Corey Feldman Lost A Big E.T. Role, But A Steven Spielberg Promise Put Him In Gremlins
The life of an actor is one that has its peaks and valleys and is not without its share of heartbreak. All actors have their "one that got away," instances where they miss out on a great role and/or project, yet most of those situations involve coming close to landing a role before finding out that someone else has been cast. It's far more rare to land a plum role only to have the character itself change so drastically that the director actually talks you out of accepting the gig.
That's exactly what happened to a young Corey Feldman upon auditioning for "E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial" for director Steven Spielberg. After the unfortunate news had been broken to Feldman, Spielberg did what so many Hollywood figures have done since cinema began: made a promise to involve him in the filmmaker's next project. While such a promise typically holds about as much weight in the film industry as a "Let's do lunch," Spielberg proved himself to not be the typical Hollywood figure in this case. When his production of "Gremlins" came around a few years later, Spielberg made sure to remember Feldman during casting, ensuring that while the child actor missed out on being in one of the biggest movies of all time, he was a part of another highly successful and influential film by way of apology.
'Night Skies' becomes 'E.T.' and loses Corey Feldman
It took several years for the story of "E.T." to take shape, let alone get made. Initially, Spielberg conceived of a far more horror-oriented alien invasion movie entitled "Night Skies," a concept which he hired writer John Sayles (who had written the "Jaws" knock-off "Piranha" for director Joe Dante) to flesh out into a script. After working on "Night Skies" for a while, Spielberg and another writer, Melissa Mathison, honed in on the script's relationship between a boy and a friendly alien, wanting to make a movie about just that instead.
After Spielberg and Mathison developed "E.T.," Feldman auditioned for the film and won a lead role. As he explained in the recent oral history of "Gremlins" at The Ringer, however, things changed, leading to Spielberg's fateful promise:
"He wanted me to be one of the two stars of the movie. And then he went dark and he just kind of disappeared for three months. And then all of a sudden, we get a call. [...] He's like, 'Unfortunately, I have some sad news. There's been a major rewrite of the script. And we've decided to change the idea that this movie is about a little boy and his friend who discover an alien, and we've made it a little boy who discovers the alien on his own and tries to hide it from his family. So unfortunately, whatever part you are going to be doing as the best friend, it's going to be cut down to a day or two, and we think that would be a waste of your efforts. So I would advise you to withdraw from the role. And I promise if you do that, I will give you a lead role in whatever my next film is that has a kid in it.'"
Feldman gets 'Gremlins' based on a promise and his own talent
Of course, when Spielberg made that promise to Feldman, the young actor was already jaded enough to believe it was a kind gesture more than a genuine offer. As he recalled:
"I've heard this kind of thing a million times before in this industry. Like, 'Oh yeah, sure, you'll be in my next movie. No problem.' And then that never happens."
Yet a few years later, both "Night Skies" as well as Feldman's audition lingered in Spielberg's mind. He took some ideas from the former project and parlayed them into a spec script written by a young college graduate named Chris Columbus entitled "Gremlins," choosing to produce it and hire Dante from "Piranha" for the director's chair. Then, delivering on his promise, he helped Feldman get an audition for the film. Fortunately, Dante was impressed enough with Feldman so that his producer needn't have strong-armed him into casting the kid. As Dante explained:
"We already knew who he was because I'd seen him in 'Time After Time.' I'd seen him in a whole bunch of pictures. And when you're looking at child actors, you want to find the ones who actually are professional and don't have the Disney Cutes."
Thus, Feldman played the supporting but still memorable role of Pete, the put-upon best friend of the hero of "Gremlins," and it was a turn that led to his next Spielberg-produced project: being a major part of the lead ensemble in "The Goonies" one year later. Given that Spielberg put Feldman in not one but two major box-office hits that remain beloved to this day, it can safely be said that the man keeps his promises.