Man on the Moon (film)

Man on the Moon
Theatrical release poster
Directed byMiloš Forman
Written byScott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyAnastas N. Michos
Edited by
Music byR.E.M.
Production
companies
Distributed by
  • Universal Pictures (North America, United Kingdom and Ireland)
  • Concorde Filmverleih (Germany)
  • Toho-Towa (Japan)[1]
Release dates
  • December 22, 1999 (1999-12-22) (United States)
  • May 5, 2000 (2000-05-05) (United Kingdom)
  • May 11, 2000 (2000-05-11) (Germany)
  • June 10, 2000 (2000-06-10) (Japan)
Running time
119 minutes[2]
Countries
  • United States
  • United Kingdom
  • Germany
  • Japan
LanguageEnglish
Budget$52–82 million[3][4]
Box office$47 million[4]

Man on the Moon is a 1999 biographical comedy drama film about the late American entertainer Andy Kaufman, starring Jim Carrey as Kaufman. The film was directed by Miloš Forman and also features Danny DeVito, Courtney Love and Paul Giamatti.

The story traces Kaufman's steps from childhood through the comedy clubs and television appearances that made him famous, including his memorable appearances on Saturday Night Live, Late Night with David Letterman, Fridays and his role as Latka Gravas on the sitcom Taxi, which was popular among viewers but disruptive for Kaufman's co-stars. The film pays particular attention to the various inside jokes, scams, put-ons, and happenings for which Kaufman was famous, most significantly his long-running "feud" with wrestler Jerry "The King" Lawler and his portrayal of the character of bawdy lounge singer Tony Clifton.

It was released on December 22, 1999, in the United States and May 5, 2000, in the United Kingdom by Universal Pictures and Warner Bros. Pictures in some markets. Although the film was commercially unsuccessful and received mixed reviews, Carrey received critical acclaim for his performance and won a Golden Globe, his second in a row after his award for The Truman Show. His win was in the Musical or Comedy category.

The documentary Jim & Andy: The Great Beyond was released in 2017 and chronicles Carrey's performance as Kaufman in the film, a performance he maintained during much of the film's production.

Though Carrey received praise for his performance, Man on the Moon ended his starring role run of eight consecutive films that averaged around $240 million each in box office grosses — one of the most successful stretches in motion picture history.[5]

  1. ^ Brown, Colin (May 9, 2000). "Mutual's foreign partners strike $200m credit line". Screen International. Retrieved November 22, 2021.
  2. ^ "MAN ON THE MOON (15)". British Board of Film Classification. January 17, 2000. Retrieved February 26, 2016.
  3. ^ "Man on the Moon (1999) - Financial Information". The-numbers.com. Retrieved January 22, 2017.
  4. ^ a b Box Office Mojo - Man on the Moon Retrieved March 31, 2007.
  5. ^ "Comedy in the 90s: The Year Jim Carrey Arrived". August 28, 2019.