one.” In order to make this film really differ- ent – à la Tobe Hooper – we had to kill many of the family members! Spielberg recoiled at that idea but said we could pick one person to die and we said, “Carol Anne.” He told us, smiling, we were sick but to proceed. We didn’t kill her obviously and this solution to killing her – having her disappear into an- other dimension – came about in conversa- tions with Spielberg.
One of the most frightening scenes is the tree crashing through the window and seizing Robbie. OR: That sequence took almost three weeks to shoot. They made multiple trees and each one had a different design and purpose. One tree had long, extended arms that would move; a second tree had a scary face carved into it; another was designed to swallow me. All of these things were mechanical in-cam- era effects and the challenge of bringing this huge tree to life was complex, but they really pulled it off. The stunt co-ordinator, Glenn Randall, told me, “Now, Oliver, I want you to cover your face when the tree arms come reaching in because we are going to shoot sugar-glass at you.” It was an incredible ex- perience. I’ll never forget Tobe’s direction to me was, “Big eyes! I want big eyes! Remem- ber, this is the most terrifying thing that has ever happened to you!”
How did Poltergeist happen for you? MICHAEL GRAIS: Spielberg had read two scripts that I wrote with my ex- partner [Mark Victor]. Death Hunt, which was a tough adventure drama based on a true manhunt in Canada during the depression, and a multi-character comedy about air traffic controllers called Turn Left or Die. He said the combi- nation of tough action and character development in Death Hunt and the hu- mour of Turn Left or Die convinced him that we were right for the project.
OLIVER ROBINS: I went to this open call with my mother who used to take me to all my auditions. We had to wait in line for hours but after the first audition, I had multiple call-backs before finally having the big test with Tobe. I remember Tobe saying to me, “Oliver, the most important part of doing a horror movie is the scream. You must be able to scream because people have to feel scared.” I really didn’t know how to scream at all so I worked with a coach who showed me the technique. I then went in, showed Tobe how terrified I could be and won them over.
JAMES KAREN: Looking back, I think they had somebody else for the part of Teague but he didn’t come through. I don’t know who he was or what hap- pened but you don’t cast a role that big at the last minute. After the first day of shooting, Spielberg came over to me and said, “Glad to have you on board.” I said, “Thanks, but what made you cast me in this part?” He said, “I was watch- ing TV and came across a scene from Capricorn Onewhere you played the Vice President. You were so smarmy I thought, ‘That’s Mr. Teague!’”
MARTIN CASELLA: I’d been working for Steven as his assistant for three years before deciding to quit and go back to acting. They were having trouble finding anybody for the role of Marty, who was originally an Asian character named “Tak.” Then I was called in to audition on videotape and already being familiar with the script I knew what was required of me – look scared and breathe heavily. Steven later invited me to the first private screening of Raiders and told me I’d gotten the role.
How fleshed out was Spielberg’s treatment for the film? MG: Steven’s treatment was more a series of ideas and possible scenes. It was called It’s Night Time. His idea of setting the story – in typ- ical Spielberg fashion – in the suburbs was unique, as was his idea of the ghosts coming out of the TV. Ideas were evolving and we were doing research into ghost catchers, hauntings, etc., and watching horror movies. Tobe’s Texas Chainsaw Massacrewas the scariest film I’d ever seen up until that point in time. I thought, “Whoa, Spielberg must want to go hardcore horror on this
MG: The tree grabbing Robbie is based on an incident that happened to me when I was a small boy and woke up in a storm in our house. Everybody was gone – parents out and sisters out on dates. I was sitting on the landing, on the second floor of the house on the stairs, when lightning struck the tree in our yard. A huge branch crashed through the window close to where I was seated.
Poltergeist is fairly restrained in terms of gore but there is a grisly moment when Marty hallucinates that he is clawing the flesh from his own face. CRAIG REARDON: Originally, Marty was to have careened into the bathroom to splash some water on his face after seeing the grotesquely haemorrhaging steak. When
Grasp Of The Situation: (top to bottom) Steven Spielberg on set with James Karen (middle) and Nelson, the producer’s hands in the mirror scene, and Robbie tussles with the tree.