48th NYFF 2010: Interview with Joe Dante (The Hole)

Joe Dante started out as Roger Corman’s guy, leading to his first feature, helming Piranha. Uncredited work on Rock ‘n’ Roll High School followed, with his breakout The Howling officially put his name on the map in ’81. At that point, Steven Spielberg started taking him more seriously, and not just as the dude who ripped off Jaws. He truly made his presence known with the Spielberg produced Twilight Zone: The Movie (1983) and the smash hit Gremlins (1984). After that, he was minted…at least for a few years.

Subsequent hits such as the kids’ sci-fi/fantasy film Explorers and Dennis Quaid star-making vehicle Innerspace (different movie than Dreamscape) made sure that the grandkids would be set up for college, while flops such as Amazon Women on the Moon, The ‘Burbs (which is now a cult classic and continues to generate revenue, just bombed at the box office), and surprisingly, Gremlins 2: The New Batch would limit future options for the filmmaker.

Despite having to wait a few years for his next assignment, in ’93, Dante made a small in scope, personal film, Matinee, a love letter to the Corman, William Castle, and Vincent Price films that he grew up on. He also worked on Nickelodeon’s Eerie, Indiana, a show that really had his stamp on it. Small Soldiers was successful, and completely in Dante’s wheel house and this would land him Looney Tunes: Back in Action which returned the filmmaker to Hollywood, but in an ill-advised relaunch of a brand nobody wanted. That film was taken as his Edward Scissorhands-esque autobiographical tale about his experiences in Hollywood, although Dante never intended it as such. Regardless, it bombed, and that was the end of his work in Hollywood.

A few segments in horror anthology features, and television work on shows such as Masters of Horror and seven years later, we come to The Hole—Joe Dante’s first truly indie film since 1978’s Piranha, his debut. Talk about full circle. Here is my interview with the filmmaker.