Stephen King's IT/IT Remake

[Glebe]

IT First Look (2017).

Still (caustiously) optomistic about this.

[Twit 2]

The book has a really good use of psychogeography (if that's the right word). It really conveys the sense of the town itself being haunted, as well as the creature's horror being on an epic scale. The real meat of the book is incidental detail - Mike pouring over records of the town's history; the stuff about the quarter of a century cycles; the little vignettes of bleakness (the boy who gets killed with the hammer, the psychopath kid smothering his baby sibling,for example) from peripheral characters; and above all, the sense of timelessness - the kids' summer seeming like a lifetime, the intensity of their emotions, experiences and friendships. Ben writing haiku in the library, Eddie's asthma attack in the drugstore, shooting cans and larking about.

It's basically a big unashamedly romantic Bildungsroman type thing, with Lovecraftian horror through it. I guess True Detective is influenced by Ligotti, who like King is influenced by Lovecraft, so if the original director did it, all those elements of the book could have flourished.

This film really will be pisspoor.

[Kelvin]

IT First Look (2017).

Still (caustiously) optomistic about this.

I like the dialogue and the kids seem good from what little we've seen, but for god's sake, are they really so lazy and complacent they have to CGI balloons now?

[ASFTSN]

The book has a really good use of psychogeography (if that's the right word). It really conveys the sense of the town itself being haunted, as well as the creature's horror being on an epic scale. The real meat of the book is incidental detail - Mike pouring over records of the town's history; the stuff about the quarter of a century cycles; the little vignettes of bleakness (the boy who gets killed with the hammer, the psychopath kid smothering his baby sibling,for example) from peripheral characters; and above all, the sense of timelessness - the kids' summer seeming like a lifetime, the intensity of their emotions, experiences and friendships. Ben writing haiku in the library, Eddie's asthma attack in the drugstore, shooting cans and larking about.

It's basically a big unashamedly romantic Bildungsroman type thing, with Lovecraftian horror through it. I guess True Detective is influenced by Ligotti, who like King is influenced by Lovecraft, so if the original director did it, all those elements of the book could have flourished.

This film really will be pisspoor.

Good stuff here.  When I read the book as a kid I thought IT was frightening because it could turn itself into whatever you are most scared of.  When I re-read it last year I realised IT is frightening because it can be read as being about the experience of LIFE, which ultimately is something that also morphs, or at any second could morph into what you are most afraid of, no matter who you are...just like IT.

This film will just be a film about a scary clowny.

[Kelvin]

Twit 2, that's a good summary of King's strengths in general, actually. His best works are peppered with the mundanity of evil. Characters living lives that seem almost like a rose tinted memory, idyllic and happy, then sharply brought into focus through some sordid anecdote, or fleeting glimpse of inhumanity. For me, King's best material was usually found in the first third of the book, as he established a vivid sense not just of place, but mood. Throwaway references to abuse, needless cruelty, sexual awakening, perversions, murders, or affairs; those are the parts that stick with me, years after I've forgotten the details of his convoluted plots.   

[Cerys]

I like the dialogue and the kids seem good from what little we've seen, but for god's sake, are they really so lazy and complacent they have to CGI balloons now?

Why not?  If the balloon isn't really there, then it being CG makes more sense than having an actual balloon.

[Goldentony]

This film will just be a film about a scary clowny.

IT does take on more than one form in this, it's been mentioned during production. You've definitely got

Spoiler alert

The Leper

[close]

showing up,

Spoiler alert

the fridge full of flying leeches

[close]

,

Spoiler alert

the Paul Bunyan statue

[close]

someone called

Spoiler alert

Judith

[close]

and

Spoiler alert

I can't be certain with this, but Mike Hanlon witnesses a fire in the trailer which could be some variation of the Black Spot fire from the book

[close]

.

Still optimistic with this like. Neither trailer's really given me any reason to doubt that. The advertising's obviously 100% "FUCKIN CLOWN MATE!!!!" centric because if you haven't read all 72,000 pages of IT you at least probably know the fucking terrifying clown, much as i'd like more fucking big evil ancient birds biting people on the arse, a mummy cutting about trying to eat kids faces and the shark from Jaws.

[Avril Lavigne]

I like the dialogue and the kids seem good from what little we've seen, but for god's sake, are they really so lazy and complacent they have to CGI balloons now?

I imagine having to design, animate, light, render & composite a photorealistic CG balloon isn't actually the laziest way of putting one in a movie.

[ASFTSN]

IT does take on more than one form in this, it's been mentioned during production. You've definitely got

Spoiler alert

the Paul Bunyan statue

[close]

Ok, well I'm glad of this at least.  For some reason has always struck me as proper terrifying in the book.

[colacentral]

I read this last night:


http://www.tor.com/2013/09/25/the-great-stephen-king-reread-it/


It contains a good defence of the infamous gang bang scene.

[Glebe]

They appear to be emerging from The Mist...

[phantom_power]

Is that tagline something relevant to the book? Doesn't exactly draw in newcomers if so

[Bazooka]

Is that tagline something relevant to the book? Doesn't exactly draw in newcomers if so

Yes it's what Pennywise the clown says, floating refers to balloons/bodies.

[New Jack]

http://www.slashfilm.com/it-footage-reaction-the-losers-club-is-tight-pennywise-is-terrifying-comic-con-2017/

That's a good link because they've seen ten minutes of IT, and it bodes well for things like Derry being haunted and it being behind acts of evil there, it not simply being OMG EVIL CLOWN.

[Glebe]

New trailer.

Best trailer yet, if you ask me. I like what I'm seeing here. Oh yeah, and:

Tilda Swinton Was Considered to Play Pennywise in STEPHEN KING'S IT.

Blimey.

[Bazooka]

New trailer.

Best trailer yet, if you ask me. I like what I'm seeing here. Oh yeah, and:

Tilda Swinton Was Considered to Play Pennywise in STEPHEN KING'S IT.

Blimey.

Yeah I agree about the trailer, I still can't shift Tim Curry's performance from my head, despite the mini series flaws Curry was excellent.

[SteveDave]

Tilda Swinton Was Considered to Play Pennywise in STEPHEN KING'S IT.

Blimey.

"When one journalist subsequently asked if Tilda Swinton was considered, she replied: "She wasn't available. No, no I swear to god. She was not. We had a slot to shoot the movie and she wasn't available so she didn't even audition. But of course, we all thought about it.""

[Rev]

That new trailer is terrible, it's just a load of clown jump scares.  It's a trailer, and does trailer business, but I'm less optimistic about this now.  That chant of 'I'm lovin' it' or whatever it was can fuck right off too.

[Bad Ambassador]

The BBFC reports a running time of 135 minutes, breaking the rule that horror movies should not exceed two hours. Let's hope they can back it up.

Also contrasts with The Dark Tower, which rattles through seven books in 95 minutes, this needs another 40 to do half of one book.

[Custard]

Quite looking forward to this. A darker version of the mini-series would be enough for me, I think. I'm a slut and easily pleased

Interesting run-time, especially as this is the first of two films. Hope they can justify it

[BritishHobo]

The BBFC reports a running time of 135 minutes, breaking the rule that horror movies should not exceed two hours. Let's hope they can back it up.

Also contrasts with The Dark Tower, which rattles through seven books in 95 minutes, this needs another 40 to do half of one book.

It's not doing seven books - it's doing one, with a plot strand from the third.

[Bad Ambassador]

They've been very vague about exactly what it is they're doing. I think the plan is still to follow the first movie with other movies and TV series adapting the entire saga, but this is predicated on the success of the pilot - which is predicted to be a flop.

[Genevieve]

"When one journalist subsequently asked if Tilda Swinton was considered, she replied: "She wasn't available. No, no I swear to god. She was not. We had a slot to shoot the movie and she wasn't available so she didn't even audition. But of course, we all thought about it.""

Surely Tilda Swinton doesn't have to audition at this stage in her career? what a loose-lipped spokeswoman.

[Goldentony]

what if she'd turned up on day one and insisted on giving Pennywise a Geordie accent or making his head be where his dick is and vice versa? you need to watch out for this shit with artists or it'll fuck the whole thing up

[Genevieve]

You play it as it's dealt that's what you do

making his head be where his dick is and vice versa?

but come on, she's not Richard Herring.

[Goldentony]

whatever it is she does then, what if she wanted the clown to stare at Vincent Gallo for a fortnight

[Goldentony]

Double post sorry, but a look at the post weekend hype -

Thor: Ragnarok & IT Top Post-SDCC Social Media Buzz

Even as a fan I didn't really imagine this'd get anything close to the hype it's been getting and honestly thought the Dark Tower would be getting a better reception. Odd how it's turned out, but very glad. It'd drive me mad getting this but not a second half because of the box office. Fingers crossed that it's fucking great like.

[Bazooka]

Double post sorry, but a look at the post weekend hype -

Thor: Ragnarok & IT Top Post-SDCC Social Media Buzz

Even as a fan I didn't really imagine this'd get anything close to the hype it's been getting and honestly thought the Dark Tower would be getting a better reception. Odd how it's turned out, but very glad. It'd drive me mad getting this but not a second half because of the box office. Fingers crossed that it's fucking great like.

Whilst The Dark Tower is the bigger book, it doesn't appear to be known outside of people who have read it or are big King/literature heads, Pennywise is a pretty iconic image in horror, and most people who will watch this have more than likely seen the mini series.

[Bad Ambassador]

I think it's just an easier pitch as well.

It: Town is terrorised by entity that looks like an evil clown.
The Dark Tower: Something about gunfighters, parallel worlds and Matthew McConaghey as the devil, or someone. It also looks a bit YA with so much emphasis put on the teenage kid.

[DukeDeMondo]

I don't really get the hullabaloo over these trailers, I think they've been fucking awful. That tells me nothing at all about the film itself of course. I'm hoping it will be a right old hurrah.