| Photos (see all 37 | slideshow) |
| James Spader | ... | Nick Vanzant | |
| Angela Bassett | ... | Dr. Kaela Evers | |
| Robert Forster | ... | A.J. Marley | |
| Lou Diamond Phillips | ... | Yerzy Penalosa | |
| Peter Facinelli | ... | Karl Larson | |
| Robin Tunney | ... | Danika Lund | |
| Wilson Cruz | ... | Benj Sotomejor | |
| Eddy Rice Jr. | ... | Flyboy | |
| Knox White | ... | Troy Larson (as Knox Grantham White) | |
| Kerrigan Mahan | ... | Troy Larson (voice) | |
| Vanessa Marshall | ... | Sweetie (voice) | |
| rest of cast listed alphabetically: | |||
| Kevin Sizemore | ... | Rescue Leader (uncredited) | |
Directed by | |||
| Walter Hill | (as Thomas Lee) | ||
| Francis Ford Coppola | (uncredited) | ||
| Jack Sholder | (uncredited) | ||
Writing credits(WGA) | ||
| William Malone | (story) and | |
| Daniel Chuba | (story) | |
| David C. Wilson | (screenplay) (as David Campbell Wilson) | |
Produced by | |||
| Daniel Chuba | .... | producer | |
| Jamie Dixon | .... | producer | |
| James Robert Johnston | .... | associate producer (as James R. Johnston III) | |
| Ash R. Shah | .... | producer | |
| Ralph S. Singleton | .... | executive producer | |
Original Music by | |||
| David C. Williams | (as David Williams) | ||
Cinematography by | |||
| Lloyd Ahern II | |||
Film Editing by | |||
| Melissa Kent | |||
| Michael Schweitzer | |||
| Francis Ford Coppola | (uncredited) | ||
| Freeman A. Davies | (uncredited) | ||
Casting by | |||
| Mary Jo Slater | |||
Production Design by | |||
| Marek Dobrowolski | |||
Art Direction by | |||
| Bruce Robert Hill | |||
Set Decoration by | |||
| Nancy Nye | |||
Costume Design by | |||
| Bob Ringwood | |||
Makeup Department | |||
| Gino Acevedo | .... | paint supervisor: Patrick Tatopoulos Designs | |
| Marilee Canaga | .... | suit supervisor: Patrick Tatopoulos Designs | |
| Nik E. Carey | .... | seam supervisor: Patrick Tatopoulos Designs (as Nik Carey) | |
| Adam Christopher | .... | makeup artist | |
| Laura Connolly | .... | hair stylist | |
| Kimberly Felix | .... | makeup artist | |
| Thomas Floutz | .... | sculptor | |
| Robert Freitas | .... | mold supervisor: Patrick Tatopoulos Designs (as Rob Frietas) | |
| Greg Funk | .... | prosthetic makeup artist | |
| Jake Garber | .... | prosthetic makeup supervisor | |
| Dave Grasso | .... | lead sculptor: Patrick Tatopoulos Designs (as David Grasso) | |
| Ora Green | .... | hair stylist (as Ora Tillman Green) | |
| Chris Hanson | .... | special makeup effects artist | |
| Todd Heindel | .... | foam supervisor: Patrick Tatopoulos Designs | |
| Dennis Liddiard | .... | makeup artist | |
| Gary Liddiard | .... | makeup artist | |
| Russell Seifert | .... | shop supervisor: Patrick Tatopoulos Designs | |
| Joseph Yuss Simon | .... | special makeup effects | |
| Mike Smithson | .... | key prosthetic makeup artist | |
| Robert L. Stevenson | .... | hair stylist: Angela Bassett | |
| Patrick Tatopoulos | .... | fabrication supervisor | |
| Patrick Tatopoulos | .... | special makeup effects designer | |
| Joy Zapata | .... | key hair stylist (as Joy Zapata-Chavez) | |
| Lori McCoy-Bell | .... | hair stylist: second unit (uncredited) | |
Special Effects by | |||
| Wayne Burnes | .... | special effects | |
| Jason Collins | .... | lab and set technician: KNB Effects Group | |
| Eric Coon | .... | miniatures crew | |
| Scott R. Fisher | .... | special effects producer | |
| Thomas L. Fisher | .... | special effects producer | |
| Thomas D. Krausz | .... | specialty weapon & appliance fabricator | |
| Ian C. McArthur | .... | special effects technician | |
| Andrew Miller | .... | special effects foreman | |
| Rudy Perez | .... | special effects | |
| Patrick Tatopoulos | .... | creature designer | |
| Robert Cole | .... | special effects (uncredited) | |
| Jay King | .... | special effects technician (uncredited) | |
| Michael McGee | .... | special costumes (uncredited) | |
Visual Effects by | |||
| Yarek Alfer | .... | head sculptor | |
| Brad W. Altfest | .... | digital I/O | |
| Karen Ansel | .... | visual effects supervisor: Mobility | |
| Elisabeth Arko | .... | computer graphics artist: Santa Barbara Studios | |
| Jeffrey Arnold | .... | digital compositor | |
| James J. Atkinson | .... | digital artist | |
| Eric Barba | .... | computer graphics supervisor: Digital Domain | |
| Andy Barrios | .... | Inferno artist: Rainmaker Digital Pictures | |
| Brian Battles | .... | Inferno artist: Rainmaker Digital Pictures | |
| Jennifer Bergman | .... | visual effects producer: Rainmaker Digital Pictures | |
| David Bleich | .... | digital matte painter: Digital Domain (as David R. Bleich) | |
| Cris Blyth | .... | visual effects | |
| Brigitte Bourque | .... | Inferno artist: Rainmaker Digital Pictures | |
| Constance Bracewell | .... | lead animator: Hammerhead Productions | |
| Terry Bradshaw | .... | systems administrator: Digital Domain | |
| Kevin Braun | .... | technical supervisor: Pacific Title/Mirage | |
| Marko Brown | .... | digital team lead: Digital Domain | |
| Shannan Burkley | .... | digital matte painter: Digital Domain | |
| Lupe Cabrera | .... | model shop coordinator | |
| J. André Chaintreuil | .... | model maker: lasercam operator | |
| Adam Chrystie | .... | 3D modeling (3D lighting) | |
| Adam Chrystie | .... | digital 3D artist | |
| Richard Chuang | .... | digital effects producer: PDI | |
| Daniel Chuba | .... | visual effects producer: Hammerhead (as Dan Chuba) | |
| Chad E. Collier | .... | scanning and recording operator: Digital Domain | |
| Tim 'Timco' Conway | .... | 3D tracking/data integration: Digital Domain (as Tim Conway) | |
| John Michael Courte | .... | digital team lead: Digital Domain | |
| Chris Crowell | .... | digital compositor/digital paint artist: Pacific Title & Art Studio | |
| Judith Crow | .... | lead visual effects technical supervisor: Digital Domain | |
| Chanda Cummings | .... | digital artist | |
| Avi Das | .... | digital effects artist | |
| David 'Grue' Debry | .... | digital artist | |
| Francisco De Jesus | .... | digital team lead: Digital Domain (as Francisco X. De Jesus) | |
| Sandy DellaMarie | .... | visual effects coordinator: Pacific Title Digital | |
| Mykel Denis | .... | model maker | |
| Jamie Dixon | .... | visual effects supervisor: Hammerhead Productions | |
| Eric Alan Donaldson | .... | company grip: visual effects unit | |
| Rob Doolittle | .... | visual effects co-editor: avid | |
| Roy L. Downey | .... | pyrotechnics support visual effects photography unit (as Roy Downey) | |
| Benjamin Edelberg | .... | visual effects illustrator | |
| Michael Edland | .... | digital artist | |
| James Egstad | .... | scanning & recording operator | |
| Jonathan Egstad | .... | digital effects supervisor: Digital Domain (as Jonathan D. Egstad) | |
| Leif Einarsson | .... | creature setup technical director | |
| Wayne England | .... | digital artist | |
| Richard Ewan | .... | painter: miniatures | |
| Sean Andrew Faden | .... | data integration team lead: Digital Domain | |
| Sean Andrew Faden | .... | digital team lead: Digital Domain | |
| Alan K.M. Faucher | .... | model shop supervisor (as Alan Faucher) | |
| Chris Flynn | .... | digital compositor: Pacific Title & Art Studio | |
| Sing-Choong Foo | .... | digital effects artist | |
| Mark Freund | .... | digital effects supervisor: Pacific Title & Art Studio | |
| Michael J. Frick | .... | digital compositor | |
| Robert A.D. Frick | .... | digital artist | |
| Gonzalo Garramuno | .... | digital artist | |
| Victoria Gavoian | .... | visual effects production assistant: second unit | |
| George Gervan | .... | rotoscope/paint artist: Pacific Title/Mirage | |
| Richard Gervan | .... | rotoscope/paint artist: Pacific Title/Mirage | |
| John Gibson | .... | digital artist | |
| Swen Gillberg | .... | digital artist | |
| Brian Goldberg | .... | technical coordinator: Digital Domain | |
| Bret Goldhorn | .... | visual effects production assistant | |
| Mitch Goldstrom | .... | systems administrator: Digital Domain | |
| Darin K. Grant | .... | software engineer | |
| Alex Grau | .... | digital artist | |
| Scott Graves | .... | visual effects | |
| Jason Greenblum | .... | digital rotoscope artist: Digital Domain | |
| Ron Gress | .... | visual effects art director | |
| Bryan Grill | .... | lead digital compositor: Digital Domain (as Bryan M. Grill) | |
| Rochelle Gross | .... | visual effects post producer | |
| Gary Gutierrez | .... | visual effects: title sequence | |
| Tony Halawa | .... | digital matte painter: Digital Domain | |
| Craig Halperin | .... | digital artist | |
| Jason Hanel | .... | digital production coordinator: Pacific Title & Art Studio | |
| Sarkis Hardy | .... | model shop foreman | |
| Scott Harper | .... | digital supervisor: Rainmaker Digital Pictures | |
| Jason Heapy | .... | production coordinator: PDI | |
| Claas Henke | .... | compositor: Digital Domain | |
| Ronald D. Herbst | .... | digital team lead: Digital Domain | |
| Kristi Hewitt | .... | digital artist | |
| Brent Heyning | .... | model maker | |
| David Hodgins | .... | digital artist | |
| Heather Holmer | .... | 3D artist: Rainmaker Digital Pictures | |
| Nicholas Sanger Hoppe | .... | digital artist | |
| Les Hunter | .... | visual effects producer: PDI | |
| Julie Jaros | .... | computer graphics artist: Santa Barbara Studios | |
| Rick T. Jaynes | .... | digital effects coordinator: Digital Domain | |
| Jay Mark Johnson | .... | additional matte painter | |
| Bruce Jones | .... | visual effects producer: Santa Barbara Studios | |
| Michael Kaelin | .... | compositor: SBS | |
| Nikos Kalaitzidis | .... | digital team lead: Digital Domain | |
| Jeffrey Kalmus | .... | color grading supervisor: Digital Domain | |
| Mel Kangleon | .... | digital artist | |
| Alan Kapler | .... | digital artist | |
| Michael Karp | .... | motion control operator | |
| Dan Kaufman | .... | senior technical director | |
| Paul Kulikowski | .... | digital compositor | |
| Markus Kurtz | .... | digital team lead: Digital Domain | |
| Henry LaBounta | .... | digital effects producer: PDI | |
| Mathew Lamb | .... | digital artist | |
| Mark Larranaga | .... | digital compositor (as Mark M. Larranaga) | |
| Dan Lemmon | .... | digital artist | |
| Julian Levi | .... | visual effects producer: Digital Domain | |
| David Ley | .... | visual effects production assistant | |
| Scott Liedtka | .... | computer graphics artist: Santa Barbara Studios | |
| Rebecca Lilienfeld | .... | assistant visual effects editor: Digital Domain | |
| John A. Lima | .... | digital artist | |
| Craig R. Linssen | .... | visual effects production assistant | |
| Christine Lo | .... | digital compositor | |
| David Lo | .... | digital artist | |
| Scott Lukowski | .... | model maker | |
| Martha Snow Mack | .... | lead digital matte painter: Digital Domain | |
| Donn Markel | .... | pyrotechnics support visual effects photography unit | |
| Una Martin | .... | visual effects assistant coordinator: second unit | |
| S. Scott McCaulley | .... | facilities supervisor: Digital Domain | |
| Laura McDermott | .... | digital rotoscope artist: Digital Domain (as Laura E. McDermott) | |
| Rodney J. McFall | .... | digital artist | |
| Tim McGovern | .... | additional visual effects supervisor | |
| Andrew McPhillips | .... | digital compositor | |
| Marc Meisels | .... | special effects lighting | |
| Daniel Mellitz | .... | digital artist | |
| Joel Román Mendías | .... | visual effects coordinator: Digital Domain | |
| George Merkert | .... | visual effects executive producer: PDI | |
| Michael A. Miller | .... | digital artist | |
| Bob Monaghan | .... | visual effects | |
| Ray Moore | .... | lead modelmaker | |
| Robert Nederhorst | .... | 3D digital artist: Pixel Monkey | |
| Bill Neil | .... | visual effects director of photography: Digital Domain | |
| Mike O'Neal | .... | lead visual effects technical supervisor: Digital Domain | |
| Stephan Osterburg | .... | digital artist | |
| Lou Pecora | .... | digital compositor | |
| Brian Peyatt | .... | technical coordinator | |
| Brett Phillips | .... | lead modelmaker: Digital Domain | |
| Patrick Phillips | .... | senior compositor: Pacific Title/Mirage | |
| Danielle Plantec | .... | digital artist | |
| Darren Poe | .... | lead digital compositor: Digital Domain (as Darren M. Poe) | |
| Kelly Port | .... | computer graphics supervisor: Digital Domain | |
| David Prescott | .... | digital team lead: Digital Domain | |
| Dennis 'wiz' Price | .... | digital artist | |
| Marc D. Rienzo | .... | compositor: PDI/DreamWorks | |
| Brian Ripley | .... | model lead: Digital Domain | |
| Jeffrey Roth | .... | digital artist | |
| Eric Saindon | .... | computer graphics artist: Santa Barbara Studios | |
| Scott Salsa | .... | mechanical supervisor: visual effects photography unit | |
| Scott Salsa | .... | motion control supervisor: visual effects photography unit | |
| Bill Schaeffer | .... | digital rotoscope artist: Digital Domain | |
| Scott Schneider | .... | miniature effects supervisor: Digital Domain | |
| Laura Schultz | .... | visual effects coordinator: Digital Domain | |
| Donovan Scott | .... | digital compositor (as Donovan A. Scott) | |
| Lisa Scott | .... | digital effects coordinator: Digital Domain (as Lisa Harriman Scott) | |
| Douglas Seiden | .... | digital artist | |
| Ira Shain | .... | computer animator: Mobility, Inc. | |
| Rasha Shalaby | .... | compositor: Pacific Title/Mirage | |
| Hudson Shock | .... | compositor: Santa Barbara Studios | |
| David Shwartz | .... | digital matte painter: Digital Domain | |
| Dave Simmons | .... | digital compositor/digital paint artist: Pacific Title & Art Studio | |
| Alan Sonneman | .... | digital artist | |
| Lisa Spence | .... | digital production manager | |
| Bill Spitzak | .... | digital compositor | |
| David Stearn | .... | lead digital compositor: Digital Domain (as David Stern) | |
| Mark Stetson | .... | visual effects supervisor | |
| George Stevens | .... | model maker: Digital Domain | |
| John K. Stirber | .... | pyrotechnics supervisor: visual effects photography unit (as John Stirber) | |
| Tracy Takahashi | .... | digital effects coordinator: Digital Domain | |
| Alvin Tenpo | .... | technical assistant: PDI | |
| Lynn Tigar | .... | digital paint artist: Pacific Title & Art Studio | |
| Messrob Torikian | .... | data integration team | |
| Peter G. Travers | .... | computer graphics supervisor: Santa Barbara Studios | |
| George Trimmer | .... | visual effects art director | |
| Allison Troxell | .... | visual effects coordinator | |
| Zachary Tucker | .... | digital artist | |
| Juan Carlos Vargas | .... | visual effects (as Juan Vargas) | |
| Tarcis Vertaillie | .... | color grader: Digital Domain (as Tarcis C.M. Vertaille) | |
| Carey Villegas | .... | digital compositing supervisor: Digital Domain (as Carey Grant Villegas) | |
| Larry Weiss | .... | technical supervisor: PDI | |
| Jeff Wells | .... | compositor: Pacific Title/Mirage | |
| Byron Werner | .... | digital rotoscope artist: Digital Domain (as Byron D. Werner) | |
| Vernon R. Wilbert Jr. | .... | digital team lead: Digital Domain | |
| Kelly Wilcox | .... | computer graphics artist: Santa Barbara Studios | |
| Lance Wilhoite | .... | compositor: Santa Barbara Studios | |
| Lance Wilhoite | .... | visual effects producer: Santa Barbara Studios | |
| Johnny Wilson | .... | digital compositor | |
| Mark Wilson | .... | digital matte painter: Digital Domain | |
| Mark Wilson | .... | lead 3-D model maker: Digital Domain | |
| Debra Wolff | .... | visual effects editor | |
| Shane Wood | .... | visual effects | |
| Kieran Woo | .... | production controller: pre-production, Digital Domain | |
| Rachel Wyn Dunn | .... | compositor: Digital Domain | |
| Jesse James Chisholm | .... | production assistant: Digital Domain (uncredited) | |
| John R. Ellis | .... | designer/fabricator (uncredited) | |
| Matt Linder | .... | digital compositor (uncredited) | |
Stunts | |||
| Kevin Abercrombie | .... | utility stunts | |
| Ethan Boehme | .... | stunts | |
| Joey Box | .... | stunts | |
| Jeff Cadiente | .... | stunts | |
| Keith Campbell | .... | stunts | |
| Eliza Coleman | .... | stunts | |
| Glenn Goldstein | .... | utility stunts | |
| Allan Graf | .... | stunt coordinator | |
| Gene Hartline | .... | stunts | |
| Lisa Hoyle | .... | stunts | |
| Steve Kelso | .... | stunt driver | |
| Steve Kelso | .... | stunts | |
| Jamie Keyser | .... | stunts | |
| Francine Morris | .... | stunts | |
| Gilbert Rosales | .... | stunts | |
| Lynn Salvatori | .... | stunts | |
| Felipe Savahge | .... | stunts | |
| Webster Whinery | .... | stunts | |
| John Alden | .... | stunt coordinator (uncredited) | |
| Jennifer Nelson | .... | stunt double: Robin Tunney (uncredited) | |
Casting Department | |||
| Timothy Michals | .... | casting associate | |
| Lee A. Miles | .... | extras casting (uncredited) | |
Costume and Wardrobe Department | |||
| Stephanie Colin | .... | costumer | |
| Paul De Lucca | .... | key costumer | |
| Dominick De Rasmo | .... | specialty costume manufacturer | |
| Ernesto Martinez | .... | assistant costume designer | |
| David Rawley | .... | costume supervisor | |
| Christopher Scott | .... | costumer | |
Editorial Department | |||
| Gary Burritt | .... | negative cutter | |
| Ivan Landau | .... | post-production coordinator | |
| Phil Norden | .... | associate editor | |
| Yôko Seto | .... | assistant editor | |
| Mike Stanwick | .... | color timer | |
| Roy Waldspurger | .... | assistant editor: avid, San Francisco (uncredited) | |
Music Department | |||
| Bunny Andrews | .... | music editor | |
| Steven Bernstein | .... | conductor (as Steven R. Bernstein) | |
| Steven Bernstein | .... | orchestrator (as Steven R. Bernstein) | |
| Mark Boccaccio | .... | music programmer | |
| Sandy DeCrescent | .... | music contractor (as Sandy De Crescent) | |
| Terry Delsing | .... | music editor | |
| John Richards | .... | music recordist | |
| John Rodd | .... | orchestral scoring recordist | |
| Steven L. Smith | .... | music preparation | |
| Burkhard von Dallwitz | .... | composer: additional music (as Burkhard Dallwitz) | |
| Zigmund Gron | .... | music editor (uncredited) | |
Transportation Department | |||
| Howard Brady Davidson | .... | transportation captain (as Howard Davidson) | |
| Charles Enzen | .... | transportation coordinator | |
| Gary Paulsen | .... | transportation captain: second unit (as Gary D. Paulsen) | |
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Supernova is legendary for is production problems and poor critical reception. However, the end result is an entertaining action sci-fi film which fails to live down to its absurdly low expectations and also fails to live up to its very high potential. in other words, it's better than most people say, and nowhere near as good as it should have been.
A rescue ship manned by several paramedics, a hot shot pilot just out of a drug rehab, and emergency personnel, patrols the frontier of human exploration, serving mining colonies, etc, far from earth's solar system. Just as we are learning the personalities in the film, and just as they are starting to become interesting, a distress call is picked up and the ship responds. Enigmatically, the distress call seems to have come from somebody out of the chief medical officer's (Angela Bassett) past, with a lot of problems. "The patient", however, is just the beginning of the mystery, as a strange object with the potential power to destroy the known universe is eventually found.
The first problem with the film is that it bites off much more than it can chew - developing compelling characters, a very interesting, detailed and original plot, excellent special effects and some great sets, but never permitting any of them to grow, expand or become fully realized. The second problem is, I suspect, the fault of studio mismanagement. Rather than contributing to the film, the cinematography and editing are so poor that they, in fact, distract and detract. The production problems - switching directors, mismanagement by the sponsoring studio, inartistic and uninspired re-shooting and re-editing - suggest a couple of simple explanations. There are so many wipes and fades in the second half of the film that I began to wonder whether they were supposed to signify something (such as the passage of time, switching of dimensions, etc) which the audience was not privy to.
Contrary to popular belief, this film had a great deal of potential, however, it would have made a much better TV mini-series or even a premise for a TV series than a cinema release. Why? Because the story and especially the characters needed a lot more time and a lot less editing to develop properly.
The story line can be seen as totally inept or quite brilliant. Though I am no fan of black-box pseudoscience explanations such as "9th dimensional matter", I prefer the 'quite brilliant' interpretation. If you think a lot about what goes on in this film, you can easily link together what seems to be a mess of loose ends and detached subplots and really 'get' what the story is meant to convey. Facinelli's character can be seen as a guardian or simply a power-addict; Spader's former drug addiction can make his attempt at heroism seem a resolution of his inner demons; his relationship with Bassett can be seen as the resolution of the entire set of problems the film poses. However, realizing all of this requires more though and energy than the film itself suggests, and depicting it so that it could have been easily deciphered by the audience would have required at least a few more hours than the film was allowed.
The acting is actually quite good. Angela Bassett is, as usual, excellent, and Peter Facinelli and Wilson Cruz are both worth watching. James Spader's often maligned performance is perfect for the character he is playing - a former drug addict on a quest for redemption. I generally do not like Spader's work very much (there are already too many Clint Eastwood and Robert Downey types in the acting world today), but I do respect his talent. It is unfortunate that the characters were not permitted to develop as they should have, and though the reasons why are almost certainly the lack of decisive directorial control and the studio's post-production mistreatment of the film, this does not excuse Walter Hill from partial responsibility. Hill, after all, used some of the same signature structural plot devices in the over-rated Aliens and the weak but under-rated Alien3 - both of which were better films. the problem with the direction here is, predictably, simply one of consistency. Two to three directors and who knows how many editing and post-production teams simply can not make a perfectly coherent artistic vision.
Simply put, if you're into Sci-Fi, and don't mind films which favor the "fi" part of the phrase over the "sci", then you might just find yourself quite entertained. If you're no a sci-fi fan and you like action films, you might make it through Supernova. But, if you're not a sci-fi fan and your looking for something important, artistic and thoughtful, you should avoid this film like the plague.