Beginning in the late '70s and early '80s,
director Steven Spielberg expanded as a filmmaker by producing and executive producing multiple films,
something he's successfully continued to this day.
While known to be extremely supportive in these roles, helping to cultivate such talents as
Robert Zemeckis
and Joe Dante,
there’s one film on which Spielberg’s role has been put in question.
In 1979 Spielberg was developing a science fiction project known as “Night Skies.”
When offered the job of directing the picture, horror director Tobe Hooper declined,
instead pitching a supernatural ghost story.
Hooper had recently discovered Robert Wise’s research book for his 1963 film The Haunting,
having just moved into Wise’s old office.
This book, along with the pair’s mutual
love of Wise’s film, led to the development
of Poltergeist.
While shooting Raiders Of The Lost Ark in
1980, Spielberg wrote a treatment under the
Spielberg wrote a treatment under the working title “Night Time,”
with Hooper contributing ideas by mail.
Sometime after Spielberg hired screenwriters
Mark Victor and Michael Grais,
but, unhappy with their draft, rewrote it himself,
retitling
the film “Poltergeist.”
From there things begin to get murky.
While Hooper has made claims that he created half of the storyboards,
accounts from Spielberg as well as the film’s co-producer, Frank Marshall,
state that Spielberg designed every storyboard himself.
Although professional storyboard artists were used,
over a dozen rough pages drawn by Spielberg exist,
matching the composition and editing
of shots in the final film.
The extent of Spielberg’s involvement on
set during principal photography
has been detailed through the often opinionated,
sometimes contradictory accounts of its cast and crew.
While some assess Hooper was very involved,
others maintain he had minimal to no creative power during filming.
The consensus seems to be that Hooper set
up the shots based on the prepared storyboards,
with Spielberg having final input on any adjustments
he saw fit.
It’s said this relationship, in the beginning,
lead to confusing and contradictory instructions from the two men,
but that their unusual dynamic
quickly fell in line.
From there, Hooper turned in a cut of the
film in October of 1981,
which was then recut by Spielberg and long-time editor Michael Kahn.
Even the film’s composer, Jerry Goldsmith,
asserts he worked exclusively with Spielberg,
not Hooper.
So why wasn’t Spielberg credited as co-director
with Hooper?
Well, Spielberg’s contract with Universal Studios
prevented him from directing any other pictures while preparing E.T..
However, MGM wasn’t shy about advertising
such a bankable name as Spielberg
in their promotion of the film.
In fact Time and Newsweek both dubbed the summer of 1982 “the Spielberg summer,"
with both films being released a week apart.
In interview, Spielberg wasn’t originally
shy to discuss his involvement either:
“Tobe isn’t what you’d call a take-charge
sort of guy…
If a question was asked and an answer wasn’t immediately forthcoming,
I’d jump up and say what we could do.
Tobe would nod agreement, and that became
the process of collaboration.”
Published before the film’s release, this
article gave fuel to already circulating rumours,
causing the Director’s Guild of America
to investigate the film’s production.
By their rules, no crew member, including
producers, can replace a director on a production.
Two days before the film’s release, Spielberg apologized for his comments
in a letter printed in The Hollywood Reporter and Variety,
explaining the press had misunderstood the relationshipthe two filmmakers had had.
Spielberg’s control over the film isn’t unheard of.
His close friend, George Lucas,
functioned similarly with directors on the original two Star Wars sequels.
Less than two years after Poltergeist’s
release Spielberg was in a similar situation,
executive producing and writing the story
for The Goonies,
this time having a more amicable relationship with the film’s director, Richard Donner.
So did Spielberg direct Poltergeist?
Yes… but so did Tobe Hooper.
While Spielberg’s creative efforts as producer spilled over into other roles,
Hooper was on set every day of filming, and is said to have given,
well... direction,
and his work, however minimal, can’t be disregarded.
However, looking at both filmmakers’ work,
it’s easy to see that Spielberg was the creative force behind the picture.
Many of his classic traits are found in Poltergeist -
a middle-class family,
with three children,
living in a suburban neighbourhood,
experiencing something fantastical.
And let’s not forget the trademark “Spielberg face”,
or his famous, long-take oners.
Whether or not he directed it, Poltergeist
is definitely a Spielberg film.
Oh, and there’s this…
“Steven!”
“Steven!”
“Steven!”
“Steven!”
“Steven!”
“Steven!”
