Mick Garris Recalls the Time He Orchestrated a Reunion Between Tobe Hooper and Steven Spielberg
The ongoing debate about who directed Poltergeist (and who didn’t) didn’t just divide horror fans, it divided the two filmmakers at the center of the controversy: Tobe Hooper and Stephen Spielberg. On the latest “Ask Mick Anything” edition of the Post Mortem podcast, Mick Garris recalls orchestrating a reunion between them.
Related Article: In Exclusive Clip from IN SEARCH OF DARKNESS Horror Icons Insist Tobe Hooper Directed POLTERGEIST
Synopsis:
Strange and creepy happenings beset an average California family, the Freelings — Steve (Craig T. Nelson), Diane (JoBeth Williams), teenaged Dana (Dominique Dunne), eight-year-old Robbie (Oliver Robins), and five-year-old Carol Ann (Heather O’Rourke) — when ghosts commune with them through the television set. Initially friendly and playful, the spirits turn unexpectedly menacing, and, when Carol Ann goes missing, Steve and Diane turn to a parapsychologist and eventually an exorcist for help.
“It was really heartwarming. It was something that made me feel so good because there was always that controversy about [who directed] Poltergeist… and it put a bit of a schism between them,” Mick explains.
“They had not spoken to each other in many years. When Steven hired me as supervising producer on The Others [TV series], my main job was to bring in directors, because I had directed the pilot. I suggested Tobe for one of these episodes, and Steven obviously had not thought along those lines in a long time. He said, ‘That’s a great idea. Do you think he’d want to do it?’
“I talked to Tobe and Tobe was excited to do it. And he did one of the best episodes of all of them. It took place on an airplane and he really kicked its ass. After that, Steven hired him to direct the miniseries Taken for Syfy.
“It was one of the most gratifying things I was able to do, taking these two enormously talented, enormously good people and bring them together again after everyone else had tried to push them apart.”
You can listen to the entire “AMA” episode below.
Also Read: Exclusive: Mick Garris Reveals 5 of His Favorite Stephen King Movies!
Post Mortem with Mick Garris became part of the DREAD Podcast Network in April. Our other podcasts include The Boulet Brothers: Creatures of the Night and Kim and Ket Stay Alive…Maybe. Also, their original podcast/gameshow hybrid Kim and Ket’s Survive the Cellar), FriGay the 13th Horror Podcast, Development Hell, and Girl, That’s Scary.
Are you a fan of Post Mortem with Mick Garris? Let us know in the comments below or on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram! You can also carry on the convo with me personally on Twitter @josh_millican. Dread Central is now on Google News!
