18 Directors Who Sneaked In References To Their Own Movies
14. Joe Dante – Smiley Face Stickers & TV Reporters
It makes sense that Joe Dante would pay homage to his 1981 film The Howling in Gremlins. It was thanks to his work on the classic werewolf horror that Gremlins’ executive producer Steven Spielberg chose him to direct the comedy-horror – a staple of Christmastime movie-viewing since its release in 1984.
It’s first nod to The Howling comes in the form of a smiley face sticker on protagonist Billy’s refrigerator, referencing the The Howling’s lycanthropic serial killer Eddie Quist who leaves a smiley face sticker as his calling card.
In another scene towards the end of the movie when the gremlin threat has been eliminated, we see a TV news segment featuring journalist Lew Landers (played by Jim McKrell) reporting on the aftermath. He’s also the same journalist that reported on the events in The Howling, whose name itself is an in-joke referencing real-life B-movie horror director Lew Landers.