Men In Black III is a bit of a strange production. Part of it was filmed last year, with the rest of it due to be completed soon, following a planned break. It’s quite an unusual arrangement, and while the studio said it was to do with tax breaks and Christmas, there were also reports that scheduling meant they’d lose the cast and risk the film’s release date if they didn’t start shooting quickly, but they needed the break because the script wasn’t complete.
That’s since been confirmed, with the second half shoot delayed because the screenplay simply isn’t ready and they need more time to complete it, and so instead of restaring around now, as planne, it won’t gear up again until March 29th. The reason they could sneak in a break without it becoming exorbitantly expensive is because the movie is split in two halves. The part filmed last year is set in the modern day, but then there’s a time travel element, involving Will Smith’s Agent J going back to the 60s and meeting a younger version of Ageny K (played by Josh Brolin), with the duo teaming up to help save the world. It’s this latter part that still needs to be shot and which has got delayed, and as the only element linking the two time periods it Will Smith, taking a holiday break was feasible.
It also means that partway through shooting, they’re still casting roles, with Deadline reporting that Alice Eve has been hired to play Olivia, the 1960s version of the character who’ll be played in the modern day by Emma Thompson. Hired as a secretary because of her looks in sexist 1969, Olivia eventually works her way through the organisation and eventually becomes the head of the alien monitoring agency.
Men In Black III will be in cinemas May 25th, 2012.