Agent K keeps a deep secret

MANILA, Philippines - Tommy Lee Jones brings a distinct character to his every film. Now, he returns to the big screen as the stern Agent K in Columbia Pictures’ 3D sci-fi adventure comedy Men In Black 3.

In the film, Agents J (Will Smith) and K are back in time. J has seen some inexplicable things in his 15 years with the Men in Black, but nothing, not even aliens, perplexes him as much as his wry, reticent partner. But when K’s life and the fate of the planet are put at stake, Agent J will have to travel back in time to put things right. J discovers that there are secrets to the universe that K never told him — secrets that will reveal themselves as he teams up with the young Agent K (Josh Brolin) to save his partner, the agency and the future of humankind.

“The relationship between J and K has been both contentious and affectionate at the same time throughout the movies,” says Jones, who again dons the suit and shades.

Jones was enthusiastic about playing the gruff Agent K. He says, “Any time you go to work with Will Smith is going to be a happy day, and Will and director Barry Sonnenfeld together make it an even happier day. They are wonderful people to work with.”

The story of Men In Black 3 takes the filmmakers back — back to the characters’ origins, back to the key moments of their relationship, to focus on the key elements that have kept them at arms’ length from each other for 15 years — and looked for ways to resolve the conflict. The answer came in sending Agent J back — back in time.

“At the beginning of the movie, J and K are still partners — but they haven’t learned much about each other in all their time together,” says producer Walter Parkes. “In fact, at the very beginning of the story, the character of Men In Black chief, Zed, has recently died and K gives a eulogy that provides no information whatsoever about him. This is despite the fact that Zed was supposedly his best friend for 45 years. It makes J think, after all these years, what do I really know about the guy sitting next to me? That is the foundation for our story, and it coincides with the escape of an alien, Boris the Animal, that K put away 40 years earlier, in 1969 — and he’s coming back for some kind of payback on K.”

Some kind of payback, indeed: Boris jumps back in time to 1969 and kills K. No one in 2012 has any memory that K wasn’t murdered 40 years earlier — no one except J, who is wondering what happened to his partner. To save K, J follows Boris back into the past — and as he does, he sees an opportunity to learn more about his partner. “J sees saving K as a great opportunity to learn secrets about K — he thinks he’ll find out why K is so grumpy and reserved,” concludes Sonnenfeld.

Now showing across the Philippines in 3D and regular theaters, Men in Black 3 will be distributed by Columbia Pictures, local office of Sony Pictures Releasing International. Visit http://www.columbiapictures.com.ph for trailers, exclusive content and free downloads. Like us at www.Facebook.com/ColumbiaPicturesPH and join also the fan contests.