Part of that success was due to a totally unknown first time director by the name of Ron Underwood. You may know him now as the the director of a little film with Billy Chrystal called City Slickers.
The MCA/Universal home video division quickly picked up the script and green lighted everthing except its 17 million dollar predicted budget. The exotic Australia location was changed to a location just north of Los Angles. Several major special effects sequences were also scrapped. Still no green light from MCA/Universal home video.
This is where the story gets interesting. There were so many actors and technical experts in the industry that wanted to see this film made, that everyone started lowering their rates and devising creative ways to cut corners. The film got the green light for production at just under 4 million dollars. That is under a third of the original Tremors budget of 11 million.
Yes this is a video release movie shot for under 4 million dollars but it is really a 17 million dollar production at heart. You don't believe me? Take a look for yourself! How else can you explain the involvement of special effect experts like Phil Tippett, Peter Chesney, Tom Woodruff, and Alec Gillis. Each of these experts routinely work on sets where their effects budgets are five times the entire budget for Tremors 2: Aftershocks. Let's face it, they wanted to be there at any cost!
Tremors 2: Aftershocks was made because everyone in the industry believed in it so much that they made it happen. Sure you can create a quality film for 30 million dollars, but to get the same level of quality in a movie with only 4 million dollar in todays economy is unprecedented in the industry.
We hope that you enjoy this page and the movie as much as we do. If you know of any Tremors related clubs, links, etc. please let us know in The Director's Ear.
Tremors
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