In 1973, Irwin Allen and Fox participated in a bid to purchase the copyright to an upcoming novel "The Mansion". After leaving Warner, Irwin Allen imitated the story outline of "The Mansion" and compiled a script called "Glass Hell", and immediately entered the pre-filming preparations. Then Irwin Allen facilitated the negotiations between Fox and Warner's senior management. In Irwin Allen’s plan, he himself will be the director, and Warner and Fox have reached an agreement to work together to complete the filming of the movie "The Towering Inferno". The film’s budget is 11 million U.S. dollars, half paid by Warner and Fox each.
Allen invited Oscar for Best Screenplay winner Sterling Slimfent to combine "The Mansion" and "Glass Hell", and used 250 plot series to show the summary of the story. The British director John Charman was in charge of the filming of the first group, and Allen personally took charge of the filming of the action scenes
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In May 1974, the four crews of the film were filming at the same time. 20th Century Fox built 57 sets for the film. When the shooting ended, only 8 sets survived. The "Glass Tower" skyscraper in the film was actually shot from a 70-foot-tall miniature model. In order to integrate it with the aerial silhouette of San Francisco, the legendary master Douglas Trumb used blue screen technology. When shooting the fire scene outside the building, the special effects department used a combination of propane, acetylene and oxygen spray guns. The film was finalized on September 11, 1974
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