MovieChat Forums > Don't Be Afraid of the Dark (1973) Discussion > I just spoke to NIGEL MCKEAND!! He answe...

I just spoke to NIGEL MCKEAND!! He answers ALL!!!

posted 17 years ago by andrsbckly
8 replies | jump to latest

Guys, I am up in the air now, 'cause I just got off the phone with Nigel Himself, and he is one of the nicest people you could ever meet!!!
I had a couple of questions for him, but there really are few when it comes to the movie; he said that the script was written very quickly- that the 'demons' were supposed to be 'thinner and quicker', that there was no real 'backstory' on why/what/ as far as motivation for the critters...he was trying to come up with something scary!
He is a great guy, told me about all sorts of stuff.....like the fact he was living in an old spanish house in LA and it had this old fireplace, and it had an ash-pit cleanout, and neither he nor ANYBODY wanted to do the cleaning job because it was like a little pit, and it was very creepy...later, he realized what a great thing to have something evil come out of, and ABC wanted a quick horror movie....he simply wrote a quick strip, that was it!!
He said he gets several calls a year from fans, and he said they almost ALL were home alone when they saw it....he asked me, "Now, let's see....you are about in your mid forties, right?" I FLIPPED OUT....I said "Uh, yeah, forty five next april...!" he said that almost everybody that calls him saw it when they were 9-13 or so.....!!!
There simply wasn't exposition time for the movie, but I told him that is what makes it so weird and creepy...he is constanly amazed at the durability and memory of the movie, he never expected it because the 'hollywood reporter' and other biz-mags HATED it, gave bad reviews, he thought 'that's it'- it was the first bad review he ever HAD>>>! can you believe that???
Any ways, I am going to update the trivia area with this gold....still can't believe I talked to him!!!

[–] dhshoops2001 17 years ago

That's really cool...thanks for posting. Too funny about the mid 40's reference, he knows us too well.

[–] TachoX2 17 years ago

Agree that's very cool.

Just think of how many people saw this movie and were affected but don't recall the name.

[–] Nova_UB313 17 years ago

Okay, you say he answered all, then did he have anything to say about whether this would EVER be released on DVD? Any inside information?

Demetria :)

"There's nothing tastier than food for thought."

[–] andrsbckly 17 years ago

No, I asked him specifically, and he doesn't know if it will EVER be re-released, although there was a VHS release (where I got my 2nd-gen copy); he DID allude however that the rights had been purchased by a 3rd party that he refused to name, and basically told me in not-so-many words is that a *REMAKE* may be in the works, that's about it.
I hope they rerelease it, I don't care for remakes, but I'd see THIS one!

[–] Sillyhuron 17 years ago

I just got the DVD for Christmas. It was the 30th anniversary edition. I got it from [email protected], via Amazon. The print's a tiny bit washed out, but perfectly serviceable for a 30 year old movie. I never saw the film, but my wife says it's as scary as ever. (Ironic note - she got parts of the film confused with the voodoo doll episode of "Trilogy of Terror". Her sister got it mixed up with the "dollhouse" episode of "Circle of Fear/Ghost Story". Isn't it hilarious how pop culture gets mixed up your mind and becomes a whole new entity?)

[–] andrsbckly 17 years ago

To be honest, no.....I never confuse movies. My buddy Brian constantly confuses them, however. For example, he can't seperate 'Caveman' w/ ringo starr from 'quest for fire'. To him they are the same movie.

But yeah, most people confuse them for some reason....big difference between demons and a zunu doll, though.

Did you check my post w/ pics of my DBAOTD figures? I sent them to Nigel just before x-mas.

[–] 17 years ago

[deleted]

[–] andrsbckly 17 years ago

Yes, he IS in the w/pages, and YES, I am sure that if you send him an SASE with a polite letter, mentioning the board and the IMDB, he will send it back to you; he sent me a 'thank you' letter when I sent him the home-made 'DBAOTD' action figures I made, you can check out link/pics in this board for that posting.

Just make sure you spell his name correctly, with a 'D' at the end, 'McKeand', NOT 'McKean' when you write... here is the address:

Nigel McKeand
325 North Kenter Ave.
Los Angeles, Ca.,
90049

If you are still not sure, CALL HIM first, don't be surprised if he talks to you for 30 minutes; when I interviewed him, he was so cool, I only wanted 5 mins., we spoke for 45 minutes...! Mention to him when/how you first saw it, how old you were , etc.

He was also the sonar man on the Seaview sub on 'voyage to the bottom of the sea" and wrote almost all of the original scripts for 'the Waltons' as well as many other works.
Tell him ANDY said HELLO!!