Fright Night

• Bob had me reading scripts (along with "I, Claudius") by the time I was 12 or so. He had me go through them for basic typos, and to get my reaction. He said I had a good eye for dialogue and could imagine the words translated into pictures. Which kind of begs the question, why did he suggest "I, Claudius"? 
  
• He gave me "Chinatown" to read one afternoon. The studio had sent it over to see if he would want to direct it. I know now what a big deal that was, and why, and I'm not sure exactly why he didn't take or get the gig. When it came out, we thought it was well-directed, but again, I didn't understand at the time what that must have meant to Bob.
• He wrote several scripts that I got to read before they were produced. The most unforgettable was "Something Evil". It was an absolutely terrifying read. He left it with me one evening while he and my mother were out. Remember that I have a facility for turning words into pictures. The story is about a Pennsylvania Dutch farmhouse possessed by the Devil. I know. Pretty scary. I was 14. When they got home, every light in the house was blazing and I was huddled under a blanket on their bed.
• It was (name-dropping spoiler) Steven Spielberg's first professional directing gig. He was just out of USC film school, and this made-for-tv film was his debut. In it he perfected the 'white out' or fade to white. Hollywood had never seen this technique before and he used it with great effect. The manipulation of light became one of Spielberg's trademarks. Bob was very impressed with the 'kid', and liked what he did with the script. For my money, the script was much scarier than the film. It's hard to generate the kind of malevolence Bob intended. 
• The devil motif was not new to Bob. He had used the Devil in "The Legend of Jimmy Blue Eyes" back in early 1960. That film was his second short film and was another nomination for an Academy Award. But that's another story for another day. I just thought this was a good one coming up to Halloween.
• More about the Devil and its inspiration in Bob's scripts and films to come.