"Beyond hope, beyond fear, beyond science – the most terrifying force in the universe. Nothing can escape it, not even light." – promotional blurb for The Black Hole
The actors have departed and the elaborate sets are gathering dust behind padlocked doors (awaiting further duty in another Disney picture or possibly a sequel), but the work is far from over. At this moment a small army of special effects men headed by Peter Ellenshaw is feverishly putting the magic into Disney’s first SF epic, The Black Hole. Armed security guards still patrol the lot, lest an enterprising journalist slip through and give away the surprises director Gary Nelson has in store. So far, only potential exhibitors have been given a glimpse of the footage, in order to know what they are bidding on.
A two-minute trailer was shown in late February to would-be buyers in Europe and 19 cities in the United States. "in Germany all the exhibitors stood up and applauded, studio head Ron Miller told a New York Times reporter. "Then they asked to see it again. They stood up and applauded a second time and asked to see it still again."
The Black Hole film clip was greeted with the same exuberant response at a convention of theater owners in Las Vegas. "it was highly favorable," a studio executive reports. "And we didn’t even serve food or liquor."
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