Stay ConnectedFrom bizarre deaths and freak accidents, to on-set exorcists and consultation from the occult, there are some movies whose productions were more fraught than the storylines of the movies themselves. Join hosts Amelia Lewis and Katie Waldron, as they take you behind the scenes of the drama, darkness and disaster that haunt Hollywood’s most cursed film productions.
“When the legend becomes fact, print the legend” – The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance
In the midst of shooting his first big-budget studio feature, 27-year-old Steven Spielberg was in over his head with a shark movie he decided need to be filmed almost entirely on the water. With endless days of sun exposure, a title shark that wouldn't work, and a young and inexperienced director, some of the crew members felt they were on a sinking ship -- while some literally were. The famed shoot at Martha's Vineyard may have even been a clue to an unsolved murder case decades later. But, in a twist of fate, the misfortune that befell the production of Jaws seemed to make the concept of the movie... better? So was Jaws cursed? Or was it #blessed?
Francis Ford Coppola had no idea what he was getting into when he decided to pay for his own expansive Vietnam War movie for the sake of creative freedom. Production took place in the middle of the Philippines, where their strongman dictator had enacted martial law. Completely up against the elements, the cast and crew braved wild animals, disease, tropical storms, drug binges, emotional breakdowns - and some people even almost got arrested for murder. Almost. Apocalypse Now ranks perhaps at #1 on the list of the Most Arduous Shoots - Ever.
A crown gem in the catalogue of Hollywood escapist cinema, The Wizard of Oz brought joy to millions of Americans -- but the actors in this MGM monstrosity were anything but joyful as they risked their health, and in some cases, their lives, to play roles they were contractually obligated to play. First, we'll go into what went on behind the Emerald Curtain, then we'll examine the tragic life, but lasting legacy of everyone's favorite Dorothy Gale -- Judy Garland. Fires! Toxic chemicals! Hospital visits! Oh my!
Plus, find out what we've been doing in quarantine (not much)!
Sources:
Book: The Making of the Wizard of Oz by Aljean Harmetz
https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2019/08/wizard-of-oz-appalling-stories
https://time.com/5647491/wizard-of-oz-curse/
https://entertainment.howstuffworks.com/10-cursed-movies2.htm
https://www.mirror.co.uk/tv/tv-news/wizard-oz-secrets-dwarf-orgies-4029364
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/judy-garland-allegedly-molested-munchkins-wizard-of-oz/
https://www.ranker.com/list/wizard-of-oz-behind-the-scenes-stories/erin-mccann
https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/hanging-munchkin/
https://lwlies.com/articles/the-wizard-of-oz-munchkin-hanging-scene/
https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/life/entertainment/g2715/wizard-of-oz-surprising-trivia/
https://collider.com/galleries/judy-garland-heart-wrenching-true-facts/
https://www.biography.com/news/judy-garland-london-concerts-final-years
Join us for the last episode of our Spooky Series as we take a close look at one of our favorite films, The Shining. How far is too far when it comes to perfecting your craft? The actors on the set of The Shining were put through hell and back by director, Stanley Kubrick, and we would like to pose the question, was it worth it? We delve into the real hotel that inspired the book of the same name, the intense life on set and how this set might be cursed in a way we haven't discussed before.
Written and Produced by Katie Waldron and Amelia Lewis
Edited by Katie Waldron
Music by Xander Rodzinski
Logo by Annie LaFlamme
Special Thanks to Ross Blocher
SOURCES:https://www.ranker.com/list/facts-about-making-the-shining/mike-mcgranaghan
https://www.ranker.com/list/facts-about-making-the-shining/mike-mcgranaghan
https://storiesbehindthescreen.wordpress.com/category/horror/
https://cuindependent.com/2018/10/30/creepy-colorado-the-haunting-history-of-the-stanley-hotel/
https://screenrant.com/shining-movie-stanley-kubrick-stephen-king-behind-scenes-facts/
30 minute Vivian Kubrick Doc
https://theplaylist.net/watch-35-minute-documentary-vivian-kubrick-captures-making-shining-20160506/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s_r3lbnbLsg
https://www.ifc.com/2016/06/the-shining-conspiracy-theories
Book: The Stanley Kubrick Archives
With the rise of the 1960s counterculture, there was also a new public interest in the occult. As the Church of Satan was forming, so was the concept of Roman Polanski’s classic film, Rosemary’s Baby. This led some superstitious folks to draw parallels between director Roman Polanski, and the subsequent murder of his pregnant wife, Sharon Tate, to the storyline of Rosemary’s husband, Guy Woodhouse, who sells his pregnant wife’s unborn child to the devil. While we look at the initial media coverage of the Tate/Manson murders, we’ll discuss how the human mind searches for meaning in tragedy, however illogical, and how this mindset can inappropriately place blame on victims.
Written and Produced by Katie Waldron and Amelia Lewis
Edited by Katie Waldron
Music by Xander Rodzinski
Logo by Annie LaFlamme
Special Thanks to Ross Blocher
Additional Music:
"The Escalation" by Kevin McLeod
In our third and final exploration of Ed and Lorraine Warren's contributions to cinematic history, we will cover the dramatic haunting of the Perron family that inspired the 2013 horror film, The Conjuring. From angry spirits to angry home-buyers, the human melodrama that took place over the Perron/Warren haunting is perhaps more fraught than the stories of possession and witches that can be seen in the film.
Credits
Written and Produced by Amelia Lewis and Katie Waldron
Edited by Katie Waldron
Music by Xander Rodzinski
Logo by Annelise LaFlamme
Special Thanks to Ross Blocher
Sources
Weird smells, falling light fixtures, possessed dolls - oh my! What’s not to love about this episode about everyone’s favorite series of horror films about an evil doll? We’ll go through the three Annabelle films, talk about which ones are believed to be cursed, and why. Plus, we’ll give you a rundown of Halloween, Austin Film Festival, and social anxiety!
Credits
Written and Produced by Amelia Lewis and Katie Waldron
Edited by Katie Waldron
Logo by Annelise LaFlamme (@annelise_laflamme)
Theme Music by Xander Rodzinski (@xander.rodzinski)
Special Thanks to Ross Blocher
SOURCES:
In Part 1 of our mini-series about famed demonologist couple Ed and Lorraine Warren, we talk about the Amityville Horror, perhaps the most notorious ghost story in American history. We’ll cover the dark history of the haunted house, the grisly DeFeo murders, and, of course, the many movies the story of the haunting inspired. But what really happened at the house in Amityville, New York? And what happens when a studio capitalizes on a real haunting? And how does My Little Pony tie into all this?
Written and Produced by Amelia Lewis and Katie Waldron
Edited by Katie Waldron
Music by Xander Rodzinski
Logo by Annelise LaFlamme
Special Thanks to Ross Blocher
Sources:
Did you know Poltergeist was inspired by a real haunting? That’s not the weirdest thing about this movie. From murderous mechanical toys, unsettling children and psychokinesis, the events behind the scenes of Poltergeist run parallel to the plot of the film itself. Can one misguided production choice bring bad luck to the entire crew?
Credits
Written and Produced by Katie Waldron and Amelia Lewis (@talesfromstage13)
Edited by Katie Waldron (@katie_with_a__k)
Music by Xander Rodzinski (@xander.rodzinski)
Logo Artwork by Annie LaFlamme (@annelise_laflamme)
Special Thanks to Ross Blocher (@rossblocher from OH NO! With Ross and Carrie)
Sources
When it comes to Richard Donner’s 1976 film, The Omen, freak accidents foretold by the devil’s number weren’t just a plot point in the movie; They occurred during production, and well after, leading some to believe that the film itself was a harbinger of misfortune for its cast and crew.
Credits:
Written and Produced by Amelia Lewis and Katie Waldron
Sound Editing by Ross Blocher
Sound Recording by Ross Blocher, Instagram: @rossblocher
Theme by Xander Rodzinski, Instagram: @xander.rodzinski
Original Artwork by Annelise LaFlamme, Instagram: @annelise_laflamme
Sources:
https://www.ranker.com/list/the-omen-film-set-haunting/erin-mccann
https://www.popsugar.com/entertainment/Omen-Movie-Curse-42514085
http://bloody-disgusting.com/movie/3386555/looking-horrible-cursed-production-omen/
http://www.the13thfloor.tv/2015/12/15/the-jinx-of-the-omen-did-satan-curse-this-horror-classic/
https://www.nytimes.com/1975/06/28/archives/gregory-pecks-son-dead.html
From the real 1949 exorcism that inspired the movie, to the several bizarre deaths, on-set injuries and country-wide bans of the film, we will take a deep dive into the many disasters that took place behind the scenes of perhaps the world’s most notorious horror film, The Exorcist.
Our TOPPODCAST Picks 
