The working title for the film, Planet Moron, was changed due to its similarity to the 1985 British film title, Morons from Outer Space, according to a 15 Oct 1984 DV news item.
       The film opens with the following written prologue: “Once upon a time warp…In a galaxy very, very, very, very, far away there lived a ruthless race of beings known as…Spaceballs. Chapter Eleven. The evil leaders of Planet Spaceball, having foolishly squandered their precious atmosphere, have devised a secret plan to take every breath of air away from their peace-loving neighbor, Planet Druidia. Today is Princess Vespa’s wedding day. Unbeknownst to the princess but knownst to us, danger lurks in the stars above…If you can read this, you don’t need glasses.” The receding text parodies the opening prologue of Star Wars (1977, see entry). As in Star Wars, no opening credits appear except for the film’s title.
       Spaceballs marked Mel Brooks’s return to directing after a six year hiatus, as stated in an 8 Mar 1987 LAT article. Having previously filmed Blazing Saddles (1974, see entry), a satire of the western genre, and Young Frankenstein (1974, see entry), a satire of the horror genre, Brooks said that he drew inspiration for Spaceballs from science fiction films such as Star Wars (1977, see entry), Star Trek (1979, see entry), and Alien (1979, see entry).
       Brooks and his writing partners, Thomas Meehan and Ronny Graham, worked on the script for two years, going through roughly eight drafts, according to a 27 Oct 1986 HR article. Since the film heavily parodied the Star Wars trilogy, Brooks wrote a letter to George Lucas and received approval from Lucasfilm to openly spoof Star Wars under the condition that the production not engage in any merchandising endeavors, an agreement which was upheld, according to the 8 Mar 1987 LAT article.
       In addition to directing, Brooks played the roles of “President Skroob” and “Yogurt.” According to production notes found at AMPAS library, Brooks was allergic to the gold makeup central to Yogurt’s costume, so the scenes featuring Yogurt had to be shot out of sequence to give Brooks a reprieve from the adverse effects of the makeup. Bill Pullman, who was cast in the role of “Lone Starr” after being told that “he was a long-shot” for the part, initially caught Brooks’s attention in his screen debut as “Earl” in Ruthless People (1986, see entry). In the 27 Oct 1986 HR article, Brooks stated that Pullman was a risky choice for a leading man given his relative obscurity, but expressed confidence in the actor’s comic timing. Lorene Yarnell, who played the role of “Dot Matrix,” was a famous mime noted for her work in the team of Shields and Yarnell; actress-comedian Joan Rivers provided the voice of Dot Matrix, as stated in the Aug 1987 issue of Cinefex. According to a 10 Dec 1986 “Just for Variety” piece in DV, it took four men to help Yarnell into her costume, which, Cinefex stated, was a “brass-plated styrene suit constructed by the physical effects crew.” The costume for John Candy’s character, a half-man, half-dog named “Barf,” featured moving ears and tail. According to production notes, Candy, who wore a “thirty-pound battery pack” that powered the costume, was able to control the movement of Barf’s tail through a “push-button device hidden in his jump suit”; however, Barf’s ears were remotely controlled by two technicians assigned to separate ears. Candy spent roughly three hours each day undergoing makeup for the role, according to the 10 Dec 1986 DV. Making an appearance in a cameo role as himself, John Hurt flew to set for one day of shooting as a favor to Brooks, whom he had befriended while working on the Brooksfilms, Ltd., production, The Elephant Man, (1980, see entry).
       According to the 27 Oct 1986 HR article, filming began 28 Oct 1986, with a budget of $22.7 million, as stated in the 8 Mar 1987 LAT article. Production notes specified that the first location was a California desert near Yuma, AZ, which doubled for the arid moon of “Plant Vega.” There, extras were hired from a nearby U.S. Marine base to play “Dark Helmet’s” Spaceball troops. Hoping for cooler, fall weather, the filmmakers were disappointed to find the desert unusually hot for mid-Oct, registering the highest temperatures in the country at the time. Scenes shot on location in and around Los Angeles, CA, included the marriage sequences between Vespa and Valium, filmed at St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church in Pacific Palisades. Sound stages at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer’s (MGM) old studio in Culver City were used to house the sets, as stated in production notes. The bridge of Dark Helmet’s ship, the “Spaceball One,” was built on Stage 30, and Yogurt’s underground temple was built on Stage 27, the same stage on which yellow-brick road sequences for “The Wizard of Oz” (1939, see entry) were filmed.
       The design of Spaceball One was inspired by the Japanese battleship, Yamato, “the most heavily armed ship ever built,” according to the Aug 1987 Cinefex. Lone Starr’s vessel, the “Eagle 5,” was created out of a real Winnebago Chieftain, modified to have “delta wings, a radar antenna and … ‘hyper jets’,” as stated in production notes. Production designer Terence Marsh had not had any previous interest in designing science fiction films but said “Spaceballs” appealed to him because “it was obviously crazy.”
       In order to make the summer release date stipulated by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Inc., the visual effects team was allowed to begin working before the end of principal photography and before any of the film had been presented to test audiences, as stated in the Aug 1987 Cinefex. Since it parodied high-quality effects films, visual effects supervisor Peter Donen was adamant that Spaceballs look as realistic as possible. Apogee, Inc., was selected as the “prime effects contractor,” having been instrumental in the creation of a new Kodak film stock called 5295, which was “optimized for visual effects,” and used previously for one scene in Star Trek IV (1986, see entry). Spaceballs became the first film to use 5295 “for all its live-action bluescreen work.” According to production notes, a very large bluescreen system was created, employing nearly fifty blue fluorescent light panels, to produce the sweeping space vistas visible outside the windows of Spaceball One.
       Spaceballs opened in a limited number of theaters on Wednesday, 24 Jun 1987, earning $1,287,995 in box-office receipts at the 1,201 screens on which it played, according to a 26 Jun 1987 HR news item. That Friday, MGM widened the release to 1,385 screens. The film performed equally well in all regions of the country during its initial limited release, and David Forbes, MGM/UA’s distribution president at the time, was confident that the film would have a strong opening weekend. A 5 Oct 1987 Los Angeles Business Journal article reported that the film had taken in $38 million at the box office, to that time.
       In his 8 Mar 1987 LAT article, Patrick Goldstein commented that there was a great deal riding on the success of Spaceballs, due to Brooks’s six-year hiatus leading up to the film; however, critical reception was mixed. On 22 Jun 1987, HR reviewer Duane Byrge acknowledged the film’s humorous moments but criticized the dialogue and dated gags. In a more negative review, the 22 Jun 1987 DV accused the film of “misfir[ing] on all cylinders” and criticized Brooks’ direction as well as the film’s failure to offer anything new or innovative. In his review on 24 Jun 1987, Roger Ebert from the Chicago Sun-Times noted that the film’s dialogue could be “painfully juvenile” but lauded Brooks’s sight gags. The only aspects of the film that seemed to consistently receive favorable comments were the technical credits, namely production design and costume design, although, on 25 Jun 1987, an LAT review suggested the film may have fared better with a lower budget and an aesthetic to match its “tacky” humor.
       While the 10 Dec 1986 DV specified that there would be no sequels to Spaceballs, an animated television show called Spaceballs: The Animated Series was created by Brooksfilms Ltd. in collaboration with MGM, G4 and Berliner Film Companie GmbH, as announced by a 21 Sep 2006 HR news brief. The series, with an initial schedule of thirteen episodes, was set to launch in fall 2007; however, according to a 19 Sep 2008 Chicago Tribune item, Spaceballs: The Animated Series first aired 21 Sep 2008 on G4, following an airing of the film. Brooks and Joan Rivers reprised their film roles in the series, along with Daphne Zuniga, who played “Princess Vespa.”
       The end credits contain a “special thanks” to the following individuals and organizations: Jerry and Bob Greenberg; U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management; “Public Lands U.S.A., Use, Share and Appreciate”; Winnebago Industries, Inc.; Lark Luggage Company; Goody Products, Inc.; and Calico M-100 Rifles by Calico Company. As noted in the credits, second assistant director Mitchell Bock also appeared in the role of "Video operator."
       The summary and note for this entry were completed with participation from the AFI Academic Network. Summary and note were written by participant Anjuli M. Singh, an independent scholar.