Paranormal Activity

Top 10 Fun Facts

1. Steven Spielberg suggested the filmmakers change the ending, so they did. What Spielberg wants, Spielberg gets.
2. Paranormal Activity had the highest weekend gross ever for a film released in less than 200 theaters. The previous record had been held by Platoon for 22 years. Paranormal Activity's opening weekend's activity not only set a new record, it doubled it, even with the film being shown on less screens than the previous record holder.
3. Filmmakers feared they had a bomb on their hands when audiences for Paranormal Activity began leaving in the middle of screenings. It turned out that this was really a sign of good things to come. Audiences left because they were terrified, not because the movie was bad.
4. In less than a month since opening in wide release, Paranormal Activity grossed more than 1000 times the amount it cost to make the film, proof that you can spend lots of money on big budget special effects and A-List actors, but a strong story is priceless.
5. Although Paranormal Activity was released by Paramount Pictures, the studio's logo did not appear on the film or even in the credits. The one exception where the logo was used was for the sole purpose of establishing copyright. They needed to make sure they got all their money.
6. Paranormal Activity director Oren Peli said that the dialogue in the film was "natural" because there was no real script. The actors were given outlines of the story and situations to improvise, much like MTV's "reality" TV show "The Hills."
7. When the director of Paranormal Activity first saw The Exorcist it scared him so much that he couldn't finish watching the movie and had nightmares for weeks after. He wanted to make a movie that would have the same effect on movie audiences. According to reports, he succeeded.
8. Director Oren Peli managed to keep the budget on Paranormal Activity so low by filming in his house over the period of just one week using a single high-def Sony video camera. With a budget of less the $15,000, the catering must have consisted of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.
9. Paranormal Activity was first screened in 2007 at the Screamfest Horror Film Festival. The film's director began giving away DVDs of the film to anybody who might have been willing to distribute it. It found its way into Steven Spielberg's hands but the film's 2008 release date was delayed because of a rift between DreamWorks and Paramount Pictures. The rift was bridged and the film was finally released in 2009 to packed theaters.
10. The film Paranormal Activity used social network sites to drive its marketing campaign. The grassroots approach led to the indie film's big distribution deal and had celebrities tweeting things like, "Horrendous nightmare after watching the Paranormal Activity trailer...I think I'll go put my face in a bunny rabbit for the rest of my life." ~ Kat Dennings.

Cast

Crew