MSN Movies Blog

Warner Bros. To Make Clowns Scary Again With 'It' Remake

The studio plans to split the Stephen King book into two films

By Corwin Neuse Jun 8, 2012 11:27AM
Cary Fukunaga, director of last year's deliciously Michael Fassbender-y (but otherwise really boring) "Jane Eyre," will helm and co-write an upcoming adaptation of Stephen King's seminal "It."

"It," for those who haven't read the 1986 best-seller or seen the eponymous 1990 miniseries, is about a group of kids terrorized by an evil clown. Somehow, studio executives think that there is enough depth to that premise to split the film into two parts, a la "The Hobbit," "Twilight: Breaking Dawn," and "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows." Good luck to them there.

Really, we're just hoping Fukunaga takes his high-brow, film-school honed approach to really bring the scary back to evil clowns. Evil clowns have been terribly underrepresented as villains recently, to the point that today's children may even feel comfortable attending the circus unattended and unarmed. We believe that this is a grievous miscarriage of justice, and hope that this new "It" remake or whatever you want to call it will educate the public at large about the deathly scourge that is the evil clown. And if he can get Michael Fassbender involved, even better.

[via THR]
22Comments
Jun 8, 2012 5:58PM
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 The book has alot more to it than kids terrorized by a clown. Enough depth? How dare you talk like that about maybe his best story.

 

 

Jun 8, 2012 9:23PM
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I feel that "It" is one of Steven King's best novels. It hits home on many levels, as it is supposed to.And I feel that the TV mini-series did an excellent job of staying close to the novel. Yes. I AM scared of clowns, storm drains, and random baloons...
Jun 8, 2012 5:44PM
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Eponymous?  Mr. Neuse, your use of the word means that King's 1986 book got it's name from the 1990 film.  The clown is a manifestation of the eponymous dark force at work in King's  book, but the film adaptation cannot be described as eponymous. 

 

 And believe it or not, "It" isn't really about evil clowns at all.  **Spoiler alert**  It's about the kind of childhood fear that gives birth to urban legends given form and substance.  I wouldn't hold out any hope of It translating well to film, even though King did a superb job of capturing that spooky feeling from when I was a kid and another kid pointed at an abandoned house and talked about spooky stuff happening, the kind of stuff only a kid would fear.  Fear given form.

 

The fact that the miniseries left you with that impression just goes to show how bad that portrayal was.  Let's hope this one is better.

Jun 9, 2012 7:39AM
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Obviously, Corwin Neuse was asleep at the wheel, when he wrote this story. He knows nothing of the subject matter, or the depth that this book dwells, when dealing with childhood fears and strength that is developed, to overcome them.  I too, am getting a little tired of all the remakes being made. (There is no originality to be found)  Looks like "Carrie", "The Stand" & now "It" are all getting the movie re-make treatment, but I believe: "The Stand" & "It" would have been best suited to a season treatment from HBO or Showtime.
Jun 8, 2012 7:08PM
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Alright, the dude that wrote this probably didn't actually watch the original film or read the book.
 "IT", is some of Steven King's best work..... I too, was afraid of any kind of drain for the longest time. These days it's hard to find entertainment that original. 
Jun 8, 2012 6:14PM
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That movie scared the clowns outta me when I was a kid! I was afraid of any kind of plumbing drain for the longest time!
Jun 8, 2012 9:28PM
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This article is best summed up by the following: "A book is being made into two films. I don't know what it's about, but since there's a clown in this picture from another movie based on the same book I'll assume that it's about clowns. How can they make one movie into two movies?"
Jun 9, 2012 4:18AM
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Why can't people have original ideas anymore?  Please stop remaking great films and turning them into complete rubbish.  
Jun 9, 2012 1:45AM
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One of my favorite King books, but i sincerely doubt that a two-movie approach will be anything but an epic failure. The King name does not have the cache it once had to drive audiences to a theater for one film, let alone a film that you then have to wait six months or more for the conclusion. I would also say that  a horror movie does not lend itself to being split into two parts 
Jun 9, 2012 6:25PM
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Note to Corwin Neuse: The book is not about a clown - evil or otherwise. A clown is one of many forms the evil in this story appears, given the impending victims fears. Please now your subject before you go off writing about it. smh @ lame stream media.
Jun 8, 2012 11:47PM
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I have never actually really ever been afraid of any book until I read "IT". The part where the kid crawls under the deck to look in the old abandoned houses basement window where he sees a clown in the backround asking him to come inside to play with everyone. And as the clown gets closer he can see some slight changes to the clown. Like his teeth aren't as white and his eyes are not as bright as they were from a little further away. Then Pennywise the clown gets right up to the window and his face is all torn about and his teeth are yellow and sharp, his eyes are as black as two pieces of coal. Just as the boy is turning around to crawl out the clown breaks through the glass and proceeds to come after him. Now I'm no Steven King I know but when I read that part in his book the hair on my arms stood straight up. Scariest book ever, hands down. At least until the end, which he could have changed IMO...
Jun 8, 2012 11:08PM
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If the writer doesn't understand how they can find enough material for two movies, he clearly has never read the book. Hell, two movies isn't enough; it would be much smarter to make 'It' into an ongoing series, a la 'Lost' or 'True Blood'.  Four 12-episode seasons would be about right to do this book justice.
Jun 9, 2012 2:54PM
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Not another remake? Everytime they do that they change the story line, I.E Prom Night, Halloween1&2, The Stepford Wives ETC., If ur gonna remake it DONT chnage it. Keep it the same as the book PLEASE.

 

Jun 9, 2012 5:57AM
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The original was a miniseries which means 2 parts and there was a lot left out. 2 movies or even a television series would have to be done to follow Mr. King's story.
Jun 9, 2012 2:18PM
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Once again, Hollywood demonstrates there are no new writers, no new ideas and absolutey no creativity in this generation.  Not another remake, PLEASE
Jun 9, 2012 12:33PM
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I too believe that HBO or Showtime should take a page out of the BBC operations manuel and give books like "It" or "The Stand" or his new one "11/22/63" the one season treatment. Do a 12 to 16 episode arc and tell the complete story. Of course it wouldn't just apply to Mr. King's work, but we all have favorite books that this sort of treatment would apply. ABC did it with their redo of "Life on Mars" and it was great! Wake up Corporate bigwigs! There's a profit to be made! (That ought to get their attention!)
Jun 9, 2012 12:25PM
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Yeah. I don't think I'll be watching this. The original is the cause of my fear of clowns and I don't think I'll be reliving that experience again... let alone twice.
Jun 9, 2012 6:13PM
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Horror falls at the bottom of my genre selection, and usually I vote thumbs down for the remake, but in this case I am curious and partly because of, as the writer writes: " bring the scary back to evil clowns."  I do not care what anyone says clowns are scary things. 
Jun 10, 2012 8:54AM
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i'm a new writer - "wanna see something really scary"? come read my new story - i think i might even be able to scare mr king himself! -

 

on the note for "IT" this story is just about as scary as it gets, the made for TV scared me silly, even though the script was poorly executed, it is the story itself that holds up...i've read 'IT' at least six time over in my lifetime and everytime it sparks fear new and old - i say go for it

Jun 26, 2012 2:14AM
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Do what you will with It, but do not f*ck up The Dark Towers series, please!!!
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