News Updates
4-7-08
Congrats, JoBeth!
JoBeth Williams Named President of The Screen Actors Guild Foundation
LOS ANGELES, April 7, 2008 /PRNewswire/ -- Marcia Smith, Executive
Director of The Screen Actors Guild Foundation, announced today that Award
Winning actress JoBeth Williams has been elected President of the SAG
Foundation, replacing retiring president Mitchell Ryan, who served the
foundation for the past 9 years.
"I am honored to have been elected president of the SAG foundation,"
JoBeth said, "it is an organization close to my heart because of its
extraordinary programs which help actors in need and introduce children
across the country to the joys of reading."
Founded in 1985, The Screen Actors Foundation is an educational,
humantarian and philanthropic non-profit organization, dedicated to
enhancing the quality of the lives of actors in need of assistance.
LOS ANGELES, April 7, 2008 /PRNewswire/ -- Marcia Smith, Executive
Director of The Screen Actors Guild Foundation, announced today that Award
Winning actress JoBeth Williams has been elected President of the SAG
Foundation, replacing retiring president Mitchell Ryan, who served the
foundation for the past 9 years.
"I am honored to have been elected president of the SAG foundation,"
JoBeth said, "it is an organization close to my heart because of its
extraordinary programs which help actors in need and introduce children
across the country to the joys of reading."
Founded in 1985, The Screen Actors Foundation is an educational,
humantarian and philanthropic non-profit organization, dedicated to
enhancing the quality of the lives of actors in need of assistance.
3-18-08
Jobeth's first convention....
above, my friends Jonathan and Nicole pose with Jobeth
This past weekend in Cherry Hill, New Jersey, the Monster-mania horror convention was held
(http://www.monstermania.net/). Jobeth Williams was a featured guest (her first convention), and she particpated in a panel discussion ("The Women of Horror") with actresses Heather Langenkamp and Amanda Plummer. She also spent time signing autographs and taking pictures with fans. Site reader "Harrison" sent me this info:
"She just talked a little about the 'Poltergeist' curse, the mud swimming pool scene, and cast members from the second film who died. She talked about the actors' deaths, and Will Sampson doing an exorcism on the set of the second film. She said she would come home and find the picture frames on her wall askew, in relation to the 'curse.' She also said that
the swimming pool was Esther Williams' pool on the old MGM lot, and talked about the special effects. Very interesting- I didn't even know that! She also said that the pool scene was shot over a period of days, and that she was afraid to get in the pool, so Spielberg got in the pool with her. She also mentioned her role in 'Kramer vs. Kramer,' and a movie she directed called 'Frankie & Hazel.' She didn't mention anything about a fourth film, and whether she'd take part in it, and didn't talk about 'P3.' [Regarding the controversy of who really directed the original film, Spielberg or Hooper] She said that it
was a collaboration, and each contributed something to it."
the swimming pool was Esther Williams' pool on the old MGM lot, and talked about the special effects. Very interesting- I didn't even know that! She also said that the pool scene was shot over a period of days, and that she was afraid to get in the pool, so Spielberg got in the pool with her. She also mentioned her role in 'Kramer vs. Kramer,' and a movie she directed called 'Frankie & Hazel.' She didn't mention anything about a fourth film, and whether she'd take part in it, and didn't talk about 'P3.' [Regarding the controversy of who really directed the original film, Spielberg or Hooper] She said that it
was a collaboration, and each contributed something to it."
Above photo credit: http://www.iconsoffright.com/MM10.htm
Here's what a fellow blogger had to say:
from:
The Women in Horror panel was an unusual lineup, I thought, of Jobeth Williams from Poltergeist, Heather Langenkamp from Nightmare on Elm Street, and Amanda Plummer from (as they billed her) Needful Things, Pulp Fiction, and The Prophecy....
Anyway, the questions for the women were different than those for the men. They didn't get asked their favorite horror movies or authors. They didn't get asked about their male costars (as the men had been asked for the women) - except Langenkamp was asked about Englund (boring predictable question). Both panels did talk about remakes and sequels, coming down against the former. The women's attractiveness was remarked upon, but not the men's. The women were asked about "creepy fans" and "perverted costars" and what they're afraid of, three basically not all that dissimilar questions. The men didn't get asked those. Langenkamp had already mentioned how New Nightmare came out of a discussion with Craven about a rare troublesome fan, she said some fans love the movie or the character or whatever so much, they end up wanting something from the actor without even knowing what they want, and the actor obviously can't help them figure out what that is. Williams said she was afraid of this year's elections, which Plummer agreed with...
Williams had actually directed several shorts and one of them was Oscar-nominated! I hadn't known this, since they weren't horror. But I should have remembered she'd directed an episode of Night Visions and asked her about that - oh well.
In addition, my friend Jonathan attended with his friend Nicole. They were first in line to meet Jobeth at the autograph table. Nicole handed her a replica of the cigar box "Tweety" was buried in in the film to get signed. According to Jonathan, Jobeth got a big kick out of this and happily wrote her line "Oh shit, Tweety...couldn't you have waited until school day?" on the box:
They asked Jobeth if the "E.buzz" dog used in the second film was the same as the first one. She said she wasn't sure, but she thought it was two different dogs. Jobeth said she last spoke to Zelda a couple of years ago, and that it's been awhile since she's last seen Craig T. Nelson (though she said he's a great guy and was wonderful to work with). She hasn't seen Oliver Robins in about 15 or 16 years, but hears that he's directing his own films now. And, she mentioned that she sees Steven Spielberg every year at Christmas time. She said she'd like to get together with everyone else for a "Poltergeist" reunion sometime. The convention organizers said they'd hoped to do that at this event, but apparently reps for Craig T. Nelson, Oliver Robins, Marty Casella, and Richard Lawson all refused. Jonathan and Nicole asked her what her favorite line from the movie was. Jobeth replied that even though it wasn't her line, her favorite line in the film was "This house is clean." However, her own favorite line was "Now reach back into your past, when you used to be open minded...and just try to use that, ok?" Her favorite sequence to film was the pot smoking scene in the bedroom. They shot this multiple times, and she said Craig was a lot of fun to film with, since he was very spontanteous and would ad lib many of the lines. When asked about a bad fan experience, she related a story when she was filming a project in Georgia ("The Client" TV series, perhaps?). She and her husband were at a restaurant, and a family sitting nearby recognized her and then decided to pull up their chairs to the table where Jobeth and her husband were trying to eat and began to talk to them. Jobeth's husband hadn't seen her after being away for an extended period. When he tried to explain to the uninvited guests that he wanted to have some private time to chat with his wife, the family got very offended.
Jonathan said Jobeth seemed to really enjoy meeting with fans at this convention, however, and said they spoke with her several times after the initial autograph signing and picture session. According to Jonathan:
"She was so nice, kind, sweet, sincere, heartfelt, welcoming, warm. I could just go on and on about her."
Finally, since I wasn't able to attend the convention, I had asked him if he could print out some questions I had for her via email and give them to her. I'd hoped to be able to interview her for this site. Jonathan printed the questions out (along with a photo I sent of an alternate scene of Diane getting pulled along a "spider stain" on the bedroom ceiling), and gave them to her in an envelope. He said she told him she'd take a look at it.
So Jobeth....I can't wait to hear from ya:>))
2-25-08
Here's a YouTube clip of a 1982 Siskel and Ebert review of the film:
11-14-07
Very bad news, if true. It looks like MGM rejected Michael Grais' treatment for a fourth "Poltergeist" and has decided to go with a remake instead-
from:
http://www.bloody-disgusting.com/news/10437
Tuesday, November 13, 2007
We've been reporting here for months that a remake to Tobe Hopper/Steven Spielberg's Poltergeist was in the works, we even went as far as to report that Mandate Pictures was attempting to acquire the remake rights to the franchise (read more here). We can now 100% CONFIRM - without a shadow of a doubt - that Mandate Pictures will be producing the remake for MGM. This is a fact, this is done, this is not speculation and it's time to quit denying it. The remake won't happen until post-strike, so watch for news in 2008.
http://www.bloody-disgusting.com/news/10437
Tuesday, November 13, 2007
We've been reporting here for months that a remake to Tobe Hopper/Steven Spielberg's Poltergeist was in the works, we even went as far as to report that Mandate Pictures was attempting to acquire the remake rights to the franchise (read more here). We can now 100% CONFIRM - without a shadow of a doubt - that Mandate Pictures will be producing the remake for MGM. This is a fact, this is done, this is not speculation and it's time to quit denying it. The remake won't happen until post-strike, so watch for news in 2008.
I've now got a full, detailed history of the "Poltergeist IV/Remake" rumors over the years posted:
http://www.poltergeistiii.com/poltergeistIV.html
It covers the period of the late 80s all the way up till now, and incorporates this latest news. I can't confirm that all the rumors are accurate, but I feel confidant in terms of the general timeline of events.
11-11-07
On Sunday, the blog radio show "Movie Geeks United" interviewed Michael Grais, co-writer of the first film and co-writer/producer of "Poltergeist II." You can listen to the clip here:
Michael says that when he and co-writer Mark Victor (now his ex-writing partner) got the story treatment from Spielberg (called "Nighttime,") the elements of the story already there were:
1. The family
2. The suburban setting
3. Ghosts coming out of the TV set
4. Paranormal investigators coming to the house
Michael claimed that the character of Tangina Barrons was his idea, and that he and Mark Victor came up with the idea of having the humor in the first half of the movie as you are introduced to the characters. It's unclear who came up with the idea of Carol Anne being kidnapped; Grais didn't mention it and the guys doing the interview didn't ask. Grais says that he and Mark Victor at first were told by Spielberg that he was in negotiations with another writer. 48 hours after negotiations with this writer broke down, Victor and Grais got the job (it's my understanding that the "other writer" was Stephen King, whose agent wanted more money than Spielberg was willing to pay).
Grais says that after he and Mark Victor did the first draft, Spielberg then "polished" the script. Grais didn't address how Spielberg's draft differed from theirs. On the second film, he says that even though Spielberg wasn't involved, he did "tacitly" endorse Michael's and Mark Victor's involvement (allegedly Spielberg retained a financial interest as well, from what I've heard).
Regarding "Poltergeist: In the Shadows," Grais seemed like he was dodging the question. He seemed perplexed as to why people were talking about it (the reason is that Grais himself has the title listed as being "in development" on his web site). He did say that he had written a treatment for what he called "Poltergeist III" but that MGM hadn't bought it and he hadn't been hired to write the script. I think he actually meant to say "Poltergeist IV." (Perhaps it's his version of what "Poltergeist III" should have been.)
UPDATE: I just confirmed with Michael's manager...he meant to say "Poltergeist IV."
1. The family
2. The suburban setting
3. Ghosts coming out of the TV set
4. Paranormal investigators coming to the house
Michael claimed that the character of Tangina Barrons was his idea, and that he and Mark Victor came up with the idea of having the humor in the first half of the movie as you are introduced to the characters. It's unclear who came up with the idea of Carol Anne being kidnapped; Grais didn't mention it and the guys doing the interview didn't ask. Grais says that he and Mark Victor at first were told by Spielberg that he was in negotiations with another writer. 48 hours after negotiations with this writer broke down, Victor and Grais got the job (it's my understanding that the "other writer" was Stephen King, whose agent wanted more money than Spielberg was willing to pay).
Grais says that after he and Mark Victor did the first draft, Spielberg then "polished" the script. Grais didn't address how Spielberg's draft differed from theirs. On the second film, he says that even though Spielberg wasn't involved, he did "tacitly" endorse Michael's and Mark Victor's involvement (allegedly Spielberg retained a financial interest as well, from what I've heard).
Regarding "Poltergeist: In the Shadows," Grais seemed like he was dodging the question. He seemed perplexed as to why people were talking about it (the reason is that Grais himself has the title listed as being "in development" on his web site). He did say that he had written a treatment for what he called "Poltergeist III" but that MGM hadn't bought it and he hadn't been hired to write the script. I think he actually meant to say "Poltergeist IV." (Perhaps it's his version of what "Poltergeist III" should have been.)
UPDATE: I just confirmed with Michael's manager...he meant to say "Poltergeist IV."
11-06-07
Check out this German article I found regarding the DVD (I was able to translate it using BabelFish):
It was written by a reporter named Joerg Isert.
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Here's a link to the studio's site, featuring a REALLY well done new trailer:
www.poltergeistanniversary.com
Also, check out my video of the 25th Anniversary Panel Discussion held June 16, 2007 at the Aero Theatre in Santa Monica (featuring co-writer Mark Victor and actors James Karen and Zelda Rubinstein):
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=4099450078852807092
In addition, on June 1, 2007, Fangoria Radio did an interview with Jobeth Williams regarding the 25th anniversary. To listen to the clip, click here:
Here's some cool YouTube Links I found:
Fan created music video dedicated to the film:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JaXA52wrsgc
"The Making of 'Poltergeist:"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LkrYmc2Wqgc
International Theatrical Trailer:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zsDJRu9_Cgs
"Unofficial" music video for the song "Shining" by the band The Misfits:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o7QJ9wtVj2k
Lyrics from the song include "Carol Anne....Carol Anne...the Beast is calling..."
"Poltergeist" Trailer....done with Legos!:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HZAG1uHbQac
E! True Hollywood Story: The Curse of Poltergeist:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aSKWUuqFv-w
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I hope you enjoy my web site dedicated to this classic 1982 film.
