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!“
