Latest news with #DeeWallace
Associated Press
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Associated Press
Indie Horror Meets Iconic Talent: Production Kicks Off With Dee Wallace in Thriller/Horror 'The Licked Hand'
Urban Legend Becomes Feature Film at Last PHOENIX, ARIZONA / ACCESS Newswire / June 4, 2025 / The highly anticipated horror-thriller 'The Licked Hand' has kicked off production in Arizona, starring iconic 'Scream Queen' Dee Wallace (E.T., Cujo, The Howling) alongside her terrifying antagonist, played by Ben Milliken (Bosch, Blue Crush 2, Run & Gun).Dee Wallace in Stream (2024) Directed by Adad Joel Warda and written by Levi Gordon and Warda, 'The Licked Hand' brings the chilling urban legend to life in a modern reimagining, which balances psychological terror with raw emotion - a gap often left by major studio budget-cutbacks. The film features Wallace as Eleanor, an elderly widow whose stormy night takes a sinister turn when a deranged fugitive invades her isolated Victorian home. Like so many indie productions seeking more favorable tax credits outside of California, the production team opted to film in Arizona. 'Horror is the most profitable genre for a reason - it taps into our primal fears,' said Warda. 'With Dee Wallace and a story steeped in urban mythology, I want to deliver the kind of tension and authenticity today's audiences crave.' Wallace's attachment to the project underscores a larger movement: seasoned actors lending their gravitas to independent projects that offer creative freedom and bold storytelling. 'I love this script! I love its intensity and how much it will challenge me to use every ounce of my talent,' said Wallace just prior to kicking off production. As Hollywood navigates post-pandemic shifts in audience preferences, indie producers like Jason Martinez and Jamie Ohlsen leverage low-budget roots with indie films like 'The Licked Hand' to offer fresh alternatives to cookie-cutter blockbusters. With its universal appeal, franchise potential, and built-in fanbase from the original urban legend, the team feels the film is primed for success across multiple distribution channels. Production Details: For updates, follow 'The Licked Hand' on Instagram ( @thelickedhand ) and visit Media Contact (for Written or Live Interview Requests): Layla O'Shea Co-Producer [email protected] 413-544-1689 AdadFilms: Award-winning production company founded by Assyrian-American filmmaker Adad Joel Warda, blending international aesthetics with emotional storytelling across 15 countries. 'The Licked Hand' marks the company's feature debut after two decades of acclaimed shorts and global commercial work. Ohlsen Productions: Los Angeles-based company founded by actor-producer Jamie Ohlsen, known for diverse content including 'The Hard Hit' (Richard T. Jones) and 'Wrong For Right' (Omar Gooding). The company leverages strong industry relationships to create commercially viable independent films. A Levi Gordon Production: Executive Producer and writer Levi Gordon brings his storytelling to 'The Licked Hand' following the award-winning short film 'The Hard R,' and multiple features currently in production. Contact InformationLayla O'Shea 413-544-1689 SOURCE: The Licked Hand Movie press release
Yahoo
11-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
'E.T. 'star Dee Wallace wanted to tone down sexiness in bedroom scene with her and the titular alien
Dee Wallace liked E.T., but just not in that way. The actress best known for playing the divorced mom of three in Steven Spielberg's science-fiction classic E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial spoke to the golden-toned Steve Kmetko on his Still Here Hollywood podcast, and shared a candy-coated morsel from the set of what still ranks as one of the top 10 grossing movies of all time (when adjusted for inflation.) Wallace has fond memories of the shoot, but revealed the one time she and the now Oscar-winning director parted company creatively. "[Originally, there was] a whole B-story in E.T. about E.T. having a love affair with Mary — a love 'crush' on Mary," she recalled. "There's little bits of it left in there. There was a scene where he came in to put Reese's Pieces down on my bedside table as I'm asleep. Well, Mr. Spielberg wanted the sheet a little lower than I was comfortable with." She continued, "I argued my point that this was a family film. I could understand the parents smoking pot in Poltergeist," she added, referencing the film that Spielberg had made at around the same time as a very active producer. "But this film was very pure to me. And it was about love. And so we ended up calling in [producer] Kathleen Kennedy and [writer] Melissa [Mathison], our beautiful, amazing writer, and they said, 'We kind of agree with her, Steven.' "So we compromised," Wallace concluded, "and pulled the sheet up almost to my shoulder blades, which I was okay with." "That's pretty high," Kmetko offered, but Wallace retorted, "Not to a girl from Kansas!" Earlier in Wallace's career, she did have a somewhat racy scene opposite Dudley Moore in Blake Edwards' comedy 10, which is probably okay for you to watch at work. Wallace also shared another moment from E.T. where her instincts were met not with pushback from Spielberg, but with action. In the scene where she learns that her ex-husband is away in Mexico with his new girlfriend, she decided to get up from the dining room table, so that her children wouldn't see her tears. The only problem was that it wasn't in the script. "Steven came over to me and said, 'Dee, why did you get up and leave? It's not in the script.' And I explained to him what happened. And he looked at me, and turned around at the crew and said, 'You've got a half an hour, build me a wall here with a sink with running water. Thirty minutes.' So, of course, boom, boom, boom, it happened. [Now] he could take me over to the sink and bring me back into that big close-up where I say, 'He hates Mexico.'" Check out more from Dee Wallace's appearance on Still Here Hollywood below. Read the original article on Entertainment Weekly
New York Post
04-05-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Post
‘E.T.' star Dee Wallace reveals she ‘argued' with Steven Spielberg over toning down bedroom scene
'E.T.' nearly wasn't so family friendly. Dee Wallace appeared on Steve Kmetko's 'Still Here Hollywood' podcast last week and recalled how she clashed with director Steven Spielberg over a bedroom scene involving her character, Mary, in the 1982 film. 'The only time Steven and I parted ways creatively was there's a whole B story in 'E.T.' about E.T. having a love affair with Mary, a love crush on Mary,' the 76-year-old actress explained. 12 Dee Wallace and Steven Spielberg attend the 40th anniversary screening of 'E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial' at the 2022 TCM Classic Film Festival. Getty Images for TCM 'And there's little bits of it left in there,' she continued. 'There was a scene where he came in to put Reese's Pieces down on my bedside table as I'm asleep. Well, Mr. Spielberg wanted the sheet a little lower than I was comfortable with.' Wallace said that she 'argued my point that this was a family film.' 12 Dee Wallace on the 'Still Here Hollywood' podcast. Still Here Hollywood Podcast w/ Steve Kmetko/YouTube 12 Dee Wallace and Steve Kmetko. Still Here Hollywood Podcast w/ Steve Kmetko/YouTube 12 Drew Barrymore, Dee Wallace in 'E.T.' ©Universal/courtesy Everett / Everett Collection 'I could understand the parents smoking pot in 'Poltergeist.' But this film was very pure to me. And it was about love,' Wallace shared, adding that producer Kathleen Kennedy and writer Melissa Mathison got involved and sided with Wallace over Spielberg, 78. 'So we compromised and pulled the sheet up almost to my shoulder blades, which I was okay with,' Wallace said. 12 Dee Wallace at the 20th anniversary of 'E.T.' in Los Angeles in 2002. Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images 12 Steven Spielberg filming a movie in Montville, New Jersey in Feb. 2025. GC Images 'That's pretty high,' joked Kmetko, 72, to which Wallace replied, 'Not to a girl from Kansas who knew her grandmother was gonna be watching.' 'You can take the girl out of Kansas, you can't take Kansas out of the girl,' she added with a laugh. 'E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial' was Spielberg's seventh directorial feature film in his career. 12 Steven Spielberg at the 2023 Oscars. John Locher/Invision/AP The film, which follows a young boy who befriends an alien stranded on Earth, also stars Henry Thomas, Peter Coyote, Robert MacNaughton and Drew Barrymore. On the podcast, Wallace remembered knowing 'E.T.' would be a hit the first time she watched it in theaters. 'I could tell just from the way the audience responded,' she said. 'That film reaches into your soul, into your heart. It surpasses some block that we have and wakes us up.' 12 Peter Coyote, Dee Wallace in 'E.T.' ©Universal/courtesy Everett / Everett Collection 12 Robert MacNaughton, Henry Thomas, Dee Wallace, Steven Spielberg, Kathleen Kennedy, Drew Barrymore, Peter Coyote in 2002. Courtesy Everett Collection 12 Peter Coyote, Henry Thomas, Dee Wallace in 'E.T.' Courtesy Everett Collection Wallace also said that at the time she foresaw Barrymore, 50, would have a big career eventually. 'We knew from day one she was gonna be a producer and director,' she explained. 'I'm sitting in a high director's chair, first day on set, and she comes up to me and she goes, 'Dee, I'm going to sit in your lap now.' And I said, 'Okay, Drew, come on up.' I mean, she just knew what she wanted, that one.' 12 Drew Barrymore, Dee Wallace, Henry Thomas on the set of 'E.T.' in 1982. Courtesy Everett Collection Earlier this year, Spielberg discussed the film with Barrymore at a TCM Classic Film Festival event and revealed he went through a 'real hard-fought' battle to stop a sequel from being made. 12 Steven Spielberg attends the AFI Life Achievement Award Ceremony in April 2025. WireImage 'I just did not want to make a sequel. I flirted with it for a little bit — just a little bit to see if I [could] think of a story — and the only thing I could think about was a book that was written by somebody that wrote the book for it called 'The Green Planet,' which was all going to take place at E.T.'s home,' he explained, per THR. 'We were all going to be able to go to E.T.'s home and see how E.T. lived,' Spielberg added. 'But it was better as a novel than I think it would have been as a film.'
