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FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT PITCH BLACK
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I took a spin through a few forums to try to find out what questions people were asking about most. Rather than do some encyclopedic compilation of every tiny bit of information about the movie, I figured I'd just try to cover the most obvious stuff. I'll probably expand this someday.
The Production
When was it released?
2/18/00 in the US
How long did it take to make?
According to original scribe Ken Wheat, the movie took five years from the first pitch until it hit theaters.
How much money did it make?
About forty million gross in the US, unknown overseas, and apparently it made a killing on home video.
How much did it cost?
Production was $23M and marketing was $18M.
Movie Stuff
What made the Hunter-Gratzner crash?
The ship flew through the tail of a comet, which was full of high-velocity particles that punched holes through the ship.
Why was everyone on the ship?
Apparently it's a very cheap way to travel, in cryolockers on a cargo ship.
What do the predators eat when they're underground?
Each other, and according to original scribe Ken Wheat they had actually written an entire underground ecosystem with other creatures.
What was the deal with Johns and the drugs?
According to various backstory elements, Johns has a knife tip lodged in his spine from a previous fight with Riddick. Johns eventually got addicted to the morphine he was taking for the pain.
Who Killed Frye; Riddick, or the predators?
One of the predators.
The DVDs
How many versions are there?
There were originally two versions of the R1 disk, the normal one and the 'Unrated' one. This first DVD was discontinued in favor of a re-released disk in four versions that streeted June 1, 2004, to coincide with the theatrical release of THE CHRONICLES OF RIDDICK. Confusingly, Universal renamed PITCH BLACK to THE CHRONICLES OF RIDDICK: PITCH BLACK for this DVD re-release. The four new versions are R-fullscreen, R-widescreen, Unrated-fullscreen, and Unrated-widescreen. As of the time of this writing, Universal has announced but not released an HD DVD version of PITCH BLACK also.
What bonus features are there?
- Two feature-length commentaries, Twohy-Diesel-Hauser and Twohy-Chiang-Engelman.
- Introduction to the film by David Twohy
- THE CHRONICLES OF RIDDICK visual encyclopedia
- Johns' Chase Log
- DARK FURY trailer
- ESCAPE FROM BUTCHER BAY trailer
- A View Into The Dark
What's different in the unrated version?
Here is an entire article about it, with screen captures and analysis.
The Book/Novelisation
Who wrote it?
Frank Lauria
How is it different from the movie?
A few different ways. I'll be writing a separate article on this at some point.
Does it suck?
Nah, for the most part it's a cut-and-paste job from the script that's been made available online. Fun little read for a fan of the movie.
Where can I get a copy?
I got my used copy (eventually, argh) from Amazon.
Scripts
Who wrote what?
Jim and Ken Wheat wrote the original draft, and a second draft. David Twohy wrote subsequent drafts.
Where can I get a copy?
Check out our page on the script.
INTO PITCH BLACK
What was INTO PITCH BLACK?
This was an hour-long promotional piece for PITCH BLACK that ran on the US's SCIFI network in 2000. It was written and directed by M. David Melvin and presents a fictional narrarative that basically discusses investigators looking into the crash of the Hunter-Gratzner. It combines new characters with footage from PITCH BLACK to tell this story, along with providing some background on Riddick himself. You can read an informative review of it here and the IMDB page has some cast/crew information.
Where can I see INTO PITCH BLACK?
The only way I know of is to purchase the Region 2 (Japan) DVD, as it is included there as an extra. Keep in mind that you need either a region-free or Region 2 player to watch it. Also note that this version has Japanese subtitles. At one point SciFi.com had an entire section of their website done up that mirrored the fiction of the INTO PITCH BLACK piece, but it's gone now.
Miscellaneous
Where can I get contacts like Riddick's?
At one point you could buy mirrored contacts for $300 from LensQuest. Around the release of THE CHRONICLES OF RIDDICK, they contacted me about putting the lenses out again for a short time, so drop them an email.
Where can I get goggles like Riddick's?
Here ya go, goggles like Riddick's for $109 from Reel World Props. Note that sometimes this site will be taken down while they restock, so just keep visiting and see when they go back up.
Where can I get a copy of Graeme Revell's soundtrack?
At one point some readers got the disk with no trouble for $20: this CD that has both the Pitch Black and Bride of Chucky soundtracks. There's always Ebay.
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