Editing Men in Black (1997 film) (section)

===Development===
The film is loosely based on [[Lowell Cunningham]] and [[Sandy Carruthers]]'s comic book ''[[The Men in Black (comics)|The Men in Black]]''. Producers [[Walter F. Parkes]] and [[Laurie MacDonald]] optioned the rights to ''The Men in Black'' in 1992, and hired [[Ed Solomon]] to write a very faithful script. Parkes and MacDonald wanted [[Barry Sonnenfeld]] as director because he had helmed the darkly humorous ''[[The Addams Family (1991 film)|The Addams Family]]'' and its sequel ''[[Addams Family Values]]''. However, Sonnenfeld was attached to ''[[Get Shorty (film)|Get Shorty]]'' (1995), so they instead approached [[Les Mayfield]] (best known for his remake of ''[[Miracle on 34th Street (1994 film)|Miracle on 34th Street]]''). Mayfield was briefly attached before it fell through. [[John Landis]] and [[Quentin Tarantino]] were asked to direct but each declined.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/men-in-black-behind-the-scenes-battles/ | title=Men in Black: The Franchise's Behind-The-Scenes Battles | date=June 11, 2019}}</ref> As a result, ''Men in Black'' was delayed, allowing Sonnenfeld to make it his next project after ''Get Shorty''.<ref name=hughes>{{cite book | author = David Hughes | title = Comic Book Movies | publisher = [[Virgin Books]] | year = 2003 | location = London | pages = 123–129 | isbn = 0-7535-0767-6}}</ref> [[David Schwimmer]] was offered the role of Agent J but he declined due to scheduling conflicts.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Sharf |first=Zack |date=2024-09-18 |title=David Schwimmer Says Rejecting 'Men in Black' Offer Was a 'Brutal Decision' and It 'Would've Made Me a Movie Star'; He Chose to Direct a Film Instead |url=https://variety.com/2024/film/news/david-schwimmer-rejected-men-in-black-offer-brutal-decision-1236148577/ |access-date=2024-12-20 |website=Variety |language=en-US |archive-date=September 19, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240919091953/https://variety.com/2024/film/news/david-schwimmer-rejected-men-in-black-offer-brutal-decision-1236148577/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

Much of the initial script drafts were set underground, with locations ranging from [[Kansas]] to [[Washington, D.C.]], and [[Nevada]]. Sonnenfeld decided to change the location to New York City, because Sonnenfeld felt New Yorkers would be tolerant of aliens who behaved oddly while disguised, terming the movie as "''[[The French Connection (film)|The French Connection]]'' with aliens". He also felt much of the city's structures resembled [[flying saucer]]s and [[Space vehicle|rocket ships]].<ref name=hughes/> One of the locations Sonnenfeld thought perfect for the movie was a giant ventilation structure for the [[Brooklyn–Battery Tunnel]], which became the outside of the MIB headquarters.<ref name=met/>