Poltergeist III [1988]

Random Trivia For This Title:

• Although there was an internet rumor that Jerry Goldsmith was originally contracted to score this film but quit due to budget cuts (and then supposedly used his "unused" P3 score later in The Haunting), this rumor is untrue. Goldsmith was unhappy with the results of Poltergeist II: The Other Side and did not have an interest in doing the third film. Also, it's clear that MGM did not want to spend the extra money they knew it would cost to hire Goldsmith, considering that Poltergeist III was being made on a lower budget than the last film. Ultimately, Poltergeist III was scored by Joe Renzetti, who director Gary Sherman recommended, having worked with Renzetti previously on his other low-budget movies.
• Producer ^[?] David E. Kelley has quite a connection to this film. He cast Tom Skerritt and Zelda Rubinstein in his Emmy-winning TV drama [Picket Fences] after seeing them together in this film. The character of Skerrit's daughter was played by Holly Marie Combs on the show. That character is reminiscent in character and physicality to Lara Flynn Boyle's character ^[?] Donna Gardner in this film. Nancy Allen was originally cast to portray the town's mayor in Season 2 of [Picket Fences] but had to drop out due to her contractual obligations to appear in RoboCop 2 and RoboCop 3. That role was then filled by Leigh Taylor-Young.
• Heather O'Rourke (Carol Anne) and Zelda Rubinstein (Tangina) are the only two people to appear in all three Poltergeist films.
• After filming of the scene where the cars chase Patricia and Bruce, the car's explosion set the entire set on fire, almost taking a crew member and a few cameras he was rescuing. When Heather O'Rourke showed up for filming the next day and heard about the incident from director Gary Sherman, she was relieved that no one was hurt. She then asked Sherman, "Did you get the shot?"
• Tom Skerritt makes a reference to Brian De Palma's Carrie to Nancy Allen. This is presumably an in-joke, as Allen had starred in that film, as Chris Hargenson, back in 1976.
• In this film alone, Carol Anne's name is spoken a total of 121 times.
• Lara Flynn Boyle's film debut.
• End credits explain that the role of Reverend Kane had originally been portrayed by Julian Beck.
• Zelda Rubinstein had to leave the production midway because of her mother's death.
• At the beginning of the film, the characters mistakenly believe that the weather outside is cold. When they descend from the upper floors to the ground level however, they find that it is in fact quite warm. This phenomenon of weather varying from the upper to lower floors actually does occur at the Hancock Center due to the building's height. Residents often call the lobby doormen before leaving their apartments to find out what conditions are like at ground level.
• Heather O'Rourke's bloated appearance in the film was the result of a misdiagnosis of her medical condition, which led to her being prescribed the wrong medication. This particular medication caused her body to swell and her face to get puffy.