Questions
When did Stargate come out and who directed it?
Stargate was released on October 28, 1994, and was directed by Roland Emmerich, who co-wrote it with producer Dean Devlin.
Who starred in the original Stargate movie?
Kurt Russell played Colonel Jack O’Neil and James Spader played Egyptologist Dr. Daniel Jackson, with Jaye Davidson as the alien Ra.
What is the movie actually about?
A military team led by Colonel O’Neil and an Egyptologist travel through a newly discovered alien wormhole to the planet Abydos, where they find an extraterrestrial posing as the Egyptian sun god Ra and free the enslaved people there.
What idea inspired the story?
The film draws on the ancient astronaut hypothesis, the notion that extraterrestrials influenced early human civilizations and the building of the pyramids.
Did Stargate make money?
Yes. On a budget of about $55 million it grossed roughly $196.6 million worldwide.
Did Stargate set any box office records?
It set the record for the highest-grossing October opening weekend, holding that record until 1998 when Antz surpassed it.
Is that really Jaye Davidson from The Crying Game as Ra?
Yes. Davidson took the role after his breakthrough in The Crying Game, and reportedly signed on once his request for $1 million in pay was accepted. It became his last major film before he retired from acting.
Did they use a real ancient Egyptian language in the film?
Egyptologist Stuart Tyson Smith consulted on the production so that the Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics and spoken language would be as accurate as possible.
Who wrote the music?
The score was composed by David Arnold, and Stargate was his first major American feature film.
How did they create the rippling wormhole effect?
The wormhole used fully digital effects with digitally composited ripples, and the signature kawoosh burst was reportedly made by filming the swirl of water inside a glass tube.
Did Stargate win any awards?
It won the Saturn Award for Best Science Fiction Film, one of six wins among ten nominations.
Was Stargate supposed to have sequels?
Emmerich and Devlin originally intended it as the first film of a trilogy, but they shifted to making Independence Day (1996) and left the movie sequels undeveloped.
How did Stargate become such a big franchise?
The film’s success launched the television series Stargate SG-1 (1997 to 2007) along with the spinoffs Atlantis and Universe, plus video games, comics, and novels.
Were there scenes cut from the movie?
Yes. A director’s cut restored additional material, including Ra’s abduction of his human host and the discovery of a petrified Anubis guard, which had been trimmed for time.
