Movies - TV
Gremlins Was Originally A Much Gorier, R-Rated Movie
By WITNEY SEIBOLD
Rated PG by the Motion Picture Association of America, The Ringer’s recent oral history of "Gremlins," along with the DVD’s commentary, reveal its gorier and R-rated origins.
The original "Gremlins" script was written by Chris Columbus as a mere writing sample, but when the script managed to reach Spielberg’s office, he decided to produce it.
As to how Columbus’ script ended up in Spielberg’s hands, producer Mike Finnell said, "CAA sent it out [...] because they thought that nobody would make it. It was just too nuts."
Even though the film has Lynn defeat gremlins in her kitchen by putting one in a blender and another in a microwave, director Joe Dante said the scene was initially much darker.
On the "Gremlins" DVD commentary, Dante shared that Lynn wasn’t victorious in Columbus’ original draft. Instead, she was decapitated and her head was thrown down a staircase.
According to the producer Finnell, there was also "one scene where Billy and Kate go into a McDonald's and all of the people are half eaten, but the burgers are untouched."
Most notably in Columbus' draft, the adorable Mogwai named Gizmo transformed into Stripe, the film's scariest gremlin. But Spielberg dictated that Stripe be a different creature.