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Update: March 31, 2017

IT Trailer Becomes Most Viewed Trailer with 197 Million Views in One Day


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The first teaser trailer for the upcoming adaption of Stephen King's It was released just ahead of Warner Bros.' CinemaCon presentation Wednesday — and in its first 24 hours, it haunted the waking dreams of those on the internet, racking up 197 million views across platforms.

In a single day, the New Line production had 81 million views on Facebook alone, and the trailer held the No. 1 spot on YouTube’s trending videos. Now, after 48 hours online, the trailer has 246 million views.

The killer clown Pennywise helped dethrone The Fate of the Furious: Fast 8, which revved up to 139 million views in its first 24 hours, beating out Beauty and the Beast's previous record of 127.6 million.

It is directed by Andres Muschietti and follows seven children who are terrorized by a being that exploits the fears of its victims, most often taking the form of Pennywise the clown in order to lure young children into the sewer. It hits theaters on Sept. 8.



'It' Dethrones 'Fate of the Furious' as the Most Viewed Trailer in 24 Hours with 197 Million Views
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Update: August 16, 2016

IT Producer Dan Lin Says the Remake is Like STRANGER THINGS


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While at The CW TCA presentation for the upcoming series Frequency, Collider asked producer Dan Lin what the tone will be for the It remake and he name-dropped the breakout Netflix series Stranger Things, which has earned a huge following for its faithful reverence to the hallmarks of the early 80s. The comparison comes not just because both projects star actor Finn Wolfhard, but because as Lin describes, It will be an “homage to 80s movies”.

“I think a great analogy is actually Stranger Things, and we’re seeing it on Netflix right now. It’s very much an homage to ’80s movies, whether it’s classic Stephen King or even Spielberg . Think about Stand by Me as far as the bonding amongst the kids. But there is a really scary element in Pennywise.”

Lin continued, talking about how well the young cast has bonded in these first weeks of shooting. Wolfhard’s presence certainly bodes well in that regard considering how the young ensemble ultimately stole the show in Stranger Things.

“You catching me at a really interesting time because we’ve been shooting mostly the kids’ work and now Pennywise is starting. We clearly had a great dynamic amongst the kids. Really great chemistry is always a challenging thing with a movie like It because you’re casting kids who don’t have a ton of experience, but it ended up being really natural. Each kid, like a Goonies or Stand By Me, has a very specific personality and they’re forming the loser’s club obviously. And now finally the evil force is coming into our movie. We’ve spent a few months getting the kids to bond and now they’re going to fight this evil, scary clown."

Lin also talked about why Skarsgard was ultimately the right actor to reinvent Pennywise, praising his different spin on the character. When Cary Fukunaga was attached, Ben Mendelsohn was his first choice before scheduling issues knocked him out of contention and Will Poulter signed on. But after Fukunaga departed, a new round of casting commenced and Bill Skarsgard landed the role.

"His build is really interesting. he’s really tall and lanky, and feels a little clown like in his movement. When he came in — we had a lot of different actors read, and when he came in he had a different spin on the character that got us really excited. You’ve had Heath Ledger doing almost a clown joker, you’ve seen obviously Tim Curry as a clown. We wanted someone who created a Pennywise character that would stand on its own and Bill came in and created this character that frankly freaked us out."

‘It’ Producer Dan Lin Says the Remake Is Like ‘Stranger Things’; Talks About Bill Skarsgard's Performance as Pennywise the Clown


Note: The original It thread was inadvertently deleted after the Sherdog migration.
 
Update: August 16, 2016

First Full Look at the New Pennywise the Clown from Stephen King's IT


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We’ve already gotten a close-up of Pennywise the Clown from the new film version of Stephen King’s It (out Sept. 8, 2017), but here we step back for a fuller view of the creature that likes to take the form of a leering, sinister clown.

Bill Skarsgård is playing the ageless, supernatural beast who feeds on the fears of children, and it’s clear director Andy Muschietti (Mama) is steering away from the modern, baggy-suited, rainbow-hued clown for something a bit more… archaic.

For that, the filmmaker relied on Emmy-winning costume designer Janie Bryant (Deadwood, Mad Men) who crafted a form-fitting suit that draws upon a number of bygone times – among them Medieval, Renaissance, Elizabethan, and Victorian eras.

Pennywise, after all, is infinite.

“The costume definitely incorporates all these otherworldly past lives, if you will,” Bryant says. “He is definitely a clown from a different time.”

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Behold Pennywise the Clown's eerie costume from Stephen King's It
 
Update: July 13, 2016

First Official Look at Bill Skarsgard as Pennywise the Clown in IT


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Entertainment Weekly has released the first look at Pennywise the Dancing Clown from next year’s film adaptation of Stephen King’s It, with Bill Skarsgård taking on the role of the most fearsome creature to ever clutch a bouquet of balloons.

“It’s such an extreme character. Inhumane,” Skarsgård says. “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.”

When It hits screens next year, it will only tell part of the 1986 novel, following the main characters when they were children. A sequel, in which they come home again to battle It a second time as adults, is planned if this first installment is a success.

Among other alterations, the timeline has shifted from the book — it’s now set in the late ‘80s instead of the late ‘50s. We’ll see whether It’s other monstrous forms — a wolfman, a mummy, a shark among others — will change with the times.

Directed by Andrés Muschietti (Mama), It opens on September 8, 2017.

It movie exclusive: Pennywise the Clown seen in terrifying first look
 
Update: June 9, 2016

BLOODLINE Actor Owen Teague Joins Stephen King's IT Adaptation


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Owen Teague, who plays Ben Mendelsohn’s son on Netflix’s Bloodline, has joined the cast of New Line’s adaptation of Stephen King’s It. Andy Muschietti, the helmer behind the surprise horror hitMama, is directing the adaptation, which is being told in two parts.

The first part begins shooting in July in Toronto and has been casting up: Bill Skarsgard has the part of the demonic clown Pennywise, while Jaeden Lieberher, Finn Wolfhard, Jack Dylan Grazer, Wyatt Oleff, Chosen Jacobs and Jeremy Ray Taylor are the kids he terrorizes.

The story follows a group of kids called the Losers Club who defeat a creature called It. Years later, the creature returns, and the former club members, now adults, have to band together again even though they have no memory of the first battle.

Teague will play 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.

This isn’t the first King adaptation for Teague. The young actor also will appear with Samuel L. Jackson and John Cusack in Cell, based on the King novel.

'Bloodline' Actor Owen Teague Joins New Line's Adaptation of Stephen King's 'It' (Exclusive)
 
Update: June 2, 2016

Bill Skarsgard Cast as Pennywise the Clown in New Line's IT Movie


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Bill Skarsgard has the It factor. The actor, who is one of the stars of Hemlock Grove, has nabbed the role of Stephen King’s iconic villain Pennywise the Clown in New Line’s adaptation of the author’s landmark novelIt.

Skarsgard is in final negotiations to star in the horror pic, whose cast will also include St. Vincent actor Jaeden Lieberher, Finn Wolfhard, Jack Dylan Grazer, Wyatt Oleff, Chosen Jacobs and Jeremy Ray Taylor. Andy Muschietti, the helmer behind the surprise horror hit Mama, is directing the adaptation, which is being told in two parts.

The story follows a group of teens called the Losers Club who defeat a creature called It. Years later, the creature returns, and the former club members, now adults, have to band together again even though they have no memory of the first battle.

New Line’s first movie will tell the kids’ story, while the second movie will focus on the adults. Pennywise is the form the evil entity frequently takes. He is a clown who, when he smiles, is all killer teeth.

The project was originally coming together under the direction of Cary Fukunaga, who left over creative differences, and at the time, Will Poulter (We’re the Millers, The Revenant) was to have played Pennywise. The search for a new director pushed the movie by a year and Poulter was no longer available.

Skarsgard is the son of Stellan Skarsgard (Thor) and the brother of Alexander Skarsgard, who stars in Warner Bros.' Legend of Tarzan this summer. Apart from Hemlock Grove, Bill Skarsgard has appeared in Lionsgate’s Divergent.

Stephen King's 'It' Adaptation Finds Its Pennywise the Clown (Exclusive)
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Update: February 19, 2016

New Line's IT Movie Will Be Rated-R, Possibly Shooting This Year


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Collider recently sat down for an exclusive interview with It producer Roy Lee at DICE 2016, and Lee confirmed that Cary Fukunaga and Chase Palmer’s original script—which they imbued with many of their personal experiences—has been rewritten:

“It will hopefully be shooting later this year. We just got the California tax credit… Gary Doberman wrote the most recent draft working with Andy Muscetti, so it’s being envisioned as two movies.”

“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.”

As for the film’s rating, Lee confirms it will be Rated R and adds that while they have a final draft, they’re currently fine-tuning the script to hit their budget target.

Exclusive: ‘It’ Movie Hopefully Shooting This Year; Will Be Rated-R
 
Update: September 2, 2015

Cary Fukunaga Explains Why He Exited IT, Reveals Why the Remake Fell Apart

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Cary Fukunaga explained to Variety why he bailed this summer on New Line’s horror movie remake of Stephen King’s It. Fukunaga had already written a script with Chase Palmer on the project, which he first boarded in 2012 (it started at Warner Bros. before it was moved to New Line). The studio is now looking to hire a new director with a fresh script.

Fukunaga had planned on making It into two films. Although early reports indicated that the director left over budgetary concerns, Fukunaga maintained that wasn’t the case. Both sides had agreed on making the two films for $32 million, according to the director. But Fukunaga said he had bigger disagreements with New Line over the direction of the story. A rep from New Line didn’t respond to a request for a comment. Here’s Fukunaga’s explanation:

“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."

“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."

“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.”

Cary Fukunaga Explains Why Exited from 'It' and Reveals Why the Remake Fell Apart (Exclusive)
 
Update: June 16, 2015

MAMA Helmer Andy Muschietti to Direct Stephen King's IT at New Line


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Andy Muschietti, the director behind the surprise horror hit Mama, is in negotiations to direct It, New Line's adaptation of the Stephen King classic. Cary Fukunaga was on board to direct the two-part adaptation and helped develop the project for years before parting ways over vision and budget over Memorial Day Weekend.

But the project is a priority for New Line and producers Dan Lin, Roy Lee, Seth Grahame-Smith and David Katzenberg, who hit the trail for a filmmaker without missing a beat. It was to have started shooting in late June and a new start date remains unclear. Upon closing of Muschietti's deal, New Line will begin a search for a new writer to tailor a script to Muschietti's vision. The plan is for the adaptation to still take place over two parts.

Also unclear at this stage is the involvement of Will Poulter, the actor who was to play an evil entity who commonly takes the form of a clown named Pennywise and torments children in a small Maine town. The actor is no longer officially attached but could possibly return depending on scheduling and other factors.

Muschietti made his feature directorial debut with Mama, the 2013 horror movie that he also co-wrote and that starred Jessica Chastain and Nikolaj Coster-Waldau. The picture scared up $71 million domestically on a budget of only $15 million. The filmmaker has several projects in development and was at one point attached to direct Universal's remake of The Mummy.

'Mama' Director Andy Muschietti in Negotiations to Helm New Line's Adaptation of 'It'
 
Update: May 25, 2015

Cary Fukunaga Will No Longer Direct IT Remake, Project Pushed Indefinitely


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Cary Fukunaga is out as the director of New Line's two-part adaptation of Stephen King's It, which will not move forward as planned this summer and has been pushed indefinitely. Insiders tell TheWrap that True Detective director Fukunaga repeatedly clashed with the studio and did not want to compromise his artistic vision in the wake of budget cuts that were recently demanded by New Line, which greenlit the first film at $30 million. The situation came to a head over Memorial Day weekend, leading to Fukunaga's abrupt exit from the ambitious project.

It was originally set up at Warner Bros. before moving to New Line in recent weeks, which was one reason behind the unfortunate split. Shooting locations were another issue at the heart of the departure, with Fukunaga expressing a strong desire to film in New York, which is more expensive than other locales. Another source indicated that New Line was getting cold feet about the project in the wake of the less-than-stellar opening of Poltergeist, which featured a clown in its marketing materials.

As the start of production loomed in mid-June, Fukunaga's recent drafts were coming in over-budget, and New Line has had success with genre movies when it has maintained a hard financial line. The budget conflict over It had been brewing for weeks, as Fukunaga discovered when he initially tried to cast Ben Mendelsohn as the titular villain. New Line wanted Mendelsohn to take a sizable pay cut, prompting him to pass on the project.

It was set to be split up into two films, and Variety say New Line was considering making only one movie due to budget concerns. Fukunaga, however, was adamant about making two pics. They could not agree on a budget, causing Fukunaga to clash with the studio.

Cary Fukunaga Out as Director of New Line's It, Project Pushed Indefinitely (Exclusive)
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Update: May 4, 2015

Will Poulter Cast as Pennywise the Clown in Cary Fukunaga's IT Remake


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New Line and True Detective director Cary Fukunaga have found their It. Sources tell Variety that Will Poulter (We're the Millers) is in negotiations to play Pennywise, the evil monster who lured in children disguised as a clown, in the upcoming remake of Stephen King's horror classic. Fukunaga will direct It, which will be split into two feature films.

The original story followed a group of outcast kids who come together over summer break to take on the monster that's haunting their town, battling their own personal monsters in the process. Fukunaga has been very vocal recently that the latest script will stay true to the King story while also giving the film a new look. Fukunaga penned the screenplay along with Chase Palmer.

After considering older actors like Mark Rylance and Ben Mendelsohn for the Pennywise role, New Line wanted to take a different route and go younger. Sources say in the end, Fukunaga could not say no after being blown away by Poulter's audition for the part and felt he was the right choice for the role.

While the role is dark and evil, sources say Poulter is more than capable of taking on the character especially after his work on New Regency's The Revenant, starring Leonardo DiCaprio. In the Alejandro Gonzalez Innaritu film, he plays one of the robbers who leaves DiCaprio for dead after he is mauled in the wilderness by a bear. Insiders who have seen early footage feel that Poulter, 22, is more than ready for a villainous lead.

Since the original novel ran at about 900 pages and spanned several decades, the plan is for New Line to shoot one movie focusing on the protagonists as kids and another focusing on them as adults. Fukunaga has scripts for both ready, with Poulter appearing in both films, making him the star of the project.

Will Poulter Set to Play Pennywise in Cary Fukunaga's Adaptation of 'It' (Exclusive)
 
Update: May 21, 2014

Stephen King's IT Moves From Warner Bros. to New Line Cinema


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The long road to re-adapt Stephen King's novel It has taken another turn. Warner Bros. has been developing a big-screen take for five years, and in 2012 it hired Cary Fukunaga to direct two films produced by Roy Lee, Dan Lin, Seth Grahame-Smith and David Katzenberg. But just as Fukunaga is coming off HBO's True Detective, the project is leaving Warners -- sort of.

In a rare move, It is shifting to the studio's New Line division. Insiders say that as New Line prepares for a June move from West Hollywood to Warners' Burbank lot, the siblings are drawing clearer distinctions about the types of movies they make. New Line will now take the lead on horror, bringing the company back to one of its roots. It was once known as the House that Freddy Built due to the long-standing success of the Nightmare on Elm Street franchise. Horror is now having a resurgence at the company -- the emphasis is less slashery and more thrills and chills -- as evidenced by last year's hit The Conjuring.

And It is a horror play. The story follows a group of kids called the Losers Club who defeat a creature called It. Years later, the creature returns and the club, now adults, have to band together again even though they have no memory of the first battle. The plan is for the first movie to tell the kids' story and the second movie to focus on the adults.

Cary Fukunaga's Adaptation of Stephen King's IT Moves From Warner Bros. to New Line
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Update: January 11, 2014

Cary Fukunaga on Modernizing IT Remake, Reveals No Spider at the End


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During a recent phone interview with Collider, Cary Fukunaga (Jane Eyre, Sin Nombre), who directed all eight episodes of True Detective, talked about rewriting the first part of the two-part It movie (based on the Stephen King novel) that he plans to make and his desire to modernize the horror in that story.

"I am in the midst of rewriting the first script now. We're not working on the second part yet. The first script is just about the kids. It's more like Goonies meets a horror film. There will be no spider at the end of our movie."

"We're definitely honoring the spirit of Stephen King, but the horror has to be modernized to make it relevant. That's my job, right now, on this pass. I'm working on making the horror more about suspense than visualization of any creatures. I just don't think that's scary. What could be there, and the sounds and how it interacts with things, is scarier than actual monsters."

Cary Fukunaga Describes His First IT Movie as "Goonies Meets a Horror Film"
 
Update: June 10, 2012

Stephen King's IT to Be Adapted into Two Films by Cary Fukunaga


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Warner Bros.' adaptation of the classic Stephen King novel It has a director and writer.

Cary Fukunaga, the hotshot filmmaker behind last year's adaptation of Jane Eyre, is boarding the project as director and will co-write the script with Chase Palmer, who previously adapted Frank Herbert's Dune for Paramount.

A best-selling book when it was published in 1986, It, like The Stand, is one of King's biggest and most dense tomes, and the plan is for Fukunaga and Palmer to adapt the work into two films.

The story follows a group of kids called the Losers Club who encounter a creature called It, which preys on children and whose favorite form is that of a sadistic clown named Pennywise. When the creature resurfaces, the group bands together again, this time as adults, even though they have no memory of the first battle.

The book was previously adapted in 1990 as an ABC miniseries that starred John Ritter, Harry Anderson, Tim Reid, Annette O'Toole, Richard Thomas and Tim Curry as Pennywise.

Fukunaga won the directing award at the Sundance Film Festival for his drama Sin Nombre. He is attached to develop HBO's True Detective, which has Woody Harrelson and Matthew McConaughey attached as stars.

Stephen King's 'It' to Be Adapted by Cary Fukunaga Into Two Films (Exclusive)
 
I'll see it with no expectations and see what happens.
 
I like the choice but dam with all that makeup Curry could still do it.
 
I like the choice but dam with all that makeup Curry could still do it.
Curry was only scary to children. They're going to have to do something major to make me not fall asleep during this movie.
 
Don't know this kid but he looks psycho enough in that photo. Could have done a lot worse. Maybe a little young?

One of my favorite books so I hope they do it justice this time.
 
Too bad that weird looking guy with the super proper eyebrows from We're The Miller's and Maze Runner didn't stay in the role.
 
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