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POLTERGEIST is coming back to Theaters this October?!?!?!?! They're BaaAAAaaaAAAck!!!!

Yes by Bluereader	Sep 22nd, 2007 02:01:45 PM
Just like watching porn!
second bitches. by loafmeat	Sep 22nd, 2007 02:04:04 PM
now i can be a nerd too.
Purachased my Tix last week! by shwanzi	Sep 22nd, 2007 02:04:15 PM
Saw an advertisement for this in the lobby of a local multiplex when I saw "Hatchet" about 2 weeks ago. Can't wait to see the best haunted house movie ever on the big screen!
Will be going... by Philvis	Sep 22nd, 2007 02:10:26 PM
It is time to introduce my wife to this movie. She has never seen it, so what better a way to see it for the first time than in the movie theater. I miss good quality movies like this one when it comes to scary movies.
Movie still scares me by Bong	Sep 22nd, 2007 02:15:43 PM
Especially that clown
If they love it so much by ELGordo	Sep 22nd, 2007 02:16:50 PM
Why does the 25th anniversary edition suck so much ass?
I was scared... by hank henshaw	Sep 22nd, 2007 02:17:08 PM
this was about some sort of Poltergeist remake in the making I had not heard about. Thankfully it's not.
Saw it when I was eleven... by covenant	Sep 22nd, 2007 02:18:50 PM
...damn near shit my britches. (My sister DID). Hell of a good movie...far better than the torture porn that passes for horror these days.
Great movie. by mrfan	Sep 22nd, 2007 02:32:45 PM
Scared me too death. Fantastic cast and story.
Bad timing by ballyhoo	Sep 22nd, 2007 03:06:53 PM
As much as I love Poltergeist and would love to see it on the big screen, I'll having my bachelor party that night. Drat.
This is a lot of horseshit... by JackLucas	Sep 22nd, 2007 03:22:20 PM
This is not going to be a 35mm print that will be shown, but merely a digital projection of the DVD. This was already done when the most recent DVD dip of A Nightmare On Elm Street took place, as well as for Halloween last year. Don't get your hopes up. The presentation is dogshit for the price they are charging. And ElGordo is right... if they had any REAL respect for this film, they would be doing a TRUE Anniversary Edition DVD and not the slapped together POS that they will be putting in stores next month. There are a LOT of fans that have been waiting a long time to see a respectful celebration of this film on DVD and instead, we are getting a slapped together featurette on "real life poltergeists"?? Where are the interviews? Where are the commentaries? Deleted scenes? ANYTHING?? Something tells me that the controversy over who really directed the film has a bit to do with it as 25 years later that is STILL being debated. Too bad that such a classic, respected film is getting the shaft on its anniversary.
Good film.......... by Cleyu	Sep 22nd, 2007 03:34:22 PM
They don't make movies like that anymore.
joeelliott i disagree by Anakin Whoopass	Sep 22nd, 2007 03:51:21 PM
If you're lumping together horror films that aren't rated R, I think that's simplistic. Unlike most of that category, Poltergeist is not a disappointing film. It would be wrong to compare it with horror films that tease at being sleazy/scary and thematically deserve an R rating but are watered down to be supposedly teen-safe. Poltergeist is a horror film set in Spielburbia and fully and honestly delivers on that premise. Poltergeist is meant for families to see together but to scare the crap out of them.
"Look Diane: Before. After. Before. After." by DocPazuzu	Sep 22nd, 2007 03:53:14 PM
Fantastic and endlessly quotable movie but why no decent DVD release? Even the widescreen VHS PAL release in the mid-90's had a behind-the-scenes featurette. Shame on all of you responsible for this neglect.
joeelliott by DocPazuzu	Sep 22nd, 2007 03:56:18 PM
I understand what you're saying, but Poltergeist has a hell of a lot of stuff you would NEVER see in a family friendly horror movie these days, like weed-smoking parents, teen girls giving guys the finger, children in peril, face-ripping and just plain old awesomely scary shit. I refuse to blame Poltergeist for the current crap epidemic.
Will never go near a clown again in this lifetime by aboriginal	Sep 22nd, 2007 03:59:18 PM
Absolutely the freakiest part of the movie. SHEEEEEEEAT!
Oh thank God, I thought this was another remake... by The Dum Guy	Sep 22nd, 2007 04:02:04 PM
that is all.
Anyone know the deal with... by MetiphisLabs	Sep 22nd, 2007 04:09:25 PM
That wierd edit in this film, right during the kitchen scene when Carol Anne slide across the floor, the parents are arguing then there is a bright flash of light right in the middle of them talking and suddenly the film has cut to them in front of the neighbors house. Just a weird random sloppy edit I always wondered what the story was behind it.
Spielberg directed this. by palimpsest	Sep 22nd, 2007 04:11:16 PM
Maybe one day he'll grow a pair and fess up. Tobe Hooper was just there on set to give some genre credibility (this was a long time ago, remember). It's a decent movie, but so much more a Spielberg movie (in the vein of suburban-ordinariness meets otherworldly-weirdness movies like ET and CLOSE ENCOUNTERS) than a true horror movie. That being said, it's still enjoyable, the Edlund effects are fun, the acting all round is fine, and the first sequel has the scariest preacher in the movies. All together now: GOD IS INNNNNNN HIS HOLY TEMMMMMMM-PULLLLLLLLLLL...
Scariest movie ever made by sith_rising	Sep 22nd, 2007 04:35:59 PM
IMHO. I just might have to see it on the big screen. I first saw it on HBO in the early 80's, and haven't been the same since.
TomBodet by DocPazuzu	Sep 22nd, 2007 04:47:11 PM
That's EXACTLY how it was with Poltergeist for sure. After TCM (which is nothing like Poltergeist) Hooper hasn't directed anything but shit -- and nothing that comes even close to the vibe of Poltergeist which has Spielberg written all over it. It's denied to this day, but I'm convinced the truth will come out some time.
Hooper directed it by Purple Prole	Sep 22nd, 2007 04:49:52 PM
Are people still believing Spielberg directed it? Didn't this get proven wrong about 30 years ago? Ok, my maths may be out there. The only reason it seems like a Spielberg movie is because he wrote it (pretty much). But Tobe Hooper was the director. A large number of the crew have backed this up in the last 25 years. Though it's true Spielberg did give him pointers on how to do a couple of scenes. I believe one of these was to do the chair-stacking scene all in one take, to make it look more spooky.
Depends on what you mean by "directed" by Film Whisperer	Sep 22nd, 2007 04:58:37 PM
Let's be honest: Spielberg's fingerprints are all over the movie. Maybe he didn't physically sit on the set and call the shots, but he did all the hiring, put Michael Kahn in the edit room, developed and co-wrote the script, and on and on. Hooper may have "directed" the movie, but my impression has always been that it was closer to a TV Movie job, where he was a shooter that got what the producer wanted into the can. Name one Hooper movie before or since that has had this kind of vibe to it. I can't think of one.
Fairly obvious by kwisatzhaderach	Sep 22nd, 2007 05:00:55 PM
Spielberg ghost-directed this just as Lucas did Jedi. The framing, editing, dialogue, pacing, all clearly Spielbergian. The truth will out some day. I have wonderful memories of watching this day after day in the early 80s on home video. Classic. Wonderful Goldsmith score too.
Interesting by Mister Man	Sep 22nd, 2007 05:03:48 PM
I saw the flick as a 20 year-old, so perhaps that's the reason I don't find it scary, at all. As a film school student, I remember the who-really-directed-this debate was hot and heavy at the time. I also remember the hoots and hollers at the "Mann's" premiere of the second one. "Three" is a total bust. What I liked best? The simple shot of the chairs stacking themselves. Apparently, it was quite hilarious to watch, what with a bunch of grips (or whoever) rushing on set with chairs, in the course of a few seconds. JoBeth Williams says she couldn't stop laughing.
This get 250 theaters but BLADE RUNNER only gets two?!! by Karl Hungus	Sep 22nd, 2007 05:21:06 PM
I love POLTERGEIST but...what a joke.
Spielberg directed this! by palimpsest	Sep 22nd, 2007 05:23:10 PM
Kurt Russell directed TOMBSTONE (George Pan Cosmatos was merely a hired hand to stand near the camera to shout 'action', after Kevin Jarre was sacked from the production. Russell directed the picture, though). Stallone directed RAMBO III (though similarly had director of photography Peter MacDonald take credit, after Russell Mulcahy was sacked). Basically, this kind of thing goes on all the time. There were nerves (not least from Spielberg) that the Spielberg name as director would harm POLTERGEIST as he had no horror genre pedigree. Thus Hooper. This isn't exactly secret information, and the movie's still OK, but by no means the scariest movie of any given year, yet alone 1982. Julian Beck still rocks as Kane in the sequel though, and Craig T Nelson really should have got more movie work...
The "who REALLY directed" debate. by one9deuce	Sep 22nd, 2007 05:43:41 PM
I love all the apparent inside knowledge that some posters are sharing. My personal feeling is that POLTERGEIST looks, sounds, and feels like a Steven Spielberg film. Tobe Hooper had a great reputation for horror because of the brilliant THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE, and Spielberg needed somebody on set to call action and run the set. But I don't imagine Tobe Hooper had much creative input. Hey palimpsest, are you positive about Kurt Russell having directed TOMBSTONE? That film shares a lot with the earlier work of George P. Cosmatos and Kurt Russell has never directed anything. Although your theory on George Lucas ghost-directing RETURN OF THE JEDI seems very credible. It definitely feels like Lucas' work and Richard Marquand had done nothing before or since that was similar to JEDI. But the big question is why. Why wouldn't George Lucas want the directing credit? And did he have a similar role with THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK? Probably more than most of us geeks would like to admit.
Its not film.... by Lord Maul	Sep 22nd, 2007 05:56:56 PM
Just to let you all know... its not film you'll be watching, its basically the new DVD being screened in a digital format... that said.. I'm still going. Woo!
should be fun by bigbadbua	Sep 22nd, 2007 06:03:50 PM
the Nightmare on Elm Street and Halloween showings last year were the same thing, DVD's shown in theaters, but for people like me who were too young to see these when they were released, or in Halloween's case not even born yet, it's great to get the chance to see some of these films on the big screen. I've seen Halloween probably 25 or 30 times, but seeing it on the big screen was even better.
DON'T FALL FOR THIS. by El Scorcho	Sep 22nd, 2007 06:07:55 PM
It's a shitty digital projection streamed simultaneously to all the theaters playing it. Happened with Halloween last year and people that went fucking HATED it. Don't fall for this bullshit.
Ghosthunters!!! by Orionsangels	Sep 22nd, 2007 06:15:54 PM
SEASON 3.5 of GHOST HUNTERS PREMIERES SEPTEMBER 26th, 2007!
joeelliot is full of shit by Bass Bastardson	Sep 22nd, 2007 07:07:31 PM
Poltergeist was the movie that started "family friendly" horror films? Since when? If it's the modern PG rating that makes Poltergeist such a sell-out "family movie" in joe's eyes, then I guess Spielberg's earlier horror masterpiece Jaws must have really been the progenor of all family-horror, because - thats right - it is also rated PG. But it certainly wasn't the first horror movie to be accessible to family audiences. How about all the old Universal horror films like Frankenstein and the Mummy? Or many of the Hammer horror films? Or ANY of the 50's B-pics like The Blob, or I Was a Teenage Werewolf. It wasn't until Night of The Living Dead that horror movies became truly horrifying. There has always been a place for kids at the horror movie table. That being said, Poltergeist is a much scarier movie than many "adult" horror films these days and much like Jaws, it would easily land an R-rating if it were hitting theaters for the first time today. (for elements listed in previous post by DocPazuzu)
SoylentMean, nope. Most films are still films... by The Dum Guy	Sep 22nd, 2007 07:09:19 PM
And they weigh alot.
I think I'll pass. by Yeti	Sep 22nd, 2007 07:23:12 PM
Poltergiest was (is) a great film but I'd tather go see something I haven't seen before.
I'm not sure what "family friendly" horror film means by Film Whisperer	Sep 22nd, 2007 07:23:20 PM
Since great horror movies like THE INNOCENTS, THE HAUNTING, and maybe even ROSEMARY'S BABY would merit no more than a PG or PG-13 today. And they're a milion times scarier than HOSTEL or any of that torture porn crap. When someone says "family friendly horror", I think of ESCAPE FROM WITCH MOUNTAIN. And I always thought Spielberg didn't physically direct POLTERGEIST because he was busy with E.T. that year, not because his name would hold it back. Geez...this is the guy who was responsible for DUEL and JAWS, and was known as the new Hitchcock for a while.
BTW, see TWILIGHT ZONE episode "Little Girl Lost" by Film Whisperer	Sep 22nd, 2007 07:33:16 PM
POLTERGEIST essentially stole the entire concept from this episode, where a little girl disappears in her bedroom, and the parents find that she slipped through a time portal in the wall, and the father has to tie a rope to himself and enter that dimension to retrieve her.
shit i was hoping this would be about a remake. by dr.bulber	Sep 22nd, 2007 07:40:15 PM
too old.
Horror films for the whole family... by Uncapie	Sep 22nd, 2007 07:45:12 PM
...if you're the Manson family.
"Nancy Grace is a murderer" by The Dum Guy	Sep 22nd, 2007 08:07:35 PM
Of my libido and time. I swear I want to hurt my television when I see her ugly face on it, too bad its an inanimate object.
Beck, at least isn't as grating as Nancy or O' Reilly.. by The Dum Guy	Sep 22nd, 2007 08:21:59 PM
And, I wish they would both go into the light. Anyway, semi-back on topic, I rented the DVD that had Poltergeist 2 and 3 on it, and I must say the third one sucked, I think I remember the aunt caring more for the midget than her family member. I remember seeing 2 as a kid a being creeped out by the Tequilla worm monster.
SoylentMean by one9deuce	Sep 22nd, 2007 08:23:46 PM
Getting somebody else to kill someone IS killing someone. Not actually pulling the trigger doesn't make you any less of a murderer. Film Whisperer, good call on THE TWILIGHT ZONE episode. A large percentage of film and television over the last 40 years has been inspired by or flat out ripped off THE TWILIGHT ZONE. POLTERGEIST is still awesome though.
Please no new effects. Please no new effects. by Spaced_and_Confused	Sep 22nd, 2007 08:27:31 PM
Seriously, if you re-edit this someone will kill you
SoylentMean, they changed that already, because.... by The Dum Guy	Sep 22nd, 2007 08:37:08 PM
Walkie-Talkies look too much like they could be IEDs, so now the clown will be replaced with a vague, orange colored chart that could turn red.
They're GaAAAaYYyyyyyYYYyyy!!!! by Queerbait	Sep 22nd, 2007 08:38:19 PM
This movie is candy coated. Fucked up television sets & constipated little girls. It's all about the Shining. Grady: My girls, sir, they didn't care for the Overlook at first. One of them actually stole a pack of matches, and tried to burn it down. But I corrected them sir. And when my wife tried to prevent me from doing my duty, I corrected her.
Now, its a Christian Fundamentalist Death Campground by The Dum Guy	Sep 22nd, 2007 08:49:22 PM
They don't think cult is inclusive enough. From what I hear the ghost will also be referred to as Thetins, so as to tie it into a known religion.
POLTERGEIST: The Web Site by Teague	Sep 22nd, 2007 08:52:54 PM
Check out my fan site dedicated to all three films in the "Poltergeist" trilogy: http://www.poltergeist.polterg eistIII.com I've got the latest news on the upcoming theatrical screenings, the DVD release, etc. Back in June, I also attended a 25th Anniversary screening in Santa Monica. Co-writer Mark Victor was there along with James Karen and Zelda Rubinstein. I recorded the 30 minute panel discussion after the showing on my digital camera. You can view it on my site. I've also got a section dealing with the "real" director, includng comments from an on the set person that you'll find very interesting.
Corrected link by Teague	Sep 22nd, 2007 08:56:36 PM
Sorry, if the above link didn't work. Here is is: www.poltergeist.poltergeistIII .com
Hooper directed this as much as Cameron did PIRANHA 2.. by Monkey_King	Sep 22nd, 2007 09:21:37 PM
...hardly at all, yet they still got the screen credit.
Why would anyone want to see this with an audience? by Osmosis Jones	Sep 22nd, 2007 09:28:39 PM
It'll be the 2000 Exorcist reissue redux: a theater full of text-messaging, mouth-breathing cretins who will laugh constantly at the "stupid" pre-CGI special effects and wonder why the father sounds like Mr. Incredible.
i still hate clowns. by TheMonster	Sep 22nd, 2007 09:45:06 PM
no matter what, i will never look under my bed and im in my early 30's.
ahhh, this was one of THOSE movies where i walked in... by future help	Sep 22nd, 2007 09:46:33 PM
and was blown away by new cinema power. I was 12 years old and i took the bus by myself, headin' downtown to pay my ticket...to watch alone...in the dark, incredibly large theater. YES> this is one of THOSE movies. Greatness such as Jaws, Raiders, Star Wars, ET, Back to the Future, Ghostbusters,the Terminator, Die Hard, etc. Walking into those movies, knowing very little, and being blown away. Praise Poltergeist. the Geek in me, bids you all a goodnight. (im stoned...gonna' go watch an episode or two of Dexter on dvd.)
A Steven Spielberg Film (Tobe directed a few scenes) by Teague	Sep 22nd, 2007 10:04:44 PM
An excellent discussion of who called "Action" and "Cut" most of the time (hint: it wasn't Tobe Hooper) can be found by a poster at SpielbergFilms.com. I've got a condensed version of that person's comments on my site at www.poltergeist.poltergeistIII .com/really.html
Here's an excerpt by Teague	Sep 22nd, 2007 10:08:46 PM
from my site linked above: There has always been the controversy about whether or not Steven Spielberg was the "real" director of "Poltergeist." I came across some VERY interesting comments on one of the message boards over at the fan site SpielbergFilms.com. The person who made the postings calls himself "BenThere." He worked on the original film and had his own thoughts about the controversy. He did not want to reveal his real name or what he did on the film (I know who he is but will not reveal his identity). Below are his excerpted postings. For the full original discussion, I've also got the link to the message board where his comments first appeared. from: http://www.spielbergfilms.com/ forum/showthread.php?t=3949 As this is my first-ever post here, I'll start by thanking and congratulating Steven Awalt for creating a site that so wonderfully allows this exchange of opinion and commentary. I find it fascinating that some two and a half decades 'after the fact' no definitive answer has, yet, been given the question of Poltergeist's director. How could so many eye-witness the making of this film and not uniformly recall who, exactly, called "Action!" and "Cut!"... who, exactly, provided the stage direction... who, exactly, answered the questions from all cast and crew? Take, for example, the claim of actor, William Finley, who, according to E-Buzz, said: "... Finley confirms he was originally cast in the role of Marty, presumably by Tobe Hooper. He (Finley) says: "I can't tell you that whole story because it's still sort of a Hollywoood scandal... One of the people who did direct the movie cast me in it and one of the people who did direct the movie cast me out of it... one of those people won." A more ambiguous quote seems unlikely - but it holds the best clue in this entire thread. I suggest you'll more properly and much more quickly solve this mystery upon changing focus from who directed Poltergeist to why any doubt should still exist. Discover the "why" and the reason for all ambiguity in this matter will be quite apparent. To point you in the right direction, I'll reference the following comments - and allow this obvious hint... (DGA). Steven Awalt allowed, that, "The L.A. Times ran a great piece on the situation back in 1982. An article that, I believe, spurred the DGA inquiry and Spielberg's subsequent full page letter to Hooper in the trades." And furtney replied, "From what I understand, Spielberg was forced by the DGA to place that ad in "Variety" (it was part of the "settlement" he agreed to). Again: WHY does the question of Poltergeist's director still exist? "So why is there (this) whole section about it? I know (Spielberg) produced it but he produced a lot of movies that aren't here." (Jimmy Legs) EXACTAMUNDO, Jimmy. Spielberg "produced" about 50 films that also credit someone else as their "director." Why, then, do you figure, that, of all those films, Poltergeist is the only one to have resulted in a controversy over who REALLY directed it?
And one more by Teague	Sep 22nd, 2007 10:13:37 PM
And another, from "Ben There": "For many years, now, the question "Who directed Poltergeist?" has been put to a slew of eyewitnesses ranging from producer, Frank Marshall, to leading actors, Jo Beth Williams and Craig T. Nelson, to a number of various crew personnel. Even Tobe Hooper and Steven Spielberg, themselves, have been asked this question. So, how, or why is it, then, they should all answer in a consistent and uniform manner as to never really identify - beyond any and all doubt - who, exactly, directed the film? They'd all have us believe that Poltergeist is one of those very rare instances where, rather innocently, a producer became somewhat "involved" with directorial chores to a degree that some might simply "conclude" it was directed by the producer... hence their collective ambiguity on the matter. Filmmaking is, by far, the most collaborative "art." The reason so many names are listed in the screen credits is simple: Their individual contributions were absolutely necessary. Was there "collaboration" between Tobe and Steven? Of course there was... how could there not be? Still, just like upwards of 99.9% of all studio made films, Poltergeist had only one, true, "director." Singularly, that director decided every question and/or suggestion from all principal cast and all key crew personnel. That director, singularly, called "Action" and "Cut." Had the various media asked those folks who it was that answered all the questions, and who it was that called "Action and Cut" - instead of asking "Who directed it?" - there'd be a lot more clarity and a lot less ambiguity on the issue.
What Zelda said by Teague	Sep 22nd, 2007 10:25:08 PM
....And when I was at the screening in Santa Monica, the "director question" was posed to Mark Victor, James Karen, and Zelda Rubinstein. You could tell Mark and James were tapdancing around the issue, but Zelda came right out and said "I have a slightly different view" (to laughter and applause from the audience). She went on to say "Tobe would line up the shots...but Steven would make 'final adjustments'...Tobe was the nominal director, but THIS WAS A STEVEN SPEILBERG FILM." (to the audience cheers and applause).
The 30minute panel discussion by Teague	Sep 22nd, 2007 10:27:34 PM
Ccan be seen here: http://video.google.com/videop lay?docid=4099450078852807092 Enjoy!
Gabriel by Teague	Sep 22nd, 2007 10:34:22 PM
Wow, what a mess! Sorry to hear that. What film was this, or can you say? Another funny Zelda quote, which she gave to an interviewer for a never published book: "Tobe couldn't even direct traffic."
And who really wrote it? Let's not even go there by Teague	Sep 22nd, 2007 10:43:59 PM
I'm not sure how credible the following claim is, but I discovered it on an old Usenet posting from someone who edited "Fangoria" magazine in the early days: "(Another cool chapter would be about the committee of eight writers who wrote -- and, for many scenes, outright stole from multiple sources -- the Poltergeist script credited to Spielberg and two writers. MGM even shut down production on a TV movie because there was a set-piece, involving a ghostly hand emerging from a television screen, that the writing committee wished to incorporate into the Poltergeist script, but other appropriations were not so above-board. Spielberg was unaware that his "ghost writers" had sticky fingers until the lawsuits hit. Veteran fantasy writer Richard Matheson and actor/screenwriter Paul Clemens were paid off. Spielberg has, wisely enough, not taken a bogus writing credit since.)"
Sorry, I was referring to Poltergeist's writers by Teague	Sep 22nd, 2007 10:55:02 PM
not to Gabriel's film
Spielberg/Hooper by ELGordo	Sep 22nd, 2007 11:01:47 PM
Look. This is a Spielberg written and produced film. Hooper is a director for hire. The film has to go through the Spielberg machine to get to the finish line and of course it's going to the the look, sound and feel of a Spielberg movie. Hooper was hot property at the time and the "Berg" was moving away from horror after doing at least two fantastic horror films, Duel and Jaws. I'm sure Hooper had really no say in the creative process but he directed the movie but most likely had no say in the editing or the final outcome. Still a kick ass movie.
Oh Carol Ann by jimbojones123	Sep 22nd, 2007 11:04:07 PM
Can Coach save you? Yeah, that's about all I remember from the entire series. Guess I'm too young to give a crap.
From "Cinefantastique" magazine, 1982: by Teague	Sep 22nd, 2007 11:14:57 PM
Apparently this script by Clemens and Yellin was called "Housebound." Here's the article, written by Donald Moore. Excerpt from page 87: ************************ Blockbuster films draw legal action like a honey pot draws flies. Poltergeist has been hit by a $37 million suit by actor Paul Clemens (who starred in The Beast Within, Death in Canaan and Promises in the Dark) and Bennett Michael Yellin. Clemens and Yellin claim that substantial portions of a script their agent submitted to Steven Spielberg's office in January of 1980 found its way into Poltergeist. Spielberg's office denies ever receiving the manuscript. The story Clemens and Yellin wrote involved a strange house which traps a family (consisting of a mother, father, an older daughter, middle son and a young daughter) and hides the youngest daughter somewhere within its structure, while the family can hear her ethereal voice calling for help. Clemens and Yellin registered their script with the Writer's Guild West on September 7, 1979 and it bears some striking similarities to Poltergeist, including a murderous tree that comes to life, and a room with saliva dripping from around the edges of a door frame, and an interior of smooth, glistening pink flesh resembling a throat which Clemens described as a kind of "well" going into the depths of hell. In Clemens and Yellin's finale, bodies of people who have drowned in the swamp on which the home was built-come violently up out of the water and break through the floor-boards of the house. "We think there's clear story misappropriation," said Clemens' and Yellin's attorney, Derrick Fisher. "Spielberg might defend his story against copyright infringement by claiming it was an 'independent creation." Well, you can have independent creation in maybe one of these plot elements, but there are so many of them which are almost identical." In 1981, Clemens had obtained a first draft copy of the Poltergeist script, but was counseled by his attorney to wait and see what similarities remained in the finished movie. The first draft had prompted author/director Frank DeFelitta to protest a scene he felt was lifted from his film "The Entity" (to be released by 20th Century Fox next spring) in which a mother is literally raped by a ghost. In that case, the script was changed. The plaintiffs have already lined up two expert witnesses, magazine editor Forrest J. Ackerman and author Ray Bradbury, who have agreed to go over each story and render their own professional opinions as to similarities in plot and structure. Ackerman also served for the defense in the Battlestar Galactica vs. Star Wars lawsuit, and Bradbury read Clemens' original story when asked back in 1979 for his literay advice. Clemens insists he has no personal animosity towards Steven Spielberg. "I like Spielberg," he said. "I've met him twice and he was enourmously gracious to me. I love his films. This is just a specific case. I'm not out to 'get' Spielberg. But look at the evidence! He's the only person we sent this script to and he makes this movie."
The above was from by Teague	Sep 22nd, 2007 11:19:39 PM
Volume 13, No 2/Vol 13 No 3 by the way (November-December 1982) "Krull" was on the front cover.
I'm sorry, but Poltergeist. has by darrenspool	Sep 22nd, 2007 11:26:28 PM
the tagline 'THEY'RE HEEERRRREE!' not 'They're back' which is the title of this article. Get it right, you fucking dickhead proofreaders.
Fuck the "Got my tix last week" guy by WolfmanNards	Sep 22nd, 2007 11:39:07 PM
Dood. I've been waiting for this one for years. I'm ahead of all you fuckers on this game. I made my own tickets out of scratch 10 years ago as an IOU to myself from myself. I knew this shit was gonna go down, and now I'm ready. But not only am I ready, I want to make a strong and forceful point that I am more ready than YOU. Because somehow, in my own shitty little way, that makes me feel dominant. And it's important for me to feel dominant on the internet because I have no means of achieving it in the physical world I hope this fucker shows up and he's the only one in the theater. Because evidently, he's the only one who deserves to see this movie. Even though it's been out ... I guess 25 years, and everybody's already seen it.
Coach shoved his HD-DVD player out the door; here's why by ButtfuckZydeco	Sep 23rd, 2007 12:04:37 AM
he got a broadcast from the future that if he could kill this abomination before it went into heat, none of its PG-13 horror spawn would ever be born.
"a vague, orange colored chart that could turn red" by Dr Uwe Boll	Sep 23rd, 2007 12:07:51 AM
...that line and "...the ghost will also be referred to as Thetins, so as to tie it into a known religion." Fuck'n hilarious! Cue Alien chestburster scene - all of a sudden as the little sucker is about to burst out CUT TO: "a vague, orange colored chart that could turn red" cut back to screaming Veronica Cartwright and reaction shots of horrorfied Tom Skerrit (Yaphet Kotto about to shit his pants... so on and so forth).
The other Poltergeist controversy by Teague	Sep 23rd, 2007 12:20:47 AM
...has to do with "Poltergeist III" and whether Heather O'Rourke ("Carol Anne") finished the movie before she died. Director Gary Sherman claims she passed away before the ending could be filmed, but others who worked on the film say it was completed months before, and that the studio decided to RE-SHOOT the ending after she died, and that's why a body double had to be used in the last scene of the film. This version is more credible because 1. The film was rated PG by the MPAA (November 1987) three months BEFORE Heather died (February 1988). The ratings board only issues ratings to completed films; 2. All the press reports and studio statements at the time said she'd finished filming P3 in June 1987 in Chicago. 3. The ending re-shoot took place at MGM in March 1988, and then the film was given a new rating of PG-13 in Apri. Of course, the re-shoots didn't help, and P3 was a box office bomb and has been slammed (somewhat unfairly) as one of the worst sequels ever made.
Just bought my tickets. by NubtheSquirrel	Sep 23rd, 2007 12:30:08 AM
I can't wait to see this for the first time on the big screen. That will be an experience I am truly looking forward to for sure.
Dr Uwe Boll by The Dum Guy	Sep 23rd, 2007 12:45:14 AM
Really? I was going for the most obvious, but I did visualize that chart grabbing a kid, and boy, did that give me the creeps. And my doctor says that I have "A dangerously high Thetin count." he thinks it has something to do with my reading books, seems ink is Thetin blood, and it has absorbed into my pores, and has caused me to write run-on sentences, weird.
G@BRIEL GRAY, He eats Navy people? by The Dum Guy	Sep 23rd, 2007 12:56:37 AM
Weird... Off topic, but did anyone else read about the guy who pissed on the (soon to be) dead woman? Hilarious? see: http://blogs.usatoday.com/onde adline/2007/09/man-urinates-on .html or http://tinyurl.com/37p74g
Fuckin A! I love the 'Geist! How about a new DVD too? by Laserbrain	Sep 23rd, 2007 01:31:15 AM
Poltergeist is the awesome. Lovable characters, tight script, great score. A CLASSIC.
Oh, right. They ARE doing the DVD... well... FUCKIN A! by Laserbrain	Sep 23rd, 2007 01:33:13 AM
Love it. Bout time. :)
G@BRIEL GRAY, How is your' father? by The Dum Guy	Sep 23rd, 2007 01:52:17 AM
I haven't seen him or your' mom in ages.
Classic all the way by dirtsandwich	Sep 23rd, 2007 01:55:48 AM
SS couldn't direct it because he was doing ET. His contract or something wouldn't let him. Tobe was brought on for the title of director. But SS called the shots and it caused some problems. In my top 10 of all time. 10/10
Tobe Hooper directed some of Poltergeist... by Sledge Hammer	Sep 23rd, 2007 02:03:13 AM
...but he was so coked out of his mind that Spielberg had to replace him part way through shooting, and Hooper quietly went off into rehab. However as Spielberg didn't want to kill Hooper's career (Hooper would manage to do that all by himself soon after), everyone agreed to keep it on the down low that Spielberg did the majority of the direction (about two thirds of it all up), and Hooper was back on set "co-directing" with Spielberg by a week or two before end of shooting. That's what I've heard and it all sounds pretty credible to me anyhow.
If Poltergeist ripped off by George Peppard	Sep 23rd, 2007 02:52:07 AM
anything it would have been that Twilight Zone where a little girl got lost in a netherworld through a portal in her bedroom wall and her parents talked to her dismbodied voice, trying to guide her home.
YAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY! by elmstreetkid	Sep 23rd, 2007 03:08:00 AM
YAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY YYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY YYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!!!!! !!! fuckin'A!
Not so fast... by SnowMann	Sep 23rd, 2007 03:24:09 AM
Fathom Events, while being very cool with distributing this and other alternative content to Regal screens, does not show anything in "perfect beauty". The projectors they use for displaying these showings are of a much lower quality than typical digital projection or a 35mm print. These projectors are the ones they use to display commercials before a screening. While they look "alright", anyone going in expecting to see the film like they've never seen it before will be dissapointed.
re: TOMBSTONE by palimpsest	Sep 23rd, 2007 05:53:52 AM
Try this: http://tinyurl.com/34lla3 where Russell himself made the TOMBSTONE claim during a press junket for POSEIDON...
ON DEADLY GROUND by palimpsest	Sep 23rd, 2007 06:03:46 AM
Seagal refused to make an UNDER SEIGE sequel unless Warners would allow him to direct this. Warners agreed, but had Irvin Kershner on set throughout to make sure the camera was pointed in roughly the right direction. Kershner, incidentally, was Lucas's film school mentor, which is how he got the EMPIRE STRIKES BACK gig. Richard Marquand was merely a hot director (BIRTH OF THE BEATLES and EYE OF THE NEEDLE had got him some attention) who used JEDI as a career stepping stone. He handled the dialogue scenes and the actors while Lucas supervised and concentrated on the effects work. If you want a more upfront way of doing this kind of thing, see the co-director credit for MAD MAX: BEYOND THUNDERDOME (Georges Miller and Ogilvie) where they were explicit at the time about the action/acting split in duties...
Night Skies Script by reni	Sep 23rd, 2007 06:12:44 AM
A decent chunk of the Night Skies script by John Sayles also reminded me of Poltergiest. The family dynamic & some of the set pieces. I'd say 40% of Night Skies went into Poltergiest & Gremlins. The rest went into E.T. (Good script though.)
Sorry by reni	Sep 23rd, 2007 06:18:28 AM
'The rest went into E.T...' No it didn't. What a flippant thing to say. Sorry Melissa. I meant the bit about Jaybird's (the little boy) connection with good alien Buddee.
One of Spielberg´s best movies by CuervoJones	Sep 23rd, 2007 06:49:05 AM
And that´s saying a lot.
couldnt give a toss... by Wired Earp	Sep 23rd, 2007 06:53:37 AM
..about this anniversary. That DVD release eats dung. I directed the fuckin making off, they must have decided i sucked.
I was 25 this year and... by Vamp-AICNchat	Sep 23rd, 2007 07:12:26 AM
...POLTERGEIST was the only film that shit me up when I was a kid.
Off topic but must post this: KILL The Dark is Rising by Sepulchrave	Sep 23rd, 2007 07:13:05 AM
This is reputedly a very powerful website, though I think there is not much one can do to derail a corporate children’s film; the kids are at the mercy if the adults who decide that the film is suitable for their offspring and get dragged to mediocre garbage all the time. But SOMETHING HAS TO BE DONE. I haven’t seen any news on AICN about the trailer for The Dark is Rising. Suffice to say that there are sloppy adaptations, incomplete adaptations and then there are adaptations are that evil, immoral, corrupted. TDIR is the latter. Susan Cooper’s glorious pre-Christian epic has been delivered into the claws of Walden media, into the hands of some foul Christian fundamentalist film-maker, into the putrid corporate magical tripe of yet another ‘world beyond your imagination’ those worlds so small, so tacky and empty of all mystical or spiritual feeling. Someone commenting on the film has remarked that ‘as a fantasy film, it has not historical context’. That, in a nutshell, encapsulates everything stupid, ignorant and ridiculous about the corporate American attitude to fantasy; everything that these vapid suburbanites can’t grasp about the world of myth, everything that separates the glory of The Lord of the Rings (thank you New Zealanders and Brits) from the lustreless, ugly trash of The Lion The Witch and Wardrobe (thank you corporate America and Walden media). If you think that there was any similarity between those two films then I can’t begin to describe what lack of sensitivity you display. And The Dark is Rising is many hundreds of steps lower down the ladder than the Lewis adaptation. The Dark is Rising has been stripped of its Arthurian myths, emptied of its Celtic content; no Mabinogion for the children; why should they be taught about the ancient roots of their own civilisation? Why not substitute something warm and air-conditioned and dry; something with a plastic Jesus at the center that smells like the inside of a mall? This film must be destroyed. It’s a violation. It’s evil because it’s ignorant and heartless where it should be richly informed by its source material; a channel for the deep spiritual history of Britain and Ireland, not a soapbox for a synthetic, factory-farmed faith fifty years old. I urge AICN to do all it can to torpedo this monstrosity and not to let it ride in on the coattails of Harry Potter and His Dark Materials. Do not let kids see this film.
Tobe Pooper by godoffireinhell	Sep 23rd, 2007 09:57:50 AM
With one exception his movies are a steaming pile.
The Reason why Poltergeist has more theatres than Blade by Bobo_Vision	Sep 23rd, 2007 10:32:29 AM
...Runner: El Spielbergo is more powerful than Ridley Scott.
↑ by Al Swearengen	Sep 23rd, 2007 11:00:21 AM
Who the fuck is this hooplehead???
Poltergeist: In the Shadows by Teague	Sep 23rd, 2007 11:57:48 AM
Check out www.michaelgrais.com He co-wrote the original with Spielberg and Mark Victor. He also co-wrote and co-produced "Poltergeist II" with Mark Victor. "Poltergeist: In the Shadows" (hmmm, what could THAT be?) is currently listed as being "in development" on his web site. For more details on a potential "Poltergeist IV," visit www.poltergeistIII.com/polterg eistIV.html
On the other hand: by Film Whisperer	Sep 23rd, 2007 12:40:32 PM
I had always heard a rumor that Kathleen Kennedy directed the bulk of the "Kick the Can" episode of the TZ MOVIE. Apparently, after the brutal helicopter accident involving Vic Morrow and the two children, Spielberg lost all taste for the project and asked Kennedy to finish it. Ironic, since I think that episode is a mini masterpiece (I know I'm in the minority, and have heard so many years from my friends).
Ahh, TWILIGHT ZONE: THE MOVIE by palimpsest	Sep 23rd, 2007 02:30:49 PM
Ain't seen that for years, though I remember liking everything except the first tale (the Landis one).
Overrated garbage by EjkoUSC	Sep 23rd, 2007 02:36:42 PM
Just recently saw this movie. I have vague memories when I was younger of it scaring me so I gave it another chance. Dear lord what a disaster. Its about as subtle as a slap in the face with a bag of hammers. Fucking should have been called Attack of the Killer Backyard. The perfect example of what made the movies of the 80's by and large excessive dogshit. Real stupid. I LOVE Spielberg but this was just real stupid. No idea why people find it scary. Its no better than obnoxiously noisy shit like The Haunting. I dont know about you but when it comes to being frightened, movies need to keep it simple and quiet. There's nothing scary about a bedroom with zero gravity. But Bruce Willis turning up the tape recorder to hear ghosts whispering (in the 6th Sense) is hair-raising stuff man. I'm not a Shyamalan polisher. Maybe if Spielberg had actually let Hooper direct it it would have been a different movie. Maybe not better. Cant get much worse though. So stupid.
Will they fix that dodgy edit.... by Floyd_Dylan	Sep 23rd, 2007 03:10:45 PM
...where Diane Freeling is explaining to her husband about what it's like to be pulled forward on the kitchen floor, and then it cuts half way through from that conversation to another one outside their next door neighbour’s house?
LIFEFORCE... by palimpsest	Sep 23rd, 2007 03:52:19 PM
...a gloriously stupid movie, though one with some good elements (Hot naked space vampires! Peter Firth!! Patrick Stewart!!!). Ahh Matilda May, number 2 on the all-time 80s geek hottie list. Number, one, if you have to ask, is Ornella Muti in FLASH GORDON. Must go now, as in the UK, BBC 4 has a documentary on Jean 'Moebius' Girard, followed by TRON. God bless the BBC!
What about the infamous "curse"? by DallasGoodbar	Sep 23rd, 2007 04:12:15 PM
Everyone wants to know who the true director is. I just want to know why they supposedly used real skeletons in the production and where the propsmaster may have acquired them from.
LIFEFORCE was based on by the Green Gargantua	Sep 23rd, 2007 04:21:50 PM
Space Vampires by Collin Wilson author of the extreamly bad ass MIND PARASITES that would make an even better film.
My brother and I found the house- by the Green Gargantua	Sep 23rd, 2007 04:26:40 PM
after an exhausting search of the 818, than we just stared at it in awe waiting for it to impload, but it did not. We were very very affected by that movie. And if Toby directed that movie, Lucas directed Empire, c'mon folks...
read HOUSE OF LEAVES by the Green Gargantua	Sep 23rd, 2007 04:31:19 PM
If you enjoyed Poltergeist, or the Twilight Zone episode it was ripped off from. That book will freak your shit out. It's weird. Poltergeist made the suburb I grew up in feel unsafe. Than years later I move to Hollywood and read HOUSE of LEAVES. Suddenly my urban dwelling is the setting of an even stranger version of that story!
Hello! CANADIAN DATES!?!? And Green Gargantua's right by GreatWhiteNoise	Sep 24th, 2007 01:22:42 AM
... House Of Leaves was a mighty diturbing book. Very strange, but well-written and thoroughly creepy. Has Mark Z. Danielewski written anything of comparable quality since?
Re: reni's NIGHT SKIES post... by Monkey_King	Sep 24th, 2007 04:13:09 AM
This controversy also needs to be brought to light. How Spielberg strongarmed Rick Baker to shut his studio down when production was halted, how Baker's designs ended up in Carlo Rambaldi's FX studio, how the ending of the script "inspired" the film A BOY'S LIFE/E.T. and how years later a similarly themed film called SIGNS was made after Spielberg and M.Night met. I'm very familiar with this story and how it was inspired by the Hopkinsville Goblins incident and how Spielberg hired John Sayles to pen a follow-up to CLOSE ENCOUNTERS. I've also got confirmation of what Baker's design looked like, since Rick still has photos, but won't release them since him and Steven patched things up.
fathom - don't they usually do crappy looking digitally by lilgorgor	Sep 24th, 2007 06:06:08 AM
projected stuff? (not DLP) like all those concerts and everything? will this actually be 35mm prints/DLP?
I'll skip it by disfigurehead	Sep 24th, 2007 08:33:33 AM
Megadeath is playing here the same night. I can see the movie anytime.
Digital Projection.... by the_patriot	Sep 24th, 2007 10:57:30 AM
Ok, for those arguing - this is not digital projection like you see the newest major releases on. This is not the full out expensive systems that Fathom/Regal Cinemedia shows these on. Fathom Events screenings are shown on the digital PRESHOW systems. That's right, the projectors that show you the advertisements before the movie starts. I've been to several of these now and some of them look great and some absolutely SUCK - depending on whether they have kept them maintained or not. The original Halloween last year was pathetic - the system was dark and failing to the point you couldn't see the picture. However, the David Gilmour concert a few weeks ago looked amazing. So...even here in Denver where Fathom's home office is...it's a total CRAPSHOOT as to whether you'll get a decent presentation of Poltergeist or not. This digital network of Fathom's is a great idea that shows promise, but is currently still poorly implemented and maintained.
I Was Shocked by micturatingbenjamin	Sep 24th, 2007 01:28:57 PM
When I saw that Tobe Hooper's name was under 'Director'...More like 'Consultant for What Type Shit Scares People'....I could see the meeting between the two like this: Spielberg: So, in this scene the guy wakes up, and goes to get a steak...but sees that while he's cooking it that there's maggots in it! OOooOOOoooo! Tobe: Uh, how about there's maggots, then his face melts off? Oh, and check this out... Speilberg: WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT?! Tobe: She's a midget, her name's Zelda, and SHE'S going to be the spiritualist... Spielberg: But..I thought..Kate Capshaw..Jesus, Tobe make her stop LOOKING AT ME! I could be wrong, but...you know...I'm not.
House of Leaves by micturatingbenjamin	Sep 24th, 2007 01:35:15 PM
Yes the book is fucking fucked up...but would never ever never ever work as a movie. The title is even a metaphor for books. The haunting tale is the ghose that lives in the book, or the house of 'leaves' (The pages in a Book)...The very structure is based on bookisms and literary conceits. I mean, it's the meme of literature that's being messed with there. I don't think you can do House of Leaves as a movie...maybe just the Navidson stuff....but again, I don't want to ruin what is a truly creepy tale for anyone, so just understand that there are specific elements of the book that would be unfilmable, and leave it at that. Fincher or MZD himself might could do it, if they re-wrote it for screen...make a filmic version of the plot...Danieliewskiowitznashit z has a new book out called 'Only Revolutions'.
Leftists... by micturatingbenjamin	Sep 24th, 2007 01:48:44 PM
Sheesh...Someone rape-mines the novel for the most streamlined and pasteurized and marketable form of pap possible, and fans of the book bitch about it...and someone shouts 'Anti-Corporation!' It takes money to make movies. I undertand and accept that...I celebrate that, in fact. I don't hate corporations as a concept or as a whole....But..while the people in a corporation at their worst are simply wealthy shitbags without a care for the people scrabbling at the bottom...most are as oblivious to those plights as we are to the plights of the average field mouse. Corporations are not evil, they are amoral...Reasoning people know that amoral things are dangerous things...because they don't adhere to ethics and morals. Please don't label my concern as 'hate' and I won't label your 'reactionary statements' as 'stupid'. I'd guess I'm a Leftist because I'd rather not have the Jesus Seal of Approval on every piece of kid's entertainment out there. But again, less religion is better for me...it might not be so for you... I think the point was that the Seeker movie is going to be a bastardization and complete reversal of the source material (a thoughtful and wonderfully written kid's book without a hint of 'All of this is fake, and wouldn't be possible without Jeebus'). Just saying, I'd be pissed if I went into a Wolverine movie, and it's ninety percent about how Wolverine feels REAL bad about sicing people up, and he's only the fifth best at what he does. Finally, dude, nice homo-bashing. You're toughie, and we're all impressed. Now, put your dick away son, we're not waving those anymore. And I do agree, if you want your kids to know about King Arthur and the other legends of the world, it really is your responsibility. Hell, do your kids a favor, get them the books instead of taking them to the moving pictures. I'm a reasonable guy, but you said that 'not long ago our ancestors were wiping thier ass with leaves and worshiping the sun'...well, now we've got toilet paper, but we're still looking skyward for answers and justice that ain't coming.
Danielski's ONLY REVOLUTIONS by palimpsest	Sep 24th, 2007 04:53:54 PM
is very disappointing indeed. It looks great (much more a visual thing than a reading experience) but feels much more like a flashy but empty bag of tricks. As for a HOUSE OF LEAVES movie, that's a risky idea. I'd vote Cronenberg, or maybe Michael Mann. You need someone cold and detached to pull that one off. If you muck it up, though, you'd get something like a hypothetical Mick Garris TV movie of the Stephen King/Peter Straub novel BLACK HOUSE. That book, incidentally, owes quite a bit to HOUSE OF LEAVES (in the same way that King's TOMMYKNOCKERS is lifted wholescale from Nigel Kneale's QUATERMASS AND THE PIT)...
The Navidson record would work- by the Green Gargantua	Sep 24th, 2007 08:28:59 PM
if presented uniquely, like the book. Like hours and hours of unedited video on beta. You get a box of this shit and a special betamax and watch until your eyes dry up. That would rule.
RIP OFF! by evil monkey	Oct 4th, 2007 11:03:34 PM
paid 20 bucks for me and my wife to watch not only the DVD of Poltergeist... but it was the PAN AND SCAN VERSION! NCM has taken my money for the last time!

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