Micron
15-11-2006, 10:05 PM
The Fog was John Carpenter's fourth feature film (sixth if you count Someone’s Watching Me and Elvis, two made-for television movies) and was meant to be an homage of sorts to H.P. Lovecraft, M.R. James and other writers of great ghost tales and the supernatural.
The screenplay was written in February and March of 1979 by Debra Hill and John Carpenter.
After principal shooting in April and May 1979, Carpenter and his editor Tommy Lee Wallace beagn to piece together the movie. To their horror, both agreed that the film "was a disaster. Quite simply, the picture didn’t work". Carpenter stated that "This was the lowest point I had come to in my professional career." After a massive effort they rewrote, rescored and re-cut the movie in one month, after which it was a great success.
Regular collaborators in the casting department were used in this film. Jamie Lee and Tom Atkins, who's name in the film is Nick Castle, the man who played "the Shape" in Halloween. Also Charles Cyphers, the cop in the same film, so too in Assault on Precinct 13 and Escape from New York. Sadly no Donald Pleasance but Hal Holbrook does a great job in this character role.
Charles Cypher's character is called "Dan O'Bannon", the name of his Film School friend and collaborator in "Dark Star" O'Bannon had also provided computer graphics for Star Wars and also was one of the writers of the Ridley Scott smash 1979 hit ALIEN.
In the movie, there is a character on the boat at the beginning named Dick Baxter. In John Carpenter's "Halloween" 1978. Annie (Nancy Loomis who also plays Sandy in The Fog) teases Laurie about going out with a guy named Dick Baxter when Annie and Laurie are in the car on the way to babysit. As you probably know, both movies are John Carpenter's.
Some of the filming of The Fog was done at Bodega Bay. This was also the location for another great horror film, Alfred Hitchcock's 'The Birds'.
The film editor for "The Fog" is Tommy Lee Wallace, which is the exact name of the boy Laurie babysits for in Carpenter's original "Halloween."
Rob Bottin played the lead ghost character 'Blake', Rob was also the make-up artist for the movie.
One great cameo appearance was John Houseman. America's "favorite old f*rt reading a book!" is the line from 1988's Scrooged with Bill Murray in which he makes another cameo appearance. Houseman played the quintesstial old sea captain at the beginning of the movie telling the kids ghost stories on the beach at night. Other movies he appeared in the 80's were "My Bodygard" 1980 and "Ghost Story" (1981) (Adapted from the Peter Straub horror novel).
John Carpenter reportedly shot additional gory scenes after the original 'PG' version failed to impress the preview audiences. The extra scenes were then inserted which then earned the film its 'R' rating.
'Bennett', who was working in the church for Father Malone was in fact played by director John Carpenter himself.
The screenplay was written in February and March of 1979 by Debra Hill and John Carpenter.
After principal shooting in April and May 1979, Carpenter and his editor Tommy Lee Wallace beagn to piece together the movie. To their horror, both agreed that the film "was a disaster. Quite simply, the picture didn’t work". Carpenter stated that "This was the lowest point I had come to in my professional career." After a massive effort they rewrote, rescored and re-cut the movie in one month, after which it was a great success.
Regular collaborators in the casting department were used in this film. Jamie Lee and Tom Atkins, who's name in the film is Nick Castle, the man who played "the Shape" in Halloween. Also Charles Cyphers, the cop in the same film, so too in Assault on Precinct 13 and Escape from New York. Sadly no Donald Pleasance but Hal Holbrook does a great job in this character role.
Charles Cypher's character is called "Dan O'Bannon", the name of his Film School friend and collaborator in "Dark Star" O'Bannon had also provided computer graphics for Star Wars and also was one of the writers of the Ridley Scott smash 1979 hit ALIEN.
In the movie, there is a character on the boat at the beginning named Dick Baxter. In John Carpenter's "Halloween" 1978. Annie (Nancy Loomis who also plays Sandy in The Fog) teases Laurie about going out with a guy named Dick Baxter when Annie and Laurie are in the car on the way to babysit. As you probably know, both movies are John Carpenter's.
Some of the filming of The Fog was done at Bodega Bay. This was also the location for another great horror film, Alfred Hitchcock's 'The Birds'.
The film editor for "The Fog" is Tommy Lee Wallace, which is the exact name of the boy Laurie babysits for in Carpenter's original "Halloween."
Rob Bottin played the lead ghost character 'Blake', Rob was also the make-up artist for the movie.
One great cameo appearance was John Houseman. America's "favorite old f*rt reading a book!" is the line from 1988's Scrooged with Bill Murray in which he makes another cameo appearance. Houseman played the quintesstial old sea captain at the beginning of the movie telling the kids ghost stories on the beach at night. Other movies he appeared in the 80's were "My Bodygard" 1980 and "Ghost Story" (1981) (Adapted from the Peter Straub horror novel).
John Carpenter reportedly shot additional gory scenes after the original 'PG' version failed to impress the preview audiences. The extra scenes were then inserted which then earned the film its 'R' rating.
'Bennett', who was working in the church for Father Malone was in fact played by director John Carpenter himself.