STEVEN SPIELBERG PRESENTS: GREMLINS

HAPPY HALLOWEEN EVERYONE!

Today we will be looking at the 1984 Horror-Comedy “STEVEN SPIELBERG PRESENTS: GREMLINS” or just “GREMLINS” for short! I know a lot of people view this film as a CHRISTMAS movie but I believe that this motion picture’s HORROR element makes it feel like it should be seen during both holidays!

Did you know that the fake names on the marquee that is shown on the movie theater that appears during the opening credits is an in-joke for Executive Producer STEVEN SPIELBERG’S other hit films?

The titles on the theater marquee are an in-joke for Spielberg's benefit. "A BOY’S LIFE" was the working title for “E.T. THE EXTRA-TERRESTRIAL” (1982), and "WATCH THE SKIES" was the working title for “CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND” (1977). Director JOE DANTE stated, "I think we did this mainly so that when STEVEN saw the dailies he'd be happy."

[There is the marquee! They even highlighted the letter “E” possibly for “E.T.” for everyone.]

There are lots of other references to “CLOSE ENCOUNTERS” and “E.T.” and other SPIELBERG-DIRECTED/PRODUCED films hidden through-out the film including: “TWILIGHT ZONE: THE MOVIE” [1983] [which SPIELBERG, DANTE and Composer JERRY GOLDSMITH had previously worked on together!],

the “INDIANA JONES” franchise [1981-PRESENT]

and there is also a “BACK TO THE FUTURE” [1985-1990] trilogy connection!

FRANCES LEE McCAIN, who played “BILLY PELTZER’S” mother, “LYNN”, also played LORRAINE’S” [LEA THOMPSON] mother, ”STELLA”, in “PART 1” when “MARTY McFLY” [MICHAEL J. FOX] goes back to 1955. Both movies were executively produced by Steven Spielberg. And the set for “KINGSTON FALLS” is the same one used for the “BTTF” trilogy. Both movies were filmed on THE UNIVERSAL STUDIOS BACKLOT.

[Here’s the backlot that the filmmakers used. See if you can find any similarities between the two images that you can see above this paragraph!]

Do you know what a “GREMLIN” is?

A “GREMLIN” is a mischievous folkloric creature invented at the beginning of the 20th century to originally explain malfunctions in aircraft, and later in other machinery, processes, and their operators. Depictions of these creatures vary widely. Stories about them and references to them as the causes of especially inexplicable technical and mental problems of pilots were especially popular during and after WORLD WAR II.

[An artists’ interpretation of what a “GREMLIN” might have looked like in WORLD WAR 2!]

Did you know that this movie has won multiple awards?

“THE OSCARS” didn’t care much for “GREMLINS,” which isn’t surprising, but “THE SATURN AWARDS” felt differently. If you are unfamiliar, “THE SATURNS” are focused on “SCI-FI”, “FANTASY”, and “HORROR”. It gave “GREMLINS” five awards: “BEST MUSIC”, “BEST SPECIAL EFFECTS”, “BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS FOR POLLY HOLLIDAY”, “BEST DIRECTOR” and “BEST HORROR FILM”. This movie has also won awards from other award show ceremonies that I am not going to mention here because it will take too long to name them all!

“THE SATURN AWARDS” - 1973-PRESENT.]

[HOLLIDAY as “MRS. DEAGLE”]

Did you know that a certain 90’s toy got sued by WARNER BROS. for looking an awful lot like the “MOGWAI” from the movie?

If you ever thought “FURBY” toys looked somewhat familiar, you’re probably thinking of how similar they look to the “MOGWAI” in “GREMLINS”. In fact, WARNER BROS. sued the makers of “FURBIES”. TIGER ELECTRONICS, which created the toys, acknowledge the resemblance and paid WARNER BROS. a seven-figure settlement. They also promised to redesign “FURBIES” to look less like “GIZMO”.

[The original “FURBY” toy in 1998.]

[“GIZMO” - see if you can spot any differences!]

Did you know that an animation legend had a cameo in this movie?

Legendary Animator and Cartoon Artist CHUCK JONES made a cameo appearance in the film. He’s the individual, referred to as “MR. JONES”, that “BILLY” shows the caricature of the town miser to in “DORRY’S TAVERN”. JONES is a cornerstone of “THE LOONEY TUNES” and “MERRIE MELODIES” shorts for WARNER BROTHERS.

[The films’ star ZACH GALLIGAN - “BILLY” - with JONES!]

Did you know that MONKEYS were originally going to play the “GREMLINS” at first?

The thought of using MONKEYS to act as the “GREMLINS” was attempted. This came about because Creature Designer CHRIS WALAS made the suggestion that they use puppets instead of stop-motion for the GREMLINS. The studio sent a SPIDER MONKEY in a “GREMLIN SUIT” to perform a test in DANTE’S office. However during a test in which a “GREMLIN HEAD” was placed over the MONKEY’S it panicked. This resulted in the frightened animal wreaking havoc on DANTE’S office and the Director yelling for the Animal Trainer to get hold of the MONKEY. He then looked to WALAS and said, “So puppets?”

[WALAS and “GIZMO”.]

[And for anyone who has never seen a SPIDER MONKEY before well here is a picture of one to give you guys an idea of what DANTE and his team had to put up with!]

Did you know the story behind the films use of “THE WB SHIELD LOGO”?

“GREMLINS” was the very first movie to feature the AMBLIN ENTERTAINMENT logo. It was also the first WB film to have “THE WARNER BROS. SHIELD LOGO” in several years.

Famed logo designer SAUL BASS, also responsible for THE GEFFEN "G" and the UNITED AIRLINES logos of the 1970s, created this logo. In the commentary on the DVD release of ‘GREMLINS”, which brought back the shield logo, DANTE notes that this logo was designed to be more artsy. When the movie was made, DANTE knew that it was going to have the classical feel of the classic WARNER BROS. movies because they shot on THE WARNER BROS. BACKLOT and JERRY GOLDSMITH was doing the music. So, they decided to bring back “THE SHIELD LOGO” and the studio loved it and they brought it back for their future movies (though “THE SHIELD LOGO” was also used on earlier films such as “MEL BROOKS’ BLAZING SADDLES” (1974) and “TIME AFTER TIME” (1979)). However, this is still used as a logo today for other WARNER PROPERTIES (mainly by the now-unrelated WARNER MUSIC GROUP), and the stylized typeface was used for WB's home video division from 1978 to 1996; it has also appeared on a few movies made by the studio in the 2010s and the early 2020s such as “MAGIC MIKE” [2012], “JOKER” [2019] (albeit modified) and “A CHRISTMAS STORY CHRISTMAS” [2022].

Did you know that even members of the movie’s cast and crew thinks that the ‘Don’t feed them after midnight” rule is silly?

We all know the three major rules for owning a “GREMLIN”: Avoid bright light, don't get them wet, and don't feed them after midnight. Everyone likes to point out the last rule’s biggest flaw. But it was GALLIGAN who was the first to point out that the "don't feed them after midnight" rule is silly because it's always after midnight somewhere.” DANTE’S ressponse to this was "Well, we make fun of all that stuff in “GREMLINS 2” anyway”.

[Here’s that moment DANTE is referring to.]

Did you know that “GREMLINS” competed against the movie “GHOSTBUSTERS”?

The film opened against “GHOSTBUSTERS” [1984], and while that movie did better in most cities, "in NEW YORK CITY where people were furious about having their traffic disrupted while that picture was being made for all those months we always did better than “GHOSTBUSTERS”." [I don’t know who said that but I assume that it’s true!]

[This is what the people in NYC had to deal with while “GHOSTBUSTERS” was being filmed!]

Do you know where the idea for “GREMLINS” came from?

The idea for these creatures was born in a loft in MANHATTAN’S GARMENT DISTRICT that was home to NEW YORK UNIVERSITY FILM SCHOOL graduate Screenwriter CHRIS COLUMBUS. "By day, it was pleasant enough, but at night, what sounded like a platoon of mice would come out and to hear them skittering around in the blackness was really creepy," COLUMBUS recalls.

[COLUMBUS]

Did you know about the other reason for why the “GREMLINS” cannot get exposed to sunlight?

One of the reasons for the "No bright lights" rule was that in 1984, DANTE and AMBLIN could not completely navigate the perilous waters of special effects for the “GREMLIN/PUPPETS” that well. By keeping them in the dark, this camouflaged that problem. This is an old Sci-Fi trick. DANTE did the same thing with the tricky (and lumpy) practical effects for “THE HOWLING” (1981) three years earlier. They kept the monsters in the dark to hide special effects problems.

[Here’s a shot from “THE HOWLING” to give you guys an idea of what I am talking about.]

Did you know that SPIELBERG had the perfect response to one of a studio executives’ biggest complaints?

One of the studio notes to Director JOE DANTE and Executive Producer STEVEN SPIELBERG on seeing the first cut was that there were too many “GREMLINS”. SPIELBERG suggested cutting them all out and calling the movie "PEOPLE".

[“PEOPLE”]

Did you know that the original script was even darker than the version that we got?

columbus’ script went through a few drafts before a shooting script was finalized. His original version had the Gremlins killing the dog and cutting off the mom's head and tossing it down the stairs. These elements were never shot due to the fact that DANTE and WARNER BROS. wanted the movie to be more family-oriented. The original script also contained a scene where the “GREMLINS” attacked a McDONALD’S and began eating the customers instead of burgers!

Did you know that “KATE’S” [PHOEBE CATES] infamous “SANTA SPEECH” was almost cut from the movie?

The SANTA speech proved to be controversial and studio executives insisted upon its removal because they felt it was too ambiguous as to whether it was supposed to be funny or sad. DANTE however stubbornly refused to take the scene out saying it represented this movie as a whole, which had a combination of horrific and comedic elements. SPIELBERG did not like the scene, but despite his creative control, he viewed this movie as DANTE’S project and allowed him to leave it in.

Now let’s talk about the puppets for a moment.

The “GIZMO” puppets were particularly frustrating because they were smaller, and thus broke down more. Consequently, to satisfy the crew, a scene was included in which the “GREMLINS” hang “GIZMO” on a wall and throw darts at him. This was included on a list that the crew created known to them as the "HORRIBLE THINGS TO DO TO GIZMO" list.

During one night shoot, problems with the “GREMLIN” puppets were so severe that the entire cast fell asleep on the set during the delay.

GALLIGAN recounted in an interview that when the movie was made, there was no CGI, so all of the “GREMLINS” were animatronics, each costing between $30-40,000. When everyone left the lot for the day, security would have everyone open the trunks of their cars to make sure they weren't stolen.

Apparently it took a bit for WALAS to fully grasp what the “GREMLINS” were all about. The moment of realization came to him when he saw the “CAROLING GREMLINS” dressed in human clothing. At which point he said, ‘They’re parodies of people!’

Did you know that a book written by DANTE’S father appears in this movie?

If you look closely in “BILLY’S” bedroom you’ll find a book on his nightstand called ‘THE FOUR MAGIC MOVES TO WINNING GOLF’ [1968]. This book was written by JOE DANTE Sr. and JOE DANTE Jr. was often criticized by his father for having not shown it more prominently.

Did you know that another type of “GREMLIN” appears in the movie?

Near the beginning, as Randall Peltzer makes his way to the curio shop in Chinatown, a wrecked car is seen with the hood up and smoke coming out of it. That car is an AMC Gremlin. In real life, the AMC Gremlin logo (located on the gas cap) bore a striking resemblance to the Gremlins featured in this movie, except for a more grotesque, reptilian appearance.

[That’s the car, right there!]

[And there is the company logo!]

“BARNEY” the DOG [his real name was MUSHROOM] wouldn't follow GALLIGAN across the street. So, they attached the pair with a mono-filament line. Aside from that, DANTE noted that the dog was a joy to work with a priceless talent of reliably creating the ideal reaction to particular lines that were perfect to cut to. In addition, MUSHROOM tended to work easily with the “MOGWAI” and “GREMLIN” puppets, moving in sync with them during shooting to produce believable reactions to their actions.

[MUSHROOM]

Did you know that the movie opened during a rather odd time of the year?

Originally planned and scheduled for a Christmas release, this movie was rushed into production shortly after WARNER BROS. found out that it had no major competition against PARAMOUNT’S “INDIANA JONES AND THE TEMPLE OF DOOM” or COLUMBIA’S “GHOSTBUSTERS” for the summer movie season. All three films along with PARAMOUNT’S “BEVERLY HILLS COP” [a summer movie that ironically got a CHRISTMAS releas!] became the four highest grossing films of 1984!

[I have already done stories about “INDIANA JONES” and “GHOSTBUSTERS”. Please check them out while you are here!]

Did you know that all of the “GREMLINS” dialogue was ad-libbed?

Little to no actual dialogue for the “GREMLINS” and “MOGWAI” existed in the script. In addition to several instances of on-set rewrites changing or adding to much of the script, the voiceovers were mostly ad-libs, repeating snippets of just-performed dialogue or in reaction to other sound effects or environments. To this end, HOWIE MANDEL recorded all of “GIZMO’S” lines phonetically for foreign dubs of the movie, where localized dialogue and in-jokes helped make this movie successful with audiences worldwide.

Well, that is everything that I could find out about “GREMLINS” I hope that you liked this entry. HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

Oh, and be sure to check-out the all new animated T.V. series now on the streaming service “MAX” [formerly known as “HBO MAX”] - “GREMLINS: SECRETS OF THE MOGWAI” Bye!