It
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Follows a group of kids called the "Losers Club" that encounter a creature called It, which preys on children and whose favorite form is that of a sadistic clown called Pennywise. When the creature resurfaces, the kids are called upon to regroup again, this time as adults, even though they have no memory of the first battle.
- Filmed in Toronto.
- According to EW one of the changes to the story in this adaptation involves Bill leading the Loser's Club into the lair of Pennywise: Those may remember Bill’s little brother Georgie chases a paper boat down a storm-swollen street when he is murdered in his yellow rain slicker by Pennywise the Clown. In the book, poor Georgie is found with his arm missing. In the new film he’s not found at all. That means his brother, nicknamed “Stuttering Bill” by the local bullies, is leading his fellow "Losers" not just on a mission of revenge against the shapeshifting evil that lives beneath their town. He’s on a quest to find his little brother – alive or dead – which means venturing into the subterranean lair of the nameless creature they call It. The final confrontation happens in the lair where Pennywise lives, a big cistern, a circular space that resembles a cooling tower. Bill may find what he’s looking for. And he may regret ever having searched.
- Costume designer Janie Bryant had this to say about the new look of Pennywise: "The costume definitely incorporates all these otherworldly past lives, if you will. He is definitely a clown from a different time." Adding... "There is almost a doll-like quality to the costume. The pants being short, the high waistline of the jacket, and the fit of the costume is a very important element. It gives the character a child-like quality." (8/16/16)
- On playing Pennywise, actor Bill Skarsgard was quoted saying "It’s such an extreme character. Inhumane. It’s beyond even a sociopath, because he’s not even human. He’s not even a clown. I’m playing just one of the beings It creates. It’s important that we do something fresh and original for this one. It’s purposely not going toward that weird, greasy look. It truly enjoys the shape of the clown Pennywise, and enjoys the game and the hunt. What’s funny to this evil entity might not be funny to everyone else. But he thinks it’s funny. Tim Curry’s performance was truly great, but it’s important for me to do something different because of that. I’ll never be able to make a Tim Curry performance as good as Tim Curry."
- Nicholas Hamilton plays "Henry Bowers."
- Owen Teague (Bloodline) plays "Patrick Hocksetter, part of a group of bullies who torment the Losers Club. He is a psychopath and keeps a refrigerator full of animals that he’s killed."
- Bill Skarsgard (Hemlock Grove) will play Pennywise.
- Will Poulter (We're the Millers, Maze Runner) was once attached to play "Pennywise," but rumors indicate that he may not be able to do it now due to scheduling conflicts.
- Filming is still aimed to begin this summer and with an R-rating in mind, according to producer Roy Lee, who was also quoted saying: "It is very close to the source material in one way but very different if you look at it as a literary piece of work… We’re taking it and making the movie from the point of view of the kids, and then making another movie from the point of view of the adults, that could potentially then be cut together like the novel. But it’s gonna be a really fun way of making this movie." At the moment they're fine-tuning the final draft of the script, so they can reach their budget target before moving forward. (2/19/16)
- Filming is aimed to take place next summer, partly to allow for work with children, as they have main roles in the first half of this two-part feature. Director Andy Muschietti was quoted saying: "King described 50s’ terror iconography. And I feel there’s a whole world now to rediscover, to update. There won’t be mommies, werewolves. Terrors are going to be a lot more surprising." (10/31/15)
- The project is back in development with Andy Muschietti (Mama) in negotiations to direct. Upon officially signing him on, the studio will then look for a new writer to "tailor a script to Muschietti’s vision." (7/16/15)
- Cary Fukunaga did an interview recently where he went more in depth as to why left the project, saying: "I was trying to make an unconventional horror film. It didn’t fit into the algorithm of what they knew they could spend and make money back on based on not offending their standard genre audience. Our budget was perfectly fine. We were always hovering at the $32 million mark, which was their budget. It was the creative that we were really battling. It was two movies. They didn’t care about that. In the first movie, what I was trying to do was an elevated horror film with actual characters. They didn’t want any characters. They wanted archetypes and scares. I wrote the script. They wanted me to make a much more inoffensive, conventional script. But I don’t think you can do proper Stephen King and make it inoffensive."
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- He went on to say... "The main difference was making Pennywise more than just the clown. After 30 years of villains that could read the emotional minds of characters and scare them, trying to find really sadistic and intelligent ways he scares children, and also the children had real lives prior to being scared. And all that character work takes time. It’s a slow build, but it’s worth it, especially by the second film. But definitely even in the first film, it pays off. It was being rejected. Every little thing was being rejected and asked for changes. Our conversations weren’t dramatic. It was just quietly acrimonious. We didn’t want to make the same movie. We’d already spent millions on pre-production. I certainly did not want to make a movie where I was being micro-managed all the way through production, so I couldn’t be free to actually make something good for them. I never desire to screw something up. I desire to make something as good as possible."
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- Lastly, he added... "We invested years and so much anecdotal storytelling in it. Chase and I both put our childhood in that story. So our biggest fear was they were going to take our script and bastardize it. So I’m actually thankful that they are going to rewrite the script. I wouldn’t want them to stealing our childhood memories and using that. I mean, I’m not sure if the fans would have liked what I would had done. I was honoring King’s spirit of it, but I needed to update it. King saw an earlier draft and liked it."
- It appears that director Cary Fukunaga has left the project due to "budgetary reasons that stem from a difference in creative visions." Filming was reportedly going to begin three weeks from now, but now production is put on hold. It's said that "New Line had greenlit the movie at $30 million (the second part would have had a larger budget) and that Fukunaga’s drafts were coming in at a higher number. Even with the start of principal photography approaching, the script was still being reworked. Execs, producers and the director realized they were at an impasse and would not make their start date. Fukunaga decided to leave the project, which has now been pushed indefinitely." No word if Will Poulter will remain attached. (5/25/15)
- Apparently the studio wanted IT to be younger in the film, so they've reportedly attached young Brit actor Will Poulter (We're the Millers, Maze Runner) to star in the film as IT.
- Director Cary Fukunaga had a recent interview where he details some aspects of getting the project together, saying: "This will be my first movie in the US and I’m still trying to find the perfect guy to play Pennywise. It’s really good to know Stephen [King] likes what we did. We changed names, dates, dynamics, but the spirit is similar to what he’d like to see in cinemas, I think." Adding..."I had already read versions of the script but nothing felt right. Everybody tried to put too much into it, telling it from the perspective of the adult and the child in a two-hour movie. It didn’t fit. So I decided to throw it all away and start from scratch." (4/5/15)
- The studio gave an update on the film, saying: "We’re going to get a draft, what is supposed to be the shooting [script], any day now from Cary and his writing partner… We’re doing a deal for them to write the second movie. Our hope is to prep sometime in the next few months and shoot in the summer. That one is as much on the runway as we can possibly be. I know New Line is ready to go." (1/22/15)
- Producer Seth Grahame-Smith revealed some minor details on the project recently, saying: "I think that if anything, [the new film] will bring back some of the viciousness of the book that they couldn’t do with the miniseries because it was for broadcast… I think it’s going to be very scary, but I also feel like you’ve got Cary who is going to direct these kids—and he’s incredible at casting, incredible at shooting. He’s incredible with tone and atmosphere. One of the things I wanted to do is be a part of one of the really good King adaptations. As we know, there is an echelon of King adaptations that are classics. There are some that are okay. There are some that we’d rather forget." (1/22/15)
- Apparently Stephen King himself gave the project his blessing after reading the latest script, saying: "Go with God, please! This is the version the studio should make."
- Cary Fukunaga (Sin Nombre, Jane Eyre) was originally set to direct and co-write.
- Warner Bros. has moved the project over to their New Line Cinema production outfit, as they plan on having the company specifically focus on horror once again.
- The film will reportedly be split into two full length features, the first telling the story as kids, while the second follows the same kids as adults.
- It's said that they're aiming for an R rating.
- It's said that the film will primarily be set in "present day".
- At one point Dave Kajganich (Invasion, Creek) was hired to script.
- Based on the best-selling Stephen King book published in 1986, which was then turned into an ABC miniseries in 1990.
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