Men in Black is a 1997 American science fiction action comedy film based on the comic series by Marvel Comics, which was itself based on the conspiracy theory. Produced by Columbia Pictures in association with Amblin Entertainment and MacDonald Parkes Productions, and distributed by Sony Pictures Releasing, it was directed by Barry Sonnenfeld, written by Ed Solomon, and is the first installment in the Men in Black franchise. It stars Tommy Lee Jones, Will Smith, Linda Fiorentino, Vincent D'Onofrio, and Rip Torn. In the film, Kevin Brown / Agent K (Jones) and James Darrell Edwards III / Agent J (Smith) investigate a series of seemingly unrelated criminal incidents related to the extraterrestrial lifeforms which live in secret on Earth.