Actually, Hooper was always attached to direct - the original concept was his. He developed it with Spielberg. Spielberg was always only going to produce. And E.T. wasn't even an existing idea until a few months after the story treatment for Poltergeist was written between Hooper and Spielberg.

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His influence was all over that movie. You could feel it in certain scenes, including some of the skeletal horror parts. Also using the “idea” of fear to his advantage, similar to Jaws and T-Rex, setting up tension building.

Sure, it's in the film in the form of the big set pieces with the giant monsters. But Spielberg's idea of tension is a lot more intricate and kinetic. Poltergeist lacks a little of that - even the "big monster" scenes are a little more flat and blunt. That's Hooper conceiving the film and even reducing the film down from the storyboards, which is a fascinating study. In the storyboards (done conjointly), there's all sorts of close-ups of hands and feet to emphasize the suspense. Hooper, instead, was all, "Let's just shoot it in a wide. It's less suspenseful, but more surreal that way."

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re: What is your Mount Rushmore of Steven Spielberg directed movies?

Posted by Ptsherm on 5/8/21 at 11:19 am to phantom70815

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I went for decades thinking that Spielberg directed Poltergeist. Come to find out, it was actually Tobe Hooper who also directed The Texas Chainsaw Massacre.

Hooper is listed and credited with directing Poltergeist, but it was later said that Spielberg basically co-directed it with Hooper and went uncredited in doing so.

It was said that Spielberg couldn’t contractually direct another film while also directing E.T. at the same time. That being said, you could say that Spielberg was very “hands on” during the filming of Poltergeist

Those rumors have always been deeply overstated, and had more to do with industry bias and press manipulation than actual facts. Under the same criteria of directing, or co-directing, “The Goonies” should be listed as a Spielberg film. He was always deeply involved in his productions, whether that involved being on set or not, and “Poltergeist” was a unique collaboration from day 1 - but one in which Hooper was always the intended director. Spielberg in all actuality never intended to direct “Poltergeist,” which is the locus of all the articles you may read on this topic’s disregard of facts: Hooper and Spielberg shook hands on an express director/producer partnership when Hooper pitched the idea of a haunted house film to Spielberg. They developed the story together and Hooper was left with full pre-production as Spielberg chose to direct E.T.. There is far more Hooper-caused subversion of the Spielberg script than there is any rogue designs in The Goonies.

Sean Astin on the Goonies shoot: