Poltergeist Online » Misc.

Crew

Josh Kelhoffer — Sat, 19 Feb 2011 13:37:25 +0000

	Tobe Hooper-Director- Besides Poltergeist, Hooper directed Eaten Alive, Salem’s Lot, The Funhouse, Lifeforce, Invaders From Mars, and The Toolbox Murders. He is most famous for directing The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and later directing it’s first sequel. He also directed episodes of Amazing Stories, Tales From the Crypt, Freddy’s Nightmares, Taken, and most recently, Masters of Horror.
	Steven Spielberg-Writer/Producer- Most of his works don’t need listing as most of you probably already know that he directed Jaws, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Schindler’s List, and many other great and notable films. He also produced tons of movies such as Gremlins, Innerspace, and The Goonies. In 1981, Spielberg formed Amblin Entertainment, named after his short film, Amblin. He would later go on to co-found Dreamworks. Spielberg continues to produce and direct films, his latest being TinTin, due in 2010.
	Matthew Leonetti-Director of Photography- Prior to Poltergeist, Leonetti worked on films like Raise the Titanic and Eyewitness. He’d later go on to serve as D.P. on films like Fast Times at Ridgemont Hight, Weird Science, Star Trek: First Contact, Star Trek: Insurrection, The Butterfly Effect, and most recently, Soul Men.
?	Richard Edlund-Visual Effects Supervisor- No stranger to the visual effects industry, Edlund has worked on such films as Star Wars, Empire Strikes Back, Return of the Jedi, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Poltergeist II, Ghostbusters, Fright Night, Ghost, Air Force One, and Charlie Wilson’s War. After Poltergeist and Jedi, Edlund formed his own company, called Boss Films.
	Jerry Goldsmith-Composer-One of the best composers to even romanticize the screen with his music, Goldsmith worked on episodes of The Twilight Zone, VonRyan’s Express, Stagecoach, In Like Flint, Patton, Planet of the Apes, Star Trek: The Motion Picture, and Alien. Goldsmith would later go on to score other Spielberg produced films like Twilight Zone: The Move, Gremlins and it’s sequel, and Innerspace. He also composed the scores for many of the further Star Trek films, Matinee, Explorers, The ‘Burbs, the first three Rambo films, LA Confidential, The Sum of All Fears, and Looney Tunes: Back In Action. He also made appearances in both Gremlins films. Goldsmith passed away in 2004 after battling cancer.

Cast

Josh Kelhoffer — Sat, 19 Feb 2011 13:34:05 +0000

	Craig T. Nelson as Steve Freeling- Before Poltergeist, Nelson had some roles on several television shows, such as The Mary Tyler Moore Show and Charlie’s Angels, later appearing movies like Stir Crazy and Private Benjamin. After Poltergeist, he starred in his own sitcom, Coach, and later provided the voice of Mr. Incredible in The Incredibles.
	JoBeth Williams as Diane Freeling- Williams was in Kramer Vs. Kramer and Stir Crazy. She’d later to go on to The Big Chill, Wyatt Earp, and directed a few shorts and a tv movie, Frankie and Hazel.
	Dominique Dunne as Dana Freeling- Dunne had a shortlived career, mostly in television. Her role as the daughter in Poltergeist is her most famous role. In 1982, she was murdered by her ex-boyfriend, John Thomas Sweeney.
	Oliver Robbins as Robbie Freeling- Robbins was in a tv movie, Million Dollar Infield, before playing Robbie Freeling in the first two Poltergeist movies. He would later pop up in Airplane II: The Sequel, a tv movie called Don’t Go To Sleep, and an episode of The Twilight Zone. He then turned to writing and directing with Roomies and Dumped.
	Heather O’ Rourke as Carol Anne Freeling- Most famous for her role in all three Poltergeist films, Rourke later had a role in Happy Days, as well as other tv shows and tv movies. Her career was sadly shortlived as on February 1,1988, at the age of 12, after previously being diagnosed with Crohn’s Disease, she was rushed to the hospital and suffered a cardiac rest and passed away.
	Zelda Rubinstein as Tangina Barrons- Prior to Poltergeist, Zelda was in an episode of The Flintstones Comedy Show and Under the Rainbow. She would goon to play her notable role as Tangina in all three Poltergeist films and even appear, as a different character, in an episode the tv series, Poltergeist: The Legacy. Most recently, she appeared in the horror film Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon and Southland Tales.
	Beatrice Straight as Dr. Lesh- Straight had been acting since the 1950′s, showing up in several movies and television shows, including Alfred Hitchcock Presents and Mission:Impossible. She would later act in 1976′s Network before going on to play the parapsychologist Dr. Lesh in Poltergeist. She passed away in 2001.
	Richard Lawson as Ryan-Lawson was in a few exploitation films, such as Scream Blacula Scream, and made appearances in tv shows like All in the Family and T.J. Hooker. After Poltergeist, he’d appear in the mini-series V, St. Elsewhere, MacGuyver, The Cosby Show, Wag the Dog, and Guess Who.
	Martin Casella as Marty- Casella had previously served as a Production Assistant on Used Cars and as Spielberg’s Assistant on Raiders of the Lost Ark. He appeared in a few movies after Poltergeist, such as Six Weeks and Robocop 2.

Acknowledgements

Josh Kelhoffer — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 06:18:32 +0000

Resources

Poltergeist Production Notes

A Conversation with Jerry Goldsmith by Randall D. Lason, CinemaScore #11/12

Fangoria #19 #20 #21

ASC Podcast Interview with Matthew Leonetti and Richard Edlund

Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Poltergeist theatrical trailer

Cinefex Magazine (#10)

Poltergeist screenplay

Poltergeist novel by James Kahn

Special thanks to Phil and Marcus for their kind help in the formation of this site!

Trivia

Josh Kelhoffer — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 05:13:33 +0000

	The Holiday Inn sign says “Welcome Dr. Fantasy and Friends.” Dr. Fantasy is producer Frank Marshall’s nickname.
	In the scene where Steve and Diane are discussing the pool, the tv is showing A Guy Named Joe, which Spielberg would later remake as Always.
	There is an Alien poster in the kids’ bedroom. Coincedently, composer Jerry Goldsmith scored Alien, as well as Poltergeist. Tom Skerrit, who played Dallas in Alien, would also later appear in Poltergeist III.
	The dog’s name is E Buzz. A few years earlier, Dan Aykroyd played an art critic named E Buzz Miller on Saturday Night Live. Aykroyd also starred in 1941, which Spielberg directed, and would later have small role in Twilight Zone: The Movie, which Spielberg produced as well as directed on of the segments, and an even smaller role in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, which Spielberg directed. Coincedently, Aykroyd would later take on ghosts himself, playing Ray Stantz in Ghostbusters, Ghostbusters II, and Casper.
	It is a heavily publicized belief that there is a “curse” surrounding the Poltergeist series. The “Real skeletons” story, along with ghost stories told by the actors and some of the crew in publicity articles often surround the superstitous thought. But it’s the exploitation of the tragic deaths of Heather O’ Rourke, Dominique Dunne, Will Samson, and Julian Beck that keep this “curse” going. E! True Hollywood Story even dedicated an entire episode to it.
	Family Guy spoofed Poltergeist in an episode called Petergeist, where Stewie, taking the role of Carol Anne, gets sucked into the other side. Lets just say that they had quite an interesting take on the exit for the area of bi-location.
	There was a television series based on the films called Poltergeist: The Legacy. Other than the title and featuring Zelda Rubinstein (as a different character) in an episode, it doesn’t have the characters, nor does it continue the storyline from the films.
	A Nightmare on Elm St. has a couple of similarities with Poltergeist. They both have scenes where a female character is dragged up a wall and ceiling, and they both have characters who inherit grey hairs because of their supernatural ordeals. Both films also feature final acts where one of the main characters has to step into another plane of existence in order to bring someone back.
	Action fans might recognize Sonny Landham, who played Billy in Predator, as one of construction workers building the pool who harrasses Dana.
	As an homage to buddy George Lucas, Spielberg filled the kids’ bedrooms in both E.T. and Poltegeist with Star Wars. merchandise, including a poster, a Chewbacca t-shirt, and several toys.
	Tangina describes Carol Anne as a “lifeforce.” Tobe Hooper later directed a film called Lifeforce.

A Word from the Webmaster

Josh Kelhoffer — Thu, 24 Jun 2010 04:58:13 +0000

Poltergeist is a marvel among horrors. It takes “the haunted house picture” and adds fantasy to it, giving it a freshness that most other ghost movies just don’t have.

My experience with Poltergeist began in my childhood. I didn’t exist in 1982, so my first encounter with it was on TBS, where it played all three Poltergeist films in a row. I was maybe 6 or 7 at the time and had already been familiar with Star Wars and was about to discover the Jaws series, along with Indiana Jones and much of the Star Trek films. So I was totally at the birth of what would soon become my geeky livelihood.

I wish I could say that Poltergeist remained with me since, but at the time, my early experiences with it were in passings on television broadcasts. Eventually, I couldn’t find it on tv much anymore, but Poltergeist III seemed to always be popping up a lot, and that entry came across to me as harsh and dull.

In the next few years, I would go on to discover the works of director Steven Spielberg. I was already familiar with his films like Hook and E.T.,and Jurassic Park had busted into the scene, and at the time, I was a huge fan of that movie. I saw Jaws and television, and started renting the sequels. I had gotten Close Encounters for my birthday one year, and it would later become one of my favorite films. Constantly watched volumes of Amazing Stories when they came on tv, played the computer game “Director’s Chair” and even reasearched the life and works of Spielberg for a report at school. Yes, Spielberg became my
favorite director, and has been ever since.

I wouldn’t truly familiarize myself with Poltergeist until a couple of years ago, when I went searching for an online community where I could meet other Spielberg fans and chit chat about his works. I soon discovered SpielbergFilms, which is now defunct, and it wasn’t too long before I found myself curious about the legacy surrounding Poltergeist. Now mind you, by this time I had already known about the “curse” from an episode E! True Hollywood Story, watched a great deal of Poltergeist II on basic television, and had a fuzzy memory of what actually happened in the movie. Really, I remembered was Carol Anne looking at the tv, and then saying “They’re Here!” And I had just found out about the Spielberg/Hooper controversy surrounding the film.

So I drove to Target and bought a copy of the 25th Anniversary Edition and did something that I wish I could do with all my favorite films, watch it all over again with fresh eyes. Not only did I love it, but I was actually surprised that I jumped at a few points in the movie. I had to watch it again, and so I did.

Like many of my favorite films, it was a movie that stuck in my head and just never left. I went to work the next morning, and all I could think about was this extraordinary movie I just watched, and when I got home, I watched it again. Like Close Encounters, Alien, the first two Star Wars films and first three Star Trek films as well as many others, it became this movie in which everywhere I go, I just want to express how much I love this movie. It’s the movie I have the most to say about.

So here we are with Poltergeist Online. It’s sort of like my essay on Poltergeist. An online text commentary, if you will. Creating this site was quite an educational experience. I have gathered up information from old newspaper and magazine articles, as well as recent interviews and production notes. Not only did I get to learn quite a bit about the film, but I got to openly and publicly express my starry-eyed geek love for this film.

Enjoy the site!

-Josh Kelhoffer, webmaster