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Bill Rebane
Nationality
American
Other names
Bill Rebane
Education
Years active
Known for
Spouse(s)
Barbara J.
Baron[1] Bill Rebane (born February 8, 1937) is an American film director, producer, and screenwriter. He is best known for low budget horror movies such as Twist Craze
and The Giant Spider Invasion.[2][3][4] Rebane also ran for the governor of Wisconsin in 1979 and 2002 as the American Reform Party candidate.[3][5]
Contents
1 Biography 2 Accomplishments o 2.1 Recognition 3 Career o 3.1 Post-college o 3.2 Baltes and Cinema Scope o 3.3 Early film production o 3.4 Radio o 3.5 First science fiction project o 3.6 Studio Bendestorf o 3.7 The Shooting Ranch o 3.8 Additional projects o 3.9 Filmography 3.9.1 Films 3.9.2 Television o 3.10 Critical response o 3.11 Bibliography 4 References o 4.1 Addition reference materials 5 Further reading 6 External links
Biography
Rebane came to the United States from Estonia in 1952 at age 15.[3] His mother was Latvian and his father, Arnold Rebane, was Estonian. He attended school in post-war Germany as a child, becoming conversant in four languages: Estonian, Latvian, German and Russian. By watching American cinema, he was able to master English.[3] He attended the Art Institute of Chicago/Goodman Theatre, majoring in drama.[3]
Accomplishments
Rebane is credited with the introduction of the first 360 degree (wrap around) motion picture process to the Motion Picture Industry of the world, an innovation that spurred the Cinemax process and today's Rotascope cameras; as the creator of the Wisconsin Film Office; as the producer, director, writer, and cinematographer on 12 independent feature films, all of which have enjoyed successful international theatrical release; as producer/director of one of the fifty top-grossing films 1975 (The Giant Spider Invasion, $23 million gross in 1975); as having produced, directed, edited, and production designed at least one hundred commercial, industrial, corporate image, documentary or promotion films; and for the creation and successful operation of the first full-time feature film studio in the Midwest for over 30 years.[3]
Recognition
In October 2009, Rebane received the Wisconsin Filmmaker 'Lifetime Achievement Award', presented to him at the 2009 Madison Horror Film Festival.[6]
Career
Post-college
Rebane's first positions in media included working for WGN-TV in Chicago, where he worked his way through the ranks, beginning with a position in the mailroom, and then as floor manager, assistant producer, and assistant to executive producer.[2] Partaking in production of various live television broadcasts, also allowed him the opportunities as an actor and singer, resulting in appearances on such shows as the courtroom drama series They Stand Accused and the syndicated musical-variety series The International Cafe.
Radio
Rebane's interests in media, and performance, and with the professional contacts he had made, led to his position as co-host of the Germania broadcast at Chicago's WGES radio station, at the time the largest and most popular German-language broadcast in America. As a daily evening one-hour live show, it allowed Rebane to create, produce, and host other radio shows on WKFM, Chicago's first FM station, as well as leaving time open for his day job as national public relations director and assistant advertising director for the American distributor for the German firm Grundig Radio.
Studio Bendestorf
At age 23, Rebane returned to Germany as executive-in-charge of U.S. co-productions for 'Studio Bendestorf', in Bendestorf, Germany, in which he had an interest, opening offices in Chicago and Hollywood. Commuting to and from Germany on a bi-weekly basis, Rebane dealt with the major studios to attract producers to Germany and lower costs of production.[3] Some films which found a partial or full home for production at Rebane's Bendestorf Studio facility and through Rebane's contact efforts included Dollar (Goldie Hawn / Scott Brady), How I Won the War (John Lennon), and The Odessa File (Jon Voight).[3]
Rebane used his studio to produce and direct a number of sci-fi/horror films, the first being Invasion from Inner Earth (1974), screenwritten by his wife Barbara, it was shot in 1973 with the working title of The Selected.[8] His next film project was The Giant Spider Invasion, starring Alan Hale Jr., Barbara Hale, and Steve Brodie. The film grossed $23 million[3] against its $325,000 production costs.[2] This was followed by Rana: The Legend of Shadow Lake (1975), The Alpha Incident (1978), The Capture of Bigfoot (1979), The Demons of Ludlow (1983) and The Game (1984).[3] In 1984 Rebane took a break from production to assume the Presidency of The International Picture Show Company in Atlanta, where he took charge of international distribution for such products as Falling in Love Again (Elliott Gould), Slapstick (Jerry Lewis), Land of No Return (William Shatner), and many of the Don Knotts and Tim Conway comedy features. In 1986, Rebane returned to 'The Shooting Ranch' and hosted a 1950s nostalgia concert. Among the invitees were Forrest Tucker, Jaye P. Morgan, Bill Haley's Comets, and Tiny Tim. Rebane later cast Tiny Tim in Blood Harvest in the role of an insane clown,[9] which was Tim's first and last starring role.[10] Also in 1986, and due to Rebane's ongoing efforts extending from 1969, Wisconsin passed legislation establishing the Wisconsin Film Office.[3] In 1987, Rebane released both Twister's Revenge! and Blood Harvest,[3] and in 1989 Rebane suffered a stroke, which illness and the costs it incurred led to the closure of his studio.[3]
Additional projects
In the mid-1990s, and after recovery, Rebane and his wife moved to Watersmeet, Michigan where he wrote the book Film funding two-thousand, and in 1999 he moved to Hurley, Wisconsin, where he and his wife ran a hotel and a new film production company called 'Eagle's Nest Productions'.[3] He currently lives in Saxon, Wisconsin.[11] In 2005 it was reported that Rebane was casting The UFO File, a film to bring him back to the science fiction genre.[11] In 2008 he authored From Roswell with Love. In 2011, Rebane is producing a musical based on his film The Giant Spider Invasion.
Filmography
Films As director/producer[12][13][14]
Monster A Go-Go (1965) Invasion from Inner Earth (1974) The Giant Spider Invasion (1975)
Rana: The Legend of Shadow Lake (1975) The Alpha Incident (1978) The Capture of Bigfoot (1979) The Demons of Ludlow (1983) The Game (1984) Twister's Revenge! (1987) Blood Harvest (1987)
Television Both Monster A Go-Go and The Giant Spider Invasion were featured on TV's "Mystery Science Theater 3000".
Critical response
Doug Moe of The Capital Times reported that Rebane's film The Giant Spider Invasion, first released in 1975, has a growing cult following, selling out genre festivals such as it did at the Wisconsin Film Festival in 2003.[11]
Bibliography
2000, Film funding two-thousand ISBN 0-9704283-0-8 2008, From Roswell with Love ISBN 1-4196-8399-3
References
1. Jump up ^ hereditary titled nobility" Baron" through his great-great-grandfather; Dr. Friedrich Willhelm Mac Donald, recipient of the Vlademier Cross and the order of St. Anne, Imperial Russia 2. ^ Jump up to: a b c d Bluhm, Donald A. (November 3, 1991). "Sneak a preview as film is shot". Milwaukee Journal (Google News Archive). pp. H1 & H8. Retrieved June 28, 2010. 3. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r Gilpatrick, Kristin (2002). Famous Wisconsin film stars (illustrated ed.). Badger Books, Inc. pp. 247253, 323, 328. ISBN 1-87856986-4. Retrieved June 27, 2010. 4. Jump up ^ "Bill Rebane". The New York Times. Retrieved June 28, 2010. 5. Jump up ^ Van Beest, A. J. (2002). "Saxon Filmmaker Throws Hat In Gubernatorial Ring". Ashland Daily Press (critcononline.com). Retrieved June 28, 2010. 6. Jump up ^ "Horror film festival playing in Madison". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Associated Press. October 3, 2009. Retrieved June 28, 2010. 7. Jump up ^ McBain, Roger (December 5, 1984). "Star-studded state casts about for work". Milwaukee Journal (Google News Archive). Retrieved June 28, 2010. 8. Jump up ^ Christensen, Hal (December 10, 1973). "Movie Cameras Roll at Tomahawk". Milwaukee Sentinel (Google News Archive). Retrieved June 28, 2010. 9. Jump up ^ "Tiny Tim Bets on Movie To Renewal of His Fame". Schenectady Gazette (Google News Archive). Associated Press. August 24, 1987. Retrieved June 28, 2010. 10. Jump up ^ "Tiptoes Through Film". Free Lance-Star (Google News Archive). Associated Press. August 26, 1987. Retrieved June 28, 2010.[dead link] 11. ^ Jump up to: a b c Moe, Doug (March 4, 2005). "Wisconsin's Rebane casts new film". Capital Times. Retrieved June 28, 2010. 12. Jump up ^ Fischer, Dennis (2000). Science fiction film directors, 18951998. McFarland. ISBN 0-7864-0740-9.
13. Jump up ^ Young, R. G. (2000). The encyclopedia of fantastic film: Ali Baba to Zombies (illustrated ed.). Hal Leonard Corporation. ISBN 1-55783-269-2. 14. Jump up ^ Weldon, Michael (1996). The psychotronic video guide (illustrated ed.). Macmillan. ISBN 0-312-13149-6.
Further reading
Film funding two-thousand by Bill Rebane From Roswell With Love by Bill Rebane Famous Wisconsin Movie Stars (Badger Books) Gods In Polyester, or, a Survivors' Account of 70's Cinema Obscura (Succubus Press/2004) Rebane contributed chapters on the making of The Giant Spider Invasion and The Alpha Incident.
Gods In Spandex, or, a Survivors' Account of 80's Cinema Obscura (Succubus Press/2007) Rebane contributed chapters on the making of The Game, Demons of Ludlow, Twister's Revenge and Blood Harvest.
External links
Authority control
1937 births Living people American people of Estonian descent Estonian emigrants to the United States American people of Latvian descent People from Riga People from Iron County, Wisconsin Writers from Wisconsin American film directors Wisconsin politicians American Reform Party politicians
Source Material: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Rebane More Info: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0714215/ Movies: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monster_A_Go-Go http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Invasion_from_Inner_Earth http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Giant_Spider_Invasion http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Croaked:_Frog_Monster_from_Hell http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Alpha_Incident http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Capture_of_Bigfoot http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Demons_of_Ludlow