| Bloopers! There really are quite a few bloopers in Tremors. But every film has to have them! If you look closely at it in slow motion, you can spot all sorts of things. Here are some of the best bloopers from Tremors! Did You Know, Burt's Also A Magician? Approximate Time Of Blooper: 56mins Just before the Graboid comes through Burt's basement wall, we see him talking to Val on the radio, saying 'we don't see anything Val, now what hell are you talking about'? Just after this point, you see Burt with a shotgun in one hand and the radio in the other. Then there's a quick shot of a skull falling of the fall. Once it goes back to Burt, he is holding the shotgun in both hands. Wow, what a magician! Now he couldn't have put it down because the shot of the wall is no longer than a second. So where did the radio go? Excellent Driving! Approximate Time Of Blooper: 42mins When Val, Earl and Rhonda jump into Rhonda's truck after pole-volting accross the rocks, Rhonda leans in through the window to start the truck, while Earl and Val fight off the Graboid in the back. Well, if you notice, Rhonda has her head down by the pedals and one hand on the accelerator. So when she finally gets it going, we see them take off at high speed and the truck swerving around the corners on the road. How is this possible if she couldn't see where she was going and Val and Earl were celebrating in the back? Heather Is Also A Magician! Approximate Time Of Blooper: 7mins Here, we see everyone sat in Walter Chang's store, and Burt and Heather are sat at the bar. Heather is putting some groceries into a box. There is a side shot of Burt and Heather and if you notice, she is holding a bottle of Ketchup in her left hand and a jar with an orange lid in her right hand. the next shot is a close up of Heather and she is now holding the ketchup in her right hand and the jar with the orange lid is sitting on the counter. Faster than the speed of light! Heather Magically Changes Position! Approximate Time Of Blooper: 20mins This where Val and Earl return to Perfection after finding the two workmen dead. Everyone rushes out of the store to see why they are back so early, and then they notice the graboid tenticle under the truck. Well if you look closely during this scene (around the bit when Burt pulls it out with a shovel), you'll notice that Heather changes places thanks to the magic of movies! Perfectly Balanced Pogo Stick Approximate Time Of Blooper: 47mins Just as Val runs over to save Mindy (who is oblivious to the danger she's in because of her walkman), the pulls her off the pogo stick and falls to the ground where he tells her to be quiet. Well, if you look closely, just when he pulls her off the pogo stick, you can see that it is perfectly balanced! Nice work, seen as it is almost impossible to balance a pogo stick! Reflection In Burts Window. Approximate Time Of Blooper: 59mins This is during the scene where Burt climbs up onto his roof just after defeating the Graboid in his basement. As he climbs on to his roof, there is a camera shot where the camera rises up from the ground to the roof. Well as the camera pans up, it moves up and past some of Burt's windows. At the top corner of the very last window, you can see the reflection of a guy wearing a red hat and what look like white shorts. This one isn't obvious and is probably best viewed in slow motion. Rope Pulling Tractor! Approximate Time Of Blooper: 1hour 7mins This in the scene where Miguel sets the small tractor off to create a diversion while Val runs to the CAT. If you look closley, just in front of the tractor, at the scene where it tips over, you can see a rope pulling it! But you have to look closely as it's kind of hiden in all the dust. Wrong Name In The Credits. Approximate Time Of Blooper: 1hour 28mins At the end, where the credits first start to appear, there is a big mistake. We see near the beginning of the film (where Val and Earl are leaving Perfection), a sign that says 'Valentine Mckee and Earl Bassett' (this is the sign that Earl pulls off the fence when they are leaving). So why then does it say 'Earl Bass' in the credits? Oh sorry, seems I've made a mistake, Earl obviously had a name change halfway through the film! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Tremors Review My review of Tremors is currently being rewritten as of 10/09/04. I'll post a note on the homepage when it returns, so stay tuned! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Top Ten Best Bits From Tremors! The all time greatest Top Ten Tremors Scenes are here! As voted for by the dedicated Tremors fans from around the world, who visite our site! 1. Burt's Basement - Burt Gummer fights off an unexpected Graboid guest in his rec room using his wide collection of fire arms. 2. Cliff Fall - The final Graboid falls to its death from the top of a cliff! Good stuff! 3. Opening Scene - Val and Earl argue about who made breakfast yesterday. 4. The Doctor's Death - The doctor and his wife come to a grisley end when a Graboid suddenly attacks during the dark of the night. Scary! 5. Walter Chang's Death - The grocery store owner Walter Chang is swallowed by a Graboid who bursts through his shop floor! 6. The First Dead Graboid - Val and Earl make a run from the first Graboid that they find. But it 'knocks itself cold' when it runs it to a concrete wall! 7. Workmen's Death's - A Graboid 'nails two poor suckers on the road'! 8. Pole Vaulting - Earl, Val and Rhonda have to pole vault from rock to rock so that they can reach Rhonda's truck without being 'slurped'! 9. Going Fishing - Earl and Val try a spot of Graboid fishing when everyone stuck on the rocks. 10. The Great Run - Everyone has to run from the trailer to the rocks when the Graboids lay a trap for the CAT to fall into. |
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| TREMORS - THE ORIGINAL MOVIE |
| What it says on the back of the video box... Kevin Bacon and Fred Ward star as two country handymen who lead a cast of zany characters to safety in this exciting sci-fi creature comedy. Just as Val McKee (Bacon) and Earl Basset (Ward) decide to leave Perfection, Nevada, strange rumblings prevent their departure. With the help of a shapely seismology student (Finn Carter), they discover their desolate town is infested with gigantic man-eating creatures that live below the ground. The race is on to overcome these slimy subterraneans and find a way to higher ground, in this enjoyable thriller co-starring Michael Gross and Reba McEntire. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
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| RON UNDERWOOD EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH TREMORS MOVIES! - 11/06/04 We very recently talked to Ron Underwood, the director behind the original Tremors movie! We talked about the original movie, and here's what he had to say! THE INTERVIEW First of all, how are you at the moment and what are you up to? Thank you, I am well. I have an original movie made for Showtime premiering on April 25th at 8:00pm called Stealing Sinatra. It is based on the true story of the kidnapping of Frank Sinatra, Jr. in 1963. It stars David Arquette and William H. Macy as kidnappers in a black comedy retelling of events. It's the first time I've made a film about a real life story and I enjoyed that! Currenty, I am finishing production on Back When We Were Grownups based upon the book by Anne Tyler. It is a Hallmark Hall of Fame presentation to air on CBS just before Thanksgiving. The cast includes Blythe Danner, Peter Fonda, Faye Dunaway, Jack Palance and Peter Reigert. Let's talk about the original Tremors movie. This was the first movie that you'd ever directed, before which you'd been making educational movies with SS Wilson and Brent Maddock, so it must have been extremely important for you to get everything perfect. What was you biggest worry before starting production? It's true that Tremors was my first feature and I wanted everything to be perfect. I felt very protected in my first movie with the way Nancy Roberts set up the production in the first place and having my good friends and great filmmakers, SS Wilson and Brent Maddock, as the producers. Also, SS Wilson was in place to direct the second unit which would prove to be invaluable in creating the action for the film. We were particularly concerned with a number of aspects of the production; the casting, the look of the film, the creatures and the effects to create the illusions of the creatures. We wanted to cast actors who would become the characters and be totally real and give honest performances. Having such a wacky premise with the Graboids, it was essential that the actors would totally commit to the reality of the situation, to help make the audience believe the fantasy. We felt very lucky to get the cast that we did - they were exceptional actors, but also great people. In terms of the look of the film, we really wanted a vast open western setting. The film went against the convention of monster movies in that it takes place mostly in daytime. This would give us extra challenges in pulling off the scares and effects, but it made the film unique. Part of the tension in the film came from the fact that you could see in all directions around you, but the danger was beneath you. Therefore we wanted a big sky, wide open western look. I've done a few films outdoors during the daytime and it is some of the most challenging filmmaking because it is more difficult to control the situation than if you are lighting the scenes entirely yourself. Brent, Steve and I spent months before we hired one person talking about shots for the film. We didn't always shoot things the way we originally planned, but we intimately knew the material because we spent so much time planning and thinking and discussing. We had ambitious effects planned for the film and it was a struggle to afford to do everything we wanted to do. I was helped alot in this area because SS Wilson was very knowledgeable about effects and the different ways to accomplish what we needed. He interfaced alot with the creature effects and physical effects crews to help keep the communication flowing. In pre-production it became obvious that we would have to make some cuts in the script to afford what we needed to do. This is a very normal part of the preparation for a movie. The budget usually necessitates some re-thinking of the scenes to be shot. This was all in the pursuit of perfection, as you said. However once shooting began, it was a shock for me to see that perfection would never be possible. In fact, some days I felt like we were back making educational films on miniscule budgets. Perfect exists only in your mind. When making the movie, you produced a short opening scene where Edgar's mule falls prey to a Graboid. Why did you take the decision to cut this out of the final film? The film opened with a very sweet scene of our two old guys, Fred and Edgar, having a conversation before Edgar's mule was devoured by a Graboid. The scenes turned out well, but when we previewed the film for an audience, the first act of the film seemed a bit slow, and the studio was concerned that our youthful audience would not be interested in these two old codgers. For the most part, the studio was very supportive and enthusiastic about the film so we thought they might have a point about the opening. Ivo Christante, the production designer, built the town of Perfection in 2 months. One of the most amazing things was the way in which Chang's market collapsed and assembled again for the next take. Could you tell us a little bit about this? Ivo is an incredible talent as a production designer. Most designers are interested in architecture but not in effects. However, Ivo had this idea of putting the roof of Chang's together as a practicle effect where it would seperate and 'collapse' on cue by just removing some of the support from below. The roof was cut in a zig-zag pattern and then covered with tar paper. When we wanted the roof to collapse, Ivo just had his crew remove some support pieces and it would 'collapse'. The actors were safe because the tar paper was made to act like a net. When we wanted to set up for take 2, Ivo's crew would jack up the roof onto the supports. A touch of set dressing with the tar paper and we were ready to roll cameras again. Anything that is fast in the movie business helps make the movie better; this was a lifesaver! Ivo built the entire town of Perfection capable of being shaken to an extreme level as the Graboids attacked the structures. The physical effects department head, Art Brewer, had worked at Universal Studios when they had made the film 'Earthquake' and he remembered some shaker units that were available there. These machines were like paint can shakers that we attached to the buildings of Perfection and just dialled up the shake to the desired level. In the scene where Old Fred meets his doom, we see the scarecrow behind him shift to one side as the Graboid moves underneath. How was this effect achieved? I'm not positive, but as I recall it was just a wire being pulled off screen. The best rule of thumb is to make everything as simple as possible. In filmmaking you are always trying to create illusions that are 'impossible' in real life. Things get complicated enough by themselves for a variety of reasons. Therefore, keep it simple. We liked to say that we made most of Tremors physical effects with bulldozer technology. That was because it was the simplest and most effective way to achieve those effects. Even doing a very expensive effects film as I did with Mighty Joe Young, we tried to keep things as simple as possible... and to change up the techniques as much as possible so the audience has a more difficult time catching on to your tricks. What was your favourite part of the Perfection set and why? I loved the opportunity to do a film set in a small desert community - the eccentrics who inhabit these kinds of towns makes a colourful collection of characters and unique set of opportunities. I liked the feeling of the entire town. We scouted many tiny desert communities while preparing to shoot Tremors to collect ideas for how the town should look and be dressed. Chang's market certainly serves as a central focal point of the town. The water tower next door was an important iconic image. In the original script, the water tower collapses as Rhonda jumps from it to the safety of the bulldozer. This was one of those sequences that had to be altered for budgetary limitations. I liked the way that we used trailers for some of the homes (Nestor's and Melvin's and Val & Earl's) which saved money, added character and was consistent with these desert communities. The trailer would be plopped down on a piece of land and then Ivo and his set dressing crew would transform the lot into a typical suburban household with fences and lawn ornaments. The old mining ruins added a history to the town. I guess I just liked the whole thing. When you heard that Michael Gross was reading for the role of Burt Gummer, it seemed a little unusual that the Family Ties father would read for such a part. So what was it that finally swung it for you, and convinced you that he would be perfect for the part? Michael is a very talented actor, and although at the time he was best known as the Family Ties father, he had just completed a TV movie called The FBI Murders in which he played a vicious killer. So we knew he had range. When he came in for the reading, Michael just blew us away with his total commitment to the role and the reading. We were sitting in my office and he jumped up from the couch he was sitting on and lept up onto a coffee table and then onto my desk; he made me believe that there were Graboids under our office right then and there. This level of commitment and honesty takes extreme courage and talent. For a brief moment, you acted as a double for Rhonda in the movie during the final cliff scene. Why did you cut yourself out? I was filling in for a stunt woman who did not show up for work that day. The makeup people said they could transform me into Rhonda and they did it! I must say I made a beautiful Rhonda. However, while it would have been fun to be in the movie, one thing the director needs to do is seperate himself (or herself) from the particulars of the shot. You should not be swayed by how hard it was to shoot the shot, how beautiful it turned out, that your parents are extras in it, or whatever the case maybe. You must be the toughest critic and make sure that each shot gives new and necessary information for telling the story. As it turned out with my guest shot, we really did not need the shot to tell the story effectively; so it would have been an additional shot that was not necessary. Unfortunately, before you put the film together, you cannot be certain of how much will be needed. Therefore, there are always shots made that don't find their way into the final film. What's your favourite scene from the original Tremors movie? My favourite sequence in the film starts with Val and Earl thrown by their horses, and they have the opportunity to see a Graboid for the first time. After killing their horses, the Graboid chases them along the fence line to the drainage ditch where the creature knocks himself out dead. I always loved the way Kevin Bacon played his cocky reaction to the dead creature in the drainage ditch but then is immediately frightened by thr appearance of Rhonda. This leads to the characters digging up the dead creature and being chased up onto the boulders to spend the night and finally to pole vault to the 'safety' of their truck. It is a sequence in which the characters learn what they're up against and deal with their circumstances in surprising and inventive ways. Brent and Steve's script was filled with truely great surprises and twists and turns, always going for the unexpected. This sequence has many of my favourites. I also enjoy the characters progression during this sequence of events, both in their fight against the monsters and in the continuing relationship of Val and Rhonda. In the original movie, you decided not to reveal where the creatures came from because there are only so many options, and you didn't want to commit to one of these. So why was the decision made to say that they had always been there in Tremors 2? Why not outer space or radiation? That's probably a better question for Steve and Brent. I can't speak for Steve and Brent in terms of script choices they made. However, it seems more interesting that these were pre-historic creatures unleashed from the deep inside the earth. While we were making the original Tremors, the studio was nervous about our choice that we would not give an official explanation for the creatures. At their request, we did discuss and try out adding a sequence that would show an earthquakes movement ubleashing these creatures from deep within the earth. Fortunately, we never did add that sequence. I think it's more fun that the characters just came up with the usual list of theories. However, in doing sequels, it becomes a different story; we have to learn new things and it has to develop to a new level. Finally, would you ever like to return to the director's chair for another Tremors movie? If there is one thing I know about this business, it's that you can never say never. I love the characters of Tremors and the situations that the creatures put them in; so it would be great fun. But your guess about that question is as good as mine! Thanks for taking time out to talk to us! Beast regards! And watch where you step... ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |