UNITED KINGDOM: "CASPER" PREMIERES IN LONDON

Record ID: 169671

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  • Title: UNITED KINGDOM: "CASPER" PREMIERES IN LONDON
  • Date: 25th July 1995
  • Summary: CopyrightREUTERS Clip RestrictionsNONE LONDON, ENGLAND, UNITED KINGDOM (JULY 26, 1995) (RTV) EXTERIOR EMPIRE THEATRE LEICESTER SQUARE SIGNS FOR CASPER PREMIERE CROWD DIRECTOR BRAD SILBERLING ARRIVING CHRISTINA RICCI ARRIVING RICCI SAYING THEY HAD A LOT OF FUN MAKING THE FILM/ DOES NOT BELIEVE IN GHOSTS (ENGLISH) ACTOR ERIC IDLE ARRIVING/ SAYING HE PLAYS THE VILLAIN Details "Casper", Steven Spielberg's remake of the friendly cartoon ghost, has its European charity premiere in London on Wednesday (July 26). Crowds packed London's Leicester Square (PRON: Les-ter) to see stars Eric Idle, Bill Pullman and Christina Ricci arrive outside the Empire Theatre. Featuring the lastest special effects, "Casper" is the story of a young ghost who befriends Kat Harvey (Christina Ricci) when her father moves into haunted Whipstaff Manor. Doctor Harvey (Bill Pullman), a self-styled ghost therapist, has been hired by the Manor's scheming owner Carrigan Crittenden (Cathy Moriarty) to exorcise Casper and his three ghostly uncles. Crittenden and her partner Dibs, played by Eric Idle, want the ghosts out so they can find the treasure said to be hidden inside the Manor. The movie is based on the character which first appeared in a Paramount Pictures cartoon in 1945. Casper later went on to feature in Harvey Comics publications and a successful television series in the 1950's. Executive producer Steven Speilberg said the idea for the film developed from the fond memories people had of the cartoons. Casper was 30-year-old director Brad Silberling's film debut. Silberling, who previously directed episodes of NYPD Blue and L.A. Law, faced the task of working with a largely computer-generated cast. Casper's breakthough visual effects were developed by experts at George Lucas' Industrial Light and Magic. Taking the technology used on "Jurassic Park" as a base, they expanded the programmes to create the three-dimensional ghosts. Two years and approximately 28 trillion bytes of data later (equal to about 19 million floppy disks) the supernatural stars were complete. Special rigs had to be contructed to move objects touched by the ghosts, and the actors providing the ghostly voices were on set to help the cast interact with their unseen co-stars. Twelve-year-old Malachai Pearson provided the voice for the energetic Casper. Arriving at the premiere, Ricci, who starred in "The Addams Family" said it was a delight to work on the film. She was joined by "Monty Python" veteran Eric Idle, who described the movie as pure family entertainment. Ricci's on-screen father, Bill Pullman, said he read Casper comics as a child, but was yet to see a real ghost. Pullman has recently featured in "Sleepless in Seattle" and "While You Were Sleeping." "Casper", which cost a reported 50 million U.S. dollars to produce, has already grossed more than 88 million dollars at the U.S. box office.
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