Mars Attacks! - Trivia, Questions and Fun Facts

[discussimdb]

Fan of Mars Attacks! or just want to share your movie knowledge? This topic is dedicated to all trivia and questions related to Mars Attacks!

[ronnie]

When Gen. Decker (Rod Steiger) shouts at the Martians, "We'll never surrender, do you hear me? We'll fight you on the beaches! We'll fight you on the streets! We'll never, never surrender!" this parodies the words of British Prime Minister Sir Winston Churchill in 1940, regarding the threat of invasion by Nazi Germany: "We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing-grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we will never surrender."

[nicholas]

Ventriloquist Jeff Dunham used the Martian eyes for "Achmed the Dead Terrorist".

[brent]

During the normal Warner Brothers title sequence, showing the company's trademark shield with the cloudy sky background, a spaceship crosses the sky.

[nina]

The Martian Girl was modeled after a mashup of Marilyn Monroe and the The Bride of Frankenstein (1935).

[liam]

When the missile is launched at a flying saucer, the music at one point sounds similar to the main theme of The Simpsons (1989) Danny Elfman composed the theme for that show.

[liam]

Diane Keaton was considered for the role of the First Lady.

[ronnie]

Martian Girl never blinks.

[linda]

A real-life demolition in Las Vegas was filmed by producer/director Tim Burton, and incorporated into the movie. The casino was The Landmark, once owned by Howard Hughes. The location is now an expansion of the parking lot for the Las Vegas Convention Center.

[jessica]

The design of the alien ships was inspired by Earth vs. the Flying Saucers (1956), including the radio-dish looking weapon emanating from the belly of the ship. In both movies it was used to destroy buildings and people.

[kenneth]

Glenn Shadix, a collaborator with Tim Burton, was offered the role of the Rude Gambler, but due to scheduling conflicts with Dunston Checks In (1996), Danny DeVito was cast.

[melinda]

Jack Nicholson accepted the role without reading the script, since he had enjoyed working with Tim Burton on Batman (1989) and wanted to work with him again.

[camila]

The radio telescope shown is in Parkes, New South Wales, Australia is the same one used to receive the signal of the moon landing in 1969.

[ruby]

This was Natalie Portman's first science fiction movie. Her very next movie was Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace (1999), which introduced her iconic character Queen Amidala.

[kenzi]

On a radio broadcast soon after the film was released on video, Howard Stern said he had finally watched it and was amazed to note similarities to his own earlier work. He stated that during the first week he was on the air at WNBC in 1982, he and co-worker Fred Norris had created and aired a segment entitled "Slim Whitman Versus the Midget Aliens From Mars", which Stern proceeded to re-broadcast as proof. The bit depicted Slim Whitman's singing as a weapon against invading aliens, which rendered the planet a wasteland. "It's the same. I want credit," said Stern. "It's a weird coincidence, and it freaked me out." Years later, Stern had Tim Burton on his show as a guest, and he told Burton that he had created a bit, "Slim Whitman Versus the Midget Aliens From Mars", in the early 1980s, to which Burton immediately responded "Wow" in amazement, and then added, "You should have sued me".

[victoria]

The music used to kill the Martians is that of country/western singer Slim Whitman. Whitman's "Indian Love Call" and "I'm Casting My Lasso" were featured.

[willard]

When Billy Glenn Norris says goodbye to his grandmother, she calls him Thomas, Jack Black's real first name.

[lonnie]

There were several scenes in the original screenplay that were never used, which made this movie a lot longer and much darker. Amongst the cut scenes were: A scene in the beginning with Mr. Lee (originally, the burning cows trampled over Mr. Lee, killing him, as his family watches in horror); another where the Martians break into the White House (the White House decorator is decorating the Ronald Reagan Room, and the Martians break in through the window and vaporize him); an extended version of the Doughnut World scene (the female employee at the doughnut shop is trying to escape the building with Richie and some cops when the Martians attack. Richie gets out, turns around and sees the building burst into flames, and we see the skeletons of the other characters); the death scene of Dr. Zeigler; and the stealing of the translator device; an extended version of the casino break-in, including the death of Mr. Brian, who is trying to save his money and gets zapped, along with many other gamblers; an alternate ending, where Byron actually is killed by the Martians and the Martians drag his body away. Planes fly by later, and kill those Martians with the Slim Whitman music. Later, during the award ceremony, Byron is remembered by Taffy in a long and sweet speech. Louise, Cedric, and Neville are sitting in the audience of this ceremony, crying, and wearing black.

[francisco]

Out of the 22 people listed in the opening credits, only seven survive this movie: Taffy Dale (Natalie Portman), Richie Norris (Lukas Haas), Grandma Florence Norris (Sylvia Sidney), Byron Williams (Jim Brown), Louise Williams (Pam Grier), Barbara Land (Annette Bening), and Tom Jones (Himself).

[ivan]

While set in the 1990s, the US Army's uniforms and equipment date from the 1950s, when the movies being spoofed were made.