“We decided to leave town just one damn day to late!“- Val McKee, Tremors (1990)
Welcome to the new blog for Seeking Perfection: The Unofficial Guide to Tremors, the first book dedicated to the four-film Tremors franchise and its short-lived TV spin-off.
It’s been almost 25 years since the worms turned in the small town of Perfection, Nevada, and over a decade since the last sighting of either a Graboid or survivalist Burt Gummer. Remarkably, in all that time, nobody has gone behind-the-scenes of the Tremors films or 13 episode TV series to unearth the facts behind the fiction or to find out what’s been happening to the Perfectionites lately.
My name’s Jonathan Melville, a UK-based film journalist. I’ve been a fan of the Tremors films since the early 1990s, when I caught the first film on late night BBC One. Captivated by the deft mix of horror, sci-fi, comedy and Western, the intervening years have found me searching out the sequels on VHS, DVD and Blu-ray and watching the TV show on the Sci-Fi Channel, all the while hoping that somebody would one day write the definitive guide to the franchise.
In 2011, SFX Magazine published my 21st anniversary feature on the films, in which I interviewed both Tremors co-creator Steve “SS” Wilson and Burt Gummer himself, actor Michael Gross. Finding myself with pages of unused material, I decided to find out if any other members of the cast and crew of Tremors would be willing to be interviewed.
Since early 2013 I’ve spoken to many of those who have been involved in all aspects of the films and TV show, receiving unwavering support from the team at Stampede Entertainment, the company who produced the Tremors franchise for Universal. I’ve had input from Steve Wilson and his writing partner, Brent Maddock, Tremors director Ron Underwood, producer Nancy Roberts and dozens of the creative people who brought the films to our screens.
I’ve also interviewed most of the cast of the first film and many cast members of the sequels and TV series, all of whom have given up their time to discuss the fun they had running around the desert being chased by giant underground worms.
I’m currently writing Seeking Perfection, which will look at how the idea for Tremors came to Steve and Brent and its troubled journey to the big screen. It will take you on set in 1989, introduce you to the cast and crew who worked alongside the Graboids and discuss how the film was received by audiences in 1990. All the sequels and the TV series will get the same treatment, plus there’ll be a look at the unmade fifth film, Tremors V: Thunder from Down Under.
On this blog I’ll publish interview excerpts, rare photos and other material I’ve gathered during the research process, providing new information about the franchise to tide fans over until Seeking Perfection is published in time for the 25th anniversary of the first Tremors film in January 2015.
On the subject of publishing the book, I’ll have more news on that in the coming months, but things are on track for a Christmas 2014 release, both in print and online. Watch this space for further details.
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Why not let me know in the comments section when you became a fan of the Tremors films and what you’d like to read in the book?
Feb 17, 2014 @ 03:53:14
I first saw the first Tremors movie when I was about…..I dunno, maybe 3-5 years old. Late 90’s, anyway. All I could remember of it was Valentine screaming as a giant worm flew through the air. I became reacquainted with it in 2010 though, when the series came out on DVD. Mum saw it in Wal-Mart and snatched it up, and I’ve been a die-hard fan of the franchise ever since.
Being a science-lover (especially genetics), the show really appealed to me, and helped me get started in writing seriously because there was so much room for me to play with, but enough ready-made info for me to just mess with it and practice my writing style and such.
One thing I know I’m looking forward to seeing in the book is interviews about the show, because there really is nothing about it. The movies have plenty of interviews about them, but I’ve never seen any for the show, and I’d love to know how the cast felt about it. (Especially Victor, because I’ve become a fan of his acting due to that show, and can’t help but wonder if he liked it or is more like Kevin was with Tremors 1.)
Feb 19, 2014 @ 20:49:35
There will be interviews from the TV series, both cast and crew, plus details of a lost script that almost made it to the screen. As for Victor, I’m pleased to say he loves being part of the Tremors franchise – expect to read some of his thoughts on this blog in the coming months and more in the finished book!
Feb 19, 2014 @ 22:40:26
Awesome!