| Firestarter | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Credits | |
| Title: | Firestarter |
| Director: | Mark L. Lester |
| Writers: | Stanley Mann |
| Producers: | Frank Capra, Jr.; Martha Schumacher |
| Composer: | Tangerine Dream |
| Cinematography: | Giuseppe Ruzzolini |
| Editors: | David Rawlins; Ronald Sanders |
| Production | |
| Distributed by: | Universal Pictures De Laurentiis Entertainment Group |
| Released: | May 11th, 1984 |
| Rating: | R |
| Running time: | 114 min. |
| Country: | USA |
| Language: | English |
| Budget: | $15,000,000 |
| Gross: | $17,080,167 |
| Navigation | |
| Previous: | — |
| Next: | Firestarter: Rekindled |
Firestarter is an American feature film of the science fiction genre with elements of horror. It is an adaptation of the 1980 novel Firestarter by author Stephen King. The movie was directed by Mark L. Lester with a screenplay written by Stanley Mann. It was produced by the De Laurentiis Entertainment Group and distributed through Universal Pictures. The movie premiered theatrically in the United States on May 11th, 1984. A sequel film, Firestarter: Rekindled, was made as a television mini-series and aired on the Sci-Fi Channel on March 10th-11th, 2002.
Firestarter stars Drew Barrymore as Charlene "Charlie" McGee with David Keith as her father, Andy McGee. The film co-stars Freddie Jones as Doctor Joseph Wanless, Heather Locklear as Vicky McGee, Martin Sheen as Captain Hollister, Art Carney as Irv Manders, and George C. Scott as John Rainbird.
Cast[]
| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
| David Keith | Andy McGee |
| Drew Barrymore | Charlene "Charlie" McGee |
| Freddie Jones | Doctor Joseph Wanless |
| Heather Locklear | Vicky Tomlinson McGee |
| Martin Sheen | Captain Hollister |
| George C. Scott | John Rainbird |
| Art Carney | Irv Manders |
| Louise Fletcher | Norma Manders |
| Moses Gunn | Doctor Pynchot |
| Antonio Fargas | Taxi driver |
| Drew Snyder | Orville Jamieson |
| Curtis Credel | Bates |
| Keith Colbert | Mayo |
| Richard Warlock | Knowles |
| Jeff Ramsey | Steinowitz |
| Jack Magner | Young serviceman |
| Lisa Anne Barnes | Serviceman's girlfriend |
| Larry Sprinkle | Security guard |
| Cassandra Ward-Freeman | Woman in stall |
| Scott R. Davis | Bearded student |
| Nina Jones | Grad assistant |
| William Alspaugh | Proprietor |
| Laurens Moore | Old man |
| Anne Fitzgibbon | Old lady |
| Steve Boles | Mailman |
| Stanley Mann | Motel owner |
| Robert Miano | Blinded agent |
| Leon Rippy | Blinded agent |
| Carole Francisco | Joan Dugan |
| Wendy Womble | Josie |
| Etan Boritzer | DSI technician |
| Joan Foley | DSI technician |
| John Sanderford | Albright |
| Orwin C. Harvey | DSI orderly |
| George P. Wilbur | DSI orderly |
| Carey Fox | Agent Hunt |
Notes & Trivia[]
- Firestarter (1984) redirects to this page.
- An extended promotional tagline for this film is "Charlie McGee is a happy, healthy eight-year-old little girl. Normal in every way but one. She has the power to set objects afire with just one glance. It's a power she does not want. It's a power she can't control. And, each night, Charlie prays to be just like every other child. But there are those who will do everything in their power to find her... or destroy her".
- Production on Firestarter began on September 12th, 1983. Filming took place in parts of Wilmington, Winnabow, Chimney Rock, and Lake Lure, North Carolina. It is the first movie filmed in Wilmington following the formation of the North Carolina Film Office.
- Firestarter opened at #3 at the box office, grossing $4,726,660 over its opening weekend. It pulled in at #4 during its second week.
- At its widest release, Firestarter was screened in 1,374 movie theaters.
- Martha De Laurentiis is an associate producer on this film. She is credited as Martha Schumacher. She is the wife of Dino De Laurentiis and is co-founder of the De Laurentiis Entertainment Group, which was formed in 1980.
- There are a total of thirty-six credited cast member in this film.
- Originally, the De Laurentiis Entertainment Group offered the directorial role in this film to John Carpenter, who had just come off directing his version of The Thing. Carpenter intended on bringing along Bill Lancaster to write the script. Due to unsatisfying returns on The Thing however, Carpenter was pushed out and Universal Pictures replaced him with Mark L. Lester. Lester hired Stanley Mann to write the script.
- This is actress Drew Barrymore's third film role and her second film in the science fiction genre. As a child actress, she is best known for playing the role of Gertie in the 1982 Steven Spielberg family film E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial.
- Actress Laura Warner, who plays a girl in a country store is uncredited for her participation in this film. She is a North Carolina native, and this is her first film work. She will go on to play a townie in the 1985 movie Silver Bullet, which is also based on a King story.
- Another movie released in 1984 based on a Stephen King story is Children of the Corn, which is based on a short story rather than a novel. It was directed by Fritz Kiersch and released theatrically on March 9th.
- Actor Burt Lancaster was originally tapped to play the role of Captain Hollister, but had to tap out following a heart surgery procedure. He was replaced with actor Martin Sheen. Burt Lancaster was the father of Bill Lancaster, who was the original screenplay writer on this film, before production changed hands, and he was replaced with Stanley Mann.
- This is Martin Sheen's second movie based on a Stephen King novel. He previously played Greg Stillson, the primary antagonist in the 1983 film The Dead Zone.
- Original director John Carpenter is also known for helming the film adaptation of Stephen King's Christine in 1983. In the horror genre, Carpenter is best known for his work on the 1978 cult classic Halloween. Other Halloween cast connections found in this movie include Dick Warlock and George P. Wilbur, both of whom played the role of masked serial killer Michael Myers in the series. Warlock played Myers in Halloween II and Wilbur portrayed him in Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers.
- This is actress Heather Locklear's first work in film. Previously, she played roles on television and in television movies. She is best known for playing the part of officer Stacy Sheridan on the crime-drama/action series T.J. Hooker starring William Shatner). She will go on to portray Abby Arcane in the less-than-stellar comic book movie The Return of Swamp Thing.