The Oliver Robins Interview (my first attempt)

UPDATE: Apparently the page below got the attention of AJW Celebrity Services, Oliver's booking agent. As a result, they arranged a brief interview with Mr. Robins. You can read it here: www.poltergeist.poltergeistIII.com/oliverrobins.html. I also received an apology from the manager of the company.

 

For some reason, Oliver Robins for many years refused to talk at all to fans about the "Poltergeist" movies. Someone who claimed to know him in college (University of Southern California) once posted on the old SpielbergFilms.com message board that Oliver "hated it" whenever "Poltergeist" was brought up by those who knew him. I recall several years ago trying to get an interview with Oliver for this site, but being told by his publicist at the time that "Oliver does not do press, appearances, or interviews related to Poltergeist." Fair enough. But, a few months ago, he suddenly decided to make a few convention apperances to talk about the film (and also promote his new movie "Man OverBoard," which he directed). On January 22, 2009, I received this email from a company called "AJW Celebrity Services:"

I am Oliver Robins booking agent.  He is going to make some person appearances.  Here is list:
Feb 14 & 15 Hollywood Collectors Show,  Burbank,  CA
Feb 27 to March 1 WonderCon--San Francisco, CA
http://www.comic-con.org/wc/
April 17 to 19 Chiller Theatre--Parsippany,  NJ
Also here is a video of Oliver from an event we went to on Saturday:
Can you please post all this info on your site?

Ignoring the obvious poor grammar of the email, I responded and said that I'd be happy to post the links and information on my site, but would it also be possible for me to get an email interview with Mr. Robins?

I never received a response.

In early February, Oliver gave one really good interview to the web site Iconsoffright.com: http://iconsoffright.com/news/2009/02/fright_exclusive_interview_oli.html

After reading that interview, I thought perhaps I might still be able to get one for my site as well. This time I emailed his booking agent at AJW directly, a woman named Ms. Samantha Prado. I explained to her what a great interview he'd done with Icons regarding the first film, but that I wanted to ask him a few questions related to the sequels if at all possible.  I sent the email with the request and the questions on Sunday February 8, 2009. Following is the original email chain with the questions I had, and Ms. Prado's response.

**************************************

From: David
Date: Sun, 8 Feb 2009 10:32:26 +0000 (UTC)
To: Redacted
Subject: Oliver Robins Interview Request

 

 

Hi Samantha,

I just read the excellent interview that Oliver gave to IconsofFright.com.

I run one of the biggest "Poltergeist" fan sites at www.poltergeist.poltergeistIII.com. My site has had thousands of visitors from all over the world.

The Icon interview answered many questions that I've always had. I've just linked to it on the main page of my site in fact. However, there were some other things I've always wondered about that weren't asked in the interview. I had a few questions below that I'd love to know if Oliver could answer (don't worry-I stayed away from the "who really directed it" question:>).

Could you forward my questions along to him? In return for his written responses I'll be more than happy to post links and information about his latest film projects and details about his upcoming convention appearances. With Question #4, I can understand if Oliver might not want to address it (though an off the record response would be just as good!:) If he doesn't want to answer the last question, I'll simply post the first three questions on my site.

Let Oliver know that I've also interviewed both Marty Cassella and Richard Lawson. Those interviews can be found linked from the main page of my site as well, on the left.

Thanks so much!

Regards,

David Furtney

Webmaster of "Poltergeist: The Web Site"

Questions for Oliver:

Hi Oliver! Thanks so much for taking the time to answer my questions. I've loved the "Poltergeist" films since I was 8 years old, when I saw them on video (I'm 29 now). The Icons of Fright interview you did was fantastic, but there were a couple of extra things I'd like to ask you about:

1. Even though you weren't in it, can you talk a bit about "Poltergeist III?" Obviously that wasn't the best movie in the world, but it was the only one I got to see in the theater (my Mom took me to a Saturday afternoon matinee when there were only two other people in the audience!). I've always been curious to know whether MGM asked if you wanted to do the movie and you turned them down, or whether it was always their intent to only bring Heather and Zelda back. It's my understanding that with Jobeth and Craig, they were not under contract for a third film, so they were able to hold out for more money than MGM was willing to pay at the time (big mistake on MGM's part!). Did you talk at all to Heather while she was making the third film, and what did you think about it when it was released? Lastly, there is a behind the scenes video called "Poltergeist III: The Special Effects," in which there is a very brief shot of director Gary Sherman talking to a young man on set who looks A LOT like you. Did you ever visit the set in Chicago?

2. Regarding the upcoming "Poltergeist" remake, while on the one hand I'm glad to see that something new is going to be done with the franchise, on the other I'm almost sad that my personal wish for a "Poltergeist IV" will not happen. Apparently the studio had considered doing a fourth film of some type (Michael Grais even wrote a treatment called "Poltergeist: In the Shadows" which would have been a whole new story with different characters). If MGM had decided to go the sequel route and had somehow convinced Craig and Jobeth to come back, would you have considered reprising your role as an adult "Robbie," assuming that the script was good and was a logical continuation from the original films (perhaps new ghosts could have menaced the Freelings, since all the others had gone "into the Light" by the end of part three)?

3. Regarding "Dana" not being in the second film because of the tragic murder of Ms. Dunne, do you recall whether there was ever a scene filmed in "Poltergeist II" where Dana being away at college was discussed? I know a scene was written in one of the earlier draft scripts, but I'm not sure if it made it into the actual shooting stage. As is, it seems odd that in the finished film no mention of her is made at all (another mistake part two made was not featuring the characters of Dr. Lesh, Ryan, and Marty). In addition, do you recall any other scenes shot for both films but left out of the final cut (hopefully one day WB will do a REAL SE DVD version of the original film and MGM will release a SE of part II and III).

4. Finally, in doing some internet research on the movies, I stumbled across this online record of a legal filing that MGM apparently made against your reps right before filming on "Poltergeist II" was to begin:

LOS ANGELES COUNTY SUPERIOR COURT CIVIL CASE INDEX

CASE NAME: METRO GOLDWYN MAYER FILM CO v. JOURNEY BEYOND PROD INC, et al

CIVIL CASE NUMBER: C 544092

FILING DATE: 04/22/1985

DISTRICT: CENTRAL (LOS ANGELES)

CASE TYPE: CIVIL

PARTY:
PLAINTIFF DEFENDANT COMMENT
--------- --------- -------
METRO GOLDWYN MAYER FILM CO JOURNEY BEYOND PROD INC

METRO GOLDWYN MAYER FILM CO ROBINS OLIVER

Would you like to address the above at all? I assume (and correct me if I'm wrong) that the case was an attempt to get you to work on the sequel (perhaps a result of the fine print in your contract on the original film?), even though your reps may have wanted more money? I know that Craig and Jobeth were not under contract to do a sequel, but were you and Heather? I know they tried to sue her as well (first to do the second film, and then the third!). Also, I've heard it rumored that Zelda Rubinstein thought that MGM "screwed her over" with the sequels because of the contract she signed on the first film.

Thank you so much Oliver for taking the time to answer my questions, and good luck with your future projects!

*************************************

 

Later that evening, I received this email response via blackberry from Samantha:

David,
I am a bit concerned about your questions. They are a bit all over the place.
Oliver and I went through it but in the end.. You have to understand he was very young... And the questions regarding legal matters and questions about other cast members and such.. In the end.. Most of the questions you are asking have no answers worth someone reading.Furthermore... I don't know if many people even are aware of the depth to which you know the movie.. Much more than Oliver I can say. So I'm at a standstill. I have the answered questions but I don't know if this is worth posting.
Give me your insight.

I was a bit surprised by her response. I thought the way I had phrased my request and questions (see above) was very polite and professional....but her response seemed a bit...rude. Notice she says she has the "answered" questions. So, Oliver at least answered a few of the questions I sent. But for some reason Samantha didn't think the answers were "worth" someone reading (huh?). In any event, I wrote her back the same day trying to explain why I thought the questions would be of interest to fans.

I also said that I was perfectly willing to work with her in terms of asking additional/other questions, or to re-phrase my original questions if there was a "problem" with how they were asked. Finally, I mentioned once again that I was more than happy to "talk up" Oliver's latest movie, add links to his web site, make mention of his upcoming convention appereances, etc. I even said how I would show her how my questions and his answers would appear on my site before I posted the interview.

I never received a response. After waiting several business days, I tried multiple times writing back to her (and later her co-workers at AJW Celebrity Services) asking for at least a simple yes or no to my interview request. I got nothing. So, finally (February 17, 2009) I sent an email to Oliver's manager, Mark Heidelberger of Treasure Entertainment, and finally received these two responses:

David, Thank you for your interview request. Unfortunately, due to a number of other commitments Oliver has at the moment, he will be unable to perform an interview with you at this time. However, I appreciate you contacting us, and I wish you the best of luck with your web site.

At least Oliver's manager wrote back and was polite and professional. However, I didn't quite buy the part about Oliver being "unable to perform the interview." All I was asking for was permission to post the few questions that Oliver had already answered (so, in a sense Oliver would have had to do nothing extra). In any event, I thanked Mark for his response and asked if Oliver could at least address some of the questions I asked in my original email at future convention apperances. Mark wrote back:

David, Thank you for your continued support of Oliver and for understanding the situation. I will pass the questions below along to Oliver and Samantha and recommend that Oliver address them at his next convention appearance.In the meantime, stay well.

Personally, I think what may have scared Oliver off was the fact that in one of the questions,  I asked about a legal filing made by MGM against his and Heather O'Rourke's then representatives (1985) before production on "Poltergeist II" was to begin. As you can see in the email above, I told Samantha up front that he could just skip that question if he wanted to. It wasn't my intent to make him or anyone else look bad; I was simply curious about the matter after stumbling across the lawsuit info online in my research on the films. 

So, even though I never got the interview, I still went ahead and posted this news item on the main page of my site:

2-17-09

Check out this AWESOME new interview with Oliver Robins, courtesy of IconsofFright.com:

http://iconsoffright.com/news/2009/02/fright_exclusive_interview_oli.html

Oliver has apparently ended his long time refusal to discuss the "Poltergeist" movies by talking in detail about what it was like on set. He's now a writer/director. In the above interview, he also discusses his new movie "Man OverBoard." You can check out the web site for that film here:

http://manoverboardmovie.com/

In addition, if you'd like to see Oliver in person, he'll be making these upcoming convention appereances: Feb 27 to March 1 WonderCon--San Francisco, CA
http://www.comic-con.org/wc/

April 17 to 19 Chiller Theatre--Parsippany, NJ

http://www.chillertheatre.com/main.htm

 

In early May, I sent Oliver this message via Facebook:

Hi there Oliver,

David here from the "Poltergeist" fan site. I'm sorry that my original interview request with your PR person didn't work out; she seemed to have indicated that you had answered some of my questions, but she didn't want or wasn't able to send the answers to me for some reason (she said she didn't think the answers were "worth" posting on my site, which I felt was a bit of an insult to you). I was a bit perplexed because the questions I had asked were regarding the kinds of things that many fans have wondered about for years. Your manager was very nice when I sent him a message asking for clarification. He responded by saying you weren't able to do any interviews at that time.

In retrospect I guess I should have asked different questions. It was never my intent to ask anything inappropriate; I realize that the question about the legal issue may have scared her off. However, I understood the potential sensitivity of such a question up front, which is why I let Samantha know that you could just skip that one if you wanted to. I only asked that question because I had inadvertently stumbled upon mention of an MGM lawsuit against yours and Heather's then (1985) management when doing research on the films, and I was curious if you knew or remembered anything about that.

I did read on the IMDB that someone who met you at the recent New Jersey convention said you'd never seen "Poltergeist III," and that you were never asked to be in the film. I guess that answered at least one of my questions! "P3" would have been much better had you, Craig, and Jobeth been in it.

The other questions I had were regarding deleted scenes from parts I and II-do you recall filming anything that didn't make the final cut? I was also curious about whether you would have done a "Poltergeist IV" if MGM had gone that route instead of the new remake (and if Craig and Jobeth had came back for it).

I'm not sure if your manager told you, but I did place a link on my site to your excellent interview with "Icons of Fright", as well as links to the "Man Overboard" web site.

I wish you the best of luck with your new film. If you ever would like to do a brief email interview with me for my site, I'd be more than appreciative.

Regards,
David Furtney
www.poltergeist.poltergeistIII.com

But again, I received no response.

I did notice, however, that soon after I sent Oliver the question, he blocked me from being able to view his Facebook listing.

In retrospect, I should have never asked the question about the legal issue; even though I made it clear from the outset that he didn't have to answer it. I really don't see the problem with my other questions though. True, I could have made them shorter and more concise, but I stand by the basic content of the questions. And no matter what questions I asked, that was still no excuse for the unprofessional treatment I (initially) received from AJW Celebrity Services. At least they finally arranged an interview with Mr. Robins after someone alerted them that I'd written this article, so kudos to them for that (obviously they didn't want any more bad PR).
 

******************

UPDATE II:

Oliver did finally address the "Poltergeist III" question at his last convention apperance, according to this IMDB user:


http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0732319/board/thread/135961411

I met Oliver today at the Chiller Theater convention in Parsippany, NJ. He is a super nice guy, very friendly. He talked with my friend and I for a long time.

We wound up talking about Poltergeist 3, and interestingly he has never seen it. He was actually asking us questions about the plot! He wanted to know how the movie explains the absence of his character, and the rest of the family. All he knew is that it takes place in a skyscraper, and there's a lot of mirror action. It was pretty funny! He said he wants to see it, but he just keeps putting it off all these years because he heard it wasn't very good. I agreed. He also said he was never approached to be in Part 3, and that he never believed in any "curse" of the Poltergeist movies.

Finally, regarding the lawsuit, he seemed to know something was going on, judging from these general comments he made about "difficulties" during the production of "Poltergeist II"-

(From the Icons of Fright interview):

Robins: It also showed me what the requirements and the difficulties because “POLTERGEIST II” was difficult for everybody. MGM was going through this flux where they were potentially going to knock down the studio and build condos. So there was a pressure to cancel the production, even midway through. It put everone under duress and I saw that.

IOF: Tell me about that, what did you see. Who was having difficulty?

Robins: I saw it in the background. It was never brought to my attention, but it showed me that a director has to stay very focused and tell a story and at the same time juggle the balls of politics that may be happening. But they avoided that and got a good product at the end.