Ed Solomon’s initial pitch to put a comedic spin on the concept landed him the gig, and he ran with it, creating a humorous take on the concept of extraterrestrials and the government agency that has to keep them in line. 

Tommy Lee Jones, however, had a very different understanding of the script. Solomon told Inverse that Jones felt the film should either be science fiction or comedy, and that Solomon’s attempt to blend the two wouldn’t work. “I said it wasn’t good enough science fiction to be dramatic,” he told Inverse. “Comedy would allow the leaps of faith needed for this to work. So I was asked to do a draft that was more dramatic and which made him the lead. But I argued that that wasn’t a good idea because it’s a world-build notion and he already knows the world.”

Solomon’s argument is a solid one. The goofiness of “Men in Black” differentiated it from popular ’90s sci-fi hits like “The X-Files,” “Independence Day,” and “The Fifth Element.” In the end, after being fired four times, Solomon’s original idea stuck, and he produced one of the funniest and most popular sci-fi movies ever. He also gets to say he won an argument against Jones, and considering the actor’s prickly personality, I doubt that happens very often.