...because today, we would get a twenty-minute exposition piece on the Young Man, his past, his motivations and the places he hangs out in - plus there would be a a "shocking revelation" in the end that - wow! - decades earlier Young Man was actually Harry's neighbors' kid, Young Boy, and Harry's dog broke Young Boy's toy rollercoaster, causing him to harbor homicidal tendencies from then on.
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the original script draft has a much longer sequence than a simple phone call, but that is the basics behind it.
Still one heck of a movie.
SPOILERS:
I saw a sneak preview print of "Rollercoaster" in 1977 which had a little scene at the end that didn't make it to the release:
After Timothy Bottoms has died, an FBI agent comes up to George Segal and one of them says something like: "OK, we've got a make on who this guy was and where he came from and why he was doing this. The story is --"
And Segal cuts the cop off saying, "Who gives a damn?" and walks away.
I guess they cut it because they thought the scene made Segal look too callous and uncaring.
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9/11 changed everything.....even more recent movies like "Arlington Road" and "The Seige" would have a hard time finding an audience today.
'70s "man made disaster" movies like "Rollercoaster," "Black Sunday," "Two Minute Warning," and "Juggernaut" do show us how vulnerable we are in public settings. Very chilling films.
Human Beings...Wowshare
This movie could be easily made today, the problem is the industry will prevent it because it can and does hurt business.
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"Is this another "my dick is bigger than your dick" contest?
Six Flags is close to filing bankruptcy all by themselves.
http://www.vimeo.com/1986276