FILM 1996: THE FRIGHTENERS

FILM 1996: THE FRIGHTENERS 

TRIVIA: It was during filming this on-location in New Zealand, that Michael J. Fox made up his mind that he'd had enough of being away from his family making movies, and decided to head back to the small screen and star in a new sitcom (Spin City (1996)). This turned out to be his last leading role in a film.

When Fran Walsh and Peter Jackson were writing the part of the Drill Sergeant in the graveyard, they wrote the part as a spoof of R. Lee Ermey's character in Full Metal Jacket(1987) with the intention of getting an actor in New Zealand for the role. But they didn't feel the actors who auditioned were right, and finally ended up approaching Ermey himself.

Danny Elfman was so impressed with Peter Jackson's previous movie, Heavenly Creatures(1994), that he offered to do the score for one of Jackson's next movies, and agreed to this movie without even knowing what it was about.

Was originally planned as a Tales from the Crypt (1989) feature, but Executive Producer Robert Zemeckis liked the script so much, he decided it should stand on its own and not be part of a series.

The film was not released to theaters in Tasmania. The Port Arthur Massacre rather spookily mirrored the film's content and ihappened not long before the film's release. It was released on video and subsequently broadcast.

When Frank's ghost friends attack the Lyskey residence, a mini statue of Elvis Presley floats in front of Ray. Peter Dobson, who plays Ray, previously appeared in Forrest Gump (1994) as Elvis Presley.

Roughly 21 minutes into the film Michael J. Fox's character is eating by his window. If you look closely he is eating one of General Mills famed Monster Cereals. The flavor, Boo Berry which is the ghost cereal.

Cameo 

Melanie Lynskey: Star of Peter Jackson's Heavenly Creatures (1994) is the Deputy taking Lucy Lynskey's statement at the police station. Lucy's last name is a reference to the actress as well.

FILM 1497: POLTERGEIST

TRIVIA: In a Q&A, Saxon Sharbino admitted that she had never seen the original "Poltergeist" until filming was complete on this production.

Rosemarie Dewitt wanted to do the film, after she experienced the engaged and lively audience reaction at the premiere of The Conjuring (2013), which she attended because it featured her husband Ron Livingston.

Parapsychologist/Anomalist Christopher Chacon, one of the world's foremost authorities on "poltergeists", was utilized by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer/20th Century Fox studios as their official expert on the phenomenon to internationally publicize and promote the release of the movie.

Amy talks to Eric about becoming a coach, Craig T. Nelson who played the original father in Poltergeist, played Coach Hayden Fox on the TV series Coach.

FILM 1212: THE CONJURING

TRIVIA: When the movie was shown in the Philippines, some cinemas had to hire Catholic priests to bless the viewers before showing it. This is due to some viewers having reported a "Negative Presence" after watching the film. The priests also provided spiritual and psychological help to the viewers.

The film was given an R rating by the MPAA. The filmmakers had thought the final cut had a chance of getting the more-box office friendly PG-13 rating and asked the ratings board for clarification. The MPAA said simply that the film was so scary that there were no cuts or edits possible that would make it a viable PG-13 film; the filmmakers did not want to alter the film's tone and accepted the R-rating without any appeals.

Eight generations of families lived and died in the house before the Perrons moved in. Andrea Perron suggests that some of the spirits from the families never left. Deaths include two documented suicides, a poisoning death, the rape and murder of an 11-year old girl, two drownings, and the passing of four men who froze to death. Most deaths occurred within the Arnold family from which Bathsheba Sherman was descended.

Was shot in chronological order.

Lorraine Warren and Andrea Perron served as consultants to director James Wan and the screenwriters. They both claim the movie is accurate to the real story of what happened to the Perrons during the 10 years they lived in the farm house.

The real Annabelle doll was actually a used Raggedy Ann doll that was bought by Donna's mother at a hobby shop and was known for not only leaving notes on parchment when there was no parchment around but also attacked a friend named Lou by mysteriously leaving claw marks on his chest. The makers of the movie decided to make a more cynical looking porcelain doll for the movie.

Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga both traveled to Connecticut to meet with Lorraine Warren prior to filming.

Director James Wan modeled the film's cinematography and atmosphere after vintage 1970s horror films.

Film 877: Red Lights

Trivia: In the video lab where Buckley works there is a copy of the famous poster "I Want To Believe" from The X-Files, but the quote is changed to "I Want To Understand".

Spanish director Eugenio Mira plays Robert De Niro's character in his early 30s.