Bibliography
 |
- The Enthusiast (2009)
- "Seder, the Sundance movie". Shouts & Murmurs. The New Yorker. 86 (8): 34. April 5, 2010.
- The Current Fantasy (2024)
Charles S. Haas | |
|---|---|
| Born | October 22, 1952 |
| Occupation(s) | Actor, screenwriter, novelist |
| Years active | 1979–present |
Charles Stephen Haas (born October 22, 1952), also known as Charles Haas or Charlie Haas, is an American screenwriter, actor, and novelist.
Haas was born in Brooklyn, the son of Eunice (née Dillon) and Philip Haas, who was an attorney. [1] Haas began his writing career with the film Over the Edge (1979). It was co-written with Tim Hunter and starred Matt Dillon. He later worked on Martians Go Home (1990) starring Randy Quaid.
At around this time he was approached to write the script to the film Gremlins 2: The New Batch (1990), which was directed by Joe Dante and produced by Michael Finnell. Haas also had a small acting role in the film as one of the scientists. Haas later took part in recording the DVD commentary for that film, and it was noted that it was Haas's idea to set that film in New York City. [2] Haas would later work with Dante and Finnell again, writing the script for and appearing in the film Matinee (1993), also work with Dante again on developing a script titled Termite Terrace, based on Chuck Jones' start at Warner Brothers in the 1930s, the project ultimately never made it to the pre-production stages as Warner Bros. chose to make Space Jam instead.
Haas wrote the 2009 novel The Enthusiast, which was published by HarperCollins. [3] He also wrote a humor piece for The New Yorker in April 2010. [4] In 2022, he presented a new novel, Sunland, as twelve serialized episodes of The Last We Fake fiction podcast. [5] In October 2024, Haas published his second novel, The Current Fantasy. [6]
| Year | Title | Writer | Actor | Role |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1979 | Over the Edge | Yes | No | — |
| 1982 | Tex | Yes | Yes | Lee |
| 1990 | Martians Go Home | Yes | No | — |
| Gremlins 2: The New Batch | Yes | Yes | Casper | |
| 1993 | Matinee | Yes | Yes | Mr. Elroy |
| Year | Title | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1985 | Reckless Disregard | Television film |
| 1989 | Gang of Four | Unsold pilot |
| 1994 | Rebel Highway | Episode: Runaway Daughters |
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Gremlins is a 1984 American comedy horror film directed by Joe Dante, written by Chris Columbus and starring Zach Galligan, Phoebe Cates, Hoyt Axton, Polly Holliday and Frances Lee McCain, with Howie Mandel providing the voice of Gizmo, the main mogwai character. It draws on legends of folkloric mischievous creatures that cause malfunctions—"gremlins"—in the British Royal Air Force going back to World War II. The story follows young man Billy Peltzer, who receives a strange creature as a pet, which then spawns other creatures that transform into aggressive, destructive, imp-like monsters that wreak havoc on Billy's hometown during Christmas Eve.
The 'Burbs is a 1989 American black comedy film directed by Joe Dante, and starring Tom Hanks, Bruce Dern, Carrie Fisher, Rick Ducommun, Corey Feldman, Wendy Schaal, Henry Gibson, and Gale Gordon. The film was written by Dana Olsen, who made a cameo appearance in the film.
Innerspace is a 1987 American science fiction comedy film directed by Joe Dante and produced by Michael Finnell. Steven Spielberg served as executive producer. It was inspired by the 1966 science fiction film Fantastic Voyage. It stars Dennis Quaid, Martin Short and Meg Ryan, with Robert Picardo and Kevin McCarthy, with music composed by Jerry Goldsmith. It grossed an estimated $95 million worldwide and won an Oscar for Best Visual Effects, the only film directed by Dante to do so.
The Trip is a 1967 American psychedelic film released by American International Pictures, directed by Roger Corman and written by Jack Nicholson. It was shot on location in and around Los Angeles, including on top of Kirkwood in Laurel Canyon, the Hollywood Hills, and near Big Sur, California, over three weeks in March and April 1967. Peter Fonda stars as a young man who experiences his first LSD trip.
Looney Tunes: Back in Action is a 2003 American live-action/animated comedy film produced and distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures. It is the second fully original theatrical feature film in the Looney Tunes franchise, and was directed by Joe Dante from a screenplay by Larry Doyle. Brendan Fraser, Jenna Elfman, and Steve Martin star in the film; Timothy Dalton, Heather Locklear, and Bill Goldberg appear in supporting roles, while Joe Alaskey leads the voice cast. Its plot, which parodies action and spy film conventions, follows Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck (Alaskey) as they become intertwined in a plot by the ACME Chairman (Martin) to transform the world's population into subservient monkeys using the Blue Monkey diamond. They accompany aspiring stuntman DJ Drake (Fraser) and Warner Bros. executive Kate Houghton (Elfman) on their journey to thwart the Chairman's plot, which doubles as a mission to rescue the former's abducted father, Damian (Dalton).
Twilight Zone: The Movie is a 1983 American sci-fi horror anthology film produced by Steven Spielberg and John Landis. Based on Rod Serling's 1959–1964 television series of the same name, the film features four stories directed by Landis, Spielberg, Joe Dante, and George Miller. Landis' segment is an original story created for the film, while the segments by Spielberg, Dante, and Miller are remakes of episodes from the original series. The film's cast includes Dan Aykroyd, Albert Brooks, Scatman Crothers, John Lithgow, Vic Morrow, and Kathleen Quinlan. Original series cast members Burgess Meredith, Patricia Barry, Peter Brocco, Murray Matheson, Kevin McCarthy, Bill Mumy, and William Schallert also appear in the film, with Meredith assuming Serling's role as narrator.
Gremlins 2: The New Batch is a 1990 American comedy horror film and the sequel to Gremlins (1984). It was directed by Joe Dante with a screenplay by Charles S. Haas and creature designs by Rick Baker. Zach Galligan, Phoebe Cates, Dick Miller, Jackie Joseph and Keye Luke reprise their roles from the first film; Belinda Balaski also returns, this time playing a different character. New cast members include John Glover, Robert Prosky, Haviland Morris, Robert Picardo and Christopher Lee; additionally, the film features Tony Randall providing the voice of one of the gremlins. The story continues the adventures of the mogwai Gizmo, who spawns more of his kind that eventually become the titular monsters when wet. Whereas the first film saw the gremlins wreaking havoc on the town of Kingston Falls, they spawn from Gizmo within a skyscraper in New York City after his owner dies. These new gremlins thus pose a dire threat to the city should they be able to leave the building and the story revolves around the human characters' efforts to prevent this disaster.
Falling Hare is a 1943 Warner Bros. Merrie Melodies cartoon directed by Bob Clampett. The cartoon features Bugs Bunny.
Joseph James Dante Jr. is an American film director. His films—notably Gremlins (1984) alongside its sequel, Gremlins 2: The New Batch (1990)—often mix the 1950s-style B movie genre with 1960s radicalism and cartoon comedy.
John August is an American screenwriter, director, producer, and novelist. He is known for writing the films Go (1999), Charlie's Angels (2000), Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle (2003), Big Fish (2003), Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005), Corpse Bride (2005), Frankenweenie (2012), the Disney live-action adaptation of Aladdin (2019), the novels Arlo Finch in the Valley of Fire (2018), Arlo Finch in the Lake of the Moon (2019) and Arlo Finch in the Kingdom of Shadows (2020).
The Howling is a 1981 American horror film directed and edited by Joe Dante. Written by John Sayles and Terence H. Winkless, based on the novel of the same name by Gary Brandner, the film follows a news anchor who, following a traumatic encounter with a serial killer, visits a resort secretly inhabited by werewolves. The cast includes Dee Wallace, Patrick Macnee, Dennis Dugan, Christopher Stone, Belinda Balaski, Kevin McCarthy, John Carradine, Slim Pickens, and Elisabeth Brooks.
Timothy Ray Lucas is an American film critic, biographer, novelist, screenwriter and blogger, best known for publishing and editing the video review magazine Video Watchdog.
Explorers is a 1985 American science fantasy film written by Eric Luke and directed by Joe Dante. The film stars Ethan Hawke and River Phoenix, both in their film debuts, and Jason Presson as young teenage boys who build a spacecraft to explore outer space. The special effects were produced by Industrial Light & Magic, with make-up effects by Rob Bottin.
Rick Sloane is an American cult filmmaker. He is credited as writer, director, producer, Film editor and cinematographer of much of his own work. He directed the B-movie film Hobgoblins, which was featured on an episode of Mystery Science Theater 3000.
Michael Finnell is a film producer active from the 1970s to the present. He has produced several horror-comedy films, particularly with the director Joe Dante. Finnell worked for the American producer Roger Corman before emerging as a producer in his own right.
Russian Rhapsody is a 1944 Warner Bros. Merrie Melodies cartoon directed by Bob Clampett. The short was released on May 20, 1944.
Tex is a 1982 American coming-of-age drama film directed by Tim Hunter in his directorial debut, from a screenplay by Charles S. Haas and Hunter, based on S. E. Hinton's best-selling 1979 novel of the same name. It follows two teenage brothers in rural Oklahoma and their struggle to grow up after their mother's death and their father's departure. The film stars Matt Dillon in the title role, with Jim Metzler, Meg Tilly, Emilio Estevez, in his film debut, Bill McKinney, Frances Lee McCain and Ben Johnson in supporting roles. Metzler was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for his performance.
Trailers from Hell is a web series in which filmmakers discuss and promote individual movies through commenting on their trailers. While the series emphasizes horror, science fiction, fantasy, cult, and exploitation cinema, films from a wide variety of genres have been covered. Trailers from Hell launched as a website in October 2007, as a collaborative project by film director Joe Dante, new media entrepreneur Jonas Hudson, graphic artist Charlie Largent, web developer Tom Edgar, and producer Elizabeth Stanley. It also premiered at SXSW in 2009.
Gremlins is an American animated fantasy adventure horror comedy television series. Serving as a prequel to the eponymous 1984 film of the same name and its 1990 sequel Gremlins 2: The New Batch, the series is set in 1920s Shanghai, East China, and tells the story of how 10-year-old Sam Wing met Gizmo, a young Mogwai. It was written and executive produced by Tze Chun. Steven Spielberg, Darryl Frank, Justin Falvey, Sam Register, and Brendan Hay also serve as executive producers, with Joe Dante as consulting producer. In February 2021, ahead of the series premiere, the series was renewed for a second season.
Gremlins is an American comedy horror media franchise produced and owned by Warner Bros. and Amblin Entertainment. The franchise centers on a species of creatures known as mogwai, which mutate into the eponymous creatures if the three rules regarding their care are violated; in particular, the franchise focuses on the conflict between the friendly Gizmo and the malicious Stripe. The franchise began with the 1984 film of the same name, written by Chris Columbus and directed by Joe Dante; and continued with a sequel, Gremlins 2: The New Batch (1990), also directed by Dante. The franchise also includes video games, an animated television series and related merchandise.
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