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The Thing 1982 | R | Horror, Sci-Fi | d. John Carpenter Kurt Russell, Wilford Brimley, T.K. Carter |
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| “I dunno what the hell's in there, but it's weird and pissed off, whatever it is” - Richard Masur as “Clark” Returning from the 26th World Science Fiction Convention on a flight from San Francisco to Los Angeles over the Labor Day weekend in 1968, I had the pleasure of sitting next to John W. Campbell. In addition to being editor of Astounding Science Fiction, he had written the novella “Who Goes There?” in 1938 under the “nom de plume” of Don A. Stuart. The Howard Hawks classic of 1951, The Thing From Another World was adapted from this 68-page gem. It was hugely successful in creating unbearable suspense, definitive and well-rounded characters and a claustrophobic atmosphere of a military outpost in the Arctic being threatened by a highly intelligent alien life-force, yet it was radically different in the concept of the being itself. In our discussion on board the plane of all things literary and cinematic, I recall Mr. Campbell saying: “Maybe one day someone will film my story.” I remember thinking that although everyone considers Hawks' film an undisputed classic of the genre, the author was dissatisfied with the results. Director John Carpenter and screenwriter Bill Lancaster (Burt’s son) have gone back to the source material in depicting the ever-changing extraterrestrial and brought to life in state-of-the-art and heretofore unseen graphic detail , all without the aid of computers by 22-year-old special makeup effects wizard Rob Bottin. I often wonder what Mr. Campbell (who died in 1971) would have thought of this filming of HIS story… Kurt Russell heads a strong all-male cast which includes Wilford Brimley, Richard Dysart, George Hallahan, Richard Masur and Donald Moffat. Music by Ennio Morricone. - Jay Duncan | ||
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FILM FACT: The make-up effects budget for The Thing was $750,000. That number eventually swelled to $1.5 million as the production went on. Twenty-two year old makeup wizard Rob Bottin's crew of illustrators, designers, sculptors. painters, and mechanical effects technicians quickly grew to over 40 members. For Bottin, work on The Thing began in April 1981 and would span the next 57 weeks into late May, 1982. The film first screened on June 11th! Rob, pushing himself against an ever diminishing schedule, slept at the Universal lot and lived off of candy bars and soda. Upon completion, he had to check himself into a hospital for 2 weeks to recover from extreme fatigue and burnout from the constant stress. THE LATEST… Universal has hired Ronald Moore to write the big-budget “remake/re-imagining/prequel” of John Carpenter’s The Thing. They’ve also hired on Matthijs Van Heijningen to direct. Variety confirms the film will take place in the Norwegian camp that first discovered, housed, and was destroyed by the shape-shifter from the nether regions of space. - Jay Duncan | ||