While Travolta tried to lure in larger studios, former head of 20th Century Fox, Bill Mechanic, even reported that Scientologists would approach him randomly and express their excitement over a Battlefield Earth film. But the tactic was far from enticing, with Mechanic saying that he was seriously creeped out instead.
Unless, of course, the awards happen to be from the Golden Raspberries. The film ended up winning in every category, with only Forest Whitaker remaining unscathed for Worst Supporting Actor but only because Barry Pepper won the award instead.
As if that wasn't already enough, the film also went on to win an eighth and ninth award for Worst Picture of the Decade and Worst Drama in 25 years. Aside from drawing criticism for just being an all-around terrible film, Battlefield Earth was also blasted by many who maintained that the film would have never been made without being backed by Scientology.
This was further illustrated when Travolta went on a promotional tour that involved him signing copies of L. Some parents and journalists were even afraid that Battlefield Earth was a backdoor recruitment tool to get their kids interested in the teaching of Hubbard, going so far as to say the film featured subliminal messages. But after actually seeing Battlefield Earth , other critics responded that pulling off any form of subliminal advertising would have been far too sophisticated for the likes of this film.
The truth was eventually revealed during an FBI investigation, which found that Franchise Pictures had falsely inflated its budget in order to scam investors, including Intertainment AG — a company that had helped finance the film.
Since its release, critics have attacked virtually every aspect of Battlefield Earth — although the ugly production design and excessive use of the Dutch tilt often draw the most scrutiny. In fact, the movie is almost worth suffering through just to read the reviews of critics trying to puzzle out what they just watched -- and how it was ever made in the first place. You know a movie is bad when even the cast and crew feel compelled to bash it in a last-ditch attempt to salvage their careers — and Battlefield Earth is certainly no exception.
Actors Forest Whitaker and Barry Pepper have both expressed regret over starring in the film. Pepper went so far as to say he would have personally accepted his Razzie Award for Worst Supporting Actor had he known he was going to win.
However, John Travolta has continuously defended the project, saying that he would make it again if given the chance. But once losses start dipping into the tens of millions, you can be sure that someone is going to have to answer for the massive miscalculation. After that, Warner Bros. Of course, Tarantino declined the offer and the Academy Award-winning production designer of Star Wars and protege of George Lucas, Roger Christian, was eventually signed on to direct the film.
Coincidentally, while the film was being lampooned by critics it was Tarantino and Lucas who offered their support for the film, with Travolta stating that they saw it and "thought it was a great piece of science fiction. The production value is jaw-droppingly low, full of terrible special effects, poorly-directed action scenes, and baffling camerawork. It was Scientology.
The Church of Scientology may have been a driving force behind Battlefield Earth , but when the world saw it and did not love it , they put themselves about as far away from it as they could. So far, in fact, that poor Terl has no airtime on Scientology Network and instead has found a new home at Netflix.
This may all not deter you at all. It may make you so intrigued that you go ahead and spend two hours of your life watching this movie. Because I did the same thing. Stream Battlefield Earth on Netflix. Where to Stream: Battlefield Earth. He won an Oscar for his work on Star Wars, and was nominated for another in for Alien. Aside from the hideous design of the Psychlos, which required actors to totter around on four-foot stilts, there are weapons which appear to fire polystyrene bullets, like Nerf Guns.
Much of the film takes place in dreary, blue-lit interiors that look like concrete bunkers from WWII, and there are occasional splashes of CGI that would make even the SyFy channel blush.
What happened? What went wrong? Why did a movie with previously talented people on it end up looking so hideous? A possible answer to those questions can be found in the next entry…. Exactly why he chose to shoot almost every sequence in the film with the camera at a 45 degree angle is a mystery, but it gives the movie a woozy, almost dreamlike look. In one brief snippet published in MovieMaker magazine back in , however, the cinematographer did mention his work on the film.
We guarantee your liver will be screaming by the end of the first act. With his friends in tow, Jonnie finds a Texas underground base full of weapons and planes — among them several Harrier Jump Jets. Remarkably, everything in the base is in perfect working order, even after sitting around for a thousand years.
Still, it does give the film a satisfying explosion to end the movie on. Writer JD Shapiro was originally brought in to write the script, but when he refused to implement various changes requested by Travolta, screenwriter Corey Mandell was signed up instead. The result, as you may have gathered, is a lumpy mess.
Somewhere in the numerous drafts written by Shapiro and then Mandell, some form of storytelling madness took hold. And while there are parts of the film that are so tedious as to be unwatchable, these are leavened by moments of sheer camp, like an old Batman TV episode.
The dark, gritty and compelling story Shapiro spoke of was long gone by the time Battlefield Earth heaved onto the big screen; as for the monstrosity which emerged in its stead, we can only nervously salute it.
Reviled though Battlefield Earth was, not everybody hated it. And so did George Lucas and Quentin Tarantino. This is amazing stuff.
Yes, more than a decade after its release, the promotional page for Battlefield Earth is still on the web.
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