The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms is a 1953 science fiction film directed by Eugène Lourié and stars Paul Christian, Paula Raymond and Cecil Kellaway with visual effects by Ray Harryhausen. The film is about an atomic bomb test in the Arctic Circle that unfreezes a hibernating fictional dinosaur, a Rhedosaurus, that begins to wreak havoc in New York City. It was one of the first monster movies that helped inspire the following generation of creature features, coining it with the atomic age.
Trivia:
Vera Miles and Paul Picerni appear in the trailer for this film, but not in the film itself.
While visiting his friend Ray Harryhausen on the set, Ray Bradbury was given a copy of the script (which was going under the working title “Monster From the Sea”) and was asked if he could possibly do some rewriting on it. After reading the script, Bradbury remarked about a scene in the story (which featured the monster destroying a lighthouse) that seemed very similar to a short story that he had published in “The Saturday Evening Post” several years earlier called “The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms”. Bradbury’s story was about a dinosaur that destroys a lighthouse. The next day Bradbury received a telegram offering to buy the film rights to the story. After the sale, the films title was changed to “The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms”. Years later when Bradbury had his story reprinted he changed the title to “The Fog Horn”.
The dinosaur skeleton in the museum sequence is artificial. It was obtained from storage at RKO where it had been constructed for Bringing Up Baby (1938).
The “Coney Island Amusement Park” in the film is actually The Long Beach Amusement Park in Long Beach, California. The production was able to film at the park from 10 p.m. to 3 a.m.
The film is based on a short story by Ray Bradbury.
This film (which was inspired by the successful 1952 re-release of KING KONG) was the first film to feature a giant creature awakened or mutated by a Nuclear Bomb.
Deleted Scene: The 2003 DVD release reveals one shot of the Rhedasaurus that was omitted from the final film. That shot can be found in the trailer for “The Black Scorpion” (in special features) about 1/2 through the preview. (Spoiler: The Beast is walking, breast high, toward screen right. The background shows 2 buildings; one of them with fire escapes. Superimposed title card states, “You’ve thrilled to the terror of The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms.”
When the radio announcer is reading the news about the monster’s rampage through New York, various shots of the city are shown, mostly with panicked citizens in the street. When the announcer mentions the situation at Times Square, the accompanying footage shows the Palace Theater, whose marquee reads “Judy Garland – Live and in Person.”
Warner Brothers bought the film from producers Hal E. Chester and ‘Jack Deitz’ for $450,000.
Before the film was sold to Warner Brothers, it contained an original music score composed by Michel Michelet. Execs at Warners felt Michelet’s score wasn’t powerful enough so they replaced it with an original score by David Buttolph.
Some film aficionados might recognize Alvin Greenman, the first character to speak after the narrator, and the first to notice the beast on on the radar. Six years earlier he played Alfred, the Macys Janitor in Miracle on 34th Street (1947). TV aficionados though might recognize the second character to speak. Playing the part of Charlie is actor James Best, best remembered for his role as Sheriff Rosco P. Coltrane from “The Dukes of Hazzard” (1979).
This was said to have been one of the inspirations for Tomoyuki Tanaka to go ahead and film Gojira (1954).
When the streets are being cleared once the beast comes ashore in NYC, films appearing on various theater marquees are “Detective Story”, “Come Fill The Cup” and “Across The Wide Missouri”.
During the octopus/shark sequence, some of the footage was obviously shot in an aquarium, because some of the octopus’ suckers are gripping the glass.
Poltergeist is an American horror film, directed by Tobe Hooper, produced by Steven Spielberg, and released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer on June 4, 1982. It is the first and most successful of the Poltergeist film trilogy, and was nominated for three Academy Awards.
The franchise is often said to be cursed, because several people associated with it, including stars Dominique Dunne and Heather O’Rourke, died prematurely. “The Poltergeist Curse” has been the focus of an E! True Hollywood Story.
The film was ranked as #80 on Bravo’s 100 Scariest Movie Moments and the Chicago Film Critics Association named it the 20th scariest film ever made.The film also appeared on American Film Institute’s 100 Years… 100 Thrills, a list of America’s most heart-pounding movies.
Trivia:
The hands which pull the flesh off the investigator’s face in the bathroom mirror are Steven Spielberg’s.
The weird way the family members descend the stairs at the beginning of the film was created by having the actors walk backward up the stairs and playing the film in reverse. The same effect was used later in the movie during the scene showing video playback of the ghosts.
Steven Spielberg worked on Poltergeist (1982) and E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial (1982) literally back to back. Principal photography on Poltergeist ended in August of 1981, then Spielberg took a few weeks off and began work on E.T. Spielberg also supervised the visual effects for both films simultaneously (which were produced at Industrial Light & Magic under the supervision of Richard Edlund and Dennis Muren). Once post production work on Poltergeist began in early 1982, Spielberg was in total control. He was responsible for the editing of the film (Spielberg’s usual editor Michael Khan edited this film while Carol Littleton edited E.T), the final sound mixes and loops, the supervision of the visual effects, and the selection of Jerry Goldsmith as the composer of the score. Poltergeist and E.T opened to theaters nationwide only a week between each other during the summer of 1982, Poltergeist on June 4th and E.T. one week later on June 11th. Spielberg later said “If E.T. was a whisper, Poltergeist was a scream”.
The sign at the Holiday Inn reads, Welcome Dr. Fantasy and Friends. Dr. Fantasy is a nickname for producer Frank Marshall.
Heather O’Rourke, who played the little girl Carol-Anne, and Dominique Dunne, who played the teenage daughter, are buried in the same cemetery: Westwood Memorial Park in Los Angeles. Dunne was strangled into brain-death by her boyfriend in 1982, the year of the film’s release. Six years later, O’Rourke died of intestinal stenosis.
The film was originally given a R rating, but the filmmakers protested successfully and got a PG rating (the PG-13 rating did not exist at the time).
When writers Michael Grais and Mark Victor first met with Steven Spielberg, they were being hired to write the film that eventually became Always (1989). When Spielberg happened to mention he also had an idea for a ghost story, Grais and Victor said they’d rather write the ghost story than Always and that’s how they got this job.
The crawling steak was done by using a real steak which was laid over a slot cut between the tiles in the counter top. Two wires were fastened to the bottom of the steak and a special effects operator, hidden under the counter, simply moved the wires to make the steak crawl like a caterpillar. A similar operation was done when Diane presents to Steven the chairs that move across the room by themselves. A wire was fastened to one of the chair’s legs under the set. An operator first wobbled the chair with the wire, then dragged the chair across to its destination.
Shirley MacLaine was offered a starring role in the film, but backed out in order to make Terms of Endearment (1983).
The shot of the chairs that position themselves in the amazing balancing act on the table was all done in one take. As the camera panned along with JoBeth Williams, who was getting some cleaning materials, several crew members quickly set an already organized pyramid of chairs on the table, then took the single chairs away before the camera scrolled back. See Goofs entry.
The Rams (then Los Angeles Rams) vs. Saints football game seen near the beginning of the film, is taken from a Monday Night Football game in 1980.
The scene in which Diane opens the bedroom door and is met with a fearsome scream was the first to be filmed.
The scene in which Marty hallucinates in the bathroom was the last to be filmed.
Both of the terrors that plague Robbie came from Steven Spielberg’s own fears as a child, a fear of clowns and a tree outside his window.
Steven Spielberg and Tobe Hooper wanted virtually unknown actors to play the Freelings because they wanted to add a realism to the family that would off-balance the ghost story. They felt that if the audience watched well-known stars, then it would take away from the realistic feel of the characters.
The swirling, flickering lights coming from the closet during the rescue scene were achieved using a very simple effect by having an aquarium full of water in front of a spotlight. Then a fan blew on the surface of the water to make it swirl.
The house used to film this movie is located in Simi Valley, California where it still stands today. The family who owned it when this movie was filmed still live there today.
In addition to the two times that the Beast appeared in the movie (the face that appeared in the closet and the creature that guarded the kid’s door), the script had it appearing during the scene where the family and investigators are looking at the tape of the manifestation. The giant ghost that they saw visually slowly resolved itself into the image of a face of a cruel old man: the man we know in the later films as ‘Reverend Henry Kane.’
A common translation of the German word “Poltergeist” is “rumbling spirit”.
During all the horrors that proceeded while filming Poltergeist (1982), only one scene really scared Heather O’Rourke: that in which she had to hold onto the headboard, while a wind machine blew toys into the closet behind her. She fell apart; Steven Spielberg stopped everything, took her in his arms, and said that she would not have to do that scene again.
The movie’s line “They’re here!” was voted as the #69 movie quote by the American Film Institute (out of 100).
Drew Barrymore was considered for the role of Carol Anne, but Steven Spielberg wanted someone more angelic. It was Barrymore’s audition for this role, however, that landed her a part in E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial (1982).
In reality, Craig T. Nelson and JoBeth Williams are only 14 and 11 years older than Dominique Dunne, who plays their teen-aged daughter.
Stephen King was briefly approached to write the screenplay. It would have been the first written by King directly for the screen, but the parties could not agree on the terms.
Footage from this movie was used in a 2008 DirecTV commercial.
When Steve Freeling first meets with the university paranormal specialists, he states that his wife, Diane Freeling, was “32″ at the time, and their eldest daughter, Dana, was “16″. Thus, Diane was only sixteen years-old when she gave birth to Dana.
Though on-screen credit goes to Tobe Hooper, a wealth of evidence suggests that most of the directorial decisions were made by Steven Spielberg. In fact, Spielberg had wanted to direct the film himself, but a clause in his contract stated that while still working on E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial (1982), Spielberg could not direct another film. Members of the cast and crew, including Executive Producer Frank Marshall and actress Zelda Rubinstein, have stated that Spielberg cast the film, directed the actors, and designed every single storyboard for the movie himself. Based on this evidence, the DGA opened a probe into the matter, but found no reason that co-director credit should go to Spielberg.
[WILHELM SCREAM] When the TV plays Go for Broke! (1951), one of the soldiers screams.
On top of the master bedroom television set sits an Atari Video Computer System console with its two joysticks; later known as the Atari 2600.
Vampire’s Kiss is an American dark comedy/psychological horror film released in 1989. It was written by Joseph Minion, who also penned Martin Scorsese’s darkly humorous After Hours, and stars actors Nicolas Cage, Maria Conchita Alonso, Jennifer Beals and Elizabeth Ashley.
Trivia:
Nicolas Cage ate a real cockroach for this film – it reportedly took three takes. He once said about the experience, “Every muscle in my body didn’t want to do it, but I did it anyway.”
Peter’s strange accent is supposed to be a fake accent used by the character because he thinks he sounds more “elegant” and “smarter” (hence the literary agent job). The accent comes and goes throughout the movie and is more prominent when trying to impress people, and less in scenes with people like the psychiatrist.
Judd Nelson was considered for the Peter Loew role.
Frankenhooker is an American black comedy horror film that was released in 1990. Very loosely inspired by Mary Shelley’s novel Frankenstein, the film was directed by Frank Henenlotter and stars James Lorinz as medical school drop-out Jeffrey Franken and former Penthouse Pet Patty Mullen as the title character (who wears a fatsuit in the beginning of the film).
Trivia:
Beverly Bonner plays “Casey”, a character that appears in Basket Case (1982), Brain Damage (1988), and Basket Case 2 (1990), all also directed by Frank Henenlotter.
The brain with the eye in the beginning of the film is based on the advertisements for The Brain That Wouldn’t Die (1962)
The hooker talk show is a parody of _”The Morton Downey Jr. Show” (1987) [TV-Series 1987-1989]_
The interior of the Franken family garage is intentionally four times as large as the exterior, as specified in the screenplay.
Director Cameo: [Frank Henenlotter] on the train that Frankenhooker takes to Manhattan, standing by the door holding a newspaper.
A family in the movie is called Shelley…after Mary Shelley, the original author of Frankenstein.
Writer/director Frank Henenlotter improvised the basic story at a pitch meeting. After getting the okay to make the picture, he then wrote the script for the movie.
Louise Lasser had just recovered from being sick and hence could hardly speak when she shot her scene talking to James Lorinz. Lasser redid all her dialogue in a post-production recording session.
Willow is a 1988 American fantasy film directed by Ron Howard and produced/co-written by George Lucas. Warwick Davis stars in the film, as well as Val Kilmer, Joanne Whalley, Jean Marsh and Patricia Hayes. With a sword and sorcery setting, Davis stars as the eponymous lead character and hero Willow, a reluctant Nelwyn (halfling) farmer who plays a critical role in protecting a special baby from a tyrannical queen.
Lucas conceived the idea for Willow in 1972, approaching Howard to direct during the post-production phase of Cocoon in 1985. Lucas believed he and Howard shared a relationship similar to the one Lucas enjoyed with Steven Spielberg. Bob Dolman was brought in to write the screenplay, coming up with seven drafts before finishing in late 1986. Willow was then set up at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and principal photography began in April 1987, finishing the following October.
The majority of filming took place at Elstree Studios in Hertfordshire, England, as well as Wales and New Zealand. Industrial Light & Magic created the visual effects sequences, which led to a revolutionary breakthrough with digital morphing technology. Willow was released in May 1988 to box office disappointment and mixed reviews from critics, but received two Academy Award nominations and cult film recognition.
Trivia:
As Val Kilmer was getting out of his crow cage between takes, the chain snapped and the cage came down on his foot. His resulting limp is evident during the scene in which Madmartigan and Willow arrive opposite Fin Raziel’s island.
The six-month-old twins playing Elora Danan were too young to have a full head of hair. They wear a wig, which was applied using syrup, as normal wig adhesive would be too harsh for the babies’ skin.
The earlier drafts of the screenplay contained more background information on the characters Madmartigan and Sorsha. Madmartigan was originally a knight of the kingdom of Galladorn (the kingdom that General Kael mentions having destroyed to Queen Bavmorda) and that the character Airk was the only real friend he had, but Madmartigan’s recklessness got him into trouble, as did his love affair with an Eastern beauty that tainted the family name. Madmartigan had a chance to regain his honor in battle, but he ruined the chance by deserting; this explained some of the bitter antagonism between Madmartigan and Airk. Sorsha was originally the daughter of the king of Tir Asleen, who was a good man (he is in fact the regal old man seen at the end after the fall of Bavmorda and Tir Asleen is restored, and can be briefly seen in stone), which suggested that Sorsha had the capability to be good; during the battle at Tir Asleen between Bavmorda’s troops, Madmartigan, and the monster, Sorsha encountered her father and he struggled through the stone to ask her for help, which prompted Sorsha to switch alliances from her evil mother to the good side. All of this was lost in the final film but does appear in the novelization as well as the comic book mini-series by Marvel.
The character of the evil general Kael is said to have been named after film critic Pauline Kael.
The devil dogs were actually Rottweilers in rubber masks and suits.
Warwick Davis wore a wig for the movie – the long hair is not his own.
Willow originally said, “Goodbye, Elora Danan” when handing her over to Madmartigan. During editing, it was realized Willow wouldn’t have known her name yet, and so it was redubbed, “Goodbye, little one.”
David Steinberg, the actor playing Meegosh, slammed into the side of an ice rink while ice-skating during production and cut his eyebrow open. The stitches were concealed with makeup for the scene where Meegosh makes his departure for home.
Joanne Whalley accidentally stuck her sword in a stuntman’s foot while sticking the sword into the ground at the tavern.
During the close-up shots of the scene where Madmartigan and the soldier are being dragged behind the wagon, Val Kilmer was kneeling on a pedestal behind the wagon, while his stunt double was dragged behind letting the stunt man’s legs take the beating.
The original wand was a real piece of wood. Eventually they feared it could break and replaced it with several fiberglass props.
A 13lb animatronics baby capable of moving its head and opening its mouth was used for the action scenes. This baby weighed more then the actual baby. And a more flexible prop baby was used in scenes where Willow falls with it.
The large group of pigs outside the castle continuously tried mating. Buckets of cold water were used to separate them.
Blackroot is actually vanilla.
According to the press kits and subsequent novels, the two-headed dragon was named “Eborsisk”, a reference to the movie critics Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert. The word does not occur in the film but made it into some reviews.
After meeting on the set of this film, Val Kilmer and Joanne Whalley were married (but later divorced).
Kenny Baker (of R2-D2 fame) played a Nelwyn.
This was the first feature film to use the “morphing” process developed by Industrial Light & Magic (ILM).
The box office receipts were less than expected, so writer George Lucas continued Willow’s story in books rather than in movie sequels.
In preparation for the movie, Warwick Davis had to learn a modified accent, how to take care of a baby, how to ride a horse, how to sword fight, and how to perform magic.
Val Kilmer improvised a lot of dialogue.
Rick Overton and Kevin Pollak’s scenes were done against blue screens and sound stages and added into the scenes with full-size characters in post production editing.
Warwick Davis’s future father-in-law and wife appear as Nelwyns.
WILHELM SCREAM: It is heard three times: 1, during the chase scene after the escape from the tavern as the soldier’s chariot crashes and he is sent flying, 2, At Tir Asleen, when the Brownies trigger the large spear shooter that hits several soldiers, and 3, In front of Nockmaar Castle as a horseman is cut down by the Army of Galladoorn, three seconds after the Brownies emerge from under a helmet.
Word from Ron Howard is that part of the two-headed dragon “Eborsisk” was modeled after Clint Howard, his brother. He stated that since Clint has had many cameo appearances in his films, and Ron couldn’t find a part for him in this one, he modeled the dragon after him.
Ron Howard’s wife and Warwick Davis’ sister both appear as extras atop the snowy mountaintop village.
John Cusack tested for the role of Madmartigan, but lost to Val Kilmer
Family Plot is a 1976 dark comedy/thriller film directed by Alfred Hitchcock, his final film. It stars Barbara Harris, Bruce Dern, William Devane and Karen Black. The film was screened at the 1976 Cannes Film Festival, but wasn’t entered into the main competition. There were two working titles: Deceit and Missing Heir.
Trivia:
Director Cameo: [Alfred Hitchcock] in silhouette 45 minutes into the film behind the door at the registrar of births and deaths.
A street sign in the film reads “Bates Ave”. The Bates Motel was the setting for Hitchcock’s earlier film Psycho (1960).
Roy Thinnes was originally hired to play Arthur Adamson, but Hitchcock’s first choice William Devane became available so Hitchcock fired Thinnes without a reason and hired Devane. Some key scenes had been shot prior to this. Everything that had been shot was re-shot except for long shots which to this day remain as Roy Thinnes and not William Devane.
Director Trademark: [Alfred Hitchcock] [bathroom] features a modern chemical toilet.
Alfred Hitchcock was famous for making his actors follow the script to the word, but in this movie he let the characters improvise and use their own dialogue.
Alfred Hitchcock’s final film.
Alfred Hitchcock initially wanted Al Pacino for the role of Lumley. According to an interview on the DVD with Bruce Dern, who ultimately got the part, Pacino’s asking price was too high because of the recent successes he had enjoyed (Serpico (1973), The Godfather (1972), etc.)
The final shot in the movie, a wink by the Barbara Harris character was a jokey reference that was not planned but Alfred Hitchcock decided to leave in.
Lillian Gish wanted to test for the role of Julia Rainbird but the role had been promised to Cathleen Nesbitt.
Jack Nicholson couldn’t accept the role of George Lumley, as he was doing One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1975).
Liza Minnelli was originally cast to play the role that later went to Barbara Harris.
The Thing from Another World (often referred to as The Thing before its 1982 remake), is a 1951 science fiction film that tells the story of an Air Force crew and scientists at a remote Arctic research outpost who fight a malevolent plant-based alien being. It stars Kenneth Tobey, Margaret Sheridan, Robert Cornthwaite and Douglas Spencer. James Arness appeared as The Thing, difficult to recognize in costume and makeup. No players are named during the opening credits; the only cast credit is at the movie’s end.
In 2001, the film was deemed “culturally significant” by the United States Library of Congress and was selected for preservation in the National Film Registry
Trivia:
It is generally believed that Howard Hawks took over direction during production, and it has always been acknowledged by director Christian Nyby that Hawks was the guiding hand. However, in an interview James Arness said that while Hawks spent a lot of time on the set, it was Nyby who actually directed the picture, not Hawks.
Partly filmed in Glacier National Park and at a Los Angeles ice storage plant.
This film was based on the short story “Who Goes There?” by Don A. Stuart. The credits on this film list the author by his real name, the science fiction editor/writer John W. Campbell Jr.
Midget actor Billy Curtis played the smaller version of “The Thing” during the creature’s final scene.
James Arness complained that his “Thing” costume made him look like a giant carrot.
Thing from Another World with James Arness
Howard Hawks asked the US Air Force for assistance in making the film. He was refused because the top brass felt that such cooperation would compromise the U.S. government’s official stance that UFOs didn’t exist.
It is believed that Ben Hecht and William Faulkner, both good friends of producer Howard Hawks, contributed to the script. However, long-standing rumors that Orson Welles contributed to the dialog are believed to be untrue.
Two months prior to principal photography, James Arness was brought in during the design and development of the makeup.
Close-ups of “The Thing” were removed. It was felt that the make-up could not hold up to close scrutiny. However, the lack of close-ups gave the creature a more mysterious quality.
James Arness reportedly regarded his role as so embarrassing that he didn’t attend the premiere.
It took makeup artist Lee Greenway five months and 18 sculptures of the creature before he came up with a design that satisfied producer Howard Hawks.
When producer Howard Hawks attempted to get insurance for the creature, five insurance companies turned him down because “The Thing” was to be frozen in a block of ice, hacked by axes, attacked by dogs, lit on fire, and electrocuted.
The famous scene when the crew formed a ring around the flying saucer frozen in the ice, was actually filmed at the RKO Ranch in the San Fernando Valley in 100-degree weather.
This was the first of only two films made by Howard Hawks’ own production company, Winchester Pictures Corporation. Winchester was Hawks’ middle name.
The scene in which The Thing is doused with kerosene and set ablaze is believed to be the first full body burn accomplished by a stunt man.
Veteran stunt man Tom Steele replaced James Arness in the fire scene. Steele wore an asbestos suit with a special fiberglass helmet with an oxygen supply underneath. He use a 100% oxygen supply which was highly combustible. It was pure luck he didn’t burn his lungs whilst breathing in the mixture.
According to make up artist Lee Greenway, he took James Arness in his car to the home of producer Howard Hawks to show off the make up for the Thing. After months of frustration, Hawkes told Greenway to put a Frankenstein (1931) type of head piece on Arness.
Scotty mentions being at the execution of Ruth Snyder and Judd Gray. This is a real case. The couple were tried for and convicted of the murder of Snyder’s husband in 1927 and were executed in New York by the electric chair.
Beetlejuice is a 1988 American comedy horror fantasy film directed by Tim Burton, produced by The Geffen Film Company and distributed by Warner Bros. The plot revolves around a recently dead young couple who become ghosts haunting their former home, a quaint and quiet house on a hill overlooking the fictional town of Winter Rivers located in Connecticut. When a family of metropolitan yuppies from New York City move into the house, the ghosts seek the help of an obnoxious, devious and mischievous “bio-exorcist” named Betelgeuse from the underworld in order to scare the new living inhabitants away permanently. Beetlejuice stars Alec Baldwin, Geena Davis, Winona Ryder, Catherine O’Hara, Jeffrey Jones, Sylvia Sidney and Michael Keaton as the titular Betelgeuse (the film’s title being a phonetic spelling of the character’s name).
After the success of Pee-wee’s Big Adventure, Burton was sent several scripts and became disheartened by their lack of imagination and originality. When he was sent Michael McDowell’s original script for Beetlejuice, Burton agreed to direct, although Larry Wilson and Warren Skaaren were hired to rewrite it. Beetlejuice was both a financial and critical success, grossing $73.33 million from a budget of $13 million. The film spawned an animated television series that Burton produced, and the unproduced Beetlejuice Goes Hawaiian sequel.
Trivia:
The receptionist in the waiting room is Miss Argentina.
Tim Burton originally wanted Sammy Davis Jr., a favorite star of his since childhood, to play the role of Betelgeuse but studio executives didn’t like that idea at all.
Director Trademark: [Tim Burton] [music] music by Danny Elfman
In the wedding scene, Lydia’s dress is a bright red. According to the old rhyme about wedding dress colors, it’s “Married in red, better off dead.”
During the sequence where Adam and Barbara enter Juno’s office and see her speaking to a recently deceased football team, a movie theater full of ghosts can be seen through Juno’s office window. When the film was first released in theaters, the scene created the illusion that the audience were themselves being watched by the ghosts. Among the ghosts in the audience are a red skeleton and a green skeleton (identical to the ones seen in Tim Burton’s later movie, Mars Attacks! (1996)), a woman with red hair, and two men in suits and Ray-Ban style sunglasses.
Director Trademark: [Tim Burton] [dogs] The Maitland’s deaths are caused by a stray dog wandering around the bridge their car topples over.
Michael Keaton spent only two weeks filming his part in the film, which lasts 17.5 minutes out of the 92-minute running time. It is Keaton’s favorite film of his own.
Director Trademark: [Tim Burton] [TV commercials] Betelgeuse’s TV commercial.
Director Trademark: [Tim Burton] [stop-motion animation] The sculptures, sandworms, and various effects.
The original script was a horror film, and featured Beetlejuice as a winged, reptilian demon who transformed into a small Middle Eastern man to interact with the Maitlands and the Deetzes. Lydia was a minor character, with her six year old sister Cathy being the Deetz child able to see the Maitlands. Beetlejuice’s goal was to kill the Maitlands, rather than frighten them away, and included sequences where he mauled Cathy in the form of a rabid squirrel and tried to rape Lydia. Subsequent script rewrites turned the film into a comedy and toned down Beetlejuice’s character into the ghost of an Ebonics-speaking con-artist rather than a demon.
As the Geffen logo rolls during the intro, soundtrack composer Danny Elfman is heard singing “Day-o, he say day-ay-ay-o.” This was added during post-production and is heard on the released soundtrack.
The title character of Beetle Juice (1988) is named for a bright red star in the constellation of Orion, Betelgeuse. The studio disliked the title and wanted to call the film “House Ghosts”. As a joke, Tim Burton suggested the name “Scared Sheetless” and was horrified when the studio actually considered using it.
The only cast member who would initially commit to the project was Geena Davis. Michael Keaton, Winona Ryder, Catherine O’Hara, and Sylvia Sidney all said no at least once. Producer David Geffen convinced Michael Keaton’s manager to convince Michael to meet with director Tim Burton. Once Michael said yes, Tim Burton personally called Sylvia Sidney and begged her to do the movie, and he flew out to meet with Catherine O’Hara to convince her as well.
Catherine O’Hara was a replacement for an ill Anjelica Huston as Delia. On the set she met her future husband, production designer Bo Welch.
The original plan for the dinner party was to have the guests dance to “a song by The Ink Spots,” but Jeffrey Jones and Catherine O’Hara suggested the music be calypso.
When Adam and Barbra are in the office, a voice on the PA systems announces the arrival of Flight 409 (“Flight 409 is arriving at Gate 3″). On October 6, 1955 United Airlines Flight 409 crashed into a mountain over Wyoming killing all passengers and crew aboard. It was the worst crash in history to that point. To this day, no one knows why it crashed.
Director Trademark: [Tim Burton] [Claymation] The Priest, Fireplace and decomposing versions of Adam and Barbra are all Claymation.
A toy line was released in conjunction with the film, featuring action figures of most of Beetlejuice’s incarnations, Otho, Adam (whose figure featured him wearing a red baseball cap), and the Shrunken Head Man from the waiting room, whose figure was named “Harry the Haunted Hunter” and came with a detachable head showing what he looked like before death.
Adam and Barbara are the only spirits that look “normal”, compared to the other deceased in the Netherworld.
Juliette Lewis auditioned for the role of Lydia. Lori Loughlin, Diane Lane, Sarah Jessica Parker, Brooke Shields, Justine Bateman, Molly Ringwald and Jennifer Connelly all turned down the same role.
The snake scene had been filmed before Michael Keaton was cast as Betelgeuse, and the animatronic snake used bore no resemblance to the actor. After Keaton had been cast, some additional film was shot for the scene, using a stop-motion snake that looked more like Betelgeuse. This was suggested by the studio to make sure the audience knows the the snake is actually Betelgeuse and not some random monster from the afterlife.
The number 3 is used ’3′ times: The number of times to say commands (“Betelgeuse”, “home”), the number of times to knock on the door to get to the other side, and the number of first class intersessions allotted.
Producer Jon Peters thought of casting controversial comedian Sam Kinison as Beetlegeuse, but Kinison’s agent never told him about it.
Long Weekend is a Australian Mystery-Thriller film shot in 1978 and released in 1979. The film is directed by Colin Eggleston and stars John Hargreaves and Briony Behets.
Trivia:
Director Colin Eggleston cameos as the voice of Marcia’s lover on the phone.
Actor George Mallaby was originally wanted for the role of Peter, but executive producer Richard Brennen pushed to have John Hargreaves cast in the role having worked with him previously on The Removalists (1975).
Even though star Briony Behets was married to director Eggleston at the time, she wasn’t his first choice to play the role of Marcia. She only got the role later after another actress fell through.
The decision to have rainy weather in the early driving scenes was an effort to hide the fact that the interior scenes in Peter’s jeep were filmed inside a darkened garage. During the shooting grips would run past carrying flashlights to make it appear like they were lights from passing cars.
Shot in four and a half weeks.
Mike McEwen was cast as the truck driver (who appears at the gas station, then plays an important role in the finale) because he bore a resemblance to star John Hargreaves.
Cinematographer Vincent Monton said that the weather conditions while shooting the film were eerily co-operative. He said when the script would call for a scene with sunny skies the weather would be beautiful, but as the intensity and strangeness of the script grew the weather conditions would change to match the moody atmosphere of the scenes being filmed. Throughout the shoot the weather always seemed to change to suit the scene that was being made!
The mysterious shadow near Peter in the ocean was actually made by a crude structure of trash bags that was being pushed along through the water by Richard Brennen, who was submerged just beneath it.
Despite winning numerous awards and being a success overseas, the film was a flop both critically and commercially in its home country of Australia.
The possum that bites Peter had to be heavily tranquilized just so it would move slow enough to be seen attacking on film.
The tree that the harpoon gets impaled into, then later dies and decays throughout the climax, wasn’t actually part of the forest at the filming location. It was cut and transported to the location for the shoot so that it could gradually be destroyed during the film.
The last 20 minutes of the film has practically no dialog at all.
When the film was screened at the Cannes Film Festival, producer Richard Brennen noticed a man get up and leave the screening after only 10 minutes of the film. He followed the man out to ask him why he was leaving. It turned out the gentleman was a film distributor for South America and was going to buy the rights to the film after seeing only minutes of it. In total four foreign distributors bought rights to release the picture during the screening.
Olivia Burnette (born March 24, 1977) is an American actress.
Olivia Burnette began her acting career at the tender age of 6. The most notable of her first acting jobs was in Planes, Trains & Automobiles (1987) opposite comic superstar Steve Martin.
After several television appearances, Olivia was cast as the lead in the down-home series “The Torkelsons” (1991), playing Dorothy Jane.
Olivia continued her television career with a few television movies, before being cast in The Quick and the Dead (1995), which allowed her to work with such actors as Gene Hackman, Sharon Stone and Russell Crowe.
Olivia continued her work on the big screen in Eye for an Eye (1996) with director John Schlesinger, and got the opportunity to play Sally Field’s daughter as well as be brutalized in a controversial scene by Kiefer Sutherland.
Determined to obtain a college degree, Olivia left Los Angeles to attend the prestigious NYU, Tisch School of the Arts. She graduated with not one but two majors: Film and English. After school, she was inspired to buy the rights to a novel and adapted it into a screenplay, which is currently being shopped.
Most recently, Olivia has been seen in the hit television show “CSI: NY” (2004) along with Oscar nominated Gary Sinise and Emmy nominated Melina Kanakaredes, and in the naval drama “Navy NCIS: Naval Criminal Investigative Service” (2003) with Mark Harmon.
Her most recent feature film entitled Flourish (2006), which also stars Jennifer Morrison and Jesse Spencer from the hit Fox drama “House M.D.” (2004), premiered at the world renowned Cinequest Film Festival 2006, as well being screened at the Cannes Film Market in 2006.
She currently resides in Southern California with her husband, singer/songwriter/producer Julian Sakata, and her five year old stepson, Rain.
