| BEHIND THE SCENES OF PHANTASM: PART 1 |
| The idea for Phantasm came when Don Coscarelli attended a sneak preview of his second motion picture, Kenny & Company (his first being Jim The World's Greatest). In the words of Don Coscarelli... Kenny was a gentle comedy, however, during the preview there was a sequence in a Haunted House where the three boys starring in the film encounter a man dressed in a Monster costume. When the Monster jumped out of the darkness, to scare the boys, the entire audience screamed. This was an exciting, new response from an audience and I determined that my next film would be loaded with shocks. After that was when Philming for Phantasm would begin. Coscarelli spent three weeks in a Mountain Cabin up in the wilds. After those three weeks he Phinally has the script that was Phantasm. He even got an inspiration for one of the scenes. The longer I stayed in that Cabin, the stranger my concepts became. For instance, one night I finished a Soda and accidently punched my finger up through the bottom of the Styrofoam Cup. Watching this apparently Severed Finger wiggling in the bottom of my Cup inspired me, and the result is the "Tall Man's Severed Finger Sequence" in Phantasm. Many of the roles for Phantasm's characters were written specifically for actors he had worked with in his two earlier films. A. Michael Baldwin was given the role of Mike. Baldwin had co-starred in Kenny & Company. Reggie Bannister was to play Reggie. Bannister had starred in both Kenny & Company & Jim The World's Greatest. As for who would play the Villain of Phantasm, Coscarelli always envisioned using Lawrence Rory Guy (who co-starred in Jim The World's Greatest). On my first film, Rory was the most accomplished and mature actor I had ever worked with. I was very intimidated by him and felt that if given the proper role he could make quite an imposing impression. I originally wanted him to star in a Pirate movie. Co-Producer Paul Pepperman approached Mr. Guy at a sneak preview of Kenny & Company. Pepperman had told Guy that Coscarelli had written a role for him in his next movie. When informed that he would be playing an Alien, Guy became very excited and immediately asked to know what Country his character would hail from. Pepperman said He's not from another Country, he's from another World... The role of Jody, Mike's older brother, was originally given to actor Gregory Harrison (who made his professional acting debut Jim The World's Greatest). Harrison turned down the role, and Coscarelli looked for someone to take over Jody's role. Bill Thornbury, an actor/musician read his role and took it. As pre-production started, Pepperman hired Robert Del Valle Jr. as the Unit Production Manager. The budget for Phantasm was very low (around $300, 000), so lots of care was taken to keep costs low. It was decided that that Philming would take place in California's San Fernando Vallery, and on two locations. Set construction began in a small Warehouse that was rented in Chatsworth, and a House was leased to serve double-duties; as the Home of Michael Pearson and his older brother Jody, and for production crew members to rest. For the Mausoleum, several real Mausoleums were visited in the area. Being that there would be a high number of action sequences in the Mausoleum (which included Gunfights, Skull Drilling and Yellow Slime Splattering), it was determined that Philming these action sequences in a real Mausoleum would be impossible. Mark Scott Annerl (an award-winning designer and good High School friend of Coscarelli) was hired to design the Mausoleum of Phantasm. Due to the tight budget, a single hallway was constructed with an eight-sided Rotunda (nicknamed "The Octunda") on one end and two intersecting halls in the middle. This allowed numerous thorugh the same hallway and from different entrances, and this gave the illusion of a very expansive Mausoleum. Marc Schwartz, who signed on with the proviso that he would be allowed to work on the Camera crew when construction was completed, led the construction crew. Due to his experience building sets reguarly and not set construction, the set was built very solidly. Kate Coscarelli (yes, Don's Mother) underwent two alias' for Phantasm's production, as S. Tyer and Shirly Mae. She was in charge of decorating the sets as well as creating several effects props and the actor's make-up. |
| PART 2 OF BEHIND THE SCENES OF PHANTASM COMING SOON... |
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| PHANTASM |
| Cast: A. Michael Baldwin: Mike Bill Thornbury: Jody Reggie Bannister: Reggie Kathy Lester: Lady In Lavender Angus Scrimm: The Tall Man Crew: Writer/Director: Don Coscarelli Production Designer: S. Tyer Music: Fred Myrow & Malcolm Seagrave Co-Producer: Paul Pepperman Producer: D.A. Coscarelli Art Director: David Gavin Brown Cinematographer/Editor: Don Coscarelli Visual Consultant/Gaffer: Roberto A. Quezada Production Co-Ordinator Sphere Effects: Will Green Technical Information: Running Time: 1 Hour, 30 Minutes MPAA Rating: R Phirst Theatrical Release Date: March 28, 1979 Budget: $300, 000 Box Office Gross: $12 Million (I think) |
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