Transforming actress Jade Quon into the alien took the make up team four hours and none of the prosthetics were reusable, new ones were constantly being remade. The original plan was for Quon to get into makeup 12-15 times max but it ended up being 30.
Director Marc Turtletaub explains "The alien is a catalyst. It's like a creature that has no voice that allows other people to find their voice and when they can find their voice, they can find connection" Turtletaub hopes audiences learn from the movie that "Mostly, how important it is to be a great listener"
Jade Quon, who plays the lead character Jules, previously played an alien in Men in Black II. She was one of the small creatures in Locker C18 in the train station.
Jade Quon who plays the lead character Jules has a career spanning more than two decades performing in film, with the majority of her appearances in stunt roles.
Milton, played by Ben Kingsley, repeatedly proposes the Boonton town council change the town's motto "A great place to call home" because it's confusing, and sounds like a place to call on the telephone. This is a subtle reference to ET the Extra-Terrestrial whose most famous line is "ET home phone!" Like ET, Jules is stranded on earth and working on a solution to return home.