Steven Spielberg is one of the most renowned and well-respected directors of all time. Having been the mind behind massively successful projects like West Side Story, Saving Private Ryan, Catch Me If You Can, and The Terminal, he has made a name for himself through his unique storytelling and moviemaking style. He has also been awarded for the achievements that these films have earned, having been nominated for an Academy Award quite a few times and winning the same three times, once for Best Picture and twice in the category of Best Director.
The Paranormal Activity is one of the most iconic and successful horror films of all time. Having a very rare concept at the time, the found footage film was making its way through film festivals before it ended up in the hands of DreamWorks studios, co-founded by Spielberg, who helped the film get the fame it has achieved today. With this, it is quite interesting to find out that Spielberg was convinced that the DVD of the horror film was haunted.
Steven Spielberg Thought A DVD Was Haunted
The Paranormal Activity is an interesting film that follows a couple as they slowly realize that their lives have become infested with a demon. Steven Spielberg was given a DVD of the film to take home, watch, and decide how he wanted to proceed. Unforeseen circumstances, however, forced the director to become convinced that the DVD of the movie had become haunted.
His reasoning for this was the fact that while the movie was at his house, he had a very suspicious and odd thing happen to him. Spielberg was unable to access his bedroom after the door suddenly became locked. The odd thing about this was the fact that the room had been locked from the inside. Very quickly ruling out a break-in or a burglary, the director called for a locksmith and sent the DVD back, packed inside a garbage bag, to DreamWorks the first chance he got.
This Did Not Discourage Steven Spielberg
One would expect that after having an experience such as this, which deeply terrified him, Steven Spielberg would not want to go anywhere near this project. The film was shot over the span of seven days with a budget of only $15,000 so it would not have been as much of a loss considering other, biggest losses that studios have had to deal with. This was not the case, however, as the director fell in love with the film, and wanted to give it an actual theatrical release. There was, however, one condition.
Spielberg needed the film to have a different ending so $4,000 was given to shoot a different, more ominous, and terrifying ending compared to the original one. This may have been the perfect decision as the movie went on to become the most profitable horror movie ever made based on return on investment.
Source: Los Angeles Times
