List of RiffTrax
Official RiffTrax -- RiffTrax Presents
Table:
Movie

Riffer(s)

RiffTrax released

Original release

Star Trek: Phase II: "World Enough and Time"

Kevin Murphy and Bill Corbett

2008-05-08May 8, 2008

2007

Dark Water

Matthew J. Elliott

2008-05-08May 8, 2008

2005

Saw

Kevin Murphy and Bill Corbett

2008-05-13May 13, 2008

2004

House of Wax (2005)

Matthew J. Elliott

2008-05-28May 28, 2008

2005

Star Trek: Phase II: "To Serve All My Days"

Kevin Murphy and Bill Corbett

2008-05-28May 28, 2008

2006

The X-Files (film)

Mary Jo Pehl and Bill Corbett

2008-06-03June 3, 2008

1998

Alien

Kevin Murphy and Bill Corbett

2008-06-10June 10, 2008

1979

Spider-Man 2

Kevin Murphy, Bill Corbett, and Josh Fruhlinger

2008-09-05September 5, 2008

2004

The Day After Tomorrow

Kevin Murphy and Bill Corbett

2008-09-16September 16, 2008

2004

Dirty Dancing

Cole Stratton and Janet Varney

2008-09-23September 23, 2008

1987

Die Hard

Matthew J. Elliott

2009-04-10April 10, 2009

1988

Tron

Paul and Storm and Jonathan Coulton

2009-05-26May 26, 2009

1982

Ghost

Cole Stratton and Janet Varney

2009-06-25June 25, 2009

1990

The Running Man

Blame Society Productions and Chad Vader

2009-07-09July 9, 2009

1987

Batman Forever

Doug Walker, Rob Walker, and Brian Heinz

2009-07-30July 30, 2009

1995

Planet of the Apes (1968)

Matthew J. Elliott

2009-07-30September 1, 2009

1968

Footloose

Cole Stratton and Janet Varney

2009-11-05November 5, 2009

1984

Ghost Rider

Aaron Yonda, Matt Sloan, and Nicolas Kage

2009-11-05November 13, 2009

2007

Poltergeist

Cole Stratton and Janet Varney

2010-04-15April 15, 2010

1982

Armageddon

Matthew J. Elliott

2010-04-15June 11, 2010

1998

Taking into account the given table as well as the textual context provided at the end.

Solve the question: Whose childhood was the film riffed by the co-host of the Pop My Culture Podcast based on ? Respond with the correct answer (omit explanations) in JSON format as {"answer": "YOUR ANSWER"}. Use only the information given.

Star Trek : New Voyages , known from 2008 until 2015 as Star Trek : Phase II , was a fan-created science fiction webseries set in the fictional Star Trek universe . The series was designed as a continuation of the original Star Trek ( aka ST : TOS or just TOS ) , beginning in the fifth and final year of the starship Enterprise 's five-year mission . The first episode was released in January 2004 , with new episodes being released at a rate of about one per year . Production on new episodes quietly halted in June 2016 following the release of new fan film guidelines by CBS/Paramount in response to the Star Trek : Axanar controversy , with three episodes in post-production left unreleased . The sets constructed for New Voyages were licensed as a 'Studio Set Tour ' beginning in July 2016 . The series was the first such show with extensive standing sets , and that it has attracted the talents of a number of professional writers and actors associated with official Star Trek productions , including George Takei reprising his role as Sulu in World Enough and Time , and Walter Koenig as Chekov in To Serve All My Days . Eugene Roddenberry Jr. , the son of Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry , served as consulting producer . The show 's episode World Enough and Time was nominated for the Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation , Short Form in 2008 , alongside episodes of Doctor Who , Torchwood , and Battlestar Galactica , but lost to the Doctor Who episode Blink .
Dark Water is a 2005 American supernatural horror drama film directed by Walter Salles , starring Jennifer Connelly and Tim Roth . The film is a remake of the 2002 Japanese film of the same name , which is in turn based on the short story Floating Water by Koji Suzuki , who also wrote the Ring trilogy . The film also stars John C. Reilly , Pete Postlethwaite , Perla Haney-Jardine , Dougray Scott and Ariel Gade . The film was released on July 8 , 2005 , to mixed reviews and grossed almost $ 50 million worldwide .
Saw is a 2004 American horror film directed by James Wan ( in his feature directorial debut ) and written by Leigh Whannell from a story by Wan and Whannell . It stars Cary Elwes , Danny Glover , Monica Potter , Michael Emerson , Ken Leung , Tobin Bell , and Whannell . It is the first installment in the Saw film series . In it , Elwes and Whannell portray two men who awake to find themselves chained in a large dilapidated bathroom , with one being ordered to kill the other or his family will die . The screenplay was written by Whannell , who co-created the story with Wan in their screenwriting debuts respectively . The screenplay was written in 2001 , but after failed attempts to get the script produced in Wan and Whannell 's home country of Australia , they were urged to travel to Los Angeles . In order to help attract producers they shot a low-budget short film of the same name from a scene out of the script . This proved successful in 2003 as producers from Evolution Entertainment were immediately attached and also formed a horror genre production label , Twisted Pictures . The film was given a small budget of $ 1.2 million and shot for 18 days . Saw was first screened on January 19 , 2004 , before released in North America on October 29 , 2004 , by Lions Gate Films . Compared to its low budget , Saw performed very well at the box office , grossing more than $ 100 million worldwide and becoming , at the time , one of the most profitable horror films since Scream ( 1996 ) . The film was theatrically re-released , to select theatres , on October 31 , 2014 to celebrate its tenth anniversary .
House of Wax is a 2005 slasher film directed by Jaume Collet-Serra and written by Charles Belden , Chad Hayes and Carey Hayes , based on a story by Belden . The film stars Elisha Cuthbert , Chad Michael Murray , Brian Van Holt , Paris Hilton , Jared Padalecki , Jon Abrahams and Robert Ri'chard . It is a loose remake of the 1953 film of the same name , itself a remake of the 1933 film Mystery of the Wax Museum . House of Wax premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival and was released in United States theaters on May 6 , 2005 , by Warner Bros. Pictures . The film grossed over $ 70 million worldwide and received generally negative reviews from critics , who criticized its lack of originality , screenplay and characters , but praised the performances and atmosphere .
The X-Files ( also known as The X-Files : Fight the Future ) is a 1998 American science fiction thriller based on Chris Carter 's television series The X-Files , which revolves around fictional unsolved cases called the X-Files and the characters solving them . It was directed by Rob Bowman , written by Carter and Frank Spotnitz and featured five main characters from the television series : David Duchovny , Gillian Anderson , Mitch Pileggi , John Neville , and William B. Davis reprise their respective roles as FBI agents Fox Mulder and Dana Scully , FBI Assistant Director Walter Skinner , Well-Manicured Man , and the Cigarette-Smoking Man . The film was promoted with the tagline Fight the Future . The film takes place between seasons five ( episode The End ) and six ( episode The Beginning ) of the television series , and is based upon the series ' extraterrestrial mythology . The story follows agents Mulder and Scully , removed from their usual jobs on the X-Files , and investigating the bombing of a building and the destruction of criminal evidence . They uncover what appears to be a government conspiracy attempting to hide the truth about an alien colonization of Earth . Carter decided to make a feature film to explore the show 's mythology on a wider scale , as well as appealing to non-fans . He wrote the story with Frank Spotnitz at the end of 1996 and , with a budget from 20th Century Fox , filming began in 1997 , following the end of the show 's fourth season . Carter assembled cast and crew from the show , as well as some other , well-known actors such as Blythe Danner and Martin Landau , to begin production on what they termed Project Blackwood . The film was produced by Carter and Daniel Sackheim . Mark Snow continued his role as X-Files composer to create the film 's score . The film premiered on June 19 , 1998 , in the United States .
Alien is a 1979 science-fiction horror film directed by Ridley Scott and written by Dan O'Bannon . Based on a story by O'Bannon and Ronald Shusett , it follows the crew of the commercial space tug Nostromo , who encounter the eponymous Alien , a deadly and aggressive extraterrestrial set loose on the ship . The film stars Tom Skerritt , Sigourney Weaver , Veronica Cartwright , Harry Dean Stanton , John Hurt , Ian Holm , and Yaphet Kotto . It was produced by Gordon Carroll , David Giler , and Walter Hill through their company Brandywine Productions , and was distributed by 20th Century Fox . Giler and Hill revised and made additions to the script ; Shusett was executive producer . The Alien and its accompanying artifacts were designed by the Swiss artist H. R. Giger , while concept artists Ron Cobb and Chris Foss designed the more human settings . Alien premiered May 25 , 1979 , in the United States , before receiving a wide release on June 22 , and was released September 6 in the United Kingdom . It was met with critical acclaim and box-office success , winning the Academy Award for Best Visual Effects , three Saturn Awards ( Best Science Fiction Film , Best Direction for Scott , and Best Supporting Actress for Cartwright ) , and a Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation , along with numerous other nominations . It has been consistently praised in the years since its release , and is considered one of the greatest films of all time . In 2002 , Alien was deemed culturally , historically , or aesthetically significant by the Library of Congress and was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry . In 2008 , it was ranked by the American Film Institute as the seventh-best film in the science-fiction genre , and as the 33rd-greatest film of all time by Empire . The success of Alien spawned a media franchise of films , novels , comic books , video games , and toys .
Spider-Man 2 is a 2004 American superhero film directed by Sam Raimi and written by Alvin Sargent from a story by Alfred Gough , Miles Millar and Michael Chabon . A sequel to the 2002 film Spider-Man , it is the second installment in the Spider-Man trilogy based on the fictional Marvel Comics character of the same name . Tobey Maguire stars as Peter Parker / Spider-Man , alongside Kirsten Dunst , James Franco , Alfred Molina , Rosemary Harris , and Donna Murphy . Set two years after the events of Spider-Man , the film finds Peter Parker struggling to manage both his personal life and his duties as Spider-Man , which affects his civilian life dramatically . Meanwhile , Dr. Otto Octavius becomes a diabolical villain after a failed experiment kills his wife and leaves him neurologically fused to mechanical tentacles . Spider-Man must stop him from successfully recreating the experiment , which threatens to destroy the city , while dealing with a subconscious desire to stop being Spider-Man that is stripping him of his powers . Principal photography began in April 2003 in New York City and also took place in Los Angeles . Spider-Man 2 was released in both conventional and IMAX theaters on June 30 , 2004 and grossed $ 789 million worldwide , becoming the third highest-grossing film of the year . It won the Academy Award for Best Visual Effects and was also nominated for Best Sound Mixing and Best Sound Editing ; it also received five awards at the Saturn Awards , including Best Fantasy Film and Best Director for Raimi . It is considered as one of the most influential and best superhero films of all-time . Its success led to Spider-Man 3 ( 2007 ) .
The Comics Curmudgeon is a blog devoted to humorous and critical analysis of newspaper comics . Its author , Josh Fruhlinger , is a freelance writer and editor based in Los Angeles . Fruhlinger , formerly based in Baltimore , also writes about editorial cartoons for the website Wonkette in a weekly feature called Cartoon Violence . He also contributes to a Wikipedia-themed humor blog called Citation Needed .
The Day After Tomorrow is a 2004 American science fiction disaster film co-written , directed , and produced by Roland Emmerich and starring Dennis Quaid , Jake Gyllenhaal , Ian Holm , Emmy Rossum , and Sela Ward . It is based on the book The Coming Global Superstorm by Art Bell and Whitley Strieber . The film depicts catastrophic climatic effects following the disruption of the North Atlantic Ocean circulation in a series of extreme weather events that usher in global cooling and lead to a new ice age . Originally slated for release in the summer of 2003 , The Day After Tomorrow premiered in Mexico City on May 17 , 2004 , and was released in the United States on May 28 , 2004 . A major commercial success , the film became the sixth highest-grossing film of 2004 . Filmed in Toronto and Montreal , it is the highest-grossing Hollywood film made in Canada ( adjusted for inflation ) . It received mixed reviews upon release , with critics highly praising the film 's special effects but criticizing its writing and numerous scientific inaccuracies .
Dirty Dancing is a 1987 American romantic drama dance film written by Eleanor Bergstein , produced by Linda Gottlieb , and directed by Emile Ardolino . It stars Jennifer Grey as Frances Baby Houseman , a young woman who falls in love with dance instructor Johnny Castle ( Patrick Swayze ) at a holiday resort . The film was based on screenwriter Eleanor Bergstein 's own childhood . She originally wrote a screenplay for the Michael Douglas film It 's My Turn , but ultimately ended up conceiving a story for a film which became Dirty Dancing . She finished the script in 1985 , but management changes at MGM put the film in development hell . The production company was changed to Vestron Pictures with Emile Ardolino as director and Linda Gottlieb as producer . Filming took place in Lake Lure , North Carolina , and Mountain Lake , Virginia , with the film 's score composed by John Morris and dance choreography by Kenny Ortega . Dirty Dancing premiered at the 1987 Cannes Film Festival on May 12 , 1987 , and was released on August 21 , 1987 , in the United States , earning over $ 214 million worldwide . It was the first film to sell more than a million copies for home video , and its soundtrack created by Jimmy Ienner generating two multi-platinum albums and multiple singles , including ( I 've Had ) The Time of My Life , which won both the Golden Globe and Academy Award for Best Original Song , and a Grammy Award for best duet . The film 's popularity led to a 2004 prequel , Dirty Dancing : Havana Nights , and a stage version which has had sellout performances in Australia , Europe , and North America . A made-for-TV remake was also released in 2017 .
Cole Stratton ( born September 21 , 1976 ) is an American actor , comedian , podcaster , writer and producer , best known as one of the Co-Founders of SF Sketchfest , the San Francisco Comedy Festival and the co-host of the Pop My Culture Podcast .
Janet Varney is an American actress and comedian best known for voicing Korra in the Nickelodeon animated television series The Legend of Korra and her role as Becca Barbara in You 're the Worst .
Die Hard is a 1988 American action film directed by John McTiernan , written by Jeb Stuart and Steven E. de Souza . Based on Roderick Thorp 's 1979 novel Nothing Lasts Forever , it was produced by the Gordon Company and Silver Pictures , and distributed by 20th Century Fox . The film follows off-duty New York City Police Department officer John McClane ( Bruce Willis ) who is caught in a Los Angeles skyscraper on Christmas Eve during a heist led by criminal mastermind Hans Gruber ( Alan Rickman ) . Made for $ 28 million , Die Hard grossed over $ 141 million theatrically worldwide . Turning Willis into an action star , the film became a metonym for an action film in which a lone hero fights overwhelming odds . The film 's success spurred creation of the Die Hard franchise , which includes four sequels , a number of video games , and a comic book . In 2017 , it was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry . Die Hard has been named one of the best action and Christmas-themed films ever made . The film also ranks No . 20 on Empire 's 2017 list of the 100 greatest movies of all time .
Tron ( stylized as TRON ) is a 1982 American science fiction action-adventure film written and directed by Steven Lisberger from a story by Lisberger and Bonnie MacBird . The film stars Jeff Bridges as a computer programmer who is transported inside the software world of a mainframe computer where he interacts with programs in his attempt to escape . Bruce Boxleitner , David Warner , Cindy Morgan , and Barnard Hughes star in supporting roles . The development of Tron began in 1976 , when Lisberger became intrigued with the early video game Pong . He and producer Donald Kushner set up an animation studio to develop Tron with the intention of making it an animated film . Indeed , to promote the studio itself , Lisberger and his team created a 30-second animation featuring the first appearance of the title character . Eventually , Lisberger decided to include live-action elements with both backlit and computer animation for the actual feature-length film . Various film studios had rejected the storyboards for the film before Walt Disney Productions agreed to finance and distribute Tron . There , backlit animation was finally combined with the computer animation and live action . Tron was released on July 9 , 1982 . The film was a moderate success at the box office , and it received positive reviews from critics who praised the groundbreaking visuals and acting . However , the storyline was criticized at the time for being incoherent .
Paul and Storm are an Arlington , Virginia-based comedic musical duo consisting of Paul Sabourin and Greg Storm DiCostanzo . They are best known for their humorous songs about geek culture and for amassing an internet fan base . They are favorites of Dr. Demento and regular radio guests on The Bob and Tom Show . They tour regularly with Jonathan Coulton , singing backup vocals for a number of his songs . Coulton has also appeared on stage to do backup for Paul and Storm 's songs .
Jonathan Coulton ( born December 1 , 1970 ) , often called JoCo by fans , is an American singer-songwriter , known for his songs about geek culture and his use of the Internet to draw fans . Among his most popular songs are Code Monkey , Re : Your Brains , Still Alive and Want You Gone ( the last three being featured in games developed by Valve : Left 4 Dead 2 , Portal , and Portal 2 respectively ) . He has been the house musician for NPR weekly puzzle quiz show Ask Me Another since 2012 . His album Artificial Heart was the first to chart , eventually reaching # 1 on Billboard 's Top Heatseekers and # 125 in the Billboard 200 .
Ghost is a 1990 American romantic fantasy thriller film directed by Jerry Zucker , written by Bruce Joel Rubin , and starring Patrick Swayze , Demi Moore , Whoopi Goldberg , Tony Goldwyn , and Rick Aviles . The plot centers on a young woman in jeopardy ( Moore ) , the ghost of her murdered lover ( Swayze ) , and a reluctant psychic ( Goldberg ) who assists him in saving her . Ghost was theatrically released on July 13 , 1990 by Paramount Pictures . It received mostly positive reviews and was a massive box office success , grossing over $ 505.7 million on a budget of $ 22 million , becoming the highest-grossing film of 1990 . Adjusted for inflation , as of 2015 [ update ] Ghost was the 93rd-highest-grossing film of all time domestically . The film received five nominations at the 63rd Academy Awards : Best Picture , Best Original Score and Best Film Editing , and winning Best Supporting Actress ( for Goldberg ) and Best Original Screenplay .
The Running Man is a 1987 American dystopian action film directed by Paul Michael Glaser and starring Arnold Schwarzenegger , María Conchita Alonso , Richard Dawson , Yaphet Kotto , and Jesse Ventura . It is very loosely based on the 1982 novel of the same title written by Stephen King and published under the pseudonym Richard Bachman . The film 's story , set in a dystopian United States between 2017 and 2019 , is about a television show called The Running Man , where convicted criminal runners must escape death at the hands of professional killers . The Running Man was a moderate box office success in the United States , grossing $ 38 million on its $ 27 million budget , but opened to mixed reviews from critics .
Batman Forever is a 1995 American superhero film directed by Joel Schumacher and produced by Tim Burton , based on the DC Comics character Batman . A sequel to the 1992 film Batman Returns and the third installment of Warner Bros. 's initial Batman film series , it stars Val Kilmer replacing Michael Keaton as Bruce Wayne and Batman , alongside Tommy Lee Jones , Jim Carrey , Nicole Kidman , Chris O'Donnell , Michael Gough , and Pat Hingle . The plot focuses on Batman trying to stop Two-Face and the Riddler in their villainous scheme to extract confidential information from all the minds in Gotham City and use it to learn Batman 's identity and bring the city under their control . In the process , he gains allegiance from a young , orphaned circus acrobat named Dick Grayson , who becomes his sidekick Robin , and meets and develops feelings for psychiatrist Dr. Chase Meridian , which brings him to the point to decide if he will lead a normal life or if he is destined to fight crime as Batman forever . Batman Forever 's tone is significantly different from the previous installments , becoming more family-friendly since Warner Bros. believed that Batman Returns failed to outgross its predecessor due to parent complaints about the film 's violence and dark overtones . Schumacher eschewed the dark , dystopian atmosphere of Burton 's films by drawing inspiration from the Batman comic books of the Dick Sprang era , as well as the 1960s television series . After Keaton chose not to reprise his role , William Baldwin and Ethan Hawke were considered as a replacement before Val Kilmer joined the cast . The film was released on June 16 , 1995 , receiving mixed reviews , but was a financial success . Batman Forever grossed over $ 336 million worldwide and became the sixth-highest-grossing film worldwide of 1995 . The film was followed by Batman & Robin in 1997 , with Schumacher returning as the director , Chris O'Donnell returning as Robin , and George Clooney replacing Kilmer as Batman .
Channel Awesome , Inc. is an American online media production company based in Lombard , Illinois . The company was created in 2008 by Mike Michaud , Mike Ellis , and Bhargav Dronamraju . Channel Awesome operated the That Guy with the Glasses website ( often abbreviated TGWTG ) until late 2014 , when it was phased into the Channel Awesome website . The site is best known for the comedic film review series Nostalgia Critic , starring Doug Walker . TGWTG previously hosted fellow channels by Bar Fiesta beginning in November 2009 , and Blistered Thumbs beginning in November 2010 . Channel Awesome currently hosts a YouTube channel of the same name with an emphasis on content produced by Doug Walker and his brother Rob . After a series of scandals , nearly all affiliated creators severed ties with Channel Awesome and departed in April 2018 . All of Channel Awesome 's content was hosted by Blip or YouTube prior to the former 's shutdown in August 2015 .
Planet of the Apes is a 1968 American science fiction film directed by Franklin J. Schaffner . It stars Charlton Heston , Roddy McDowall , Kim Hunter , Maurice Evans , James Whitmore , James Daly and Linda Harrison . The screenplay by Michael Wilson and Rod Serling was loosely based on the 1963 French novel La Planète des Singes by Pierre Boulle . Jerry Goldsmith composed the groundbreaking avant-garde score . It was the first in a series of five films made between 1968 and 1973 , all produced by Arthur P. Jacobs and released by 20th Century Fox . The film tells the story of an astronaut crew who crash-lands on a strange planet in the distant future . Although the planet appears desolate at first , the surviving crew members stumble upon a society in which apes have evolved into creatures with human-like intelligence and speech . The apes have assumed the role of the dominant species and humans are mute creatures wearing animal skins . The script , originally written by Serling , underwent many rewrites before filming eventually began . Directors J. Lee Thompson and Blake Edwards were approached , but the film 's producer Arthur P. Jacobs , upon the recommendation of Charlton Heston , chose Franklin J. Schaffner to direct the film . Schaffner 's changes included an ape society less advanced - and therefore less expensive to depict - than that of the original novel . Filming took place between May 21 and August 10 , 1967 , in California , Utah and Arizona , with desert sequences shot in and around Lake Powell , Glen Canyon National Recreation Area .
Footloose is a 1984 American musical drama film directed by Herbert Ross . It tells the story of Ren McCormack ( Kevin Bacon ) , a teenager from Chicago who moves to a small western town where he lives with his mother , aunt , and uncle . Throughout the movie , McCormack is seen attempting to overturn the ban on dancing , which resulted from the efforts of a local minister ( John Lithgow ) .
Ghost Rider is a 2007 American superhero film based on the Marvel Comics character of the same name . The film was written and directed by Mark Steven Johnson , and stars Nicolas Cage as Johnny Blaze / Ghost Rider , with Eva Mendes , Wes Bentley , Sam Elliott , Donal Logue , Matt Long , and Peter Fonda in supporting roles . Ghost Rider was released on February 16 , 2007 in the United States . The film was met with negative reviews from critics , but was a box office success , earning $ 228.7 million worldwide on a $ 110 million budget . Ghost Rider was released on DVD , Blu-ray and UMD on June 12 , 2007 . A sequel , titled Ghost Rider : Spirit of Vengeance , was released on February 17 , 2012 , with Cage reprising his role .
Aaron Yonda ( born January 19 , 1973 ) is an American comedian , writer , actor , director , and YouTuber from Menomonie , Wisconsin . He portrays the title character in Chad Vader : Day Shift Manager , a web serial he co-produced with his friend Matt Sloan , who provides the voice of Chad . He is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire . His short film , The Life and Death of a Pumpkin , swept the Chicago Horror Film Festival awards , receiving Best Short Film and Concept . His shorts have been screened worldwide including the Just for Laughs Festival and the Worldwide Short Film Festival in Toronto . Yonda is also a member of the comedy troupe Monkey Business Institute in Madison , Wisconsin .
Matthew Paul Sloan , ( born March 24 , 1973 ) is an American voice actor , director , playwright , and YouTuber from Madison , Wisconsin . He and his friend Aaron Yonda are notable as the co-creators of the web series Chad Vader : Day Shift Manager , in which he voices the title character . Additionally , he appears in season one as the main antagonist , and has a minor appearance in the first few episodes of the second series as said antagonist 's father . Since Chad Vader , he has gone on to voice Darth Vader in various Star Wars media . He hosts a movie reviewing and discussion show on YouTube called Welcome to the Basement with his friend Craig Johnson . Furthermore , he leads regularly with his friend Aaron Yonda in the web series Beer and Board Games .
Poltergeist is a 1982 American supernatural horror film directed by Tobe Hooper and written by producer Steven Spielberg , Michael Grais and Mark Victor from a screen story by Spielberg . It stars JoBeth Williams , Craig T. Nelson , Heather O'Rourke , and Beatrice Straight and is produced by Spielberg alongside Frank Marshall . Set in a California suburb , the plot focuses on a family whose home is invaded by malevolent ghosts that abduct their younger daughter , and the family 's attempts to bring her back into the real world . A clause in Spielberg 's contract prevented him from directing another film while he made E.T . the Extra-Terrestrial . Therefore , Hooper was selected to direct based upon his work on The Texas Chain Saw Massacre and The Funhouse . The film was first conceived as a dark horror sequel to Close Encounters of the Third Kind entitled Night Skies . When Spielberg approached Hooper to direct , Hooper was less keen on the sci-fi elements and suggested the idea of a ghost story . Spielberg and Hooper would then go on to collaborate on the first treatment for the film . Released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer on June 4 , 1982 , the film was a major critical and commercial success , becoming the eighth-highest-grossing film of 1982 . Years since its release , the film has been recognized as a classic within the horror genre and has gained a cult following . Aside from being nominated for three Academy Awards , Poltergeist was named by the Chicago Film Critics Association as the 20th-scariest film ever made , and the scene of the clown doll attack was ranked as # 80 on Bravo 's 100 Scariest Movie Moments .
Armageddon is a 1998 American science fiction disaster film produced and directed by Michael Bay , produced by Jerry Bruckheimer , and released by Touchstone Pictures . The film follows a group of blue-collar deep-core drillers sent by NASA to stop a gigantic asteroid on a collision course with Earth . It stars Bruce Willis and an ensemble cast comprising Ben Affleck , Billy Bob Thornton , Liv Tyler , Owen Wilson , Will Patton , Peter Stormare , William Fichtner , Michael Clarke Duncan , Keith David , and Steve Buscemi . Though the film was released to mostly negative reviews , it was an international box-office success , becoming the highest-grossing film of 1998 worldwide , although astronomers noted that the similar disaster film Deep Impact was more scientifically accurate .