The Truth Is Out There?

Rick Henderson from the March 1997 issue

Does eccentric director Tim Burton harbor subversive views about the Food and Drug Administration? In Burton's alien-invasion spoof Mars Attacks!, the smug "aliens are our friends" scientist played by Pierce Brosnan is none other than Dr. D. Kessler. The D stands for Donald, but someone at the Los Angeles Times got the subliminal hint. The paper's review renamed the Brosnan character David. With a chuckle, reviewer Kenneth Turan says he "has no idea how that got in there."