# Supernova (2000 film)
**Supernova** is a 2000 American science fiction horror film directed in practice by [Walter Hill](https://www.edgepedia.org/walter-hill) and Jack Sholder but credited to the pseudonymous "Thomas Lee", about the crew of a deep-space medical ship that answers a distress call 3,432 light years away and takes aboard a survivor carrying a dangerous alien artifact.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/61864-SUPERNOVA) • [2](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt0134983/credits/) It was produced and distributed by MGM, opened in the United States on January 14, 2000, and became one of the studio's costlier failures, with a $90 million budget against a worldwide gross of about $14.8 million.[2](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt0134983/credits/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Release | United States opening January 14, 2000; PG-13; 91 minutes; science fiction with action sub-genre[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/61864-SUPERNOVA) |
| Credited director | Thomas Lee, a pseudonym; Walter Hill directed the bulk of the film and Jack Sholder shot reshoots[3](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0134983/fullcredits/) • [4](https://bombreport.com/yearly-breakdowns/2000-2/supernova/) |
| Writers | David Campbell Wilson (screenplay); William Malone and Daniel Chuba (story)[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/61864-SUPERNOVA) |
| Principal cast | James Spader, Angela Bassett, Robert Forster, Lou Diamond Phillips, Peter Facinelli, Robin Tunney, Wilson Cruz[3](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0134983/fullcredits/) |
| Budget and gross | $90,000,000 budget; $14,828,081 worldwide gross, of which $14,230,455 was domestic[2](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt0134983/credits/) |
| Production company | MGM Pictures, Inc.; distributed by MGM Distribution Co.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/61864-SUPERNOVA) |
## Spoilers
### Plot
Set in the early 22nd century, the movie centers on the six-member search-and-rescue team serving aboard Nightingale 229, a deep-space medical vessel.[5](https://www.hsx.com/security/view/SPRNV) The ship receives a distress call from a mining operation 3,432 light years away and makes a rescue jump to reach it.[2](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt0134983/credits/) The crew picks up a lone survivor, Karl Larson ([Peter Facinelli](https://www.edgepedia.org/peter-facinelli)), who has smuggled an alien artifact aboard; the crew members then die one by one, and the ship must also contend with the gravitational pull of a giant star about to go supernova.[5](https://www.hsx.com/security/view/SPRNV) • [6](https://waarkanikdatkijken.nl/supernova)
## Production history
The project began as a low-budget science fiction pitch by writer [William Malone](https://www.edgepedia.org/william-malone) around 1990, conceived as a blend of *Hellraiser* and *[Dead Calm](https://www.edgepedia.org/dead-calm-film)* in outer space, and was reworked over the years into a large-budget MGM production.[4](https://bombreport.com/yearly-breakdowns/2000-2/supernova/) • [7](https://midwestfilmjournal.com/2026/03/11/coming-around-again-supernova-2000/amp/) Australian director Geoffrey Wright was set to direct but left shortly before production, citing creative differences; by one account he wanted to shoot the entire film in zero gravity.[7](https://midwestfilmjournal.com/2026/03/11/coming-around-again-supernova-2000/amp/)
**Walter Hill's tenure.** [James Spader](https://www.edgepedia.org/james-spader), already cast as the lead, campaigned for MGM to hire Walter Hill, who had produced and co-written three *Alien* films. Hill accepted, took his own pass on the script weeks before production began in April 1998, and directed the bulk of the film on a budget that was cut partway through shooting after MGM's financing arrangement with the visual effects house Digital Domain fell through; a planned CGI robot was replaced by a human actor in an android suit.[7](https://midwestfilmjournal.com/2026/03/11/coming-around-again-supernova-2000/amp/) [Principal photography](https://www.edgepedia.org/principal-photography) was completed in July 1998, and Hill spent 24 weeks editing.[8](https://themagnificent60s.com/2026/08/13/behind-the-scenes-supernova-2000/)
**Test screening and Hill's exit.** After half a year of editing, Hill told MGM that reshoots were needed, but the studio test-screened his cut, which lacked final effects, to gauge audience response. The results were disastrous, and Hill quit after a standoff with MGM chief Frank Mancuso, Sr.[7](https://midwestfilmjournal.com/2026/03/11/coming-around-again-supernova-2000/amp/) Hill did not approve the new edit and petitioned the [Directors Guild of America](https://www.edgepedia.org/directors-guild-of-america) to have his name removed.[4](https://bombreport.com/yearly-breakdowns/2000-2/supernova/) Because audiences recognized the DGA's official "Alan Smithee" pseudonym as a sign of a disowned film, MGM chose "Thomas Lee" from pseudonyms Hill offered.[9](https://midwestfilmjournal.com/2026/03/11/coming-around-again-supernova-2000/)
**Sholder's reshoots and Coppola's re-edit.** Jack Sholder, director of *The Hidden* and *A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge*, was hired to re-edit Hill's footage and direct reshoots. He cut much of Hill's character development, added humor, added a save-the-day sequence for Spader's character, replaced the voice of the ship's computer, and commissioned a new score; much of Patrick Tatopoulos's creature work was also cut, and the mutation scenes for Facinelli's character were reshot with minimal makeup.[7](https://midwestfilmjournal.com/2026/03/11/coming-around-again-supernova-2000/amp/) Sholder's cut tested better, but a new executive regime at MGM remained unsatisfied. Hill was asked to return and proposed $5 million of reshoots, which the studio declined, and the film was shelved. In August 1999, [Francis Ford Coppola](https://www.edgepedia.org/francis-ford-coppola), then an MGM board member, agreed to supervise another re-edit at a cost of about $1 million.[7](https://midwestfilmjournal.com/2026/03/11/coming-around-again-supernova-2000/amp/) Coppola's main contributions were crafting the released ending and digitally superimposing the faces of Spader and [Angela Bassett](https://www.edgepedia.org/angela-bassett) onto the bodies of Facinelli and [Robin Tunney](https://www.edgepedia.org/robin-tunney) for an added sex scene; his version also tested poorly.[9](https://midwestfilmjournal.com/2026/03/11/coming-around-again-supernova-2000/)
## Release and reception
The film opened in Los Angeles on January 14, 2000, and in New York the week of January 15.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/61864-SUPERNOVA) Its domestic opening gross was $5,778,639, and it earned $14,230,455 domestically and $597,626 internationally, for a worldwide total of $14,828,081 against a $90 million budget.[2](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt0134983/credits/) According to the Midwest Film Journal retrospective, MGM lost $83 million on the film, and James Spader also disavowed it.[9](https://midwestfilmjournal.com/2026/03/11/coming-around-again-supernova-2000/) MGM promoted the film with a trailer using [Sugar Ray](https://www.edgepedia.org/sugar-ray) and [Three Dog Night](https://www.edgepedia.org/three-dog-night) songs that suggested a lighter romp than the film delivers and included scenes absent from the final cut.[9](https://midwestfilmjournal.com/2026/03/11/coming-around-again-supernova-2000/)
Commentators have attributed the film's disjointed tone, mixing space thriller, horror, and erotic elements, to the succession of directors and re-edits; the Screen Slate retrospective describes it as an assemblage of differing tones and narrative pulls from several different sets of hands.[10](https://www.screenslate.com/articles/supernova) A DVD release followed on August 22, 2000.[11](https://www.moviefone.com/movie/supernova/7065/where-to-watch/)
## References
1. [Supernova (2000), AFI Catalog of Feature Films](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/61864-SUPERNOVA)
2. [Supernova (2000), Box Office Mojo](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt0134983/credits/)
3. [Supernova (2000), Full cast & crew, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0134983/fullcredits/)
4. [Supernova, Bomb Report](https://bombreport.com/yearly-breakdowns/2000-2/supernova/)
5. [Supernova, MovieStock, HSX.com](https://www.hsx.com/security/view/SPRNV)
6. [Supernova (2000) kijken, WaarKanIkDatKijken.nl](https://waarkanikdatkijken.nl/supernova)
7. [Coming Around Again: Supernova (2000) - Midwest Film Journal](https://midwestfilmjournal.com/2026/03/11/coming-around-again-supernova-2000/amp/)
8. [Behind the Scenes: Supernova (2000), The Magnificent 60s](https://themagnificent60s.com/2026/08/13/behind-the-scenes-supernova-2000/)
9. [Coming Around Again: Supernova (2000), Midwest Film Journal](https://midwestfilmjournal.com/2026/03/11/coming-around-again-supernova-2000/)
10. [Supernova, Screen Slate](https://www.screenslate.com/articles/supernova)
11. [Supernova: Where to Watch & Stream, Moviefone](https://www.moviefone.com/movie/supernova/7065/where-to-watch/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Science fiction and fantasy films (individual works) › Science fiction and fantasy films of the 2000s › Science fiction films of the 2000s*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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