Tobe Hooper
Tobe Hooper
Birth name	Tobias Paul Hooper
Born	January 25, 1943 (1943-01-25) (age 64) Austin, Texas
Nationality	American
Notable works	Lifeforce Poltergeist Toolbox Murders The Texas Chain Saw Massacre

Tobe Hooper (born Tobias Paul Hooper on January 25, 1943) is an American television and film director best known for his work in the horror film genre, including Lifeforce, Poltergeist, Toolbox Murders and the cult classic The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974). Image File history File links Tobe_Hooper. ... is the 25th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1943 (MCMXLIII) was a common year starting on Friday (the link will display full 1943 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Austin is the capital of the U.S. state of Texas, the county seat of Travis County, and home to the University of Texas at Austin. ... Official language(s) No official language See languages of Texas Capital Austin Largest city Houston Largest metro area Dallas–Fort Worth–Arlington Area  Ranked 2nd  - Total 261,797 sq mi (678,051 km²)  - Width 773 miles (1,244 km)  - Length 790 miles (1,270 km)  - % water 2. ... Image File history File links This is a lossless scalable vector image. ... Lifeforce is a 1985 science fiction film directed by Tobe Hooper. ... Poltergeist is the first and most successful Poltergeist film, released on June 4, 1982 and nominated for three Oscars. ... In spring of 2003, Texas Chainsaw Massacre director Tobe Hooper announced he had plans to remake [[The Toolbox Murders]] (1978 film). ... The Texas Chain Saw Massacre is a 1973 American horror film, written, directed and produced by Tobe Hooper and Kim Henkel, who had writing credits. ... is the 25th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1943 (MCMXLIII) was a common year starting on Friday (the link will display full 1943 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... The film director, on the right, gives last minute direction to the cast and crew, whilst filming a costume drama on location in London. ... “Horror Movie” redirects here. ... Lifeforce is a 1985 science fiction film directed by Tobe Hooper. ... Poltergeist is the first and most successful Poltergeist film, released on June 4, 1982 and nominated for three Oscars. ... In spring of 2003, Texas Chainsaw Massacre director Tobe Hooper announced he had plans to remake [[The Toolbox Murders]] (1978 film). ... The Texas Chain Saw Massacre is a 1973 American horror film, written, directed and produced by Tobe Hooper and Kim Henkel, who had writing credits. ...

Biography

Born in Austin, Texas, Hooper spent the 1960s as a college professor and documentary cameraman. Hooper had shot over 60 documentaries, commercials and short films before making The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. In 1969 Hooper co-wrote and directed Eggshells, about a group of hippies in a commune house having to deal with the presence of a possible supernatural force. Eggshells did not receive theatrical release of any kind, but did win Hooper several awards when the film played around several colleges, including the Atlanta Film Festival Award. His intention was to go to Hollywood to become a working feature film director. In 1974, he organized a small cast comprised of college teachers and students, and with Kim Henkel, on a budget of $60,000 (which eventually rose to $90,000 or some reports say up to even $120,000) made The Texas Chain Saw Massacre. The highly successful film changed the horror film industry, and landed Hooper in Hollywood. Media reportings of people throwing up at the theaters and storming out of the theaters because of the film, swept the nation. Austin is the capital of the U.S. state of Texas, the county seat of Travis County, and home to the University of Texas at Austin. ... The 1960s decade refers to the years from 1960 to 1969, inclusive. ... College (Latin collegium) is a term most often used today to denote an educational institution. ... The meaning of the word professor (Latin: one who claims publicly to be an expert) varies. ... Documentary film is a broad category of visual expression that is based on the attempt, in one fashion or another, to document reality. ... A cinematographer (from cinema photographer) is one photographing with a motion picture camera. ... ... Kim Henkel is an American screenwriter, film director, and producer. ... The Texas Chain Saw Massacre is a 1973 American horror film, written, directed and produced by Tobe Hooper and Kim Henkel, who had writing credits. ...

Hooper then received a call from Marty Rustam to direct his first Hollywood film, Eaten Alive (1977). Hooper and Henkel rewrote most of Rustam and Alvin Fasts' script to fit their own desires. Eaten Alive stars Mel Ferrer, Carolyn Jones, William Finley and Marilyn Burns (who played the lead role in TCM). Critics noted that Hooper tried to recreate TCM but didn't succeed in terms of intensity. Part of the reason was Hooper felt the producers were compromising his vision by wanting control over the film. For that reason Hooper left the set with three weeks left to complete principal photography. Reportedly Carolyn Jones and the editor, Michael Brown finished directing the final weeks of the film. Eaten Alive was re-released on DVD, September 25, 2007. Eaten Alive (known under various pseudonyms in alternate regions, adopting such titles as Death Trap (UK), Horror Hotel, Horror Hotel Massacre , Legend of the Bayou, Murder on the Bayou and Starlight Slaughter) is a 1977 horror film directed by Tobe Hooper. ...

Richard Korbitz, producer of the suspenseful and acclaimed John Carpenter telefilm, Someone's Watching Me!, hand picked Hooper to direct an adaptation of Salem's Lot, based on the novel by Stephen King. Salem's Lot had been hot property for a while and Hooper was attached briefly under producer William Friedkin supervision in 1977. Salem's Lot(1979) was Hooper's most well polished and mainstream film to date. The telefilm was well received by critics and fans alike. John Howard Carpenter (born January 16, 1948) is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, film score composer and occasional actor. ... Someones Watching Me is an early made-for-tv movie, directed by John Carpenter and starring Lauren Hutton and Adrienne Barbeau. ... Stephen Edwin King (born September 21, 1947) is an American author of over 200 stories including over 50 bestselling horror novels. ... Salems Lot is a horror novel by Stephen King, written in 1975. ... William Friedkin (born August 29, 1935 in Chicago, Illinois) is an American movie and television director, producer and screenwriter best known for directing The Exorcist and The French Connection in the early 1970s. ...

Hooper was offered a script in 1981 for a project called The Funhouse. The story revolved around four teenage friends who decide to spend the night in the funhouse of a traveling sleazy carnival. The film opened to modest box office and received mainly positive reviews. Hooper had basically the same shooting schedule as Salem's Lot but nowhere near the budget. Still the film looked nice and was visually stylish. In 1981, Steven Spielberg suggested Tobe Hooper direct an alien invasion film titled Night Skies. Skies would feature hostile aliens attacking a farmhouse with a family inside. However, Hooper had no interest in directing an alien invasion film since being fired from the production of another sci-fi film The Dark(1979). (Night Skies would later be soften and turned into E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial). While overseeing the final stages of The Funhouse at Universal, Hooper moved into Robert Wise's old office. Wise had left behind a book on the supernatural and ghosts. Hooper, already interested in ghost stories and a huge fan of Wise's classic film The Haunting asked Spielberg about his interest in the supernatural. Spielberg, also a fan of the topic, decided to write a script for Hooper to direct. In 1982, Hooper directed Poltergeist for MGM, with Spielberg serving as co-writer (with Michael Grais and Mark Victor) and co-producer (with Frank Marshall) It quickly became a top-grossing motion picture. Hooper was nominated and won a Saturn Award for best director. The Funhouse is a 1981 slasher film directed by Tobe Hooper. ... MGM logo Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer or MGM, is a large media company, involved primarily in the production and distribution of cinema and television programs. ...

Canon Films offered Hooper a contract to direct three films. The first being a sci-fi thriller about space vampires called Lifeforce. Based on the lengthy and complex novel Space Vampires by Colin Wilson, Lifeforce was produced on a whopping budget (for 1985) of $25 million. Lifeforce failed to generate more than $12 million in the US, but did well in oversea territories. In 1986 Hooper both remade the 1950s classic Invaders From Mars and directed a much anticipated sequel, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2. "Chainsaw 2" starred Dennis Hopper and had a budget of $4 million and "Hollywood" productions value. However the film failed to impress fans as it focused more on black comedy and over the top gore, rather than attempting to be actually scary. Most fans of the first Chainsaw film were disappointed at the time of the release of this film. Today, however the film has garnered a wide cult following. Hooper's career however took a deep nosedive after "Chainsaw 2" and the rest of the 80's and much of the 90's saw Hooper directing low level films or TV projects. In 2003, Hooper directed Toolbox Murders. Hooper also directed 2 episodes (2005, 2006) for Showtime's series, Masters of Horror. Hooper also served as producer on Michael Bay's 2003 remake of Texas Chainsaw Massacre, which also became a box office success. He served as producer on the remake sequel, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning. Hooper plans to start shooting the thriller Training Ground the fall of 2007. It was also revealed by Fangoria.com that Hooper would be directing From A Buick 8 based on the novel by Stephen King, with Mick Garris producing.

Trivia

Trivia sections are discouraged under Wikipedia guidelines. The article could be improved by integrating relevant items and removing inappropriate ones.

• Hooper, a native of Austin, Texas, first used his father's 8 mm camera at age 9.
• Hooper wanted a MPAA PG rating for The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (as there was no PG-13 at the time).
• Hooper claims to have got the idea for The Texas Chain Saw Massacre while standing in the hardware section of a crowded store. While thinking of a way to get through the crowd, he spotted chainsaws for sale -- and the rest is history.
• Featured in a song by the band Showbread, "Welcome To Plainfield Tobe Hooper".
• He is a huge fan of the films of Brian DePalma, Stanley Kubrick, and Ridley Scott.

Image File history File links Broom_icon. ... Austin is the capital of the U.S. state of Texas, the county seat of Travis County, and home to the University of Texas at Austin. ... The MPAA film rating system is a system used in the United States and territories and instituted by the Motion Picture Association of America to rate a movie based on its content. ...

Filmography

• Eggshells (1969)
• The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974)
• Eaten Alive (1977)
• Salem's Lot (1979)
• The Funhouse (1981)
• Poltergeist (1982)
• Lifeforce (1985)
• Invaders from Mars (1986)
• The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 (1986)
• Freddy's Nightmares episode No More Mr. Nice Guy (1988)
• Spontaneous Combustion (1990)
• I'm Dangerous Tonight (1990)
• The Nightmare Begins Again (1991)
• Night Terrors (1993)
• The Mangler (1995)
• Nowhere Man (1995) - TV series pilot and first episode
• The Apartment Complex (1999)
• Crocodile (2000)
• Toolbox Murders (2005)
• Dance of the Dead (2005)
• Mortuary (2006)
• The Damned Thing (2006)

Eggshells is a independent low-budget drama film released in 1969. ... The Texas Chain Saw Massacre is a 1973 American horror film, written, directed and produced by Tobe Hooper and Kim Henkel, who had writing credits. ... Eaten Alive (known under various pseudonyms in alternate regions, adopting such titles as Death Trap (UK), Horror Hotel, Horror Hotel Massacre , Legend of the Bayou, Murder on the Bayou and Starlight Slaughter) is a 1977 horror film directed by Tobe Hooper. ... Salems Lot was a 1979 tv mini-series based on Stephen Kings vampire novel, Salems Lot. ... The Funhouse is a 1981 slasher film directed by Tobe Hooper. ... Poltergeist is the first and most successful Poltergeist film, released on June 4, 1982 and nominated for three Oscars. ... Lifeforce is a science fiction film directed by Tobe Hooper, based on the book, Space Vampires, by Colin Wilson and screenplay by Dan OBannon. ... Invaders from Mars is a 1986 science fiction film directed by Tobe Hooper and written by Dan OBannon and Don Jakoby. ... The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 (also known as The Texas Chainsaw Massacre Part 2 & TCM 2) is a 1986 big-budget horror sequel to the 1974 horror hit The Texas Chain Saw Massacre. ... Freddys Nightmares (also known as: A Nightmare on Elm Street: Freddys Nightmares The Series) was a late-night television anthology series, which premiered in October 1988 and ran until March 1990. ... No More Mr. ... Spontaneous Combustion is a 1990 film directed by Tobe Hooper. ... Im Dangerous Tonight is a 1990 television movie directed by Tobe Hooper. ... A 1991 British video release by Braveworld LTD. This film is a compilation of two episodes of Freddys Nightmares and is directed by horror veterans Tobe Hooper and Tom McLoughlin. ... A night terror, also known as sleep terror or pavor nocturnus, is a parasomnia sleep disorder characterized by extreme terror and a temporary inability to regain full consciousness. ... The Mangler is a short horror story by Stephen King. ... Nowhere Man is an American television series starring Bruce Greenwood. ... Crocodile is a film released in 2000 directed by Tobe Hooper. ... In spring of 2003, Texas Chainsaw Massacre director Tobe Hooper announced he had plans to remake [[The Toolbox Murders]] (1978 film). ... Dance of the Dead is the third episode of the first season of Masters of Horror. ... Mortuary is a 2006 horror/thriller directed by Tobe Hooper. ... The Damned Thing is the first episode of the second season of Masters of Horror. ...

External links

• Official Website
• Tobe Hooper at the Internet Movie Database