Trivia for
Twilight Zone: The Movie (1983) More at IMDbPro »

• On July 23, 1982, around 2:30 am, actor Vic Morrow, and two child actors, Renee Chen of 6 years, and My-ca Dinh Le of 7 years, were killed in an accident on the set. While filming a Vietnam battle sequence (a hovering helicopter chasing and shooting at Morrow, who was carrying two Vietnamese children out of a deserted village and across a small lake), an SFX explosion sent the helicopter crashing down on top of them, killing all three instantly. It is illegal for children to work at that hour; Renee Chen and My-ca Dinh Le were not officially part of the cast, and their parents were paid in cash. Director John Landis, associate producer George Folsey Jr., production manager Dan Allingham, special effects coordinator Paul Stewart and pilot Dorcey Wingo were charged of involuntary manslaughter. The trial began on September 03, 1986 and the verdict was given on May 29, 1987. Landis and the four crew members were found not guilty.
  
  
• Mention is made of Lieutenant Neidermeyer getting "fragged" by his own troops. This was the fate given to Neidermeyer in the ending of Animal House (1978), also directed by John Landis.
  
  
• Cameo: [Carol Serling] as the woman who asks "Is there something wrong" when the flight attendants knock on the airplane restroom door, holding a copy of the Twilight Zone magazine in her arms. She was the wife of "The Twilight Zone" (1959) creator Rod Serling.
  
  
• The name of Kathleen Quinlan's character is Helen Foley. This was not the name of a character in the original "It's a Good Life" episode, but the name of a character from "The Twilight Zone" (1959) {Nightmare as a Child (#1.29)}. Helen Foley was the name of one of Rod Serling's favorite teachers as a child.
  
  
• In the diner, when Kathleen Quinlan is asked where she is from and where she is going, she answers with two town names that were used in old "Twilight Zone" episodes: "Homewood," from "The Twilight Zone: Walking Distance (#1.5)" (1959), and "Willoughby," from "The Twilight Zone: A Stop at Willoughby (#1.30)" (1960). The cook refers to "Cliffordville," from "The Twilight Zone: Of Late I Think of Cliffordville (#4.14)" (1963).
  
  
• Frank Marshall, producer of the latter version, plays one of the ground crew members checking the plane's wing for damage.
  
  
• In the television series "3rd Rock from the Sun" (1996), one episode has Dick (John Lithgow) meeting the Big Giant Head (William Shatner) at the airport. Lithgow asks Shatner, "How was your flight, sir?" Shatner replies, "Terrible. I could have sworn I saw a man on the wing of the plane!" Lithgow said, "The same thing happened to me." This was an intentional tip of the hat to "The Twilight Zone" (1959) episode, "The Twilight Zone: Nightmare at 20,000 Feet (#5.3)" (1963). Shatner played the disturbed passenger in that episode, and Lithgow played the disturbed passenger in this movie.
  
  
• In the opening title sequence, Rod Serling can be seen in the reflection of the eye.
  
  
• Anthony's powers have the sound effects of the Tempest (1983) (VG) arcade game.
  
  
• Exterior footage of the airplane on which John Valentine (John Lithgow) believes that he sees someone trying to sabotage the wing is of the Global Airways Boeing 707, from Skyjacked (1972) with added storm effects.
  
  
• Director Trademark: [John Landis] [SYNW] spoken in German when Bill is being shot at on the building.
  
  
• Known for his meticulous preparation, John Lithgow had worked out certain scenes in his airplane seat in conjunction with the manufactured lightning outside the window. However, during filming, the crew member in charge of the lightning flashes would activate it too soon or too late, throwing off Lithgow's timing. Although initially annoyed, he later came to value the experience after viewing the film, seeing that it added to his anxious, fearful character as he looked genuinely startled by the lightning.
  
  
• Nancy Cartwright appears in both the this movie's segment about Anthony and in the television series "The Simpsons" (1989), the second segment of the episode "Treehouse of Horror II" in which Bart has magical mental powers, lampoons this segment of this movie.
  
  
• The first film by Steven Spielberg to not feature a John Williams's music score.
  
  
• Smithee: [Andy House] The Second Assistant Director. Second Assistant directors work primarily on getting exterior filler shots or them work on action scenes, and the tragedy on Segment 1 might have had something to do with this "Smithee" credit.
  
  
• Segment 2, "Kick the Can," features Steven Spielberg's future mother-in-law, Priscilla Pointer, as Miss Cox.
  
  
• Of the principal cast and crew, eight were also involved in the production of episodes of the original television series: writers Richard Matheson and George Clayton Johnson, composer Jerry Goldsmith, and actors Murray Matheson, Kevin McCarthy, Patricia Barry, William Schallert and Bill Mumy. In addition Buck Houghton, who was producer of the original series for its first three seasons, has a cameo sitting in the diner in Segment 3.
  
  
• According to John Larroquette, who played one of the lead KKK members, he refused to wear a KKK hood because he wanted his face to be visible.
  
  
• According to John Larroquette, he requested to watch the filming of what would become the tragic helicopter scene, but his car was stolen the night before and he was unable to get to the set.
  
  
• This is the first collaboration between composer Jerry Goldsmith and co-director Joe Dante which would last for another seven films - one of the longest director/composer relationships on record. Within these collaborations would also include several productions by Steven Spielberg's companies Amblin Entertainment and Dreamworks Pictures.
  
  
• Technically this is the second collaboration between Director Steven Spielberg and composer Jerry Goldsmith. Spielberg "allegedly" had a big hand in Poltergeist (1982) and oversaw the post-production on that film and this film. This film would be the only time that Goldsmith would work with director John Landis, who had worked with the late Elmer Bernstein during that time period and was his composer of choice. He would later work with George Miller on Babe (1995) and his score ultimately replaced when the film's tone changed from it's original dark overtones to family fare and was replaced by Australian composer Nigel Westlake. Goldsmith and Joe Dante would work together frequently lasting over seven films spanning two decades before Goldsmith's untimely death in 2004. Goldsmith and Spielberg would not work together again except in a producing capacity, as John Williams is his personal composer.
  
  
• Before this movie became an anthology of four stories, Warner Bros. initially explored a single story film idea with the cooperation of Rod Serling's wife Carol Serling. One of these ideas was Miracle Mile (1988) written by Steve De Jarnatt, who went on to make that film in 1988.
  
  
• Another story considered by Steven Spielberg for the film was one concerning a bully who has the tables turned on him during Halloween night but problems with the story ensued and was then scrapped.
  
  
• Steven Spielberg briefly considered Rod Serling's "The Twilight Zone: The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street (#1.22)" (1960) about neighborhood paranoid that's set off by a force of invading aliens from the original Twilight Zone series as a potential segment which he canceled because it involved nighttime filming with children and special effects. This was mainly due to the tragedy that occurred on the "Time Out" segment. He finally chose "Kick the Can" from the original series.
  
  
• For each of the four segments, each director (Steven Spielberg, John Landis, George Miller and Joe Dante), would use their regular production teams with Spielberg and Landis acting as producers of the film as an independent production financed by Warner Bros. and Richard Matheson hired to adapt and expend the three original stories from the original series.
  
  
• John Landis' segment "Time Out" was originally entitled "The Bigot", a story he claimed would retain political and social commentary of the best Twilight Zone episodes from the original series.
  
  
• The film originally started with Rod Serling's classic voiceover, but it was replaced with one by Burgess Meredith, who starred in four episodes of the original Twilight Zone series - "The Twilight Zone: Time Enough at Last (#1.8)" (1959), "The Twilight Zone: Mr. Dingle, the Strong (#2.19)" (1961), "The Twilight Zone: The Obsolete Man (#2.29)" (1961), and ."The Twilight Zone: Printer's Devil (#4.9)" (1963).
  
  
• The spotting sessions for Jerry Goldsmith's landmark score began on December 22, 1982 and did not finish until January of 1983, as each segment was completed. Usually each music track has a slate number listed but in this case it was the initials of each director (Spielberg, Landis, Miller and Dante) for the music in their segment.
  
  
• During Jerry Goldsmith's recording sessions for the score which took place from February 28 to March 3, 1983, with each recording day devoted to each segment of the film. Film it's Prologue to the main segments to the Epilogue. Steven Spielberg attended most of these sessions. However, it was Joe Dante, who mainly supervised the entire sessions also filling in for George Miller and John Landis, were not involved in the post-production of the film which included the music. Dante and Goldsmith would become good friends and begin a fruitful collaboration that would last over the next two decades (1983-2003).
  
  
• Joseph Williams, who contributed the song "Anesthesia" for the film, is the son of legendary composer John Williams, who is Steven Spielberg's personal friend and collaborator for the last four decades. Also Jerry Williams, who is John's brother, was the percussionist on the score.
  
  
• Academy Award nominated composer James Newton Howard co-produced the songs "Anesthesia" and "Nights Are Forever" and was also the synthesizer programmer on this film.
  
  
• Just prior to filming, Dan Aykroyd, who plays The Hitchhiker in the film, married Donna Dixon, who is featured in the "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet" segment which ends with Aykroyd's appearance as an ambulance driver who comforts John Lithgow's character.
  
  
• The original conception of the film ending was that after the segments had been completed, that each character would intersect with one another. This idea was scrapped, but it briefly appears as Dan Aykroyd's character does appear at the very end of the "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet" segment and comforts John Lithgow's character from the segment by playing "The Midnight Special" by Creedence Clearwater Revival, which was also used in the prologue of the film.
  
  
• The giant, glaring eye that Helen (Kathleen Quinlan) sees when she opens a door is used as part of the opening sequence for the series "The Outer Limits" (1995).
  
  
• Last cinema feature of Murray Matheson.
  
  

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