Sequel Saturday: Is It Worth It?, by Mat Bradley-Tschirgi
by
·
Published
· Updated
The Hollywood Reporter claims the feature film duology based on Stephen King’s scary clown book It has found a new director in Andy Muschietti (Mama). Cary Fukunaga (Jane Eyre) was originally attached to direct but left over creative differences.The novel It is over 1,000 pages. There are several characters, amusing anecdotes, and a gigantic scope to the whole thing. The TV miniseries from 1990 barely scratched the surface; one wonders how two feature films could fare much better at adapting the massive story. Most remember the miniseries for Tim Curry’s (Home Alone 2: Lost in New York) fiendish performance as Pennywise the cackling clown. Balloons and storm drains were never looked at the same way again.A modern adaptation of It could improve upon the original miniseries are the special effects and the level of violence. Much of the special effects, particularly towards the climax, came off as dopey. Modern special effects could make the ending of the story a good bit more exciting and the various forms of It that much more frightening. The violence of the miniseries was often muted, which made sense since it was made for broadcast TV. However, the novel itself is full of grisly passages that are begging to be brought to life in a more faithful manner.I’m hoping the two films based on It are good. I’d rather see the whole novel adapted as a 10-episode miniseries, but I’ll take what I can get. It’s rare to see a Stephen King book adapted to the big screen nowadays.
The Hollywood Reporter claims the feature film duology based on Stephen King’s scary clown book It has found a new director in Andy Muschietti (Mama). Cary Fukunaga (Jane Eyre) was originally attached to direct but left over creative differences.The novel It is over 1,000 pages. There are several characters, amusing anecdotes, and a gigantic scope to the whole thing. The TV miniseries from 1990 barely scratched the surface; one wonders how two feature films could fare much better at adapting the massive story. Most remember the miniseries for Tim Curry’s (Home Alone 2: Lost in New York) fiendish performance as Pennywise the cackling clown. Balloons and storm drains were never looked at the same way again.A modern adaptation of It could improve upon the original miniseries are the special effects and the level of violence. Much of the special effects, particularly towards the climax, came off as dopey. Modern special effects could make the ending of the story a good bit more exciting and the various forms of It that much more frightening. The violence of the miniseries was often muted, which made sense since it was made for broadcast TV. However, the novel itself is full of grisly passages that are begging to be brought to life in a more faithful manner.I’m hoping the two films based on It are good. I’d rather see the whole novel adapted as a 10-episode miniseries, but I’ll take what I can get. It’s rare to see a Stephen King book adapted to the big screen nowadays. 
