![]() ![]() Reading about Walas’s work, what really stands out is the sheer number of creatures he and his crew turned out. According to Walas, the basic gremlin look came easy but, when it came to the mogwai, ‘it took us seven months to nail that design down.’ GremlinsĪmong others, we hear from Chris Walas (who led the thirty-strong creature team) director Joe Dante and producer Michael Finnell. Most of the text is devoted to live on-set effects – not surprising if, as Sammon says, Gremlins is (in 1984) ‘one of the heaviest live-action special effects films in cinema history.’ I’m not sure on what basis he makes that claim but I’m prepared to believe it’s true.Īfter a satisfying dissection of the film’s genesis and pre-production (including Walas’s confession that despite his enthusiasm for the project, the second-draft screenplay’s references to ‘hordes of gremlins – thousands and thousands of them’ made him ‘turn pale’), we move quickly into creature design and development. I dare you to read this one without cracking a smile. ![]() Likewise, Paul M Sammon’s discussion of Gremlins is packed to the rafters with anecdotes about the inventive craziness that abounded on the set of this landmark creature feature. For example, Don Shay’s Blade Runner article is meticulous and multi-layered, while Adam Eisenberg’s piece on The Day After hums with nuclear tension. In the land of Cinefex, the playing field is always level.Īll the same, you’ll often find that the essential character of both a movie and its VFX artists infiltrates the text. Its devotion to objectivity allows it to treat all films – regardless of budget, box office success or artistic merit – with the same non-judgemental attitude. Dreamscape – What Dreams Are Made Of (article by Adam Eisenberg)Ĭinefex is all about straight reporting.Across The Eighth Dimension With Buckaroo Banzai (article by Nora Lee).Gremlins – Never Feed Them After Midnight (article by Paul M Sammon).Inside are articles on three movies, covering the regular 72 pages. Those cute Mogwai eyes are there again on the back cover, peering out from inside a cage in the school science lab. As if you needed any more clues, the giant close-up of Gizmo on the front cover will confirm that the big film covered in issue #19 is Joe Dante’s 1984 hit Gremlins. But you’d better take care with this one because if you drop it in the water there’s no telling what might come out. The worst that can happen is the pages go crinkly.
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