Islands at the Edge of Time by Gunnar Hansen

Parsley became the film’s principal investor. Henkel credits Skaaren with giving the film its final title, The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, and it was Skaaren who put Hooper and Henkel together with former state legislator, William J.

Bozman-as it happened-had been a friend and classmate of Warren Skaaren’s at Rice University, and Skaaren was then Governor Preston Smith’s choice as the inaugural Commissioner of the newly-formed Texas Film Commission. Feigelson’s indy film, Windsplitter, and Henkel wanted Bozman to Production Manage on Leatherface (the film’s working title). They were prepared for the worst with three separate budgets: a high-end budget of $60,000.00, a mid-range budget of $40,000.00, and a desperation black and white budget of $25,000.00.Ī friend of Henkel’s who got the script was Ron Bozman. Once they had a completed script, Hooper and Henkel-without connections to investors willing to put money into high risk, low budget, independent films-got the script out to any and everyone they felt might lead them to an investor. Our criterion was, if I kept him chuckling, we were doing okay.” I’d bang out a half-dozen pages and bring them in to Tobe.

Late nights Henkel would walk over to Hooper’s, where they, “…squatted on the dining room floor and worked out the arc of the scenes.” Apparently there was no furniture-then Henkel would go out to the kitchen, “…there was a linoleum topped table and I had an old manual typewriter. In the winter of ’73 both Hooper and Henkel had day jobs, Hooper directing commercials, industrial, and political spots for Filmhouse, a local Austin production company, while Henkel worked as a commercial illustrator.

Islands at the Edge of Time by Gunnar Hansen