Maniac - actors, characters and roles
All actors and their roles in the film "Maniac"
Maniac (1980)
Timing:
1:28 (88 min)
6.417/10
477
477
6.104/10
2606
2606
6.3/10
22000
22000
Actors and characters
Nelia Bacmeister
Character Carmen Zito
Denise Spagnuolo
Character Denise
Billy Spagnuolo
Character Billy
Kelly Piper
Character Nurse
Rita Montone
Character Hooker
Hyla Marrow
Character Disco Girl
Linda Lee Walter
Character Beach Girl
James Brewster
Character Beach Boy
Tracie Evans
Character Street Hooker
Carol Henry
Character Deadbeat
Louis Jawitz
Character Art Director
Candace Clements
Character First Park Mother
Diane Spagnuolo
Character Second Park Mother
Kim Hudson
Character Lobby Hooker
Terry Gagnon
Character Woman in Alley
Joan Baldwin
Character First Model
Jeni Paz
Character Second Model
Janelle Winston
Character Waitress
Randy Jurgensen
Character First Cop
Jimmy Aurichio
Character Second Cop
Andrew W. Garroni
Character Jerry (uncredited)
Taso N. Stavrakis
Character Porn-o guy (uncredited)
What's left behind the scenes
- A week after filming the murder of a prostitute in a hotel, a real murder occurred in the same room, with a prostitute as the victim.
- According to director William Lustig and the screenwriter, who also played the lead role of Joe Spinell, the film's creators did not always have permission to film locations in New York. Some scenes had to be shot quickly and the crew had to flee the scene before the police arrived.
- Porn actresses were used in the roles of victims and in some minor roles, such as Abigail Clayton. They were chosen specifically to reduce the film's production costs.
- Special effects artist Tom Savini used the same mannequin in the exploding head scene that had been repeatedly used in George A. Romero's horror film *Dawn of the Dead* (1978). Savini called this mannequin Boris. After filming, Boris was so saturated with fake blood and smeared with fake innards that it was decided to "retire" him – that is, lock him in the trunk of a car (which was a car from the shotgun scene) and sink the car in a river.
- The film ends with a shot of a headless corpse. This is the body of Jason’s mother (played by Betsy Palmer) from Sean S. Cunningham's 1980 horror film *Friday the 13th*. Some footage was borrowed from Dario Argento’s horror film *Inferno* (1979).
- The film's original budget was $48,000, with $6,000 provided by Joe Spinell (he had received $10,000 for recent work in William Friedkin's thriller *Cruising* in 1980), $12,000 borrowed from producer Andrew W. Garroni, and the remainder ($30,000) from director William Lustig (money earned from adult films). All three invested this money in shares, and during filming, their combined contribution increased in value to $135,000. The rest (about $200,000, bringing the total enough to complete filming) was provided by British producer Judd Hamilton, who in return demanded that his then-wife, Caroline Munro, be cast in the film (she subsequently played Anna D’Antoni).
- While filming *Maniac*, Joe Spinell was simultaneously filming, among other projects, the action film *Nighthawks* (1981) by Bruce Malmuth and Gary Nelson, work on which had begun even before filming with William Lustig was finished. For *Nighthawks*, Spinell played a high-ranking New York City police officer, for which he got a short haircut and shaved off his mustache. Therefore, for filming some scenes of *Maniac*, the actor had to wear a wig and fake mustache.
- Joe Spinell was serious about making a sequel to this film with director Buddy Giovinazzo. They even shot a 10-minute reel called "Mr. Robbie." Several years later, funding issues were resolved, and the project was close to entering pre-production, but in 1989, Spinell unexpectedly passed away, and the sequel was never made.
- The scene where Tom Savini's character is killed had to be filmed in one take, so Savini decided he would pull the trigger himself. The actor later admitted that shooting a mannequin with his own face was rather strange.
Did you like the film?
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