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What is that dang elephant gun Burt uses to kill the Graboid in his basement?

It is actually a shotgun called a Darne, with an unusual sliding breech action. It was huge, an 8 gauge (the smaller the number, the bigger the gun). We had dummy cartridges custom made from solid brass rod stock, with the bullet held on via a screw.

Update:  Mar 2021. I thought I had corrected this answer years ago, but apparently not.  The gun is an 8 gauge shotgun made by William and Moore, not Darne.  The info about our dummy cartridges is correct.

The Internet Movie Firearms Data Base has much more info on the  guns in Tremors.

http://www.imfdb.org/wiki/Tremors_(1990)

When they are stranded on the rock at the end, is the cannon Burt refers to the same one Hiram obtained in Tremors 4?

If you are referring to Hiram’s punt gun, which is sort of like a small cannon, no. The punt gun was never found after the Graboid pulled it underground in Tremors 4. If you are referring to the Gatling Gun Christine gives Hiram at the end of Tremors 4, also no. It’s technically not a cannon and it went to a museum in San Francisco after Hiram’s death. The cannon Burt refers to in Tremors 1 is a firing replica of a Civil War mortar (type of cannon). We wrote it into early drafts of Tremors 3, but the scene didn’t make it into the movie. It’s one of the few things which wouldn’t have been totally destroyed in the explosion of Burt’s house, but we’ve still never been able to show it. Maybe someday.

In Tremors 1, why didn’t the townspeople just take truck Rhonda’s to the base of the jeep trail? With the trail being a mountain path, the Graboids wouldn’t be able to follow, and the people could walk safely to Bixby. I know the real answer is that it would just kill the whole movie plot, but what’s the “creative” reason?

You’re envisioning the trail as starting right at the base of the mountain. We envisioned the jeep trail as starting way before that, out in the desert. Our intention in the dialogue where the townsfolk discuss it was to imply that the trail was so rough that the little two-wheel-drive vehicle would not make it to the rocks. Earl says “You need major four wheel drive just to get up that jeep trail,” which makes it sound like he might means to get up up the mountain itself — but he didn’t! Honest!

Here’s a major one. You fans have done it again. In his T-3 town meeting briefing, Burt says the Graboids are moving down from the North, “just like last time.” But in a chat room discussion forwarded to S.S. Wilson, some fans point out that in fact, all the early Graboid victims in T-1 are South of Perfection, i.e., between Perfection and Bixby!

Well, this is equivalent to the great number-of-Shriekers-in-a-Graboid slip up and Old Fred’s disappearing car. In the years between making T-1 and T-3, we overlooked this basic geographic reality. Burt’s line is simply wrong. He was let down by the writers. He should have said, “They’re working their way up from the south.”

But the same fans have provided an excellent explanation for the Graboid movements, if not the T-3 line. The 1989 batch could have hatched south of Perfection (unlike the T-4 batch). They found themselves blocked by the granite ridge which separates the south end of Perfection Valley from Bixby. So, they worked their way north, taking out the victims in the order Val indicates, heading back toward Perfection. I have no idea what this does to the orientation-of-the-valley discussion and I’m too tired to think about it.

Boy, you guys are tough.

In a related T-1 question, some of you feel Rhonda seems to be unexpectedly working in two widely different areas of the Valley (where she first meets Val and Earl, and later at the concrete ditch). On that point I think we’re safe. She clearly says she has placed seismographs all over the valley, so it’s logical that she might be servicing any one of them an any given time.

What kind of truck did Earl drive in Tremors and Tremors 2: Aftershocks?

It is an older model Jeep J series pick-up, sometimes called the Gladiator. Produced from 1963 to 1987 these are rather rare. The transportation coordinator on Tremors I found the one we used in the first movie and no, unfortunately it was not put in a museum. Maybe it should have been, because we had a heck of a time finding another one for Tremors II! By the time we made Tremors II, the transportation staff had to buy three of them from junk yards in order to get two of them up and running. We used one or the other depending on what sort of shot we were doing. If you watch Tremors II closely, you can spot differences between the two “identical” trucks we used. We always try to have more than one picture vehicle so that we can keep shooting when something goes wrong with one of them or, when we damage one (as when Earl backs into a steep ravine to escape the Graboid that drops on the hood)

Who was the adult guardian of Melvin in Tremors?

This is actually a question to which we gave considerable thought: “Why is there a lone teenage kid in Perfection?” Here’s Melvin’s Tremors 1 back story: he’s the son of rather irresponsible parents who regularly leave him home alone to go gambling in Vegas. The townsfolk long ago got used to the situation, as people in small towns do. There was a line explaining this in the original Tremors 1 script. It was said by Val or Earl and was something like, “I wish his parents would just take him with them to Vegas.” As a result, Melvin turned out sort of selfish and money-hungry in Tremors 3, but we understand him since he had to fend for himself from a young age.

What is old Fred growing in his garden?

Here’s one that has partially stumped us. Production designer Ivo Cristante (Tremors 1 and Tremors 2 tells SS Wilson it is probably corn. He remembers thinking about what Old Fred could successfully grow in that dry environment. Do we have any botanist fans who can tell from the Old Fred garden hoe close ups in Tremors 1?

How did we get the station wagon under the ground in Tremors?

We didn’t.  We had a hole in the ground that was deep enough for the station wagon to sink into.  In the hole was a specially made machine, sort of like an elevator, that was supposed to lower the car slowly.  But the machine jammed – it got clogged and blocked by the special lightweight potting soil we were using for “dirt.”  The car only sank a couple of feet.  It was our last night of shooting and we could not work past dawn, so director Ron Underwood had to quickly figure out a series of close-ups and insert shots to make it look like the car actually sank.  That very last shot (done later in miniature) was a wide shot where you just see the headlight beams blink off and that’s what makes if feel like the car finally went under.  Later, when Val and Earl dig the car up, we put just the car’s front grille (taken off) under the sand, with a battery to run the head lights.

Has Kevin Bacon ever commented on any of the sequels or the series? – NEW

I’m sure we haven’t seen everything, but over the years he’s commented here and there in interviews.  Unfortunately, one time he said he felt Tremors was a low point in his career.  On the positive side, we heard second hand that when he was at ADI (Tremors FX company) for some work on another film, he saw the Shriekers in their display area and said something like “My kids love those things.”  In any case, he was fantastic to work with and we were very lucky to have him in T1.

I would like to work on a Stampede film. Can I send you my resume?

Stampede cannot accept or be responsible for resumes submitted to the Stampede offices. When a Stampede film is actually in pre-production, you can try calling the production offices and submit resumes through normal channels. But you should be forewarned that line producers and unit production managers rarely hire staff without a recommendation from previous film industry employers.

How do I go about getting into the film business?

This is a tough question, and a tough business. If you’re going to try it, it’s smart to think about what else you might enjoy or be good at if you “don’t” make it. We know people who have quit the business because the hours were too long, the politics too nasty, the work too irregular and uncertain. They’re now happy doing completely different things in places less stressful than L.A.

But for those who are determined to try, we can offer some advice. Over the years we’ve heard all kinds of crazy stories about how people broke in — sneaking on to sets, pretending to be producers, making movies by borrowing on credit cards, auditioning in restaurants. Almost everything has worked at least once, but most of the time most of the wackier things just annoy people.

We’ll try to list a few of the more normal ways in (S.S. Wilson tried everything we mention below). If you want to write, or think you can write, you should try it. It doesn’t cost much, you can do it in your spare time, and you can do it anywhere. (S.S. Wilson dictated one script into a tape-recorder while commuting long hours to an animation job everyday). If you can sell a script, it can be the fastest way in. So, get books on screenplay writing. Learn the correct script format. Look for published screenplays of movies you like (there are also places that sell scripts). Read them. Learn from them. Nancy Roberts (in her days as an agent) is quoted on screenwriting in Syd Fields’ book, “Selling the Screenplay”. Get that book and read it! What she said then still applies. But to be honest, getting anybody to “read” your script will be difficult. Contact the Writers Guild of America (in New York or Los Angeles) to see if they have a current list of movie agents who will read unsolicited scripts (that is, scripts from people they don’t already know). Most agents do not, but some do. Even if they accept your script, they may take a long time to read it, or they may not read it at all (that happens quite a bit), but you have to try everything.

Here at Stampede Entertainment, we DO NOT have a big enough staff to read unsolicited scripts. You’ll find that is the case with most agents and production companies.

If you do write a script be sure to copyright it and register it with the Writer’s Guild before you send it to anyone. Again, contact the Guild for information on how to do this. Basically you send the Guild a copy of the script, which they keep on file for a set amount of time. The Guild charges a fee for this service. But it can help protect you in the unlikely event that an unscrupulous producer takes your idea and tries to make a movie without paying you or giving you credit.

If you don’t feel you’re a writer, maybe you’d enjoy one of many other jobs that contribute to filmmaking (acting, cinematography, set design, wardrobe, etc.) Look for every opportunity to practice and/or demonstrate your craft. You have a big advantage over the days of 8mm movies, since today you can work in video much more cheaply — and have sound! Practice lighting. Work with sound. Work with editing (not as easy in video as film, unless you get some video editing equipment). Script and story board a short movie, then try to make it. Estimate what it’s going to cost and see how far you go over budget.

Enter student and amateur film and video contests. If you win, it’s more reason for people to take time to look at your work.

Try animation (either on film or on a computer).

Try to get work in film or television production. Can you get a job at your local TV station? Will they let you “intern” for free?

Finally, very important, try to make contacts. You may have heard the expression, “It’s who you know.” Well, it’s true. If you know or are related to anyone in the film or TV business, call them. Can they help you get your work seen or read by anyone? Can they get you a job on a movie, working as a production assistant, or “go-fer?” When Brent Maddock and Steve Wilson finally sold *Short Circuit, it happened because they’d been continuing to make contacts and friends. One friend Brent met in a screen-writing workshop. He was the friend of the son of the producer who eventually bought it, and he happened to know that the producer was looking for any script with a robot in it. Four months later they had a major movie in production. The trade papers said they were overnight successes — actually they’d been trying for years, but it made a good story.

But what if you don’t know anybody? Agents don’t want to read your scripts. Producers don’t want see your short films.

Go to film/video schools. There are lots of good ones. They can’t guarantee a job in the movie business, but they’re still good places to learn the basics. These days, some agents check out the students graduating from the better known schools, so sometimes you can get spotted in that way.

But more importantly, at a film school you get to know a lot of other people who are also trying to break in. Some of them will make it and they become the “who you know.” S.S. Wilson’s first paying animation job was for a friend he met at USC. The friend had started making commercials and shorts and remembered Wilson’s student stop-motion animation movies. After selling Short Circuit, Brent Maddock, Wilson, and then-agent Nancy Roberts helped him get his first feature film. He was Ron Underwood, director of Tremors.

Can I be in the next Tremors film?

A lot of you have asked about being actors in Tremors.  We have to be discouraging about that. It looks easy, but it actually takes a lot of experience to be a good film actor (I know you’ve heard stories of people who had no experience and got a part in some big movie, but that’s RARE, okay?).  Like most filmmakers we only hire actors through Hollywood casting directors.  When we’re going into production, the casting director sets up auditions with actors found via agents or TV shows, movies, or plays.  We make our decisions based on the people he/she brings in.  Many many actors tried out for the new roles of Jack and Jodi in Tremors 3.  All of them had a lot of experience and skill.  If you think you want to be an actor, start trying out for school plays or local theater plays, find an acting class or school or coach.  Work on getting an agent, etc. etc.  It’s a very tough profession to break into.

Where can we get MREs?

Are you sure you want MREs? Actually, they’re not too bad. S.S. Wilson shared one with son, Matt, after Tremors 2. MRE stands for “Meal, Ready to Eat.” Developed for the U.S. military, it’s a complete meal in a foil package. Sometimes you can find them in military surplus stores, survival stores, or as part of earthquake/disaster and lifeboat kits. There are also various “civilian” versions of MREs and high density survival food.

Where are our action figures, toys and such?

As of this writing (July 2003), discussions are being had Universal on developing Tremors toys, novelizations, games, comics, trading cards, etc. Whether they will actually go through with these ideas remains to be seen.

Which Tremors movie was the most fun to make? – NEW

Well, Tremors 1 was in some ways the most fun because we were finally getting to make one of our original ideas just the way we wanted to.  Yeah, we were fighting crazy weather, budget, and the worry that we might screw it up, but we were in creative control!  The later Tremors were fun in a different way, because we were more confident, but also harder because we had so much less money to make them.  Really, because they were all well-planned, none was particularly harder or easier than another.  And they were all fun to work on.

What happens to El Blanco/graboids during a thunder storm? Does the thunder overload their senses? Are they smart enough to ignore thunder? Do they come up to the surface and just flop around all confused? Or chase it like a cat would with a laser pointer? if they hear a REALLY loud sound can graboids go deaf? – NEW

Graboids are not fooled by thunder.  It is a natural event and they can easily differentiate it from the sounds that prey make.  However, they are in effect “blinded” by heavy rain.  The steady noise makes it nearly impossible for them to hunt, so they just go idle and wait it out.  As to whether or not they can go deaf, you’ve touched on a point of contention among scientists.  We aren’t really sure how Graboids “hear.”  They do not seem to have ears or ear-drums, so some researchers speculate that they have some other mechanism for sensing vibration in the ground.  My personal guess is that a very loud sound would not permanently impair a Graboid.  In Tremors 1, Burt’s improvised explosives only drove them away, but they kept coming back.

Why do the creatures on the posters/DVD covers look absolutely nothing like the actual creatures in the film? Is it to just make it look more eye catching on the poster? With the long fangs and dinosaur like look? Also, is the poster for the film meant to be a inspired by the Jaws poster? Was Jaws an influence on the film in any way? – NEW

Yes, all the Tremors posters are embarrassing.  Here’s what happened.  We convinced Universal’s marketing department that they should not show a Graboid on the poster because the movie had  a really good surprise — the first-time audience really does think the monsters are the tentacles, the “snake things,” so the real Graboids are  shocking when first revealed. Universal was not happy with that, but went along with it.  Much to our horror, then, they came up with what you see, a tentacle made to look gigantic and with goofy shark teeth.  The whole crew, especially the creature effects guys, was disappointed.  But it became history.  And it just kept getting worse with each movie, until you end up with the extra-bizarre critter on the boxed set of Tremors TV series, which even has an eye! And yes, our guess is the original was inspired by Jaws, though nobody ever admitted it.

Were we inspired by Jaws?  Not exactly (even though early story outlines of  Tremors were called “Land Shark”).  We were inspired by 50s monster movies we loved as kids.  Jaws is really a spin on those same movies, so you might say we all had the same inspiration.

Which Tremors film is your favorite? – NEW

That’s kind of like asking, “Which is your favorite child?” I really do love all the Tremors movies equally for different reasons.  Each time out we did our best to come up with stuff that was hopefully different from the usual sequel.  And each time out we were very invested in making the best movie we could.