The Man behind the Monster

Continued from page 1

By Kathryn Beaumont

November 2003

On the Hulk set, Underkoffler found himself sharing the breadth of his scientific expertise. In addition to hashing out the major scientific back story to the movie, he also served as a more general science consultant. When the film's editor wanted to know how fast the Hulk had to be running in order to jump a mile, for example, he called in Underkoffler to apply some calculus. When the costume designer wanted to know whether or not genomics scientists would really wear white lab coats (not usually), she asked Underkoffler for advice. He also designed the research posters that line the movie set's laboratory walls. And he gave the actors a basic science tutorial in the labs at Caltech to introduce them to latex gloves and pipettes. Underkoffler would have brought them to his alma mater for such training, but "MIT was 3,000 miles away," he explains.

No matter. Underkoffler is well suited for the West Coast. Though his MIT credentials helped him get a foothold in Hollywood, it's his lifelong love of movies that keeps him in California. "I think it was inevitable that I would end up in Hollywood," says Underkoffler, who used to organize movie nights for fellow graduate students. "It helps if you are a film nut from the beginning."

Bill Butera '82, SM '88, PhD '02, a former colleague at the Media Lab, confirms that his friend's jump into film might not be as radical a departure as it initially seems; he describes Underkoffler's master's research in holography as "the beginning of the intersection of art and technology." Butera believes Underkoffler's work in popular film "is pioneering in its own sense. Most of us wouldn't do it," he says. "John has an abiding interest in mediums of exploring human communication."

And Underkoffler seems to have found a niche for himself. In addition to Minority Report and The Hulk, he has worked on Spielberg's TV miniseries Taken, the upcoming Cat in the Hat movie with Mike Myers, and Tim Burton's new film Big Fish, and he is currently working on a film called Aeon Flux, based on an early-1990s MTV animated series. Still, Underkoffler believes that despite his success in blending his passions for movies and science, the Institute shouldn't necessarily crank out a new wave of Hollywood technology consultants. "I perish the thought of discouraging anyone, but I think there probably isn't enough stuff going on. After Minority Report I didn't expect it to happen again."

Perhaps the reason it has happened again, says Underkoffler, is that he offers directors something just as important as his scientific expertise. He is able to rattle off a long list of disparate directors and writers whose innovative, sometimes fantasy-tinged films have influenced him, including Paddy Chayefsky's Network, Terry Gilliam's The Adventures of Baron Munchausen, and Hal Hartley's recent No Such Thing. His love of such films may be what helps him reconcile scientific accuracy with narrative momentum. "Ang wanted utter verisimilitude and to keep the movie grounded in real science and to keep it there as long as possible," he says. "But I mean, eventually you've got a 15-foot green guy running around." While he is hired to give movies a believable science background, Underkoffler also wants them, in the end, to bring others as much joy as they bring him.