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The legacy of Poltergeist begins with Raiders of the Lost Ark. During the production of Raiders, Steven Spielberg headlined discussions for what soon became Poltergeist. In a 1982 interview with Fangoria Magazine, Producer Frank Marshell said "Steven had always wanted to do a ghost story. So we talked about doing a ghost story that would be allied in approach with Close Encounters of the Third Kind, exploring parapsychology and ghost phenomena in the same way CE3K explored UFO phenomena." Stevensoon began transferring his ideas to paper. "Steven wrote the treatment while we were working on Raiders-I have no idea where he found the time, he must have written it in the car between the hotel and the studio!" Marshall continued.Soon after, MGM Studios bought the story, and Spielberg remained and kept a great deal of control as his treatment grew into script and then into a movie. |
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The original treatment was called "Nighttime." Screenwriters Michael Grais and Mark Victor were then hired to do the script, after being confronted about writing a remake of "A Guy Named Joe", which later became Always. Spielberg then re-wrote the script. In the script, Marty is reffered to as Tak, and actor Martin Casella did not know the character's name was changed until he heard the line "Marty won't be coming back." |
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Spielberg later compared Poltergeist to Close Encounters saying, " I never thought of UFOs as a threat to humans but rather, I think of them as something capble of giving mankind hope. I hold the same kind of views towards ghostly hauntings. And that is clearly expressed in this movie just as with Close Encounters. The important work that kids do in this picture is another shared trait between both pictures. But while Close Encounters dealt with wonder and awe as it's themes,this film is characterized by the themes of crisis and horror." |
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The filmmaker's took believability into consideration and set the movie in a realistic universe of a typical, suburban neighborhood. Not only that but average, human phobias (a fear of clowns) and worries (losing a loved one) were put in, making many of the scary and suspensful moments relatable to an everyday audience. The idea being that the Beast "knows what scares you" and will use that fear against you. And it worked, The clown scene is debatably the biggest scare. I know it made me jump! |
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It was also very important to the filmmakers that the film get a PG rating. During the promotion for the film, the filmmakers would emphasize that the film has very little gore and how it is still scary even though no one dies in the film. In an promotional materials, Spielberg is quoted to saying "There are no knifings, no murders, and no decapitated heads. We do have one scene which appears to be instantly violent and gory, but it turns out to be a quick hallucination." The film did originally get an R rating which was later appealled, and the MPAA gave the film a PG rating. |
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Tobe Hooper was hired to direct, something which later become somewhat of a massive controversy. Spielberg had seen Hooper's The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and loved it. Spielberg said about TCM: ""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." Spielberg then approached Hooper to direct the film. As the move was about to be released, rumors started flying that Spielberg was the actual director of the film. As stated earlier, Spielberg had a great deal of control over the production, and even seemed to suggest that Hooper wasn't always the man in charge:"Tobe isn't... a take-charge sort of guy. If a question was asked and an answer wasn't immediately forth- coming, I'd jump in and say what we could do. Tobe would nod agreement, and that become the process of collaboration." |
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In a 2007 interview with Ain't It Cool News, actress Zelda Rubinstein stated : "I can tell you that Steven directed all six days I was there. I only worked six days on the film and Steven was there. Tobe set up the shots and Steven made the adjustments. You’re not going to hear that from Tobe Hooper, you’ll hear it from Zelda, because that was my honest to God experience. " She then added: "I don’t know how to say this… he allowed some unacceptable chemical agents into his work. I felt that immediately. I felt that when I first interviewed for the job. Steven was there, Tobe was there, two casting people from MGM were there and I felt at that time Tobe was only partially there. " |
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Spielberg published an open letter to Hooper in the Hollywood Reporter stating:"Regrettably, some of the press has misunderstood the rather unique, creative relationship which you and I shared throughout the mak- ing of Poltergeist. I enjoyed your openness in allowing me a wide berth for creative involvement, just as I know you were happy with the freedom you had to direct Poltergeist so wonderfully. Through the screenplay you accepted a vision of this very intense movie from the start, and as the director, you delivered the goods. You performed responsibly and professionally throughout, and I wish you great success on your next project." |
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For some, the issue is still up in the air, but no matter who truly deserves the director's credit, there's no denying that Spielberg was a massive part of the creative force of Poltergeist. In the Fangoria interview, Marshalls said "From the start, it's been Steven's movie-from the idea to the treatment to the design of each storyboard and on from there; and he closely controlled each aspect of it's production. It's a Steven Spielberg production and he wanted it to be the film that he envisioned." |
