Post by johnpannozzi on Jul 21, 2023 1:22:54 GMT
I just found out about the "found" "R-rated" script to Gremlins : lostmediawiki.com/Gremlins_(found_R-rated_screenplay_of_Christmas_comedy-horror_film;_early_1980s)
The story behind it has some pretty glaring inaccuracies. I apologize in advance if I come off as rude or condescending.
First of all, this version of the script was not actually lost. I downloaded a copy of it way back around 2006-07 (ditto a draft for Gremlins 2) and have had it ever since. I seen on certain sites that have hosted movie screenplays.
And that 2020 Collider interview is far from the only source that talked about early drafts for the film's screenplay. The audio commentaries on the film's Special Edition DVD release (and subsequent Blu-ray releases), and it has been discussed in various interviews in magazines and such with Joe Dante, Chris Columbus and co. since the film's release back in 1984.
And I remember reading about this version of the script in an article that was originally published in a small-press magazine circa 1993, and then was reprinted on the writer's website. I think I read that thanks to a website run by JP Cupertino. Cupertino currently runs Gremlins Online (https://gremlins.wordpress.com/), and has had other Gremlins-themed sites in the past (one of them was called "The Gremlins Homepage"), but I dunno where to find archives of those sites OTTOMH.
I can say that I read a review of this draft on The B-Movie Zone Forum, in a thread that was posted in 2004: www.tapatalk.com/groups/bmmb/original-gremlins-script-the-movie-that-almost-was-t2663.html
And I do want to nitpick a few things about the early script for Gremlins:
First of all, the draft that has been floating around is the second draft, as noted on its cover page. In the very first draft by Columbus, the main characters (i.e. those who we know as Billy and Kate in the final film) would have been around 12 years old. Spielberg wanted this changed in order to differentiate "Gremlins"' story of that of "E.T." (which would have been in production around this time). Joe Dante once said he never even read this first draft. This original vision for the protagonists' ages was briefly mentioned in one of the film's audio commentaries, and there was at least one magazine article (I think in Starlog) where Dante explains why this was changed and that he didn't read this draft.
I also want to note that despite that Dante and producer Mike Finnell have mentioned a scene in the script in which Billy's mother's decapitated head rolls down the stairs (this gets talked about in the commentaries and elsewhere). This scene doesn't actually happen, at least not in the draft that is available. Instead, it's the mom's valium bottle, stained with blood, that is thrown out of the attic at Billy.
I hope that some changes could be made to the article to reflect all this, please.
The story behind it has some pretty glaring inaccuracies. I apologize in advance if I come off as rude or condescending.
First of all, this version of the script was not actually lost. I downloaded a copy of it way back around 2006-07 (ditto a draft for Gremlins 2) and have had it ever since. I seen on certain sites that have hosted movie screenplays.
And that 2020 Collider interview is far from the only source that talked about early drafts for the film's screenplay. The audio commentaries on the film's Special Edition DVD release (and subsequent Blu-ray releases), and it has been discussed in various interviews in magazines and such with Joe Dante, Chris Columbus and co. since the film's release back in 1984.
And I remember reading about this version of the script in an article that was originally published in a small-press magazine circa 1993, and then was reprinted on the writer's website. I think I read that thanks to a website run by JP Cupertino. Cupertino currently runs Gremlins Online (https://gremlins.wordpress.com/), and has had other Gremlins-themed sites in the past (one of them was called "The Gremlins Homepage"), but I dunno where to find archives of those sites OTTOMH.
I can say that I read a review of this draft on The B-Movie Zone Forum, in a thread that was posted in 2004: www.tapatalk.com/groups/bmmb/original-gremlins-script-the-movie-that-almost-was-t2663.html
And I do want to nitpick a few things about the early script for Gremlins:
First of all, the draft that has been floating around is the second draft, as noted on its cover page. In the very first draft by Columbus, the main characters (i.e. those who we know as Billy and Kate in the final film) would have been around 12 years old. Spielberg wanted this changed in order to differentiate "Gremlins"' story of that of "E.T." (which would have been in production around this time). Joe Dante once said he never even read this first draft. This original vision for the protagonists' ages was briefly mentioned in one of the film's audio commentaries, and there was at least one magazine article (I think in Starlog) where Dante explains why this was changed and that he didn't read this draft.
I also want to note that despite that Dante and producer Mike Finnell have mentioned a scene in the script in which Billy's mother's decapitated head rolls down the stairs (this gets talked about in the commentaries and elsewhere). This scene doesn't actually happen, at least not in the draft that is available. Instead, it's the mom's valium bottle, stained with blood, that is thrown out of the attic at Billy.
I hope that some changes could be made to the article to reflect all this, please.
