Woman's Home Companion 1943 july Alva Johnston
Last year, an artist working on The Black Hole said, "If special effects are what people want, we'll show 'em how it's done. Disney has always been better at that than anyone else." Director Gary Nelson told us it was the success of Star Wars that finally prompted Disney to dust off the troublesome script of The Black Hole and film it. And creative vice-president Ron Miller said that the script of The Black Hole had been tailored "to broaden the appeal of the Disney product."
Theory: These may be chief among the reasons why The Black Hole failed to gather either critical notice (except for their special-effects Oscar nomination) or big box-office receipts. The problem may have been in the overall approach to moviemaking behind The Black Hole.
Ironically, a new Disney release made for a fraction of the cost of The Black Hole and with none of its grandiose motives, may accomplish what The Black Hole was to have done: showcase Disney special effects, pick up favorable notices from critics, cash in on the current science-fiction boom and convince a broader spectrum of moviegoer that Disney productions are not all alike.
The little film is a juvenile Gothic called The Watcher in the Woods. After a screening of a nearly completed print in late March, STARLOG talked with co-producer Tom Leetch about the making of it. Leetch was obviously happy with his film and clearly enjoyed discussing it; and we were often struck by the differences between his approach to Watcher and all we have learned about the making of The Black Hole.
"The first problem," says Leetch, "was fear. Fear that there was no way I could sell Disney on making Watcher in the Woods. I read the book and knew that this was the one story in a million that could make a good movie." He gestures toward a tower of new hardcover books on his desk. "There's part of the million."
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