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The original [[spec script]] by David Howard was titled ''Captain Starshine''.<ref name=MTV/> Howard stated he got the idea while at an [[IMAX]] presentation, where one of the trailers for an upcoming "Americans in Space" film was narrated by [[Leonard Nimoy]], a leading actor from ''Star Trek''. The trailer got Howard thinking about how the other ''Star Trek'' actors had become pigeonholed in these roles since the cancellation of ''Star Trek'', and he then came up with the idea of what if there were real aliens involved. From there, he considered that the rest of his script, "in a lot of ways, just wrote itself, because it just seemed so self-evident once the idea was there".<ref>{{cite web | url = https://www.ign.com/articles/2000/02/10/interview-with-galaxy-quest-screenwriter-david-howard-part-2-of-3 | title = Interview with GALAXY QUEST screenwriter David Howard (part 2 of 3) | first = Kenneth | last= Plume | date = February 10, 2000 | access-date = January 2, 2020 | work = [[IGN]] }}</ref>
Producer [[Mark Johnson (producer)|Mark Johnson]], who had a first-look deal with [[DreamWorks Pictures|DreamWorks]], did not like Howard's script but was still fascinated with its concept of space aliens who misconstrue old episodes of a television series as reality. Johnson purchased the script and had Bob Gordon use the concept to create ''Galaxy Quest''.<ref name=MTV>{{cite news|first=Jordan|last=Hoffman|url=http://www.mtv.com/news/1873653/galaxy-quest-oral-history/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140725190814/http://www.mtv.com/news/1873653/galaxy-quest-oral-history/|url-status=dead|archive-date=July 25, 2014|title='Galaxy Quest': The Oral History|work=MTV.com|publisher=[[ViacomCBS Domestic Media Networks|MTV Networks]] ([[Viacom International|Viacom International Inc.]])|date=July 23, 2014|access-date=March 11, 2015}}</ref> A fan of ''Star Trek'', Gordon was hesitant, believing ''Galaxy Quest'' "could be a great idea or it could be a terrible idea" and initially turned it down. Gordon, who did not read ''Captain Starshine'' until after the film was completed, started from the premise of washed-up actors from a sci-fi series involved with real extraterrestrials.<ref name=MTV/> Gordon's initial drafts added elements of humor to Howard's script, such as the ''Protector'' scraping the walls of the space dock when
Mark Johnson wanted [[Dean Parisot]] to direct; Parisot had directed another film Johnson produced, ''[[Home Fries (film)|Home Fries]]''. However, DreamWorks favored [[Harold Ramis]] because of his prior experience and hired him in November 1998.<ref>{{cite news |first=Michael |last=Fleming |title=Ramis preps for blastoff on 'Galaxy Quest' |url=https://variety.com/1998/film/news/ramis-preps-for-blastoff-on-galaxy-quest-1117488013/ |work=Variety |date=November 1, 1998 |access-date=January 23, 2016}}</ref> Ramis wanted [[Alec Baldwin]] for the lead role, but Baldwin turned it down. [[Steve Martin]] and [[Kevin Kline]] were also considered, but Kline turned it down for family reasons. Ramis did not agree with the casting of Tim Allen as Jason Nesmith and left the project in February 1999. Parisot took over as director within three weeks.<ref name=MTV /> Allen said that the version of the film pitched to him by Ramis and Katzenberg felt more like ''[[Spaceballs]]'', and that they wanted an action star to do comedy rather than a comedian to do an action film.<ref name="thr dec2019">{{cite web | url = https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/dreamworks-screwed-up-why-galaxy-quest-wasnt-a-bigger-hit-1264866| title = DreamWorks "Screwed Up": Why Cult Classic 'Galaxy Quest' Wasn't a Bigger Hit | first = Byron | last =Burton | date = December 24, 2019 | access-date = December 30, 2019 | work = [[The Hollywood Reporter]] }}</ref> Sigourney Weaver, who had previously worked with Ramis on ''[[Ghostbusters]]'', said that he also wanted actors who had not appeared in science-fiction roles before, a choice she thought odd since veterans of the genre would know what was humorous.<ref name="thr dec2019"/> After seeing the film, Ramis said he was ultimately impressed with Allen's performance.<ref name=MTV /> Johnson named the main villain after film critic [[Andrew Sarris]], while admitting he also considered 'Haskell' after Sarris's wife [[Molly Haskell]]. Once Sarris discovered, he mocked "This guy wants to insult me? Oh, boohoo. As long as they spelled my name right, I'm okay."<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://ew.com/article/1999/08/06/this-week-hollywood-78/|title=This week in Hollywood|magazine=Entertainment Weekly|author=Shaw, Jessica|date=August 6, 1999 }}</ref>
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