Movies
The Shocking Original Plan for Gizmo In ‘Gremlins’
The reddit AMA with director Joe Dante is providing all sorts of surprises.
We just shared this funny story from the set of The ‘Burbs, and now we have the following revelation about Gizmo from Dante’s 1984 Gremlins.
There’s more stories than I can count about the brilliance of Steven Spielberg, and the impact his had on movies outside of his own. His Amblin production house was behind Gremlins, which Dante directed. And while there was a darker and more violent vision scripted (Billy’s mom original gets decapitated with her head being thrown down the stairs), Spielberg’s influence saved it from becoming a vicious horror movie and transformed it into a holiday genre film for the entire family.
During the AMA, Dante was asked if he’d ever imagined what Gizmo would look like as a Gremlin. He dropped this bomb:
“He was originally supposed to turn into Stripe, before Steven Spielberg took a shine to him and decreed he should be the hero’s pal for the run of the story,” Dante revealed. “That sent the FX people into a tailspin, as he was designed only for the first few reels. But then he ended up the star of the show!”
How different would the movies have been? Well, I’m not quite sure Zach Galligan could have carried both on his shoulders, although Phoebe Cates will never lose my attention.
In other Gremlins fun, another user asked this hysterical question: “Everybody knows that you shouldn’t feed a mogwai after midnight. What time is it safe to start feeding them again?
“Depends which time zone you’re in…” joked Dante, “like if you’re in a plane and cross the time zone. See the control room scene in Gremlins 2 for further details!“
The next V/H/S installment is on the way, this time from producer Roy Lee (Weapons, IT), and it’s landed on its new theme.
Spooky Pictures and Image Nation are teaming to produce V/H/S: SCP, Variety reports, and it’ll be the first feature-length addition to the online collective fiction project, the SCP (Special Containment Procedures) Foundation.
The SCP Foundation began in 2008 as a collaborative digital project and has since grown into one of the largest fan-driven horror and sci-fi universes online. You can get acquainted with the SCP Foundation via Bloody FM’s SCP Archives podcast.
V/H/S: SCP will be framed as “’recovered field documentation,’ or video evidence gathered, redacted, and archived by the secretive organization. Standalone segments in the anthology will focus on different objects, entities, or events under the containment-breach narrative.”
Spooky Pictures is headed by genre veterans Steven Schneider (Insidious, Paranormal Activity) and Roy Lee (Weapons, IT). They’ll be joined by Josh Goldbloom (V/H/S/94, V/H/S/99, V/H/S/Halloween) and Michael Schreiber (V/H/S/94, V/H/S/Beyond) as producers.
“The horror genre continues to be a remarkable launchpad for new talent to share original creations, and the vast SCP universe has provided a vital incubator for this creativity to thrive,” Spooky Pictures co-founder Steven Schneider said. “Along with INS, this next project reinforces our shared commitment to look in new and unexpected spaces for stories. We can’t wait to expand the V/H/S franchise with new, fresh, and terrifying stories that will keep viewers coming back for more.”
V/H/S launched in 2012, followed by 2013’s V/H/S/2, 2014’s V/H/S: Viral, 2021’s V/H/S/94, 2022’s V/H/S/99, 2023’s V/H/S/85, 2024’s V/H/S/Beyond, and 2025’s V/H/S/Halloween.
The upcoming installment marks the ninth film in this franchise.
The SCP Foundation is a worldwide force dedicated to securing, containing, and protecting anomalies from people – At least according to the lore of the website.
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