A very long-held belief in the world of cinema is that 1982’s “Poltergeist,” though credited as being helmed by “Texas Chainsaw Massacre” director Tobe Hooper, was actually ‘ghost directed’ by the film’s producer Steven Spielberg.
The belief is understandable as the film feels very much like an early Spielberg Amblin Productions title with really only the odd scene, such as the nightmare sequence involving the steak and the face peeling into a sink, striking as a pure Hooper moment.
With the film hitting its 40th anniversary this year, stars Craig T. Nelson and JoBeth Williams sat down with Vanity Fair to set the record straight about the long-standing rumor. The pair say that while Spielberg was an active presence on set, the film is still very much Hooper’s movie:
Nelson: “He was taking more of a hands-on approach, but it was always from a very creative collaboration. There was no tension on the set in that regard. It was determining how you were going to shoot things that had never been done before.”
Williams: “It was so exciting to work on a movie that Spielberg was involved in, and he was very, very actively involved. I mean, it was his story idea, and he helped write it.”
Its been known Spielberg’s involvement in the movie was hands-on from the start. He originally sought Stephen King to co-write the script before bringing onboard Hooper following the latter’s success adapting King’s “Salem’s Lot” as a mini-series.
Spielberg then had to start work on “E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial,” so Hooper was established as director of “Poltergeist,” but Spielberg was still a major presence on the set. Williams understands why there’s been confusion because Spielberg was so heavily involved:
“I think, in his heart of hearts, [Spielberg] would’ve loved to have directed it. He was always there. And Tobe was not as experienced as Steven was. He very much listened to Steven’s ideas about things, because it was Steven’s movie, really.
I’m sure there were times when it drove Tobe crazy to have Steven so actively involved, but he never let on. They were both kind of there on the set. Tobe would give direction, sometimes Steven would add to that or give other direction, but I think it’s fair to say that it was sort of a combo of the two of them, because certainly Steven was actively involved.”
When “Poltergeist” debuted, Spielberg published a letter to Hooper in The Hollywood Reporter to publicly credit him for his work and thanked him for his “openness” and allowing a “unique, creative relationship”.
Spielberg and Hooper went on to collaborate again on TV projects like “Amazing Stories” and “Taken”.
