‘Species’ With Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan, and Van Lathan
Episode
91 min
Read time
2 min
Topics
Career Growth, Leadership, Design & UX
AI-Generated Summary
Key Takeaways
- ✓Budget allocation strategy: Species spent nearly its entire $35 million budget on alien effects and practical creature work by HR Giger, hiring mid-tier actors like Madsen instead of A-listers like Travolta, resulting in two Oscar winners (Kingsley, Whitaker) working for scale alongside unknowns in a commercially successful formula.
- ✓Nineties scientist fiction subgenre: Films like Species, Outbreak, Congo, Sphere, and Mimic created a profitable template combining ensemble casts of credible actors, plausible scientific premises, and adventure elements that executed high-concept ideas on mid-range budgets, filling theaters before internet streaming changed distribution models.
- ✓Casting unknown leads for genre films: Director Roger Donaldson cast Canadian model Natasha Henstridge with zero acting experience as the alien protagonist, prioritizing physical presence and willingness to perform extensive nude scenes over established talent, demonstrating how genre films could launch careers through unconventional casting that prioritized concept over star power.
- ✓Character actor career trajectories: Michael Madsen's 1992-1997 peak included Reservoir Dogs, Thelma and Louise, Species, and Donnie Brasco before his career shifted to direct-to-video paycheck roles, illustrating how nineties character actors had brief windows as leading men before settling into supporting work or television.
- ✓Practical effects versus narrative coherence: The film prioritized HR Giger's creature design and transformation sequences over logical plot development, including an unexplained empath character played by Forest Whitaker whose inconsistent psychic abilities serve atmosphere rather than story function, showing how nineties genre films valued spectacle over screenplay polish.
What It Covers
The Rewatchables podcast analyzes the 1995 sci-fi thriller Species, examining Michael Madsen's performance, the film's $35 million budget allocation toward effects over stars, Natasha Henstridge's debut role, and the movie's commercial success earning $113 million worldwide.
Key Questions Answered
- •Budget allocation strategy: Species spent nearly its entire $35 million budget on alien effects and practical creature work by HR Giger, hiring mid-tier actors like Madsen instead of A-listers like Travolta, resulting in two Oscar winners (Kingsley, Whitaker) working for scale alongside unknowns in a commercially successful formula.
- •Nineties scientist fiction subgenre: Films like Species, Outbreak, Congo, Sphere, and Mimic created a profitable template combining ensemble casts of credible actors, plausible scientific premises, and adventure elements that executed high-concept ideas on mid-range budgets, filling theaters before internet streaming changed distribution models.
- •Casting unknown leads for genre films: Director Roger Donaldson cast Canadian model Natasha Henstridge with zero acting experience as the alien protagonist, prioritizing physical presence and willingness to perform extensive nude scenes over established talent, demonstrating how genre films could launch careers through unconventional casting that prioritized concept over star power.
- •Character actor career trajectories: Michael Madsen's 1992-1997 peak included Reservoir Dogs, Thelma and Louise, Species, and Donnie Brasco before his career shifted to direct-to-video paycheck roles, illustrating how nineties character actors had brief windows as leading men before settling into supporting work or television.
- •Practical effects versus narrative coherence: The film prioritized HR Giger's creature design and transformation sequences over logical plot development, including an unexplained empath character played by Forest Whitaker whose inconsistent psychic abilities serve atmosphere rather than story function, showing how nineties genre films valued spectacle over screenplay polish.
Notable Moment
The discussion reveals Michael Madsen deliberately antagonized Ben Kingsley on set by dumping garbage on his chair and hanging it from cranes, reflecting Kingsley's apparent regret about accepting the role. Madsen later called Species one of his favorite projects because he played a heroic character rather than his typical villain roles.
Episode Transcript
This podcast is sponsored by PayPal. Let's talk holiday shopping. Make the most of your money with PayPal. They give you the flexibility to pay in four. No fees. No interest. So whether it's the must have toy or a tiered cheese board, PayPal helps you make the most of your money this holiday subject to approval. Learn more at paypal.com/payin for PayPal Inc, n m l s, nine one zero four five seven. The Rewatchables is brought to you by the Ringer podcast network where you can find the watch with CR. Is this your Madsen imitation? Pink pig too. I'm I'm doing a Brad Pitt. Oh, Brad Pitt. F one. F one. I'm just talking like that. Yeah. I am on the live show on the big picture. Van Lathan, higher learning. Yeah. Right now, boys. Pew pew. We're gonna do an incredible movie that came out thirty years ago that I saw in the theater. Yeah. Yeah. And I don't know why it wasn't a bigger thing. Maybe it is. Maybe it is a thing. We're gonna find out species is next. We now have a new sequence of DNA with instructions on how to combine it with ours. They don't know how to find her. You created a monster. Now you want us to hunt it down and kill her. They don't know how to kill her. We decided to make it female so that it would be more controllable. Won't control it, hun. I guess you guys don't get out much. They only know if they fail. We gotta get to her before she gives birth. It's the end of a small. Species, rated r, starts Friday, July 7. This episode of the rewatchable is presented by Holiday Inn by IHG. It's a new day for a new stay at Holiday Inn for business travelers. Do you count as business traveler, Sean? Sure. Sometimes. Okay. With modern spaces for meeting and working plus delicious dining for breakfast to happy hour. Do you breakfast, Sean? I do. I had an apple and a breakfast bar this morning. Oh, interesting. I don't need any breakfast. But I do love happy hour and dinner. They have that too. You have everything you need to get your work done. Give your everyday business travel an upgrade. Book your next business trip at Holiday Inn by IHG. Visit holidayinn.com to book your stay. Alright. So Michael Madsen died. Now you're doing Javier Bardem from f one. Okay. What are we doing? Sonny. Michael Madsen passed away, and we had to do a Michael Madsen movie. And you thought it was gonna be Donnie Brasco? I asked. Yes. And I was like, no. Yep. It's gonna be Species because he's fucking awesome in Species. Listeners know that's how things work. And you were excited. Yeah. I was excited. Yeah. I know you were like goes no. Species Well, Species was weirdly on the summer list anyway because I just bought it …
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“Michael Madsen's 1992-1997 peak included Reservoir Dogs, Thelma and Louise, Species, and Donnie Brasco before his career shifted to direct-to-video paycheck roles”
“Michael Madsen's 1992-1997 peak included Reservoir Dogs, Thelma and Louise, Species, and Donnie Brasco before his career shifted to direct-to-video paycheck roles”
“Michael Madsen's 1992-1997 peak included Reservoir Dogs, Thelma and Louise, Species, and Donnie Brasco before his career shifted to direct-to-video paycheck roles”
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