Press Kit

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April 30, 1982
HANDBOOK OF PRODUCTION INFORMATION
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A STEVEN SPIELBERG PRODUCTION

A TOBE HOOPER FILM

Poltergeist

JOBETH WILLIAMS

CRAIG T. NELSON

BEATRICE STRAIGHT

Music by
JERRY GOLDSMITH

Director of Photography
MATTHEW F. LEONETTI, A.S.C.

Special Visual Effects by INDUSTRIAL LIGHT & MAGIC
A Division of Lucasfilm Ltd.

Story by
STEVEN SPIELBERG

Screenplay by
STEVEN SPIELBERG, MICHAEL GRAIS & MARK VICTOR

Directed by
TOBE HOOPER

Produced by
STEVEN SPIELBERG and FRANK MARSHALL

METROCOLOR R

MPAA Rating: PG    Running Time: 114 Minutes

DOLBY STEREO
in selected theatres

Released thru
MGM/UA ENTERTAINMENT CO.

COPYRIGHT © METRO-GOLDWYN-MAYER FILM CO. and SLM ENTERTAINMENT LTD.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

 

 

CREDITS

Produced by .... STEVEN SPIELBERG & FRANK MARSHALL

Directed by .... TOBE HOOPER

Screenplay by .... STEVEN SPIELBERG, MICHAEL GRAIS & MARK VICTOR

Story by .... STEVEN SPIELBERG

Director of Photography .... MATTHEW F. LEONETTI, A.S.C.

Production Designer .... JAMES H. SPENCER

Edited by .... MICHAEL KAHN, A.C.E.

Music by .... JERRY GOLDSMITH

Associate Producer .... KATHLEEN KENNEDY

Casting .... MIKE FENTON, JANE FEINBERG & MARCI LIROFF

Production Manager .... DENNIS E. JONES

First Assistant Director .... PAT KEHOE

Second Assistant Director .... BOB ROE

Visual Effects Supervision .... RICHARD EDLUND

Set Decorator .... CHERYAL KEARNEY

Leadman .... GREG LYNCH

Production Secretary .... BEVERLY WEBB

Script Supervisor .... MARION TUMEN

Location Manager .... PAUL PAV

Camera Operator .... DENNIS MATSUDA

First Assistant Cameraman .... JOHN LEONETTI

Second Assistant Cameraman .... TOM KLINES

Still Photographer .... BRUCE McBROOM

Sound Mixer .... ART ROCHESTER

Boom Person .... RICHARD THORNTON

Assistant to Mr. Marshall .... PATTY RUMPH

Assistant to Mr. Spielberg .... JANICE POBER

Assistant to Mr. Hooper .... DAPHNE STACEY

Assistant to Ms. Kennedy .... DENISE DURHAM

Production Associate .... CHRISTOPHER REYNOLDS

Property Master .... CRAIG RAICHE

Construction Coordinator .... MICHAEL A. MUSCARELLA

Production Illustrators .... ED VERREAUX & DICK LASLEY

Set Designers .... BILL MATTHEWS & MARTHA JOHNSON

Furniture Courtesy of .... GRAND TREE FURNITURE
RENTALS AND SALES

Gaffer .... PAT BLYMYER

Best Boy .... HUGO CORTINA

Key Grip .... JOHN LINDER

Dolly Grip .... MARK AVERILL

Costume Supervisor .... ANN GRAY LAMBERT

Ladies' Costumer .... BUFFY SNYDER

Mens' Costumer .... CHARLES DeMUTH

Make-Up .... DOROTHY PEARL

Hairdresser .... TONI WALKER

Special Effects Make-Up .... CRAIG REARDON

Mechanical Effects Supervisor .... MICHAEL WOOD

Special Effects Foreman .... JEFF JARVIS

Visual Effects Coordinator .... MITCH SUSKIN

Stunt Coordinator .... GLENN H. RANDALL, JR.

Transportation Coordinator .... GARY HELLERSTEIN

Craft Service .... GERALD MOORE

Rip's Owner & Trainer .... RICHARD L. CALKINS

Unit Publicist .... DON LEVY

Associate Editor .... R. FIELDS

Associate Editors .... MEL FREIDMAN & ALBERT COLEMAN

Supervising Sound Editors .... MARK A. MANGINI & JOHN CHIH CHAO DUNN

Dialogue Editor .... BONNIE KOEHLER & WARREN HAMILTON, JR.

Special Sound Effects .... ALAN HOWARTH

Foley By .... JOHN ROESCH & JOAN ROWE

Music Editor .... KEN HALL

Orchestrations .... ARTHUR MORTON

Music Supervisor .... HARRY V. LOJEWSKI

Rerecording Mixers .... BILL VARNEY, C.A.S.
STEVE MASLOW, C.A.S.
KEVIN O'CONNELL, C.A.S.

Negative Cutter .... BRIAN RALPH

Color Timing .... BOB McMILLIAN

Special Visual Effects Produced at INDUSTRIAL
LIGHT & MAGIC, a division of Lucasfilm, Ltd.,
Marin County, California

Optical Photography Supervisor .... BRUCE NICHOLSON

Visual Effects Editorial Supervisor .... CONRAD BUFF

Effects Art Director .... NILO RODIS-JAMERO

Effects Cameraman .... RICK FICHTER & BILL NEIL

Production Supervisor .... TOM SMITH

Production Coordinator .... LAURIE VERMONT

Matte Painting Supervisor .... MICHAEL PANGRAZIO

Matte Photography .... NEIL KREPELA

Animation Supervisor .... JOHN BRUNO

Laser and Cloud Effects .... GARY PLATEK

Modelshop Supervisor .... LORNE PETERSON

Chief Model Maker .... PAUL HUSTON

Technical Animation Supervisor .... SAMUEL COMSTOCK

First Assistant Cameramen .... PETER ROMANO, ROBERT HILL, GARRY WALLER & KIM MARKS

Second Assistant Cameraman .... RAY GILBERTI

Cameraman-Additional Scenes .... JIM VEILLEUX

Optical Printer Operators .... JOHN ELLIS, MARK VARGO, DON CLARK & DAVID BERRY

Optical Line-Up .... ED JONES, TOM ROSSETER & RALPH GORDON

Optical Technicians .... TIM GEIDEMAN, DUNCAN MEYERS & BOB CHRISOULIS

Model Makers .... EASE OWYEUNG
BARBARA GALLUCCI
MARC THORPE
SEAN CASEY
CHARLIE BAILEY
DAVE SOSALLA
BRUCE RICHARDSON
STEVE GAWLEY
GRANT SMITH
LARRY TAN
JEFF MANN
SCOTT MARSHALL
MARGHE McMAHON
TOBY HEINDEL

Key Animator .... ART VITELLO

Animators .... JOSE ABEL & MILT GRAY

Layout .... TERRY WINDELL

Animation Camera Supervisor .... JAMES C. KEEFER

Animation Assistant Supervisor .... RENEE HOLT

Key Assistant .... MICHAEL LESSA

Assistant Animators .... JACK MONGOVAN
PEGGY TONKONOGY
SCOTT CAPLE
ROB LaDUCA
ELLEN LICHTWARDT

Matte Animation .... KATHRYN LENIHAN, KIM KNOWLTON, JAY DAVIS & JUDY ELKINS

Assistant Matte Photography .... CRAIG BARRON

Additional Matte Photography .... MICHAEL SHANNON

Visual Effects Editor .... HOWARD STEIN

Assistant Visual Effects Editor .... PETER AMUNDSON

Supervising Stage Technician .... TED MOEHNKE

Stage Foreman .... PATRICK FITZSIMMONS

Stage Technicians .... DICK DOVA
BOBBY FINLEY III
EDWARD HIRSH
JOHN McLOED
PETER STOLZ
THAINE MORRIS
DAVE CHILDERS
HAROLD COLE

Still Photography .... TERRY CHOSTNER, ROBERTO McGRATH & KERRY NORDQUIST

Special Wire Performance .... PAULA PAULSON

Production Accountant .... LAURA KAYSEN

Production Procurers .... ED BREED & PAULA KARSH

Electronic System Design .... JERRY JEFFRESS

Electronic System Software .... KRIS BROWN

Electronic Engineers .... MICHAEL MacKENZIE, GARY LEO & MARTY BRENNEIS

Electronic Technicians .... BESS WILEY & MELISSA CARGILL

Electronic Coordinator .... CRISTIE McCARTHY

Design Engineer .... MICHAEL BOLLES

Draftsman .... ED TENNLER

Equipment Engineering Supervisor .... GENE WHITEMAN

Machinists .... UDO PAMPEL & CONRAD BONDERSON

Apprentice Machinists .... DAVID HANKS & MICHAEL SMITH

Soundtrack Album Available on MGM Records and Tapes
Manufactured and Marketed by PolyGram Records

Paperback Novelization Published by
Warner Books, Inc.

METROCOLOR (R)

Ultracam 35 Cameras and JDC Anamorphic Lenses
provided by Leonetti Cine Rentals, Hollywood

TITLES       MGM

RECORDED IN

DOLBY STEREOtm

IN SELECTED THEATRES

POLTERGEIST

From

MGM's trademark

 

 

CAST OF CHARACTERS

Steve Freeling .... CRAIG T. NELSON

Diane Freeling .... JOBETH WILLIAMS

Dr. Lesh .... BEATRICE STRAIGHT

Dana Freeling .... DOMINIQUE DUNNE

Robbie Freeling .... OLIVER ROBINS

Carol Anne Freeling .... HEATHER O'ROURKE

Ben Tuthill .... MICHAEL McMANUS

Mrs. Tuthill .... VIRGINIA KISER

Marty .... MARTIN CASELLA

Ryan .... RICHARD LAWSON

Tangina .... ZELDA RUBINSTEIN

Mr. Teague .... JAMES KAREN

Pugsley .... LOU PERRY

Bulldozer Driver .... CLAIR LEUCART

Jeff Shaw .... DIRK BLOCKER

Neighbors .... ALLAN GRAF & JOSEPH R. WALSH

Woman Buyer .... HELEN BARON

Husband .... NOEL CONLON

Pool Worker #1 .... ROBERT BROYLES

Pool Worker #2 .... SONNY LANDHAM

Implosion Men .... JEFFREY BANNISTER, WILLIAM VAIL & CRAIG SIMMONS

Football Announcer .... PHIL STONE, NBC SPORTS

Special Children .... DANA GENDIAN & JAIMI GENDIAN

Stunts .... CINDY FOLKERSON
BETH NUFER
FELIX SILLA
GEORGE WILBUR
JEAN EPPER
BOB YERKES
BOB HERRON
BOBBY CLARK
DONNA GARRETT
CHUCK WATERS

 

 

"Poltergeist" is a tale of terror that could happen to you

In the mystic, metaphysical realm of the poltergeist, nothing remains the same. The real becomes the surreal; the familiar is offset by the unfamiliar. It is a nightmare founded in fact.

In MGM's "Poltergeist," produced by Steven Spielberg and Frank Marshall and directed by Tobe Hooper from a screenplay by Spielberg, Michael Grais & Mark Victor, the nightmare begins in the home of Steve and Diane Freeling (CRAIG T. NELSON and JOBETH WILLIAMS), an attractive suburban couple with three children, who suddenly find themselves at the center of a terrifying poltergeist phenomenon.

Almost overnight, the Freelings' quiet world of Sunday afternoon football games and PTA meetings is terrorized by violent and supernatural intrusions from a world beyond.

Although volumes have been written on the subject, poltergeists still remain an unexplainable phenomenon –– a fact that captured the imagination of Steven Spielberg, whose previous films have captivated millions with their gripping reality and dazzling adventures. From the terror of "Jaws" and the awe of "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" to the electrifying escapades of "Raiders of the Lost Ark," Spielberg has proven that he has his finger on the pulse of the movie going public, or as one well-respected critic wrote, "Steven Spielberg knows how to tell a story on screen."

"Poltergeist means noisy ghost, or in the vernacular, bratty ghost," Spielberg explains. "It's not to be taken lightly in our movie, they are anything but bratty. They are violent and very volatile."

Director Tobe Hooper adds that "Poltergeist" can best be described as "a sensational roller coaster ride that is absolutely terrifying and exciting at the same time."

Spielberg and Hooper met four years ago after he had seen "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre." "It's a real cult film, I know," says Spielberg, "but one of the most truly visceral movies ever made. Essentially it starts inside the stomach and ends in the heart. As a filmmaker who likes to see everything, I loved it."

The two filmmakers met again in 1980. "Steven told me he wanted to produce more films and asked me to direct for him," said Hooper.

"Poltergeist" also marks the reunion of Spielberg and Frank Marshall, who produced the blockbuster success, "Raiders of the Lost Ark." Spielberg's previous credits as producer include "Continental Divide," "Used Cars," and "I Wanna Hold Your Hand."

If Spielberg is noted for placing familiar people and places in unfamiliar situations, then Hooper's hallmark is his ability to sustain the terror and tension once they are there. Add to this "Poltergeist" formula a cadre of special effects artists, including Academy Award winner Richard Edlund ("Star Wars," "The Empire Strikes Back," "Raiders of the Lost Ark") and the technicians of George Lucas' optical effects house, Industrial Light and Magic (ILM) and the combination promises to have moviegoers on the edge of their seats.

Spielberg allows that there are some similarities between "Poltergeist" and "Close Encounters of the Third Kind." "I never believed that UFOs were antagonistic phenomena," he says, "I always thought that they were something wondrous and hopeful. I feel somewhat the same way about hauntings."

"Both films actively center on the children," continues Spielberg, "The difference is that while 'Close Encounters' is about awe and wonder, 'Poltergeist' creates great jeopardy and terror."

"There is no denying that the poltergeist is a citizen of the world," wrote Dr. William G. Roll, a former Duke University parapsychologist and current project director of Psychical Research Foundation, thereby confirming what scholars and skeptics have debated for years –– the existence of unusual phenomena that manifest themselves through mysterious movements of objects. Reports of their activities include the disappearance and reappearance of household objects, movement of furniture, blasts of wind, flashes of light and electrical charges, and incidents of biting and apparitions.

Poltergeist intrusions are quite different from hauntings. Physical and sometimes violent, poltergeists erupt spontaneously, linger for a period of time –– then just as inexplicably, disappear. A poltergeist intrusion rarely lasts more than two months and more often than not, will be associated with a living individual under the age of 20. Hauntings are typically non-physical in nature and can go on indefinitely.

Poltergeists are studied by parapsychologists, following in the footsteps of the science's founder, Dr. J.B. Rhine. Rhine's work in the 1930s blazed the trail for the current research, which is undertaken by scholars at the world's leading universities, doctor at prominent medical institutions (principally at Maimonedes Medical Center in New York) and by individuals like Edgar D. Mitchell, the sixth man to walk on the moon and pilot of the lunar landing module of Apollo 14.

MGM's "Poltergeist" is fiction, but the phenomenon is securely rooted in fact.

"Every fourth person you know probably has had an experience with a poltergeist or knows someone who has," Spielberg stated, "You just have to ask around."

Tobe Hooper tells of his poltergeist experience following his father's death when the rocking chair started rocking all by itself and china and glasses and knick-knacks moved about his family's home. Beatrice Straight, who portrays a parapsychologist in the film vividly recalls a ghost who took up residence in her Connecticut country house. Dominique Dunne, who plays the eldest of the Freelings' three children, had a strange experience during the first week of shooting. A set of bookshelves that had been secured to the walls, popped out of their brackets, showering books all over the floor.