Dee Wallace hits 200th movie role
It’s been a typical busy year for actress Dee Wallace. So busy, she didn’t realize she reached a career milestone few actors attain.
“My publicist called me and said, ‘Wow, Dee, congratulations, you’ve passed your 200th movie!’ I had no idea,” Wallace told me from Los Angeles. With many feature films and TV movies released or pending release this year, she’s not even sure which one is the magic 200.
Although usually associated with horror film roles, variety has always been the spice of Wallace’s film life since her first bit part in 1975’s “The Stepford Wives.”
“If you blink you miss me in that,” she said with a laugh. “I think my biggest line was ‘Yeah!’”
This year, she plays either lead or supporting roles in the horror flicks “Dolls” and “3 from Hell,” the thriller “The Wrong Mommy,” a romance “Renovation of the Heart,” and the drama “Sunrise in Heaven.”
What Dee, no western? Nope, says the scream queen from past horror/ thrillers such as “Cujo,” “The Howling,” and “Critters.”
In fact, Wallace also stars in a new Critters movie to be released on Blu-ray, DVD, and digitally July 23, with the broadcast premiere later in the year on the Syfy Channel.
“It’s called ‘Critters Attack!’ and it’s really a reboot of the franchise,” explained Wallace, who starred in the original 1986 film, but not in the three sequels. “Too much time had gone by to go back and reprise my role in the original, so this is a great reworking of the story. The writers came up with an incredibly interesting and strong character for me, plus I got to go to South Africa for filming!”
But don’t expect technology to totally invade the new Critters movie.
“We didn’t use CGI - it’s all puppets like the original,” said Wallace. “I don’t think the fans would have it any other way.”
Director Bobby Miller knew fans would want to see Wallace, too, in the new version. He told me that after first reading the script he asked the studio “Can we get Dee for this?”
“She’s a consummate professional and warm and funny,” he said. “Her character in ‘Critters Attack!’ is a bit of a badass. I think a lot of folks think of Dee as the ultimate movie mom, so getting to subvert that with her was a real joy!”
Of course, Miller was probably thinking of Wallace’s famous role playing the mother in 1982’s blockbuster “E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial.”
But her venture into horror began five years earlier in “The Hills Have Eyes” which was just her third film and a real screen shocker even for 1977 audiences.
“I knew I was good at accessing emotions from acting classes and in another early film, ‘All the King’s Horses,’ but ‘The Hills’ was a whole different kind of emotional ride for me,” she said. “I love working in all genres, but it’s the dramatic work in thrillers and horror films that really rocks my boat and allows me to step up and act at many different levels.”
Yet another horror film due for a 2019 release is “Await the Dawn,” which also features Wallace’s daughter, Gabrielle Stone.
“We’ve done two or three films together now,” said Wallace. “I was hired first for ‘Await the Dawn’ then when one of the other actresses dropped out I suggested Gabrielle.”
Not content to just follow in her mom’s footsteps as an actress, Stone is also an author with a June release of her first book “Eat, Pray, #FML” (see www.eatprayfml.com).
“It has a very Millennial title, don’t you think?” notes Wallace, who’s experienced several deaths including suicides in her family and has authored several books.
“We have known drama, disaster and heartache but it’s made me realize just how strong and loving the women in our family are to get through all of these challenges. Gabrielle a chip off the old block! Her book is going to help women and men get their lives back on track from past broken relationships just like she has.”
When I asked if she’ll find time to knock out another hundred films and extend her filmography to 300, Wallace didn’t hesitate: “You bet, baby!”