Joseph James Dante, Jr. is an American film director, producer, editor and actor. He is best known for Gremlins (1984). Dante`s other notable works include Piranha (1978), The Howling (1981), Explorers (1985), Innerspace (1987), The Burbs (1989), Gremlins 2: The New Batch (1990), Matinee (1993), Small Soldiers (1998), and Looney Tunes: Back in Action (2003). His work for television and cable includes immigration satire The Second Civil War (1997) and episodes of anthology series Masters of Horror and Amazing Stories, as well as Hawaii Five-0.