue. Audiences have reportedly mocked preliminary screenings and moved away from the film after its opening weekend, which caused the Battlefield of Earth to fail to cover its costs. The film went on to receive a total of eight Golden Raspberry Awards, which until 2012 was the most Razzie Award awarded for a single film, also won the Worst Film of the Decade in 2010. Since then the film has become a cult film in "very bad, that's good" vein.
Travolta initially imagined Battlefield Earth as the first of two films to be adapted from the book, because the scenario only covers the first half of the novel. However, poor box office performance, as well as the collapse of Franchise Pictures, ended the plan for a potential sequel.
Video Battlefield Earth (film)
Plot
In 3000 Earth is a barren desert. The Psychlos, the brutal race of giant alien human beings, have ruled this planet for a thousand years, and used the work of human slaves to strip out minerals and other resources. Some of the primitive hunter-gatherer tribes of humans live in freedom in remote and hidden areas, but after ten centuries of Psychlo's suppression they have abandoned hope of regaining control of their planet. Jonnie Goodboy Tyler (Barry Pepper) rejects this universal despair and leaves his tribe in the Rocky Mountains on an exploratory trip with a nomadic hunter named Carlo (Kim Coates). Both were captured by the Psychlo ambush group and transported to slave camps in the ruins of Denver, Colorado, the main operating base of Psycho. The huge dome above the base protects Psychlos from Earth's atmosphere, which is poisonous to them.
At the camp, they met Terl (John Travolta), security chief Psychlo, and his deputy, Ker (Forest Whitaker). Was stranded permanently in his remote Earth post due to an unexplained incident involving the "Senator's daughter". He plans to bribe his trip back to Psychlo's home planet by illegally mining gold in a high-radioactivity area. Psycho avoids such areas because radiation reacts explosively with the gas mixture they breathe. To choose Jonnie to lead the mining operation. Jonnie gained a comprehensive knowledge of human history and literature in Psychlo's fast learning engine. He firmly states that one day, people will overthrow Psycho and reclaim their planet. A Sexiest Look shows Jonnie the ruins of Denver and the public library and boasts that Psychlos conquered the entire Earth just nine minutes during the 21st century. Jonnie spent time in the library and was especially inspired by the Declaration of Independence. It gives Jonnie a party of slaves and a Psychlo shuttle and orders him to find gold.
Jonnie placed an abundant supply at the long-forgotten Fort Knox. He also discovered an abandoned underground military base using Harrier jump-jets, weapons, and fuel. While they were supposed to be working in the mine, Jonnie and his followers planned the revolution, and used a military-base flight simulator to train themselves in aerial combat.
After a week of training, the rebels launched their attacks. In a suicide mission, Carlo flew his Psychlo shuttle to the Denver dome, crushing it and strangling Psycho in it. Jonnie grabs a teleportation device and uses it to send dirty bombs into Psychlo's home world. When it explodes, the radiation it releases reacts simultaneously to Psychlo's atmosphere, destroying all life on the planet. Man has recaptured the Earth, but faces an uncertain future. The only survivor of Psychlo was Terl, who was imprisoned inside Fort Knox in the makeshift gold bullion cells; and Ker, who joined the winning men in their challenging project to rebuild their civilization.
Maps Battlefield Earth (film)
Cast
Production
Initial offer
After Battlefield Earth was published in 1982, L. Ron Hubbard suggested that the film version of the book was under construction. He gave an interview in February 1983 to Rocky Mountain News where he told reporters, "I recently wrote three scenarios, and some flowers have been disclosed in Battlefield Earth , so I guess I'll be back in Hollywood these days and maybe at a location in the Denver area for Battlefield Earth when they filmed it. "
Hubbard's comments show that he sees himself directly involved in film production; author Stewart Lamont suggests that Hubbard may have imagined driving it, having previously led Scientology's training films. In October 1983, the rights of the film were sold by the Church of Scientology literature, Author Services Inc., to Salem Productions of Los Angeles. Two movies were envisioned, each covering half of the book and while budgeted for $ 15 million each. William Immerman is appointed as the producer for the film. Veteran scriptwriter Abraham Polonsky and British director Ken Annakin were hired to produce a damaged film, with production scheduled to begin in 1985. In November 1984, the Santa Monica public relations firm Dateline Communications announced a national contest to promote the film. First and second prizes are a full-fledged trip to film production sites and paid walk-on parts in movies, and other announced gifts include a trip to Los Angeles for world premiere, recordings, tapes, and hardcover copies and novels from the novel. A 30 foot (10m) inflatable figure from the movie villain, Terl, was founded by Scientology officials at Hollywood Boulevard in 1984 in an effort to promote production, and auditions were held in Denver. The low-budget project soon collapsed, and Hubbard died shortly thereafter, in 1986.
Travolta had turned to Scientology in 1975 and later became one of the most prominent supporters of the Church of Scientology. Hubbard sent him a signed copy of Battlefield Earth when the book was first published in 1982; he reportedly hoped that Travolta would turn the book into a movie "inside Star Wars and Close Encounters of the Third Kind." While Travolta was interested, his influence in Hollywood at the time was at its lowest point after participating in a series of flops. He gained new influence with the success of the 1994 film Pulp Fiction, which garnered the Academy Award nomination Travolta for Best Actor. He did not forget Hubbard's desire to see the book on the big screen and take the task of making Battlefield Earth into a movie. Travolta described the book in the interview as "like Pulp Fiction for 3000" and "like Star Wars , only better". He lobbied influential figures in Hollywood to fund the project and reportedly has recruited the help of fellow Scientologists in promoting it. According to Bill Mechanic, former head of 20th Century Fox, "John wants me to make Battlefield Earth He has Scientologists around me They come up to you and they know who you are And they go 'We're really excited about Battlefield Earth . ' "It does not impress Mechanic:" Do you think in any way, shape, or form that releases me will make me want to make this movie? "
Travolta's involvement at Battlefield Earth was first published in late 1995. He told the New York Daily News that " Battlefield Earth is the culmination of using force for something I told my manager, 'If we can not do the things we now want to do, what's the point of strength? Let's test and try to get things we believe in.' "It was assumed early on that Travolta would star in and produce the film, which would be distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer; J. D. Shapiro writes the scenario. Shapiro was eventually fired because he refused to accept some suggestions from studio producers who changed his script tone, including removing scenes and main characters. In 1997, Travolta's old manager, Jonathan Krane, signed a two-year contract with Twentieth Century Fox in which the studio would release Battlefield Earth instead of MGM, but the deal with Fox also failed. James Robert Parish, author of Fiasco: A History of Hollywood's Iconic Flops, commented that both MGM and Fox consider this project too risky for several reasons: The high dependence on special effects will be costly, 100 million; Hubbard's narration is seen as na'veve and out of date; and "Scientology factor" can work against the film, eliminating the power of Travolta stars. As one studio executive puts it, "In any movie there are ten variables that can kill you.In this movie there is the eleventh: Scientology.Just no one really wants to get involved with it."
Image Franchise
In 1998, the project was taken over by Franchise Pictures, a recently established company whose head, Elie Samaha, the former head of dry cleaning transformed the nightclub owner, specialized in saving pet projects. Franchises look for stars whose projects stop in big studios, taking them up with reduced pay. Samaha's approach made waves in Hollywood, earning him the reputation of being able to produce cheaper stars than the larger studios. The unusual agreement raised eyebrows and entertainment industry magazines Variety commented that they "are often so complex and varied that it makes outsiders scratch their heads". As Samaha said, "I said, 'If John wants to make this movie, what does he want to get paid for?'... Because I do not pay anyone what they make it is not my business plan. '" He learned about Battlefield Earth from Cassian Elwes, an agent at William Morris's theater agency, and approached Travolta. Agreements are immediately struck and financing arranged; Travolta significantly reduced its normal cost by $ 20 million, lowered the estimated $ 100 million film cost, and reduced costs further by using Canada's location and facilities.
The film was set up as an independent production for Morgan Creek Productions which will release the film through Warner Bros. in the United States under existing distribution agreements. The Travolta company, JTP Films was also involved, and Travolta invested $ 5 million of his own money in production. Warner Bros. allocating $ 20 million for film marketing and distribution. The franchise retains foreign rights, licensing European distribution rights to German Intertainment AG group by exchanging 47% of the set production cost of $ 75 million. The Intertainment Agreement then becomes the focus of legal action that bankrupts the Franchise. Samaha predicted that the movie would be a hit: "The numbers I projected on Battlefield Earth are really conservative, I've been internationally covered, and there's no way I'd lose if the movie was $ 35 Ã , Million in the country, and Travolta has never done an action movie under $ 35 million. "
According to Samaha, he managed to overcome the "negative factor" of Scientology connections in a simple way "shout at everyone," This is a science fiction movie starring John Travolta! 'again and again. "Samaha admits that" everyone thought I was crazy or mentally retarded "for taking the project but presenting it as" Planet of the Apes starring John Travolta. " Hollywood is still skeptical: an unnamed producer is quoted by Los Angeles Daily News as saying that "The Battle of Earth" has a stench of death. It should never be made. This is a $ 80 million project for Travolta. "Travolta theater agent William Morris is also said to be unenthusiastic, reportedly causing Travolta to threaten to abandon them if they do not help him to arrange the film." Scientology colleague Tom Cruise is said to have warned Warner Bros. that he thought the movie was a bad idea..
Author Services Inc. and Church of Scientology
In 1999, Author Services Inc. said it was "donating his share of the profits from the film to a charitable organization that directs drug education and drug rehab programs around the world". It was reported that merchandising revenues will be forwarded to groups related to Scientology Narconon, drug rehabilitation programs, and Applied Scholastics, which promotes Hubbard Study technology, with the sale of related films from books that fund the marketing of Hubbard fiction books and contest L. Ron Hubbard Writers of the Future. The size of the income agreement is not disclosed by the parties; Trendmasters, the maker of the Battlefield Earth toy line, states that the deal is strictly with Franchise Pictures, who declined to comment, and Warner Bros.. stated that his role was limited to distribution and had nothing. do with a related merchandising offer.
In February 2000, Church of Scientology spokesman Mike Rinder told Tribune Media Services that any spin-off transactions based on Hubbard's novel will benefit Author Services Inc.; Another Church spokeswoman, Aron Mason, stated, "The Church has no financial interest in the Battleground of the Earth. Author Service is not part of the Church of Scientology, they are literary agencies with no connection to the church."
Travolta's manager, Jonathan Krane, denied that the Church of Scientology played any part in production: "I never discussed or talked to the church about it This is a story of action-adventure, science fiction, Period The film has nothing to do with Scientology." Krane stated that the film had been funded "without dollars coming from Scientologists." Some people in Hollywood worry that Travolta is using his work to promote the teachings of Scientology, and one film producer stated, "This movie can encourage children to embrace the whole world of Scientology." Travolta states, "I do it because it's a great piece of science fiction, it's not about Hubbard, I'm very interested in Scientology, but it's personal. In a separate interview Travolta commented on the perceived similarity between Battlefield Earth and Scientology: "Well, they are sort of synonymous... L. Ron Hubbard is very famous for Scientology and Dianetics, On the other hand, is just as famous in the world of science fiction, so for people to think that... see, I do not want everyone to try Scientology I do not really care if someone thinks that.I do not worry about that.You can not. The truth of why I do it is because this is a big part of science fiction. I will be the most evil 9 foot alien you have ever seen in your life. "
Pre-production
Travolta and his manager, Jonathan Krane, lead the way in hiring existing personnel. They initially approached Quentin Tarantino to direct the movie. When Tarantino refused, Roger Christian, a protà ©  © gÃÆ'Ã… © George Lucas, was recruited as director on the advice of Lucas. Christian recently became director of the second unit at Lucas' Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace . Patrick Tatopoulos was signed to develop production designs and costumes, including the design of the Psychlos aliens, and Czech-American composer Elia Cmiral signed to give the film a score. Travolta and Krane also signed cinematographers and most of the main actors. Corey Mandell, a screenwriter who previously worked with Ridley Scott at Blade Runner, signed to write a script for the movie, which had previously been through 10 revisions. Mandell stated in an interview, "I'm not a Scientologist... I joined because John asked me to read the book and said," This is not a religious book. This is a science fiction story. There is nothing sacred about the story. "There is no religious philosophy, I am given this to be read purely as science fiction - to see if it is interesting like a movie.
Filming
Filmed in Canada, major photography took place in Montreal, Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, and several other Quebec locations during the summer and fall of 1999. In January 1999, Travolta flew his personal Boeing 727 on a secret visit to Montreal to locate out for shooting. The film is reported to be the most expensive shot production in Canada up to that time. It was also reported that the cost of production would be twice as high if the film was recorded in the United States. Almost every shot in the film is on the corner of the Netherlands, because, according to Roger Christian, he wants the movie to look like a comic book.
Travolta's wife, Kelly Preston, also appeared in one scene, playing the famous "psycho bald girlfriend", "Chirk." Travolta initially sees himself in the role of Jonnie, but by the time the film is completely made, Travolta feels he is too old to play a role, and takes on the role of the main villain instead. The role of Travolta in this film requires what he describes as a tremendous physical transformation: "I wear a high head tool with strange hairs I have amber and claws for my hands It's pretty amazing... I use a 4-foot stage. "To star in the film, Travolta rejected the film The Shipping News and delayed production at Standing Room Only .
The film was "plagued by bad buzz" before its release with the media speculating about the possible influence of Scientology and commenting on the tight security of production. As the movie enters postproduction, the alternative newspaper Mean Magazine gets a copy of the scenario. The Mean staff changed the title of the script to " Dark Force ," replaced it with "Desmond Finch," and distributed it to readers at major Hollywood film production companies. The returning comment is unfavorable: "a really silly plotline is made more ridiculous by smoothed dialogue and superficial characterization", "an entirely predictable story that is not written well enough to cover the lack of originality." One reviewer labeled the scenario "equally entertaining by watching the breath fly".
Release
Battlefield Earth was released on May 12, 2000, three days after the 50th anniversary of the publication of Hubbard Dianetika: Modern Mental Health , a date celebrated by Scientologists around the world as a day Scientology's main holiday. The inaugural event was held on May 10, 2000 at Grauman's Chinese Theater on Hollywood Boulevard in Los Angeles.
box office
Very bad movie reviews and bad words cause a sharp collapse in its grosses. After earning $ 11,548,898 from 3,307 screens on its opening weekend, its pickup dropped 67 percent to $ 3,924,921 the following weekend, giving an average take-up of $ 1,158 per screen. The film earns 85 percent of its entire domestic gross in the first 10 days and after that is flat-striped, with revenues falling another 75 percent by the end of the third week to $ 1 million. The following week, facing a revenue of only $ 205,745, Warner Bros tried to cut losses by cutting the number of screens in which the movie was being shown. The number was reduced from 2,587 to 641. On the sixth weekend of release, the movie appeared on screen 95 and has generated $ 18,993 in a week - less than $ 200 per screen.
The film eventually earned $ 21,471,685 in the United States and Canada and $ 8,253,978 internationally for a total of $ 29,725,663 worldwide, falling far short of the reported $ 73 million production budget and $ 20 million in marketing cost estimates. Financially, it is considered one of the most expensive box office bombs in film history.
In the 2006 list of "Top 10 box office failures", Kat Giantis of MSN Movies placed Earth Battle Field tied to Inchon for number seven.
Merchandising
A limited number of merchandising were produced for the film, including posters, CD soundtracks by Elia Cmáral recorded by Seattle Symphony, and a re-released version of a novel with a new cover based on a movie poster. Trendmasters also produces various action figures from the main characters, including the 11-inch Travolta (280 mm) figure as a listening line from movies like "Exterminate every human-animal at will!", "You will not last one day at the academy", "Man is endangered species ", and" Ratbastard! ". In Hubbard's novel, the term "Ratbastard" was never used, and Terl even referred to Jonnie Goodboy Tyler as "rat brain".
Home media
The DVD-specific edition was released in 2001, removing one scene and including two additional scenes that added two minutes to movie-time screening. The DVD contains commentary songs with director Roger Christian and Patrick Tatopoulos's production, costume and designer, as well as special features including the John Travolta alien makeup test. Jeff Berkwits of Sci Fi Weekly writes that "... DVD Battlefield Earth The Special Edition is packed with information, offering a glimpse into the creative process behind this imperfect but entertaining. picture". Randy Salas of the Star Tribune described it as "Best DVD for a bad movie." A review of the DVD release on the Los Angeles Times is more important: "Dated visual styles, special effects of shared patches and ludicrous dialogue join in a movie that is a truly sad experience."
Reception
Critical reception
Battlefield Earth is often regarded as one of the worst films ever made. In Rotten Tomatoes, the film has a "rotten" score of 3% based on 148 reviews with an average rating of 2.3 out of 10. Critical consensus states: "Ugly, campy and badly behaved, Earth Battlefield is a very misleading and aggressive sci-fi ignorance. "At Metacritic, the film has an average score of 9 out of 100, based on 33 critics that indicate" Very dislike ". Viewers surveyed by CinemaScore gave this movie a D value on a scale of A to F.
The film was greeted with widespread ridicule in preview playback. Viewers of Los Angeles entertainment journalists, critics and others welcomed the film with laughter and shouting at the screening of Century City movies, while other audiences in Washington, D.C., and Baltimore responded with a mocking laugh or just walking out. At the post-launch publicity event, Travolta, asked journalists who were gathered if they enjoyed it, did not receive an answer. He later confirmed that other filmmakers had enjoyed the movie: "When I feel better about everything when George Lucas and Quentin Tarantino, and the many people I feel know what they are doing, see it and think it is a big part of science fiction. Christian also spoke about initially positive reception, citing the enthusiastic response both from the audience and Tarantino.
Chicago Sun-Times film critic Roger Ebert gave the movie a half-star rating of four stars, and compared his broadcast to "travel with someone who needs a bath for a long time." It's not just bad; it's not fun in a hostile way... I watch it in gloom, realizing I'm witnessing something historic, a movie that for decades to come will be a joke of jokes about bad movies. "Leonard Maltin rated the movie" BOMB "in his book Film Guide of Leonard Maltin , writes:" A clumsy plot, misguided satire, unbelievable unbelievable events, and lead speed stomping performance Travolta is weird but funny. "David Bleiler gave the movie one star out of four on TLA Video & DVD Guide, writing:" It's disjointed, boring, and every bit as bad as its reputation. "Jon Stewart mocked the film on his television program The Daily Show, describing it as "a cross between Star Wars and the smell of a donkey."
Rita Kempley of The Washington Post commented: "A million monkeys with a million crayons will struggle in a million years to create something trivial like Battlefield Earth .This film is a futuristic novel version of L. Ron Hubbard is so unbelievably horrible in concept and execution, it will not burden the intelligence of troglodyte. "Elvis Mitchell of The New York Times wrote:" Maybe a little earlier to make such a judgment, but Battlefield Earth might turn out to be the worst movie of the century. "And call it" Plan 9 from Outer Space for a new generation. "British film critic Jonathan Ross says:" Everything about Battle Field Earth is annoying.Everything is over-the-top, incredible sets, terrible dialogue, bad acting, bad special effects, start, middle and ultimately finally. " The Hollywood Reporter i> summarizing the film as "a flat mess, by as taga, with a massive narrative sync, leading to moments of extraordinary mistrust in chaotic and deeply muddled writing mise en scÃÆ'¨ ne accompanied by an ear-blown sound and bombastic music. "
Many critics choose the excessive use of camera tilt shots. "[Director] Roger Christian has learned from a better film that directors sometimes tilt their cameras," Ebert writes, "but he has not learned why." The special effects of derivatives and plots that are not logical are also heavily criticized. The Providence Journal highlights an unusual film color scheme: " Battlefield Earth's primary colors are blue and gray, adding to misery.Whenever we see sunlight, the screen turns yellow old, as if someone had been urinating on the mold.This is, by the way, not a bad idea. "
J.D. Shapiro, who wrote the original scenario, criticized the movie as well. In a 2010 letter to The New York Post he asserted that his draft was less similar to the last manuscript; the result, he said, was embarrassing: "The only time I saw the movie was during the premiere, which is too often." In Better Living Through Bad Movies, Scott Clevenger and Sheri Zollinger write, "So what's the new truth we get from Battlefield Earth? First, we've learned that spirituality is good - okay things, but maybe its best to avoid joining denominations that make action films. "
Responding to the criticism, one of the film's producers, Elie Samaha, complained: "Critics are waiting for us to... cut off our heads Everyone hates Scientology for a reason I do not know people are so prejudiced." Ebert noted, however, that the film "contains no evidence of Scientology, or any other system of thought."
The reviews were not uniformly negative. Bob Graham of the San Francisco Chronicle wrote that the film "effectively presented" a "vigilant, uncomprehending" relationship between humans and Psychlos. Reviews on Film Reviews of JoBlo are also positive; Berge Garabedian writes, "Despite starting like a bad Star Trek episode, the film eventually graduated to a higher level with great special effects, some very sleek aliens, interesting premises, and good ones. "Luke Thompson of New Orleans LA wrote:" Think of Independence Day "without excessive accumulation or self-interest Imagine how much more fun the blockbuster-of-the-moment is, Gladiator , perhaps if Joaquin Phoenix has spoken to each of his rivals as 'Rat's brain.' Sean Axmaker of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer wrote positively about the interaction between Travolta and Whitaker in the movie, comparing it to Abbott and Costello. Axmaker writes that they provide "... much-needed comic help in humor-free stuff." Axmaker also wrote positively about the production design used in the film, commenting that the director has created "a world that collapsed the dead city and an empty mall turned into a human hunting ground..." Hap Erstein from The Palm Beach Post commented : "... production designer Patrick Tatopoulos donated some good work, imagining the ruins of Denver and Washington, DC, with the echoes of Planet of the Apes." In his book I Love Geeks: The Official Handbook , Carrie Tucker's list of Battlefield Earth as classic cult in the genre is "very bad, good".
Battlefield Earth often appears on the worst movie list, and is included in Rotten Tomatoes's "100 Worst of the Worst Movies" list. Rotten Tomatoes ranked 27 films in the 100 worst films reviewed from the first decade of the 21st century. The Arizona Republic listed it as the worst movie of 2000, calling it a "bad monumental sci-fi movie." Richard Roeper put the movie at number five on the "40 films stored in the back room of my memory vault like a plate of cheese left by the radiator at the fleabag hotel." In 2001 the film received the "Worst Film" award from the Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association. James Franklin of the McClatchy-Tribune News Service puts this film as the worst of his list of "summer blockbuster bombs", giving it a four-star rating for "traumatic" in its scale about how films "produce perverted nostalgia". Christopher Null of Filmcritic.com listed the movie of the movie Terl Terl in the number 8 of his "10 Least Effective Movie Villains," writes: "We still can not imagine how one would confront one of these creatures and react with another.. "
South Park parodied the film at the 2000 MTV Movie Awards. The MTV short is the first time South Park has insinuated Scientology, in a work entitled "The Gauntlet". The short one is a parody of Gladiator, with a fighting character with Russell Crowe at Roman Colosseum; that includes "John Travolta and Church of Scientology" arrived on a spaceship to defeat Crowe and try to recruit children to Scientology. Travolta, along with his Scientologists, was described as a Psychlo, when he appeared in the film.
Golden Raspberry Awards
Battlefield Earth swept the Golden Raspberry Awards 2000 and received seven "Razzies", including Worst Picture, Worst Actor (Travolta), Worst Supporting Actor, Worst Supporting Actress (Preston), Worst Director (Christian) ), Worst Scenario (Mandell and Shapiro) and Worst Screen Couple (Travolta and "anyone sharing the screen with her"). It was tied for the highest number of Razzies won by a single film at the time, with Showgirls reaching seven wins in 1995. The Battleground of the Earth was later awarded the eighth Razzie for "The Worst Drama of 25 Years Our First ". In 2010, the film received an award for "Worst Picture of the Decade", bringing the total number of Razzie Awards to nine and consequently setting a record for most Razzies won by a single film. The record was exceeded in 2012 when Jack and Jill won ten awards.
Because Travolta was not present to collect his trophies, a character of the action of Terl, his character, received them in his place. Travolta replied a week later for the award: "I do not even know there's an award like that.I have people around me whose job is not to tell me about things like that.They obviously do their job.Not every movie can be a critical success and a box office, would be very bad if Earth Battle Field is not happening.This creeps towards the $ 100m mark which means it has found the audience even if it does not impress the criticism I prefer My film is connected to the audience rather than with critics because it gives you a longer life as a player. "He then insisted that he still felt" very good about it.Here I'm taking a big chance, breaking a new genre. "
Pepper said she regrets not being invited to the Razzies and blames film failure on "weak scripts and poor production values". Writer J. D. Shapiro received the Worst Scenario award from Razzies founder John J. B. Wilson during a radio program; he commented that Travolta had called the "Schindler List script of science fiction" script. Shapiro also made an appearance to take the Worst Picture of the Decade award at the 30th Golden Raspberry Awards, gave a speech citing negative reviews, and thanked the studios for firing him and Corey Mandell for "rewriting my script in a way I never did , never, ever - can imagine or imagine yourself. "
Film producer Elie Samaha stated that she welcomes "free publicity," because "the more critics beat Battlefield Earth, the more DVDs it sells.This is the kind of movie that makes the film a legend and we feel we're pretty have the power to last long after the critics have calmed down. "
Fears of Scientology influence
Stacy Brooks, then president of Lisa McPherson Trust, declared: "It is unlikely that this movie will happen without Scientology support... This is one example of how Scientology insinuates itself in various aspects of culture." Mark Bunker marked the film as a recruiting tactic for the Church of Scientology, stating, "It was designed to introduce L. Ron Hubbard to a new generation of children.That's there to plant a good seed in the minds of children." Bunker criticized the film promotion method - instead of giving an interview about the film to the press, John Travolta went on a book tour and signed a copy of L. Ron Hubbard's novel. Bunker states, "When Michael Caine goes around promoting The Cider House Rules, he does not go to a bookstore and sign a copy of John Irving's novel... Through a movie with a book, the children will send a card to get "Scientology Nancy O'Meara, at the time the treasurer of the Foundation for Religious Freedom and currently the treasurer of the new Scientology-managed Cultivation Awareness Network, responded to Bunker's statement:" Give it a break... It's like saying people will go see Gladiator and then suddenly find themselves wanting to explore Christianity. "
Before the movie was released, rumors and accusations began to circulate that the Earth Battlefield contained subliminal messages promoting Scientology. Former Scientologist Lawrence Wollersheim, in a press release issued by his group Against the Network of Koersif Tactics, said that the Church of Scientology "has placed a very sophisticated subliminal message in the Battlefield Earth movie masters to secretly recruit new members of the audience movies and to get the audience to develop a sense of disgust for psychiatry and current mental health and practice organizations ". Other critics say that the film "is a veiled attempt to get converted and influenced people", and that writers are gagged from making connections between Scientology and movies with the threat of lawsuits. Warner Bros. dismissed the claim as "ridiculous nonsense", the Church of Scientology denounced them as "nonsense" and the media reacted with skepticism; as Scottish journalist Duncan Campbell put it, "the only subliminal sound I can detect comes about 10 minutes into this 121 minute movie and seems to say Leeeaaave thisssss cinemmmaaa nooow ". When asked about the similarity between the film and Scientology's conviction on the journey between galaxies and aliens, church spokesman Aron Mason stated, "That is a pretty rough parallel... You have to make some serious logic leaps to make that comparison." John Travolta also stated that the film was not inspired by the teachings of Scientology.
Hugh Urban of Ohio State University notes a number of connections between Scientology and Battlefield Earth in his 2011 book The Church of Scientology: A History of a New Religion . Not only was the film released just three days after the 50th anniversary of the publication of Hubbard's book Dihara Dictionary: Modern Mental Health Sciences, but the evil psychopath has been interpreted by many observers as a clear allusion to Scientology's bÃÆ'ªte noire , psychiatry. The conflict between Psychlos and free man can be seen as a reflection of Scientology's own conception of itself as a battle in the name of humanity against the forces of psychiatry. The "space of opera" genre of books and films manifests itself in various places in Scientology itself, the most famous in PL III (the story of Xenu). Travolta's own commitment to a disaster project like the movie version of Battlefield Earth is, in Urban estimates, indicating his "unusual dedication" to Scientology.
Fraud by Image Franchise
Following the failure of Battlefield Earth and other self-produced films by Franchise Pictures, The Wall Street Journal reported that the FBI is investigating "the question of whether some independent film companies have greatly increased the budget film in an attempt to fool investors ". In December 2000, German-based Intertainment AG filed a lawsuit stating that Franchise Pictures has fraudulently inflated the budget in the film including Battlefield Earth, which has been assisted by Intertainment to finance. Intertainment has agreed to pay 47% of the cost of producing multiple films in exchange for European distribution rights, but ultimately pay between 60 and 90% of the cost instead. The company alleges that the Franchise has tricked more than $ 75 million by systematically filing "a very fraudulent and inflated budget".
The case was heard before a jury in the Los Angeles federal courtroom in May-June 2004. The court heard testimony from the Intertainment that according to the Franchise Bank's records the real cost of the Earth Battles Battle was $ 44 million, not $ 75 million was announced by Franchise. The rest, $ 31 million is a "padding" fraud. The head of Intertainment, Barry Baeres told the court that he only funded the Earth Battlefield because it was packaged as a slate covering two more commercially attractive films, the Wesley Snipes The Art of War i> and comedy Bruce Willis The Whole Nine Meters . Baeres testified that "Mr. Samaha said, 'If you want two more pictures, you should take Battlefield Earth - this is called' packaging '. Baeres commented: "We would love it if he killed [Battlefield Earth ]".
Intertainment won the case and got $ 121.7 million in damages. Samaha itself was declared by the court personally liable for a loss of $ 77 million. The jury rejected the Intertainment claim under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO), which would have made a threefold loss if the Franchise had been punished for the allegations. The decision forced the Franchise to go bankrupt a few months later. The film's failure was also reported to have caused in 2002 for Travolta to sack his manager Jonathan Krane, who had arranged a deal with the Franchise in the first place.
Follow-up and canceled sequel
Battlefield Earth is significantly shorter than its original novel, covering only the first 436 pages of 1,050 pages of books. A sequel that covers the rest of the book was originally planned at the beginning. When asked during the promotion of the film if there will be Battlefield Earth 2 , Travolta replied, "Sure Yes." Travolta confirmed that the first film would be a cult classic, stating that there is already a fan website dedicated to the film. Corey Mandell, the scriptwriter for the first film, was assigned to deliver the script for the sequel, and Travolta, Pepper and producer Krane all signed up for the sequel in their contract for the first film. Christian and Whitaker were approached to re-enact their respective roles, and the producers plan to release a 2003 date not to compete with George Lucas 'Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones'.
Despite Travolta's earlier statements, plans for sequels never worked. According to James Robert Parish's Fiasco: A History of Hollywood's Iconic Flops, Battlefield Earth's catastrophic performance and the fall of Franchise Pictures makes it highly unlikely that a live action sequel will be made. In a 2001 interview, Travolta stated that the sequel was not planned: "In the end the movie earns $ 100 million when you count box office, DVD sales, video, and pay per view... But I do not know what number it should do to justify filming the second part of the book and I do not want to press any button in the media and encourage anyone about it now. "Author Services announced in 2001 that Pine Com International, a Tokyo-based animation studio, will produce 13 segments of animated television an hour based on the book and given in the manga style. The plan seems to have failed, and according to Parish, "little has been heard from this series since then."
See also
- 21st Golden Raspberry Awards
- Office box bomb
- List of sect movies
- Movie list is considered the worst
References
- Further reading
- Parish, James Robert (2006). Fiasco: A History of Iconic Flops Hollywood . Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wiley & amp; Children. pp.Ã, 270-292. ISBN: 978-0-471-69159-4.
- Wilson, John (2005). Official Razzie Film Guide: Enjoying the Best of the Worst in Hollywood . Warner's book. pp.Ã, 299-301, 356-357. ISBNÃ, 0-446-69334-0.
External links
- Earth Battle Field on IMDb
- Earth Battleground in the TCM Film Database
- Earth Battle Field at AllMovie
- Earth Battlefield at the American Film Films Catalog
- Earth Battle Field in Box Office Mojo
- Earth Battleground at Rotten Tomatoes
- Earth Battle Field in Metacritic
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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