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Joe Dante Says ‘Gremlins 2’ Was An Anti-Sequel

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The coolest thing about older filmmakers is that they become incredibly honest later in their career.

Joe Dante, for example, has never been so candid in talking about his Gremlins films.

Even though the 1990 Gremlins 2: The New Batch was a box office failure, rumors have always been around that a third (either a sequel or remake) was in the works.

With Warner Bros. once again hot on bringing Gizmo and his terrifying green family back to the big screen, ArrowIntheHead asked Dante some Gremlins questions, and shared this bomb.

“When I was asked to do the sequel, which I originally turned down because it was so hard to make the first one… The only reason I decided to make the sequel was because years later they had tried to make a sequel and couldn’t figure out how to do it, and they really wanted another one. So they said to me, “If you give us a couple of cans of film with gremlins in them next summer, you can do whatever you want.” And they gave me three times the money we had to make the first one.

So I made ‘Gremlins 2,’ which was essentially about how there didn’t need to be a sequel to ‘Gremlins.’ [Laughs]”

Gremlins 2 is essentially an anti-sequel that’s so self-indulgent it became a disaster for the studio, even though us fans still love it to this day. It’s really cool to hear Dante explain why the movie is the way it is, and is a telling piece of information that we should all remember when we hear about directors like Michael Bay making a third and fourth Transformers (they don’t give a shit).

gremlins 2

In regards to the next Gremlins, Dante acknowledges that he’s “as in the dark as” all of us are on the new project, but does share a very knowledgable take on it. Here, he asks all the right questions as to why is WB moving forward with it.

[Related Post] Chris Columbus Offers Updates On Gremlins Reboot

“It’s not that I’ve washed my hands of it, it’s that no one has asked me to be involved with it, they want to do it themselves. Fine, maybe this will be the time the rumors turn out to be true. Or not. As you know, this has been going on for years now, there’s always a story that somebody has been asked to write or direct it, then something happens and they don’t do it. I don’t know if you have to take this with a grain of salt every time you hear about it. It’s a complicated project, carved of the expectations of, how much is it going to be like the original? And the fact that the technology has completely changed; the first two movies were entirely dictated by the technology. The reason those movies are what they are is because of what we were able to do or not do. And now, you can do anything, anything you can imagine. The question is, why? Why do we want to make another one of these? And if we do, how is it going to be different from the first? If it’s so different, the people who liked the originals aren’t going to embrace it, you don’t want to do that. But, on the other hand, the technology is really outdated now. Are they going to look the same, are they not going to look the same? Do they have the same properties? There’s a lot of stuff attached to that franchise, and I think juggling it again is going to be a challenge.”

Dante is out promoting his Burying the Ex, releasing later this month on VOD.

Horror movie fanatic who co-founded Bloody Disgusting in 2001. Producer on Southbound, V/H/S/2/3/94, SiREN, Under the Bed, and A Horrible Way to Die. Chicago-based. Horror, pizza and basketball connoisseur. Taco Bell daily. Franchise favs: Hellraiser, Child's Play, A Nightmare on Elm Street, Halloween, Scream and Friday the 13th. Horror 365 days a year.

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SCREAMBOX Investigates UFOs and Extraterrestrials: Several Documentaries Streaming Right Now!

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As someone who is obsessed with UFOS (or more recently known as UAPs) and the concept of extraterrestrials, I love a good documentary. Sightings have been on the rise since the 1940s, with the atomic bomb seemingly acting as a catalyst for new visitors. But what are these UFOs/UAPs? Is there an explanation or are they simply beyond our explanation? Why are they here? Who are they? How much do our governments know? The questions are endless and so are the documentaries that attempt to uncover the secrets behind decades of sightings and alleged confrontations.

Whether you’re a seasoned viewer or new to the rabbit hole, there’s always a handful of interesting documentaries to get your neurons firing and leave you with sleepless nights. SCREAMBOX is investigating with the addition of several docs, all streaming now on the Bloody Disgusting-powered service. Here’s the breakdown:

Aliens (2021): Beam into this unidentified streaming documentary for a glimpse into Extraterrestrial life. Aliens are hypothetical life forms that may occur outside Earth or that did not originate on Earth.

Aliens Uncovered: Origins (2021): Before Area 51, hidden deep in the desert, the military discovered a hidden gem that helped them create Project Bluebook.

Aliens Uncovered: ET or Man-Made (2022): The crash of Roswell wasn’t meant for New Mexico. In 1947, a neighboring state had 3 major sightings that were swept under the rug.

Aliens Uncovered: The Golden Record (2023): In the late 70s, the US government launched a message to our distant neighbors.

Roswell (2021): This high-flying documentary examines the July 1947 crash of a United States Army Air Forces balloon at a ranch near Roswell, New Mexico. Theories claim the crash was actually that of a flying saucer, but what is the truth?

Also check out:

The British UFO Files (2004): Since the 1940’s the British Government has been investigating the Flying Saucer phenomenon. High-ranking military and government personnel, speak out for the first time, offering unique eyewitness accounts and inside information.

Alien Abductions and Paranormal Sightings (2016): Amazing Footage and stories from real people as they reveal their personal encounters of being abducted by Aliens.

And do not miss Hellier (2019): A crew of paranormal researchers find themselves in a dying coal town, where a series of strange coincidences lead them to a decades-old mystery.

These documentaries join SCREAMBOX’s growing library of unique horror content, including Onyx the Fortuitous and the Talisman of Souls, Here for Blood, Terrifier 2, RoboDoc: The Creation of RoboCop, Hollywood Dreams & Nightmares: The Robert Englund Story, The Outwaters, Living with Chucky, Project Wolf Hunting, and Pennywise: The Story of IT.

Start screaming now with SCREAMBOX on iOS, Android, Apple TV, Prime Video, Roku, YouTube TV, Samsung, Comcast, Cox, and Screambox.com.

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