{"id":11353,"date":"2014-06-09T08:07:00","date_gmt":"2014-06-09T14:07:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.bmovienation.com\/?p=11353"},"modified":"2014-06-09T08:08:11","modified_gmt":"2014-06-09T14:08:11","slug":"30-years-of-gremlins","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bmovienation.com\/?p=11353","title":{"rendered":"30 Years Of Gremlins"},"content":{"rendered":"
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It\u2019s been three decades since the Steven Spielberg-produced Gremlins<\/i> first hit theaters and both delighted and frightened an entire generation of kids. In celebration of the film\u2019s 30th anniversary and its first time being released as a digital download, the film\u2019s star Zach Galligan (who played Billy Peltzer) spoke with BuzzFeed about working with the Phoebe Cates, the film\u2019s backlash, why the \u201980s classic still resonates with kids today, and more.<\/p>\n

How did you first get involved with the movie?<\/b><\/p>\n

Zach Galligan:<\/b> Well, you know I\u2019d really love to have some amazing story behind it, but it was basically just a straightforward audition. In fact, I remember that at the time it was just a cluster of auditions that came my way in March of \u201883, and one them was Gremlins<\/i>. But I did take a keen interest in it because I saw that Steven Spielberg\u2019s name was attached to it as an executive producer \u2014 and, of course, he had been the biggest person in Hollywood for the last eight years, ever since the release of Jaws<\/i>. And me, as a 19-year-old kid, Spielberg was just it; he was like a magic word.<\/p>\n

So I ended putting a little bit more focus on that [audition], but I didn\u2019t get the entire script. I just got to read a small portion of the script, like three pages of dialogue, and it was the scene in the movie where Phoebe [Cates] and my character are walking through the snow and she tells me that she doesn\u2019t like Christmas. So I knew the movie was about gremlins, but I didn\u2019t get to see anything [in the script] that had to with the creatures.<\/p>\n

So a day or two later [after meeting with the film\u2019s producers], I got called in for what is called a mix and match final session, which is when you audition on camera \u2014 which back in \u201883, if you got on tape you knew you were among the final few people being considered. I went in to read with Phoebe, who I was paired with, and I did do this one thing at the end of the scene where I put my head on her shoulder, sorta joking around, and when Spielberg saw it he apparently really loved that. And the rest, as they say, is history.<\/p>\n

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Photo courtesy of Warner Bros. Studios.<\/div>\n

Galligan with co-star Phoebe Cates (who played Kate Beringer).<\/small><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Was it a little intimidating working with Phoebe Cates, because she was already so well known for Fast Times at Ridgemont High<\/i>?<\/b><\/p>\n

ZG:<\/b> The thing about Phoebe is that she was intimidating to approach because she was so pretty, but she is such a nice person. Of all the models I ever met in my life, over the last 30 years, she is probably the least aware<\/i> of her own attractiveness. I mean, she knew she was pretty, but she never made a big deal about it. She was very down to earth and cool.<\/p>\n

Even though Steven Spielberg was attached as executive producer, did you have any hesitations about making the film? Especially after reading the script, where it could almost seem\/read a bit like a B-movie.<\/b><\/p>\n

ZG:<\/b> Well, I knew once Spielberg was attached that the movie would have a pedigree. Remember by that point the Star Wars<\/i> films had come out, so you could do cheesy [B-movie] space movie or [like Star Wars<\/i>] you could put some money and thought into it, and make it into an A-list space adventure. So I just figured it was going to be an A-list monster movie.<\/p>\n

What was your favorite part about making Gremlins<\/i>?<\/b><\/p>\n

ZG:<\/b> Well, I had never been to California, I grew up in Manhattan. Discovering L.A., in particular in the early \u201980s, was pretty spectacular; it was fun and carefree and there was not nearly as much traffic as exists today. It was very much the last gasps of the Beach Boys ideal view of L.A.: sun, the beach, cars, blondes, etc. And, of course, hanging out with Phoebe, \u2018cause she had a car and I couldn\u2019t drive, so she\u2019d drive me everywhere. We\u2019d head out to the beach, crank the radio blasting Culture Club. We were both just 19, college sophomores, it was like the world was our oyster \u2014 just fun and crazy.<\/p>\n

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Warner Bros. Studios<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Did you think that Gremlins was going to be as big of a hit as it was, and, also did you even think it would be become this big iconic classic film?