Arachnophobia
Theatrical release poster.
Directed by	Frank Marshall
Produced by	Don Jakoby Richard Vane Steven Spielberg (executive producer)
Written by	Story:   Don Jakoby   Al Williams Screenplay:   Don Jakoby   Wesley Strick
Starring	Jeff Daniels John Goodman Harley Jane Kozak
Music by	Trevor Jones
Cinematography	Mikael Salomon
Editing by	Michael Kahn
Distributed by	Buena Vista Pictures
Release date(s)	July 18, 1990
Running time	105 minutes
Country	USA
Language	English
Budget	$31,000,000 USD
All Movie Guide profile
IMDb profile

Arachnophobia is a 1990 American horror and comedy film^[1] directed by Frank Marshall and starring John Goodman and Jeff Daniels. It is about deadly spiders infesting a small American town, with the title referring to the fear of spiders. Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 413 × 599 pixelsFull resolution (447 × 648 pixel, file size: 64 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Source: http://www. ... Frank Marshall (born September 13, 1946) is an American movie producer and director, often working in collaboration with Kathleen Kennedy. ... Steven Allan Spielberg (born December 18, 1946)[1] is an American film director and producer. ... Al Williams (born Alan David Williams July 6, 1985) is a British artist, particularly noted for his crude drawings and paintings and video art. ... Wesley Strick is an American screenwriter. ... For other persons of this name, see Jeff Daniels (disambiguation). ... Not to be confused with Johnny Goodman (TV producer), Johnny Goodman, or John C. Goodman. ... Harley Jane Kozak (January 28, 1957) is an American actress and author. ... Trevor Alfred Charles Jones (born March 23, 1949 in Cape Town, South Africa) is a South African orchestral film score composer. ... Mikael Salomon (b. ... This article is about Michael Kahn the film editor. ... The Buena Vista Motion Pictures Group is a collection of affiliated motion picture studios, all subsidaries of The Walt Disney Company. ... is the 199th day of the year (200th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1990 (MCMXC) was a common year starting on Monday (link displays the 1990 Gregorian calendar). ... Image File history File links This is a lossless scalable vector image. ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... USD redirects here. ... The year 1990 in film involved some significant events. ... “Horror Movie” redirects here. ... Comedy film is genre of film in which the main emphasis is on humor. ... Frank Marshall (born September 13, 1946) is an American movie producer and director, often working in collaboration with Kathleen Kennedy. ... Not to be confused with Johnny Goodman (TV producer), Johnny Goodman, or John C. Goodman. ... Jeff Daniels and Patricia Heaton in a scene from the TNT cable network remake of The Goodbye Girl Jeff Daniels (born February 19, 1955 in Athens, Georgia) is an American actor. ... For other uses, see Spider (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Arachnophobia (disambiguation). ...

Plot

A deadly spider from the Venezuelan Amazon is brought into the United States through the inside of the coffin of one of its victims, dead nature photographer Jerry Manley. It then breeds with local spiders, creating a new type of spider that invades the small town of Canaima, California. The film focuses on physician Ross Jennings (Daniels), who is new to the town and faces a lack of patients due to elderly rival Sam Metcalf. It is established that Jennings has a fear of spiders. Jennings' reputation is severely damaged as his few patients begin to die, but this is the work of the spiders rather than his neglect. After Metcalf is himself killed by one of the spiders, it is realized that the town is infested with deadly arachnids, and with the help of exterminator Delbert McClintock (Goodman) and experts Dr. James Atherton and Chris Collins, an effort is made to wipe out the species. Eventually the "queen" is traced back to Jennings' own basement, where he manages to overcome his fear enough to kill the creature. La plote molle? Amazon River basin The Amazon Basin is the part of South America drained by the Amazon River and its tributaries. ... For other persons of this name, see Jeff Daniels (disambiguation). ... A crop duster applies low-insecticide bait that is targeted against Western corn rootworms Pest control refers to the regulation or management of another species defined as a pest, usually because it is believed to be detrimental to a persons health, the ecology or the economy Pest control is... Not to be confused with Johnny Goodman (TV producer), Johnny Goodman, or John C. Goodman. ... A queen is the only female insect in a hive that is fertile and egg laying; for example, a queen bee, wasp, hornet, ant, or termite. ...

Production

Filmmaker Steven Spielberg was involved with Arachnophobia, with one of his earlier producers Frank Marshall directing for the first time.^[2] Marshall meant for the film to be like Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds, and added, "People like to be scared but laughing, like a roller coaster. No one wants to be terrified."^[3] Steven Allan Spielberg (born December 18, 1946)[1] is an American film director and producer. ... Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock KBE (August 13, 1899 â€“ April 29, 1980) was an iconic and highly influential British-born film director and producer who pioneered many techniques in the suspense and thriller genres. ... The Birds is a 1963 horror film by Alfred Hitchcock, loosely based on the short story The Birds by Daphne du Maurier. ... A typical roller coaster The roller coaster is a popular amusement ride developed for amusement parks and modern theme parks. ...

Jamie Hyneman, of MythBusters fame, stated in Popular Mechanics^[4] that Arachnaphobia was one of the first movies he worked on and that he often relied on simple magnets for several of the effects. James Earl Hyneman (born September 25, 1956), known as Jamie Hyneman, is an American visual effects expert, best known for being the co-host of the television series MythBusters on the Discovery Channel. ... MythBusters is an American popular science television program on the Discovery Channel starring special effects experts Adam Savage and Jamie Hyneman, who use basic elements of the scientific method to test the validity of various rumors and urban legends in popular culture. ... The adolescent Internet. ...

The film made use of 374 Avondale spiders, which were picked for their large size, lack of actual venom, and unusually social lifestyle. They were guided around the set by the use of heat and cold, but the large "queen" was an articulated model. Binomial name Delena cancerides Walckenaer, 1837 The Avondale spider is a large, brown huntsman spider originally found in the Avondale area of New Zealand, and its range now extends into the Waitakere area. ...

To create the sound effects of spiders being stepped on or squashed, people stepped on mustard packs or crunched potato chips.^[5] Sound effects or audio effects are artificially created or enhanced sounds, or sound processes used to emphasize artistic or other content of movies, video games, music, or other media. ... Mustard on bread. ... For the other potato product referred to as chips see French fried potatoes. ...

Release

Arachnophobia was the first film released by Hollywood Pictures,^[6] which belongs to the Walt Disney Company. Amblin Entertainment also helped produce it.^[6] Advertisers were uncertain as to whether they should market the film as a thriller or a comedy. Therefore, television spots promoting the film billed it as a "thrill-omedy."^[7] The Hollywood Pictures sphinx logo Hollywood Pictures is one of The Walt Disney Companys several alternate movie labels. ... Alternate meanings: Disney (disambiguation) The Walt Disney Company (also known as Disney Enterprises, Inc. ... Amblin Entertainment logo. ...

Reception

The film was a financial success,^[8] grossing $53,208,180 domestically^[9] and going on to gross an additional $30,000,000 in video rentals. This allowed Spielberg to be the fourth wealthiest entertainer of the year, having previously been the second wealthiest.^[8]

In his book, critic Leonard Maltin calls the film a "slick comic thriller" and approves of the acting, warning, "Not recommended for anyone who's ever covered their eyes during a movie."^[2] Newsweek associated the film with B movies "about the small town threatened by alien invaders," and said it was well made but "oddly unresonant."^[10] Roger Ebert said it made audiences "squirm out of enjoyment, not terror," and listed details in the film that he felt were typical of such films, including "the bright young doctor, whose warnings are ignored" and "the loyal wife and kids," as well as "the usual cats and dogs, necessary for the obligatory scene in which they can sense something even when the humans can't." He gave the film three stars.^[11] The film won a Saturn Award from The American Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror films for Best Horror Film and Best Actor (Daniels). Young actress Marlene Katz was nominated for a best actress award from the Young Artist Awards. Leonard Maltin (born December 18, 1950 in New York City) is a widely known and respected American film critic. ... The Newsweek logo Newsweek is a weekly news magazine published in New York City and distributed throughout the United States and internationally. ... The King of the Bs, Roger Corman, produced and directed The Raven (1963) for American International Pictures. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Roger Joseph Ebert (born June 18, 1942) is a Pulitzer Prize-winning American film critic. ... The Saturn Award is an award presented annually by the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films to honor the top works in science fiction, fantasy, and horror in film, television, and home video. ... The Young Artist Award is an award which is presented yearly by the Young Artist Foundation. ...

The film drew protests from some people interested in spiders, as they believed the film tarnished the public image of spiders.^[1]

Merchandising

A soundtrack album for the film, also called Arachnophobia, was released in 1990. It included instrumental music from the film as well as songs such as "Blue Eyes Are Sensitive To The Light" by Sara Hickman and "I Left My Heart in San Francisco" by Tony Bennett. A soundtrack album is any album that incorporates music from a particular feature film. ... Sara Hickman A rock/folk/pop/childrens music singer, songwriter, artist and considered an angel by her ardent fans. ... Tony Bennetts heart in San Franciscos Union Square I Left My Heart in San Francisco is a popular song, written in 1954. ... For other persons named Tony Bennett, see Tony Bennett (disambiguation). ...

A video game version of Arachnophobia was also released in 1991, for Amiga, Amstrad CPC, Commodore 64 and DOS.^[12] Computer and video games redirects here. ... Arachnophobia is a video game based on the film Arachnophobia. ... This article is about the family of home computers. ... The Amstrad CPC was a series of 8-bit home computers produced by Amstrad during the 1980s and early 1990s. ... C-64 redirects here. ... This article is about the family of closely related operating systems for the IBM PC compatible platform. ...

Cast

For other persons of this name, see Jeff Daniels (disambiguation). ... Not to be confused with Johnny Goodman (TV producer), Johnny Goodman, or John C. Goodman. ... Harley Jane Kozak (January 28, 1957) is an American actress and author. ... Julian Sands (born January 15, 1958) is a British actor. ... Image:Brian McNamara Suzanne Marie James Tillamook Treasure. ... Henry Jones (1912 - 1999) was a film actor. ... Kathy Kinney Kathy Kinney (b. ... Roy Brocksmith (September 15, 1945 – December 16, 2001) was an American actor. ... Brandy Rayana Norwood (born February 11, 1979), known professionally as Brandy, is an American actress and R&B and pop singer, songwriter, and record producer. ... Stuart Pankin, with Charles Nelson Reilly and Dom DeLuise To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Frances Bay is a character actress known for playing a variety of quirky elderly women. ... Mark L. Taylor is an actor who voices Thomas Brown on W.I.T.C.H.. Categories: ...

References

1. ^ ^{a b} Jennie Punter, "HOPE 'THRILL-OMEDIES' DISAPPEAR AS FAST AS THIS FILM," The Whig-Standard, July 27, 1990, pg. 1.
2. ^ ^{a b} Leonard Maltin, ed., Leonard Maltin's 2002 Movie & Video Guide. A Signet Book, 2001, p. 58.
3. ^ Kenneth Turan and New York Times, "The spiders are No. 1 on this set; Working with a herd of erratic arachnids poses special problems for human actors," Edmonton Journal, April 15, 1990, pg. D.5
4. ^ Page 44, Nov 2006 issue
5. ^ Rick Gamble, "A stinging commentary," Expositor, Brantford, Ontario: April 22, 2006, pg. D.7.
6. ^ ^{a b} Michael Walsh, "Less-than-terrific tension in this failed spider's web," The Province, Vancouver, British Columbia: July 22, 1990, pg. 85.
7. ^ Bill Provick, "Arachnophobia fun- for those who can stand it," The Ottawa Citizen, March 16, 1991, pg. G.7.
8. ^ ^{a b} "Here are the top 40 money-making entertainers; Bill Cosby No. 1 at $60M a year," The Ottawa Citizen, September 18, 1990, pg. D.7.
9. ^ "1990 Domestic Grosses," Box Office Mojo. URL accessed 19 May 2006.
10. ^ D. Ansen, "A choice of chuckles," Newsweek, 23 July 1990, vol. 116, issue 4, p. 64.
11. ^ Roger Ebert, "Arachnophobia," Chicago Sun-Times, July 18, 1990.
12. ^ "Arachnophobia," MobyGames, URL accessed 6 April 2007.

The Edmonton Journal is a daily newspaper in Edmonton, Alberta. ... The Ottawa Citizen (established 1845) is an English-language daily newspaper owned by CanWest Global in Ottawa, Canada. ... The Ottawa Citizen (established 1845) is an English-language daily newspaper owned by CanWest Global in Ottawa, Canada. ... The Chicago Sun-Times is an American daily newspaper published in Chicago. ...

External links

• Arachnophobia at the Internet Movie Database