“Demon Seed,” a sci-fi film that today might not seem too revolutionary, was a difficult pitch at the time it came out. Its director, Donald Cammell, who had previously co-directed “Performance” with Nicolas Roeg, brought a sense of experimental promise to the project after a series of unrealized attempts. Unfortunately, “Demon Seed” didn’t become the career milestone for Cammell he hoped it would be. Instead, his time with MGM left much to be desired:
“Well, it was a very unhappy experience. It was a pretty frustrating experience. My personality just does not gel with these studio people. And MGM was no different than Warner Bros.. was with ‘Performance.’ I was the reason they got Julie Christie, who was red hot at the time, and an Oscar winner to boot. The front office loved everything until they got their hands on my rough cut. It could have been a great film, but even though it got bloody respectable notices, it wasn’t my vision.”
MGM’s control over the final product of “Demon Seed” clearly did not align with Cammell’s vision. To deepen our understanding of the film’s troubled release, Dean Koontz, the author of the film’s source material, elaborates on MGM’s advertising missteps on his official website:
“In the end, the studio released ‘Demon Seed’ with a stealth advertising budget. Before release, it changed the initially classy poster and the stylish newspaper ads into a sleazy minimalist campaign … The studio said they needed to keep the advertising budget low because this was a science-fiction movie, and late in the game they realized science-fiction movies never made money.”
FAQs About “Demon Seed” and MGM’s Role
Q: What hindered “Demon Seed” from becoming a cult classic according to the director and author?
A: Director Donald Cammell felt that MGM’s interference with his rough cut and the studio’s misunderstanding of his vision prevented the film from reaching its potential. Author Dean Koontz also blamed MGM’s faulty marketing strategy for the film’s lack of success.
Q: Was “Demon Seed” considered successful upon its release?
A: While the film did receive “bloody respectable notices,” as Cammell put it, it wasn’t as successful as it could have been had it been marketed properly and had the director’s vision been fully realized.
Q: What role did Donald Cammell play in getting Julie Christie to star in the film?
A: Cammell was influential in casting Julie Christie, a popular and award-winning actress at the time, which pleased MGM’s front office initially.
Q: How did MGM change its marketing approach for “Demon Seed” before its release?
A: MGM transitioned from what was initially a classy and stylish advertising campaign to a “sleazy minimalist campaign” with a reduced budget because of a late realization that science-fiction movies were perceived not to make money.
Conclusion
“Demon Seed,” despite having elements that could have set it up to be a memorable and potentially cult-classic science-fiction film, unfortunately, fell victim to the era’s studio system and practices. MGM’s handling of both the film’s cut and its marketing campaign cast a shadow over what could have been a peak moment in Donald Cammell’s career and a standout film in the genre. Nonetheless, the conversation surrounding the film remains a testament to the importance of creative freedom and the risks of studio interference.