Page "The Day After" Paragraph 18

Back in Los Angeles, the idea of making a TV movie showing the true effects of nuclear war on average American citizens was still stirring up controversy.

ABC, Hume and Papazian realized that for the scene depicting the nuclear blast, they would have to use state-of-the-art special effects and they took the first step by hiring some of the best special effects people in the business to draw up some storyboards for the complicated blast scene.

Then, ABC hired Robert Butler to direct the project.

For several months, this group worked on drawing up storyboards and revising the script again and again ; then, in the spring of 1982, Butler was forced to leave The Day After because of other contractual commitments.

ABC then offered the project to two other directors, who both turned it down.

Finally, in May, ABC hired feature film director Nicholas Meyer, who had just completed the blockbuster Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan.

Meyer was apprehensive at first and doubted ABC would get away with making a television film on nuclear war without the censors diminishing its effect.

However, after reading the script, Meyer agreed to direct The Day After.