Excerpts from the Phantasm Pressbook
In the 1970s, film distributors had a novel idea when it came to publicizing their product in local newspapers. They would disguise press releases as news stories going so far as to actually write and mail them out to papers this way. All the news editor had to do was fill in the blanks with the local theater and show times to complete this ready-made news filler. Distributors liked this idea because it was free advertising and the newspapers liked it because it was one less article they had to pay a writer to create. Plus, what reader doesn't like to hear about movie news?

In anticipation of its theatrical release, Phantasm had a number of these positive press articles written up and compiled into a pressbook which also contained advertising slicks, posters and promotional photos.

I've recently gotten my hands on one of these rare pressbooks and have several of these template articles compiled below. You must note how ridiculous some of these stories come off as being. I wonder... might some of them be fabricated for publicity purposes?

ACTOR SAYS "PHANTASM" SCARED HIM TOO
Puff piece about Michael Baldwin and his hot celebrity status in Japan.

MICHAEL BALDWIN IS HERO ON "PHANTASM" SET
I actually heard that this story was true. Way to go Michael Baldwin!

"PHANTASM" SET HAD ITS OWN HORROR STORIES
Not sure I'm buying this one. They destroyed a camera that cost more than 1/3 the budget? Yah, right.

PLANS FOR KILLING DEVICE IN "PHANTASM" DISAPPEAR
"No one living knows exactly how (the sphere) works." Umm... Steve Patino & D. Kerry Prior had a decent idea, no?

DIRECTOR OF "PHANTASM" HAS NARROW ESCAPE
While scouting locations for Phantasm, Don's plane almost crashed into the Morningside Cemetery. (chuckle)

YOUNG STAR OF "PHANTASM" HAS MACABRE ADVENTURE IN REAL LIFE TOO
Dead bodies in Micahel Baldwin's backyard? So that's why it took so long to film Phantasm.

 MOUNTAIN PEOPLE HALT "PHANTASM" FILMING
I only have the second half of this ABSURD article scanned in. Mountain people? Within minutes, police helicopters were in the sky? Wait a second... Bill Thornbury had his own trailer on this movie?