8 Times Movie Studios Went Too Far
1. The Forced Poltergeist III Reshoots
The Poltergeist series is one that is forever mentioned when looking at those films that are deemed to be cursed. And with Poltergeist III, the franchise suffered a truly traumatic blow.
During the production of that film, young star Heather O'Rourke tragically died. Having just turned 12 years of age, the actress passed away on 1 February 1988 due to an intestinal issue.
By the time of her death, O'Rourke's work on Poltergeist III was finished and the movie was in the post-production stage. With the film completed, MGM then made the insane decision to reshoot the ending of the picture.
As you would imagine, the cast and crew of Poltergeist III had zero wish to return to shoot additional scenes. The tragic loss of their young so-star was still so fresh and raw, and several of those involved in the film have talked about how adamantly they were against returning to film this new ending.
Contracts are contracts, and MGM held all of the cards here, which meant that the reshoots did indeed take place. A seven-year-old girl served as a stand-in for Heather as the Carol Anne character, with the camera avoiding showing the face of this replacement as much as possible.
By the time of its release, all involved in Poltergeist III had largely disowned the movie and MGM was left with a film that they didn't promote or market for fear of a public backlash. As such, the film limped to a lowly $14 million box office return.