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Shageletic posted:I think one possible point of inspiration for IT was the famous case of a woman being sexually assualted on a pool table, while the patrons of the bar watched. It was in MA, and plausibly before the book was written, and it was huge in the time. I think the town was even called something like Derry? This is just off the top of my head. But the everyday malevolence of small towns is the biggest King theme (though I've only read like 6 or so of his books). Are you talking about the case that The Accused was based off of? I think that's a stretch. More likely King just wrote himself into a corner like he usually does and went full on drunken stream of consciousness with it.
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Apr 4, 2017 18:20
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The miniseries hasn't aged well and I never cared for it all that much to start with. The thing that gets me is how much talent there was onscreen that got wasted. Curry was great and was surrounded by a lot of really good to decent actors but by the time it got to the adults for some reason it got really cheesy and hokey. I'm not sure if it was the script or not but it felt more like they didn't do enough takes or rehearsals or something because I've seen John Ritter and Harry Anderson, etc. in other stuff and they're pretty good usually. Probably came down to budgeting. I felt the part dealing with the kids was better in every way and it seemed like the second half was rushed.
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Apr 13, 2017 01:04
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WattsvilleBlues posted:To be fair, I'm nervous about how the current incarnation will do the ending. As it's written in the book, it's unfilmable. Same. I honestly can't think of an ending that might be satisfying and not ridiculous and the ending of the book itself is already its weakest element. Gangbangs and space turtles aren't gonna work. I like the idea someone had in this thread where you wind up with some sort of clown spider and I can picture that - where Pennywise just keeps evolving into increasingly more monstrous forms culminating in this giant spider with a few weird, subtle clown elements. If I remember correctly, the basic point of the ending was the adults overcoming their childhood fears so if you play up the faith element of that aspect I can see it working. Visually, I keep picturing the ending to Altered States for some reason and think that approach might work out. Or something like the end of Terminator 2 where when the liquid terminator dies and he keeps morphing into all these weird shapes and personas of the people he's mimicked and "IT" just keeps doing crazy poo poo like that in the final battle; growing prior victims as legs and having their heads be his eight eyes. I dunno. I'm rambling here.
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Apr 13, 2017 02:00
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I think it's a mistake to make "Kid IT" and "Grown Up IT' into two films but I could see it working. I keep thinking of how "Sleepers" handled it with long segments devoted to the present and the flashbacks.
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Apr 14, 2017 15:27
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Bruteman posted:This is great, thanks. Seconding this. Finally got around to reading this article and it was very interesting, especially the the part where they talk about how Pennywise had to look like a regular clown to be scary, which seems to be a bone of contention because as much as people insist he always looked like Clarabelle or Bozo it's simply not the case. But the fact that Curry was so adamantly against prosthetics really drives this angle home of the character seeming harmless on the surface. He was so loving good selling the character and emoting behind the make up, using his voice, his facial expressions and his voice inflection to drive the fear element. The bloodshot eyes are a really subtle and very effective way to evoke the creepiness too. I'm not sure how to follow up on it really but making Pennywise Bozo or Ronald McDonald again is probably an unwise approach since there's just no way to top it. Maybe some cut aways could work. Like having Pennywise look like a standard bozo clown, cut to the kids face/reaction and then back to the clown only this time he has the silver eyes or his teeth are yellow and every time we cut back to Pennywise, his appearance shifts subtly. Based on what I've seen, I'm inclined to trust the film makers so far.
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Apr 16, 2017 20:17
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Lordshmee posted:The Library Policeman was the most traumatizing thing I have EVER read. Did you read "A Very Dark Place"? Because Jesus Christ.
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May 5, 2017 01:21
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The Saddest Rhino posted:i can't find this, is it "A Very Tight Place"? that one. my fault.
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May 5, 2017 03:54
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ProperCoochie posted:One reason why Stephen King films always seem crummy is because King spends so much time in character's heads.) Great point in a really good post.
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May 9, 2017 03:12
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HUNDU THE BEAST GOD posted:What looks bad about the IT trailers? I've been blown away by them and I have barely the slightest interest in the project as it is. Nroo posted:Because the evil clown looks too evil. "Not My Pennywise" is what it comes down to. People make the mistake of thinking he always looked like Bozo or Ronald McDonald but if you read the book that's not the case at all. It'd be a mistake anyway to to try and re-up what Curry did since he was for the most part the only thing really worth watching in the miniseries.
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May 20, 2017 21:25
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Kawabata posted:The character doesn't work at all if you portray him that way. This is not the kind of monster that you need to immediately avoid because it will kill you on spot. Pennywise torments the kids but doesn't try to physically harm them most of the times. Yes, the book makes it clear that he's evil but it's the kind of lingering evil that King does best and Curry portrayed perfectly. This argument came up before in the King thread during a time when I was actively re-reading the book. I posted numerous excerpts describing Pennywise that only tangentially resemble Bozo. The traditional clown is just one of several appearances he takes and it changes constantly. I think Curry's iconic take on the character has cemented the visuals in people's minds to the point where they mis-remember the actual narrative descriptions in the book.
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May 20, 2017 21:54
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Edgar Allen Ho posted:Besides Georgie, are there any instances in the book of It, as Pennywise, luring anyone by pretending to be a benign clown? No, there aren't. But it's gotten to the point where Curry's performance has cemented the character as much as King's novel so people have forgotten what they read.
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May 22, 2017 04:17
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So I'm still wondering, is the plan to really make two entirely separate movie or will there be flashbacks, crossovers and some sort of call backs and interconnectivity? The adults aren't in teh first movie at all, right? I could see it working either way but I liked the way the book jumped around between time periods to aid the storytelling. Same with the TV series. I think it works better that way - showing why the grown up characters are the way they are because of their childhoods. I'm reminded of "Sleepers" that similarly dealt with the passage of time and how childhood emotional trauma defines your adulthood and, even in that film, I often got mixed up about which kid was which adult even though they attempted to make it clear. Thinking about "that scene", the smartest way to do it would just be to replace it with a loving, gentle or even semi-passionate kiss at the most and move on. It would still convey the original intended point and I tend to think that's how they'll handle it.
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Jul 23, 2017 19:13
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Blade_of_tyshalle posted:Is this film set in the 80s? 90's as I understand it.
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Jul 24, 2017 05:09
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Fart City posted:Looks like my concerns were valid, and they're treating Pennywise like a slasher villain. That last shot is something out of an A Nightmare On Elm Street movie. Still, the more I see of the movie, the more surprised I am by how pretty it is. I'll be curious if the narrative side can match the strong visuals. Here's hoping, anyway. I think it looks fantastic and overall (Pennywise aside) really nails the visuals I had in my head when I read the book. loving movie looks exactly like how I pictured the town. They have to do something different with PW than just copy what Curry did and I'm digging it. He looks loving scary to me. If they just went with the Bozo/Ronald McDonlad approach, it'd be like having Heath Ledger do another Jack Nicholson impression in TDK. Plus, we don't know what other forms PW might take. Could be a fake out and they're using the scary evil clown images for promotional purposes. I'm down. Already looks to be better than the TV series.
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Jul 27, 2017 18:29
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TheBigBudgetSequel posted:
Holy poo poo. I just realized that it's July and I already know what the most popular Halloween costume is gonna be this year.
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Jul 27, 2017 19:03
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Fart City posted:If nothing else The Gathering of the Juggalos will be slightly more horrifying than usual next year. Is that possible?
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Jul 27, 2017 19:30
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Basebf555 posted:I actually think juggalos dressing as a known character from pop culture would make it less disturbing than it currently is. Anyway, the disturbing part is that they're all constantly sweating profusely into their jean shorts for days at a time while multiple layers of faygo slowly dry on their skin and create a sickly sweet smelling BO cloud that engulfs the entire area for miles around. "We all float in Lake Hepatitis"
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Jul 27, 2017 19:48
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WattsvilleBlues posted:
Don't listen to this clown. It's a trick. He is not to be trusted.
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Aug 1, 2017 15:39
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Uncle Boogeyman posted:I don't mind that cover but the boat in the storm drain is really hard to beat That's the one I had. I re-read IT recently and am surprised at how many things people mis-remember from the book, including myself. Mostly the physical appearance and descriptions of Pennywise. We tend to mish mash the book with TV series I think and it clouds our collective memory and judgement.
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Aug 1, 2017 19:09
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Super Fan posted:I had forgotten how weird it gets. That whole turtle/macroverse stuff is a little out there for my tastes. Same. They'd be wise to dial it down a bit and streamline it some for the movie. King was this close to running into the "how do I end this book " trap but managed to largely dodge and circumvent it. If they're not careful with the movie, the whole thing will get ridiculous. Maybe they can do space turtle and poo poo with a dream sequence, symbolism or an hallucination but if they go full bore I can't see it translating. Based on what I've seen so far, I have full confidence in what they're doing.
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Aug 1, 2017 23:45
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Tom Guycot posted:Yeah... literally showing a giant turtle on screen talking to bill about how crazy this whole universe poo poo is would be weird on film. I still hope they can do a good representation of him getting knocked out of his body and facing it on some mental level, because it will just feel weird if they run into a cave and start shooting and punching a giant monster. After I finally read the book, the miniseries final confrontation seemed even more weak. I also really hope they have time to do the whole smoke lodge vision thing, as well as the Derry backstory of the loggers, and gangsters and all that. They can do a lot of it by having someone get knocked out, dreaming, having a flashback or getting mindfucked by IT through some evil induced hallucination brain fuckery or something. The slingshot, the aspirator, the holding hands, the cap gun, the pocket knife or whatever and whatnot will work if they sell them as articles of true faith and bravery; believing in themselves enough to kill IT and overcoming fear, which is obviously what King was ultimately and aiming at. Whatever they do with the finale it'll be better than that bullshit we got from the TV series (and perhaps the book, which barely stuck the landing as to the end) so put me down as totally psyched moving forward. I have great faith based on what I've seen and can't wait to see IT.
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Aug 2, 2017 01:14
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joylessdivision posted:Henry Bowers Agreed, and it strikes at the heart of the precise things that scare an 8-13 year old kid. Anyone who's ever been bullied understands the overwhelming dread and all encompassing fear of a truly relentless threat like Bowers, who is Always There and Looming, no matter where you go. It's where a child first realizes that Mommy, Daddy and even teachers (adults in general) aren't always going to be there to protect them and it's a really scary indoctrination into the loss of innocence that offers the realization that monsters ARE indeed real, they're just human. He's not under your bed or on your closet. He's everywhere you need to go or have to be and can show up at any time. He usually does too. And at the worst moments. Christ, I had a bully stalking me when I was 10-12 or so. We lived in an apartment complex so there was no avoiding him and he single handedly ruined my winter break and made my daily walk to the bus stop a living nightmare because I was afraid to leave my house. He seemed to have NOTHING at all better to do than trying to find me and punch me. Because I threw a snowball at his dad's car once. Looking back, it's obvious that he was abused and beaten, but at that age it seemed like he was capable of anything and lived to hurt things. I still have occasional dreams about that rear end in a top hat. BiggerBoat fucked around with this message at 22:23 on Aug 2, 2017 |
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Aug 2, 2017 22:19
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Karloff posted:
That's sort of what I mean and why Bowers was almost as scary as Pennywise to a certain extent, because it was relatable and King wrote Henry's sadism, cruelty and omnipresence so well. It wasn't enough for these kids to deal with a terrifying inter-dimensional spider clown monster from the sewers of hell inflating balloons with blood and poo poo. They had to battle IT with a real human monster lurking everywhere making matters even worse, constantly loving their poo poo up. I think that's what makes IT so terrifying; it hits on that weird transitional stage where you learn that you're not protected and that there really ARE monsters under your bed, but they're also ones at school, in the park and everywhere you go. No escape and no one can protect you.
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Aug 2, 2017 23:11
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Fart City posted:Bowers is also scary because he violates the "rules" of childhood. I had to deal with my fair share of bullying when I was a child, but there was always a line: they'd beat you up, but leave you breathing, and they still feared adults. There was an unspoken rule that if they did too much damage it would call down the thunder and they would be held accountable in some way. Bowers violates that social contract, and that makes him terrifying. Not only does he act with lethal force, he does so with no concern for repercussion. Well put and I agree. Never thought about the "unwritten rules" part but, yeah. Bowers lacked "respect" for the traditional boundaries of common bullying which took his threat level to another plane.
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Aug 2, 2017 23:31
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Guy Mann posted:Foreign covers of Stephen King books are awesome. The Shining?
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Aug 3, 2017 02:38
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CopywrightMMXI posted:I'm glad he's not trying to imitate Tim Curry. He seems a lot more playful, and this is making the mood swings a lot more disturbing. Co-sign. I loved when his facial expression abruptly changed and they cut to Georgie's reaction. This movie looks loving great.
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Aug 11, 2017 16:33
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Davros1 posted:Kind of wonder what Pennywise would look like if they had given normal teeth instead of those rat incisors. They seemed to actually grow in that scene, which is consistent with the book, and I think his appearance will change a lot; also like the book. That loving clip...man...it's eerie how well it matches the scene I imagined in my head when I read IT and the guy playing Pennywise is loving nailing it. That sudden change in his facial expression and the reaction...holy shIT. I never saw "Mama" but may have to check it out now. Agree with others that the cinematography on display so far is loving magnificent. I loved Georgie ducking under the red barrier and then bonking the second one, like they were warning him away from the sewer or, more likely, slowing him down so the boat would reach the open grate and set the bait. The combination of aerial shots with ground level ones, the lighting, the framing, the rain, the dolly cam, the cuts and the editing were totally on point and absolutely perfect.
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Aug 11, 2017 19:18
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Fart City posted:I like to imagine that after the Carrie story, King removed all trash cans from his office. So by hell or high water, everything gets published. Period. The amount of time this dude has worked in his life must be positively insane if you added it all up.
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Aug 11, 2017 20:03
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Fart City posted:King's an interesting guy because he's a true-blue storyteller, but he's also got that Yankee work ethic. I imagine he doesn't view writing as an occupation much differently than he would view working at a paper mill. I think that combination is what makes him uniquely prolific: he's immensely creative, but he also produces a poo poo-ton of content. I'm a pretty fervent King reader, but even I was surprised to see that he had like, two new titles on the shelf that I had never heard of the last time I dropped into my local mom and pop book store. Which ones?
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Aug 11, 2017 20:12
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Disgusting Coward posted:It's pretty telling how many forewords and afterwords have King saying something along the lines of "oh so anyway I dug this out of cold storage from when I had been kicking it around 30 years ago and found that it was actually the bones of a pretty good story so I gave it a rewrite and there you go". Dude writes non-stop, is ridiculously prolific and never throws anything away. He's gonna be like a big Yankee Tupac, pumping work out for decades after he dies. He's like Prince or Zappa only with books.
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Aug 12, 2017 00:58
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BlackJosh posted:All the trailers for this have looked like they've really tried to both do more than the miniseries while really hitting the atmosphere of the book. I'm very confident in what I've seen so far, especially in the sense that you mentioned. Unless they blew their entire budget on the Georgie paper boat scene. Every single shot I've seen looks exactly like how I pictured the book in my head, which gives me a lot of hope. Getting Derry right is like 60-75% of the battle.
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Aug 13, 2017 00:48
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Timeless Appeal posted:I've come in here wringing my hands around their Pennywise a few times, and I'm pretty sold on that video. It's definitely not my read on Pennywise, but I like it nevertheless. Pennywise comes off as incredibly predator like. The way he warps George's insecurities and learns about Bill was unsettling. Actually, he sort of reminded me of Ledger's Joker, especially comparing that portrayal to Nicholson's along the same lines of comparing this Pennywise to Curry. Hope I worded that right.
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Aug 13, 2017 15:46
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Acht posted:It's mindboggling how incredible this looks so far. It doesn't make sense, does it? It's like the image in my head when I read the book fully realized only with a few layers of extra and needed weirdness tacked on. If the whole film is like this I really think we have something. What was the last King horror novel that really sunk in as a film? Seriously? If King sees an advanced screening and hates it then I'll know it's gonna be really good.
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Aug 14, 2017 02:04
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HUNDU THE BEAST GOD posted:Not a novel, but The Mist. Oh poo poo. That's a bad sign. I think you're right about The Mist. I liked it. I just think it's weird that for a writer who's considered the King of Horror, I found myself hard pressed to think of a horror story he'd written that really stood up in film. Most of his best movies were dramas or suspense (Stand By Me, Green Mile, Misery, Delores Claiborne). You almost have to go all the way back to The Shining to get a real bonafide, scary horror classic, which is odd if you view him through the lens of a true master of the art. Which King unquestionably is.
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Aug 14, 2017 02:56
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HUNDU THE BEAST GOD posted:I dunno man... I'm just talking poo poo but King does have a bad track record with his opinions of movie adaptations of his work. Didn't he love Maximum Overdrive and hate The Shining? And I still think it's weird how few really good horror films we've gotten from all the great books he's written.
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Aug 14, 2017 03:14
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joylessdivision posted:Depalma's Carrie is really good Agreed. But that was before The Shining. He really doesn't have a lot of great horror movies to show for all the great books he's written. I liked Christine, Cujo, some of Creepshow, Carrie and that's about it as far as scary poo poo goes. BiggerBoat fucked around with this message at 03:26 on Aug 14, 2017 |
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Aug 14, 2017 03:24
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Oliver Reed posted:Should I bother with the miniseries? I've seen clips and Tim Curry is excellent, but beyond that, is it worth watching? I wouldn't recommend it. The kid parts are way better than the adult ones and the adult actors are really bad, which is odd because there's some decent talent on screen there. Parts of it are good and Curry is incredible but overall I didn't care for it.
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Aug 14, 2017 20:07
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Neo Rasa posted:The Beast! I think I actually read the book and it was terrible. Didn't the squid have the ability to walk on dry land and sort of stalk the town like Jack the Ripper?
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Aug 15, 2017 17:04
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I'd say The Stand and the IT miniseries are about on the same level. Parts of both were really good.
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Aug 15, 2017 17:34
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Yaws posted:Patrick Hockstetter is by far the most terrifying part of the novel and I hope they do something with him. They will. I can't imagine them glossing over it based on the tone I've seen them setting so far.
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Aug 16, 2017 03:38
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