It took two weeks to write and ten years to finish. In 1977 writer Bob Greenberg and I were offered $50,000 to make a science fiction movie. We thought that instead of trying to hide the low budget, we would make it a central theme using the gimmick of a film-within-a-film.
Such was the genesis of Lobster Man From Mars. We wrote the screenplay in two weeks, but the money to shoot the movie never appeared. The project was set aside until the tragic demise of Bob Greenberg in an auto accident. I was determined to get Bob's name on the screen as a writer, and thanks to the efforts of producer Steven Greene, this became a reality.
Production began during the summer of 1988 --- a mere 10 years after writing the screenplay --- and culminated with the world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival six months later. The version shown at the festival was a 95 minute "first cut", later revised to 81 minutes, then released to theaters, television and home video in the shorter format.
The special director's edition DVD is one that has never been seen by the public, having only existed on a computer editing program! I've taken some of the better moments from the long version and have integrated them with the shorter version. And now, thanks to the modern miracle of computer editing, I've added new low-tech, even cheaper looking special effects, never before possible. Once again, the Lobster Man lives!
