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"The Mothman Prophecies" is a a $42-million Sony Screen Gems production based on the 1975 book of the same title by journalist John A. Keel. The events depicted in the film are supposedly real occurences which happened in 1966 in Point Pleasant, W.Va., a small farming community at the confluence of the Ohio and Kanawha rivers. The sightings began in November of that year, when two couples, parked at an old World War II munitions dump site called TNT, told police they were chased by a large creature. The sightings continued, with some saying the creature chased them to the ground, while other victims suffered from bleeding eyes or had problems sleeping. The town's investigative reporter, Mary Hyre, began to pursue leads, but she suddenly died. All told, more than 100 residents reported seeing a 9-foot-tall, black, winged creature with glowing red eyes, with some claiming it spoke to them and forewarned of an upcoming disaster. One year later, the prophecy came to pass when the town's bridge over the Ohio River collapsed, killing 47 people. After this disaster, the so-called "Mothman" was never seen again.
The film stars Richard Gere as John Klein, a crusading Washington Post journalist, who travels to Point Pleasant after a personal tragedy. He slowly becomes drawn into the town's strange events, becoming more and more obsessed to the point of nearly going nuts. While the real story occurred in the 1960s, the movie is set in contemporary times. The film also stars Laura Linney (who starred with Gere in the 1996's "Primal Fear") and Debra Messing ("Will & Grace"). Screenwriter Richard Hatem ("Under Siege 2: Dark Territory"), long fascinated by science fiction and the paranormal, was instrumental in igniting Hollywood's interest in doing the film. One night in 1997, while experiencing a case of insomnia, he went to a Pasadena bookstore, where he saw "The Mothman Prophecies" and began reading it on the spot. The next day, he phoned author Keel and began writing the screenplay. Two characters are based on Keel: Gere plays the cocky journalist, while Alan Bates plays a wise professor with experience in paranormal events. In 1998, Lakeshore Entertainment (producers of "The Gift" and "Runaway Bride") began a two-year development process, after buying the rights to the script. According to Hatem and director Mark Pellington ("Arlington Road") the film is not about a monster, but rather a film about human nature that leaves ambiguity and unanswered questions.
To this day, the Mothman sightings remain unexplained. Possible theories include that it was a giant mutated owl, a huge sandhill crane or just simply mass hysteria. Noted cryptozoologist Loren Coleman has also pointed out that Native American tribes of the area have a long history of chronicling stories about Thunderbirds, giant birdlike creatures that foretold woe. Many Point Pleasant residents were disappointed that the film was shot in Kittanning, Pennsylvannia, a larger town able to support the cast and crew which could afford to shut down an area bridge during the two months of filming. A good number of Point Pleasant locals have embraced the Mothman legend, in part because the town has been in economic decline since its heyday as a bustling port city around 1900. Mothman beanbag toys have become top sellers locally, and the Chamber of Commerce has been marketing Mothman Christmas ornaments.
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