“They all float down here… You’ll float too…” That simple phrase is one of the most iconic elements in Stephen King’s classic novel. It’s a line that sounds so innocent but it carries such a sinister meaning. Like the balloon in the clown’s hand hiding within the storm drain, dead bodies also float… or in this case, poor Georgie. Once the body builds up gases from bacteria, dead bodies float to the surface. With this in mind, director Andy Muschietti and the makeup department creepily emphasize this water and floating imagery throughout the film in subtle ways.
The film’s opening production logos are showered in rain, leading into the iconic scene previously mentioned. But they don’t stop just there. Many of the characters – especially the misguided and deplorable adult characters – are sweaty and oily. You can practically smell the sweat and dirt caked on their faces. And then there’s the clown, Pennywise. Each line of dialogue comes with a dribble of saliva that oozes onto his ruffled collar. It sounds like a gooey film, just not in the traditional bloody sense – it’s an intelligent director carefully utilizing a motif to build atmosphere and remind the audience of the constant threat, even when It isn’t on screen to terrify us.
IT tells the story of a group of outsiders in small town Derry, Maine. What begins as a small group of boys, quickly expands as other kids are drawn into Bill’s desire to find out who or what is causing the children of the town to go missing, including his brother Georgie. The Losers Club discover a connection with the town’s sewers, but as they delve deeper, a mysterious clown and other strange sights start appearing to each member of the group.
While the TV miniseries that was released in 1990 intercut the child and adult scenes from the book, this new adaptation focuses just on “The Losers Club” section of the book. This focus will draw immediate comparisons to another King adaptation, STAND BY ME, along with the popular Netflix series STRANGER THINGS (both featuring the talented Finn Wolfhard). But the screenplay attributed to Chase Palmer, Cary Fukunaga, and Gary Dauberman (Fukunaga previously attached to direct before leaving the project), is quick to define each of these characters and this specific world. Sure, it’s a coming of age story complete with “your mom jokes” and foul-mouthed zingers you would expect from boys and girls in the late-80s. It even includes a montage set to The Cure’s “Six Different Way” (one of the best uses of the song I’ve seen in a film). However, it’s important to remember that STRANGER THINGS wouldn’t be what it is without Stephen King’s IT.
Director Andy Muschietti creates a perfect balance of laughter, drama, and thrills that should satisfy King fanatics along with those looking for a memorable coming-of-age horror film. Sophia Lillis is captivating as the strong-willed and defiant Beverly who doesn’t buckle under the pressure from her father and classmates and as the sole female voice in the gang. Muschietti always focuses on the characters first, placing their internal and external struggles front and center instead of just cheap jump-scares. IT is a story that can be hard to tackle, but the Argentine director shows no signs of being intimidated by the material. In fact, he isn’t afraid to embrace the scope of the story. What could’ve easily gone the route of overused clown scares, results in a carefully constructed film that goes beyond being an exceptional horror film.
Many fans of the book were nervous about Bill Skarsgård’s look as the clown Pennywise. His commitment to the character results in several uncomfortable moments, but many will be surprised that his hair-raising visage isn’t utilized more. But once again, it shows a director who knows when to show restraint. My main complaint is actually how he utilizes the other frightening imagery. Like his previous film MAMA, Muchietti uses characters quickly moving towards the camera and a strong reliance on distorted faces to scare the audience, including a creepy surreal figure and a ghostly Georgie with a deteriorating face. But I guess it’s hard to top yourself after you open with the most shocking and grisly scene in the entire film – an uneasy scene that establishes the fear that the Losers succumb to.
IT masterfully creates defining characters you can connect with. Even at a lengthy 2 hrs. and 15. mins, the pacing flows naturally from scene to scene and character to character, gracefully transitioning from one set-piece to another. Breathing life into each of the seven members of The Losers Club is no easy task. Each has their own voice and distinct characteristics. And each manages to shine with a warm empathetic glow. Despite what you feel about the horror elements, IT will surprise you with its depiction of the thoughtful, vulgar, and emotional moments that we remember from childhood. Memories that can never be washed away by the rain.
Overall rating: 4 out of 5
IT opens in theaters everywhere Friday, September 8th
WaterTower Music today announced the release details of the Original Motion Picture Soundtrack for New Line Cinema’s highly anticipated IT, the movie based on the iconic Stephen King novel of the same name which has been terrifying and thrilling readers for decades. Double CD and Digital versions of the album will be released worldwide on September 8, the same day the film opens in theaters. Special vinyl picture disc and double vinyl versions arrive just in time for Halloween, on October 27.
Golden Globe and Emmy nominee Benjamin Wallfisch (A Cure for Wellness, Lights Out, Annabelle: Creation), widely acknowledged as one of Hollywood’s most exciting and innovative composers, has assembled a thrillingly unsettling 38-track Original Soundtrack for IT with a palpable spirit of suspense, adventure and anarchy, using powerful themes, a full symphony orchestra and children’s choir.
“Every now and again, you come across a movie where the storytelling is so powerful, the subtext so visceral, the synergy between director, narrative and actors so palpable, that as a composer you can feel the music being energized by something so much bigger than what’s just on the screen,” Wallfisch said. “Creating a score to tell the story of a shapeshifting antagonist of unimaginable evil that can only be defeated when a group of individuals come together as one, required metamorphic themes, extremes of sonic irreverence and heartfelt quiet, and, most importantly, a musical language that strived to be constantly informed by the profound emotional truth driving the heartbeat of the filmmaking. To collaborate with Andy Muschietti on IT was to be invited into a thrilling, deeply inspiring and richly creative dynamic space. It was a true honor, and, as a lifelong Stephen King fan, a great privilege.”
The 38-track IT soundtrack will be available on September 8.
The 18-track IT soundtrack on vinyl picture disc, and the 29-track regular and limited-edition color double vinyl set will be available on October 27.
Every 27 Years*+
Paper Boat*+
Georgie, Meet Pennywise*+
Derry*+
River Chase*+
Egg Boy*
Beverly*+
Come Join The Clown, Eds*
You’ll Float Too*
Shape Shifter
Hockstetter Attack
Haircut
Derry History
January Embers
Saving Mike
This Is Not A Dream
Slideshow*
Georgie’s Theme*
He Didn’t Stutter Once
29 Neibolt Street*+
Time To Float*+
It’s What It Wants
You’ll Die If You Try*
Return to Neibolt*+
Into The Well*+
Pennywise’s Tower*+
Deadlights*
Searching For Stanley*
Saving Beverly*
Georgie Found*+
Transformation*+
Feed On Your Fear*+
Welcome To The Losers Club*+
Yellow Raincoat*+
Blood Oath*+
Kiss*+
Every 27 Years (reprise)*
Epilogue – The Pennywise Dance*
All songs available on 2CD and Digital soundtrack
* Available on Double Vinyl version
+ Available on Vinyl Picture Disc version
Golden Globe and Emmy nominated composer Benjamin Wallfisch has a career spanning over a decade and 60 feature films. He has composed music for such legendary filmmakers as Steven Spielberg, Rupert Wyatt, Gore Verbinski and Lars von Trier. He regularly collaborates with Oscar-winning industry legend Hans Zimmer, most recently on Christopher Nolan’s DUNKIRK and has collaborated three times with Pharrell Williams, including a live performance at the 2015 Grammy Awards. In 2014, Benjamin was appointed an Associate of the Royal Academy of Music, London and in 2017 was welcomed into the Music Branch of The Academy of Motion Pictures and Sciences.
New Line Cinema’s horror thriller IT was directed by Andy Muschietti (Mama), and is based on the hugely popular Stephen King novel of the same name.
The film tells the story of seven young outcasts growing up in the township of Derry, Maine, who call themselves the Losers’ Club. Each of them has been ostracized for one reason or another; each has a target on their back from the local pack of bullies…and all have seen their inner fears come to life in the form of an ancient shapeshifting predator they can only call It. For as long as their town has existed, Derry has been the entity’s hunting ground, emerging from the sewers every 27 years to feed on the terrors of its chosen prey: Derry’s children. Banding together over one horrifying and exhilarating summer, the Losers form a close bond to help them overcome their own fears and stop a new killing cycle that began on a rainy day, with a small boy chasing a paper boat as it swept down a storm drain…and into the hands of Pennywise the Clown.
The film stars Bill Skarsgård as the story’s central villain, Pennywise. An ensemble of young actors also star in the film, including Jaeden Lieberher, Jeremy Ray Taylor, Sophia Lillis, Finn Wolfhard, Wyatt Oleff, Chosen Jacobs, Jack Dylan Grazer, Nicholas Hamilton and Jackson Robert Scott.
Muschietti directed IT from a screenplay by Chase Palmer & Cary Fukunaga and Gary Dauberman, based on the novel by King. Roy Lee, Dan Lin, Seth Grahame-Smith, David Katzenberg and Barbara Muschietti are the producers, with Dave Neustadter, Walter Hamada, Richard Brener, Toby Emmerich, Marty P. Ewing, Doug Davison, Jon Silk and Niija Kuykendall serving as executive producers.
New Line Cinema presents a Vertigo Entertainment/Lin Pictures/Katzsmith Production, IT. Opening on September 8, 2017, the film will be distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Entertainment Company. This film has been rated R for violence/horror, bloody images, and for language.
Or if you’re in the St. Louis area, you can win free passes and see the early advance screening of New Line Cinema’s horror thriller IT.
Directed by Andrés Muschietti (“Mama”), the film is based on the hugely popular Stephen King novel of the same name, which has been terrifying readers for decades.
When children begin to disappear in a northeast town, a group of young kids are faced with their biggest fears when they square off against an evil clown named Pennywise, whose history of murder and violence dates back for centuries.
“IT” stars Bill Skarsgård (“Allegiant,” TV’s “Hemlock Grove”) as the story’s central villain, Pennywise. An ensemble of young actors also star in the film, including Jaeden Lieberher (“Midnight Special”), Jeremy Ray Taylor (“Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Road Chip”), Sophia Lillis (“37”), Finn Wolfhard (TV’s “Stranger Things”), Wyatt Oleff (“Guardians of the Galaxy”), Chosen Jacobs (upcoming “Cops and Robbers”), Jack Dylan Grazer (“Tales of Halloween”) and Nicholas Hamilton (“Captain Fantastic”).
Muschietti is directing “IT” from a screenplay adapted by Chase Palmer & Cary Fukunaga and Gary Dauberman. Dan Lin, Roy Lee, Seth Grahame-Smith, David Katzenberg and Barbara Muschietti are producing, with Marty P. Ewing, Doug Davison and Jon Silk serving as executive producers.
The behind-the-scenes creative team includes director of photography Chung-Hoon Chung (“Me and Earl and the Dying Girl”), production designer Claude Paré (“Rise of the Planet of the Apes”), editor Jason Ballantine (“The Great Gatsby”), and costume designer Janie Bryant (TV’s “Mad Men”).
A presentation of New Line Cinema, IT will be released worldwide beginning September 8, 2017.
WAMG invites you to enter for the chance to win TWO (2) seats to the advance screening of IT on September 5th at 7PM in the St. Louis area.
Answer the following about the 1990 TV miniseries:
Who took on the role of Pennywise?
What Town and State does it take place?
What form does Pennywise take by the end of the miniseries?
TO ENTER, ADD YOUR NAME, ANSWER AND EMAIL IN OUR COMMENTS SECTION BELOW.
OFFICIAL RULES:
1. YOU MUST BE IN THE ST. LOUIS AREA THE DAY OF THE SCREENING.
2. No purchase necessary. A pass does not guarantee a seat at a screening. Seating is on a first-come, first served basis. The theater is overbooked to assure a full house.
New Line Cinema’s horror thriller “IT,” directed by Andy Muschietti (“Mama”), is based on the hugely popular Stephen King novel of the same name, which has been terrifying readers for decades.
When children begin to disappear in the town of Derry, Maine, a group of young kids are faced with their biggest fears when they square off against an evil clown named Pennywise, whose history of murder and violence dates back for centuries.
Check out the scary, and I mean SCARY, trailer now. I’ll have nightmares for weeks now.
“IT” stars Bill Skarsgård (“Allegiant,” TV’s “Hemlock Grove”) as the story’s central villain, Pennywise. An ensemble of young actors also star in the film, including Jaeden Lieberher (“Midnight Special”), Jeremy Ray Taylor (“Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Road Chip”), Sophia Lillis (“37”), Finn Wolfhard (TV’s “Stranger Things”), Wyatt Oleff (“Guardians of the Galaxy”), Chosen Jacobs (upcoming “Cops and Robbers”), Jack Dylan Grazer (“Tales of Halloween”) and Nicholas Hamilton (“Captain Fantastic”).
Muschietti is directing “IT” from a screenplay adapted by Chase Palmer & Cary Fukunaga and Gary Dauberman. Dan Lin, Roy Lee, Seth Grahame-Smith, David Katzenberg and Barbara Muschietti are producing, with Marty P. Ewing, Doug Davison and Jon Silk serving as executive producers.
The behind-the-scenes creative team includes director of photography Chung-Hoon Chung (“Me and Earl and the Dying Girl”), production designer Claude Paré (“Rise of the Planet of the Apes”), editor Jason Ballantine (“The Great Gatsby”), and costume designer Janie Bryant (TV’s “Mad Men”).
“IT” will be released worldwide beginning September 8, 2017.
Warner Bros. Pictures brought some of its biggest films and brightest stars to this year’s Comic-Con International: San Diego to give fans a taste of their upcoming slate.
Coming off the success the studio is enjoying with WONDER WOMAN, the sequel, WONDER WOMAN 2 was announced during Comic Con.
The film quickly surpassed its world-building predecessors Man of Steel, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, and Suicide Squad at the box office. With approximately $767.7 million worldwide since hitting theaters on June 2, WONDER WOMAN broke records for director Patty Jenkins, marking the highest-grossing live-action film directed by a woman.
Jenkins has also been teasing her ideas for a follow-up story ahead of the formal announcement.
“The story will take place in the U.S., which I think is right,” she previously told EW. “She’s Wonder Woman. She’s got to come to America. It’s time.” The filmmaker added, “I realized that Wonder Woman 2 is its own great movie. I made Wonder Woman. Now I want to make Wonder Woman 2. It’s a beautiful story to tell, an important time to tell it and with people that I love.”
Warner Bros. also discussed other films coming down the pike such as Suicide Squad 2, The Batman, Justice League Dark, Batgirl (from Joss Whedon), Green Lantern Corps, and The Flash: Flashpoint.
On Saturday, July 22, Warner Bros. once again lit up Hall H with a presentation showcasing some of its eagerly awaited upcoming releases, with exclusive footage and revealing conversations, helmed by master of ceremonies Chris Hardwick. The lineup included:
Director Steven Spielberg’s “Ready Player One,” based on the hugely popular Ernest Cline novel, with stars Tye Sheridan, Olivia Cooke and T.J. Miller, author/co-screenwriter Cline, co-screenwriter Zak Penn, and Spielberg on the panel
The long-awaited “Blade Runner 2049,” Alcon Entertainment’s sequel to the cult classic takes us 30 more years into the future, with stars Ryan Gosling and Harrison Ford, as well as Ana de Armas, Sylvia Hoeks, Robin Wright, Lennie James and Mackenzie Davis, writers Hampton Fancher and Michael Green, and the film’s director, Denis Villeneuve.
And the greatest Super Heroes of the DC universe, united for the first time on the big screen, with stars Ben Affleck, Gal Gadot, Jason Momoa, Ezra Miller and Ray Fisher talking all things “Justice League,” as well as an early look at director James Wan’s “Aquaman.”
From filmmaker Steven Spielberg comes the science fiction action adventure “Ready Player One,” based on Ernest Cline’s bestseller of the same name, which has become a worldwide phenomenon. The film is set in 2045, with the world on the brink of chaos and collapse. But the people have found salvation in the OASIS, an expansive virtual reality universe created by the brilliant and eccentric James Halliday. When Halliday dies, he leaves his immense fortune to the first person to find a digital Easter egg he has hidden somewhere in the OASIS, sparking a contest that grips the entire world. When an unlikely young hero named Wade Watts decides to join the contest, he is hurled into a breakneck, reality-bending treasure hunt through a fantastical universe of mystery, discovery and danger. Spielberg directed the film from a screenplay by Zak Penn and Ernest Cline. The film was produced by Spielberg, Donald De Line, Kristie Macosko Krieger and Dan Farah; with Adam Somner, Daniel Lupi, Chris DeFaria and Bruce Berman serving as executive producers. It stars Tye Sheridan, Olivia Cooke, Ben Mendelsohn and T.J. Miller, with Simon Pegg and Mark Rylance. Warner Bros. Pictures and Amblin Entertainment present, in association with Village Roadshow Pictures, an Amblin Production, a De Line Pictures Production, a Steven Spielberg Film, “Ready Player One.”
Slated for release on March 30, 2018, the film will be distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company, and in select territories by Village Roadshow Pictures.
From director Denis Villeneuve comes Alcon Entertainment’s science fiction thriller “Blade Runner 2049,” the much-anticipated sequel to the acclaimed sci-fi film “Blade Runner.” Thirty years after the events of the first film, a new blade runner, LAPD Officer K, unearths a long-buried secret that has the potential to plunge what’s left of society into chaos. K’s discovery leads him on a quest to find Rick Deckard, a former LAPD blade runner who has been missing for 30 years.
The film stars Ryan Gosling, Harrison Ford, Ana de Armas, Sylvia Hoeks, Robin Wright, Mackenzie Davis, Carla Juri, and Lennie James, with Dave Bautista and Jared Leto. The film was produced by Andrew A. Kosove and Broderick Johnson and Bud Yorkin and Cynthia Yorkin. Ridley Scott, who directed the first “Blade Runner,” served as an executive producer, together with Tim Gamble, Frank Giustra, Yale Badick, Val Hill, and Bill Carraro. Villeneuve directed the film from a screenplay by Hampton Fancher and Michael Green, story by Fancher, based on characters from the novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep by Philip K. Dick.
Opening on October 6, 2017, in 2D and 3D in select theatres and IMAX, “Blade Runner 2049” is a presentation of Alcon Entertainment and will be distributed domestically by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company, and internationally by Sony Pictures Entertainment.
Warner Bros. Pictures’ action adventure “Aquaman” is helmed by James Wan and stars Jason Momoa in the title role, returning to the character he plays in this fall’s “Justice League.” The film also stars Amber Heard, Willem Dafoe, Temuera Morrison, Dolph Lundgren, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, with Patrick Wilson, and Nicole Kidman.
The film is being produced by Peter Safran, with Zack Snyder, Deborah Snyder, Rob Cowan, Jon Berg and Geoff Johns serving as executive producers. An icon for over 75 years, Aquaman is known by fans of DC Comics as the ruler of Atlantis but committed to protecting the entire globe, both land and sea.
Currently set for a 2018 release, the film is based on characters from DC.
— Justice League Movie (@justiceleaguewb) July 22, 2017
About “Justice League”
From Warner Bros. Pictures comes “Justice League,” directed by Zack Snyder and starring Ben Affleck, Gal Gadot, Jason Momoa, Ezra Miller, and Ray Fisher as the famed lineup of DC Super Heroes. Fueled by his restored faith in humanity and inspired by Superman’s selfless act, Bruce Wayne enlists the help of his newfound ally, Diana Prince, to face an even greater enemy. Together, Batman and Wonder Woman work quickly to find and recruit a team of metahumans to stand against this newly awakened threat. But despite the formation of this unprecedented league of heroes—Batman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Cyborg and The Flash—it may already be too late to save the planet from an assault of catastrophic proportions.
The “Justice League” screenplay is by Chris Terrio, story by Zack Snyder & Chris Terrio, based on characters from DC, Superman created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. The film’s producers are Charles Roven, Deborah Snyder, Jon Berg and Geoff Johns, with executive producers Jim Rowe, Wesley Coller, Curtis Kanemoto, Chris Terrio and Ben Affleck.
The film is set for release in 3D and 2D in select theaters and IMAX on November 17, 2017.
From New Line Cinema comes “Annabelle: Creation,” with David F. Sandberg directing. The new film is once again being produced by Peter Safran and James Wan, who previously partnered on “The Conjuring” hit movies. Several years after the tragic death of their little girl, a doll maker and his wife welcome a nun and several girls from a shuttered orphanage into their home. They soon become the target of the doll maker’s possessed creation, Annabelle.
Sandberg directs from a screenplay by Gary Dauberman. The film stars Stephanie Sigman, Talitha Bateman, Lulu Wilson, Philippa Coulthard, Grace Fulton, Lou Lou Safran, Samara Lee, Tayler Buck, with Anthony LaPaglia and Miranda Otto. Serving as executive producers on “Annabelle: Creation” are Richard Brener, Walter Hamada, Dave Neustadter and Hans Ritter. New Line Cinema presents, an Atomic Monster/Safran Company production, “Annabelle: Creation.”
Slated for release August 11, 2017, the film will be distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company.
New Line Cinema’s horror thriller “IT” is based on the hugely popular Stephen King novel of the same name, which has been terrifying readers for decades. When children begin to disappear in the town of Derry, Maine, a group of young kids are faced with their biggest fears when they square off against an evil clown named Pennywise, whose history of murder and violence dates back for centuries. “IT” stars Bill Skarsgård as the story’s central villain, Pennywise, alongside Jaeden Lieberher, Jeremy Ray Taylor, Sophia Lillis, Finn Wolfhard, Wyatt Oleff, Chosen Jacobs, Jack Dylan Grazer, Nicholas Hamilton and Jackson Robert Scott.
Andy Muschietti directed “IT” from a screenplay by Chase Palmer & Cary Fukunaga and Gary Dauberman. Roy Lee, Dan Lin, Seth Grahame-Smith, David Katzenberg and Barbara Muschietti are the producers, with Dave Neustadter, Walter Hamada, Richard Brener, Toby Emmerich, Marty P. Ewing, Doug Davison, Jon Silk and Niija Kuykendall serving as executive producers. New Line Cinema presents a Vertigo Entertainment/Lin Pictures/Katzsmith Production, “IT.”
Slated for release on September 8, 2017, the film will be distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Entertainment Company.
A new animated adventure in Warner Bros. Pictures’ LEGO® franchise, “The LEGO NINJAGO® Movie” stars Dave Franco, Justin Theroux, Fred Armisen, Abbi Jacobson, Olivia Munn, Kumail Nanjiani, Michael Peña, Zach Woods, and the legendary Jackie Chan. In this big-screen NINJAGO adventure, the battle for NINJAGO City calls to action young Master Builder Lloyd, aka the Green Ninja, along with his friends, who are all secret ninja warriors. Led by Master Wu, as wise-cracking as he is wise, they must defeat evil warlord Garmadon, The Worst Guy Ever, who also happens to be Lloyd’s dad. Pitting mech against mech and father against son, the epic showdown will test this fierce but undisciplined team of modern-day ninjas who must learn to check their egos and pull together to unleash their inner power of Spinjitzu.
The film is directed by Charlie Bean, Paul Fisher and Bob Logan. The screenplay is by Bob Logan & Paul Fisher & William Wheeler & Tom Wheeler and Jared Stern & John Whittington, story by Hilary Winston & Bob Logan & Paul Fisher & William Wheeler & Tom Wheeler and Dan Hageman & Kevin Hageman, based on LEGO Construction Toys. It is produced by Dan Lin, Phil Lord, Christopher Miller, Chris McKay, Maryann Garger, and Roy Lee. The executive producers are Jill Wilfert, Keith Malone, and Seth Grahame-Smith, with John Powers Middleton serving as co-producer.
The film is slated to open on September 22, 2017, in both 3D and 2D. From Warner Bros. Pictures and Warner Animation Group, in association with LEGO System A/S, a Lin Pictures/Lord Miller/Vertigo Entertainment Production, “The LEGO NINJAGO Movie” will be distributed worldwide by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company.
Here’s something that you need rattling around in your head tonight… just about the time you wake up at, say 2am, in time to hear all sorts of strange sounds and think you’re seeing images in the dark corners of your bedroom.
Check out the creepy, and I mean creeeepy, new trailer for IT. You’ll never think of red balloons in the same way ever again.
You didn’t want to sleep anyhow.
New Line Cinema’s horror thriller IT, directed by Andrés Muschietti (“Mama”), is based on the hugely popular Stephen King novel of the same name, which has been terrifying readers for decades.
When children begin to disappear in the town of Derry, Maine, a group of young kids are faced with their biggest fears when they square off against an evil clown named Pennywise, whose history of murder and violence dates back for centuries.
IT stars Bill Skarsgård (“Allegiant,” TV’s “Hemlock Grove”) as the story’s central villain, Pennywise.
An ensemble of young actors also star in the film, including Jaeden Lieberher (“Midnight Special”), Jeremy Ray Taylor (“Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Road Chip”), Sophia Lillis (“37”), Finn Wolfhard (TV’s “Stranger Things”), Wyatt Oleff (“Guardians of the Galaxy”), Chosen Jacobs (upcoming “Cops and Robbers”), Jack Dylan Grazer (“Tales of Halloween”) and Nicholas Hamilton (“Captain Fantastic”).
Muschietti is directing IT from a screenplay adapted by Chase Palmer & Cary Fukunaga and Gary Dauberman.
“Let go. Be afraid. You all taste so much better when you’re afraid.” – It.
Winter of 1990 and ABC showed a miniseries that scared the living daylights out of viewers with it images of clowns and balloons. These were the days of VCR’s and cassette tapes, when DVR’s and Blu-ray weren’t even thought of yet.
The miniseries IT was true water-cooler banter for the next morning. Starring Richard Thomas, Tim Reid, Annette O’Toole, Richard Masur, Dennis Christopher, Harry Anderson and Tim Curry, it was based on the novel by Stephen King.
In 1960, seven pre-teen outcasts fight an evil demon who poses as a child-killing clown. Thirty years later, they reunite to stop the demon once and for all when it returns to their hometown.
The 2-parter won awards including an Emmy for it’s super creepy score – Outstanding Achievement in Music Composition for a Miniseries or a Special (Dramatic Underscore) – Richard Bellis (composer) for part I, as well as an Eddie for Robert F. Shugrue and
David Blangsted from the American Cinema Editors.
It was truly the stuff of nightmares those dark and cold November nights of 1990.
New Line Cinema’s horror thriller “IT,” directed by Andrés Muschietti (“Mama”), is based on the hugely popular Stephen King novel of the same name, which has been terrifying readers for decades.
When children begin to disappear in the town of Derry, Maine, a group of young kids are faced with their biggest fears when they square off against an evil clown named Pennywise, whose history of murder and violence dates back for centuries.
Check out the teaser before the first trailer comes online on Wednesday.
“IT” stars Bill Skarsgård (“Allegiant,” TV’s “Hemlock Grove”) as the story’s central villain, Pennywise.
An ensemble of young actors also star in the film, including Jaeden Lieberher (“Midnight Special”), Jeremy Ray Taylor (“Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Road Chip”), Sophia Lillis (“37”), Finn Wolfhard (TV’s “Stranger Things”), Wyatt Oleff (“Guardians of the Galaxy”), Chosen Jacobs (upcoming “Cops and Robbers”), Jack Dylan Grazer (“Tales of Halloween”) and Nicholas Hamilton (“Captain Fantastic”).
Muschietti is directing “IT” from a screenplay adapted by Chase Palmer & Cary Fukunaga and Gary Dauberman. Dan Lin, Roy Lee, Seth Grahame-Smith, David Katzenberg and Barbara Muschietti are producing, with Marty P. Ewing, Doug Davison and Jon Silk serving as executive producers.
The behind-the-scenes creative team includes director of photography Chung-Hoon Chung (“Me and Earl and the Dying Girl”), production designer Claude Paré (“Rise of the Planet of the Apes”), editor Jason Ballantine (“The Great Gatsby”), and costume designer Janie Bryant (TV’s “Mad Men”).
A presentation of New Line Cinema, “IT” will be distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Entertainment Company.”
So, wise reader, you may have heard of the passing of this giant in the world of cartooning, and are now wondering what he has to do with the world of motion pictures. Well, Mr. Davis did have one screen credit, which we’ll discuss in a bit. No, more importantly John Burton “Jack” Davis, Jr. has added to the fun, or to use an old term “ballyhoo”, of promoting movies for well over fifty years. It’s difficult not to think of his work when recalling so many classic films.
First, a little bio background. He was born on December 2, 1924 in Atlanta Georgia. After graduating from the University of Georgia, Jack landed several cartooning gigs including a stint with the newspaper comic strip based ion the classic character “The Saint”. Then in 1950 he joined the staff of the legendary comics publishing company Entertaining Comics (EC). Jack produced amazing art for titles like “Frontline Combat” and “Two Fisted Tales. But the big sellers at EC were the horror anthologies, and Jack was one of the most popular artists, helping to design the host character, the Cryptkeeper, for “Tales From the Crypt” (some of its stories were adapted into films by Britain’s Amicus Studios in the 1970’s in TALES FROM THE CRYPT and THE VAULT OF HORROR). But the work that truly showcased Jack’s incredible talent was his contribution to the then color comic book “Mad” in 1952. He led his penchant humor run wild with memorable pieces like “The Lone Stranger” and “Hah Noon”. Soon Jack was doing lots of work outside the comics: advertising, magazine covers, record albums, bubble gum cards, and movie posters. His most famous movie poster wasn’t his first, but this one established him as the “go to” guy for promoting comedy films. Behold the majesty of…
Jack’s art promised zany mayhem which the film nearly delivers. But most flicks couldn’t truly present the stunning spectacle of Mr. Davis’s designs. I recall buying that record album and just staring at that beautiful cover literally for hours. From the 60’s, Jack kept producing masterpieces of mirth into the 1970’s as the perfect match for another comedy master….
Perhaps you noticed the tribute to this poster in the recent film WIENER-DOG. A character played by Danny DeVito is depicted in a poster for the flick, “Apricots”. In 1973, Jack drew up a movie poster similar to his work in Mad Magazine for Robert Altman’s take on the classic private eye….
The flick’s a lot darker than that. Still Jack nails the likenesses of Gould and company. Another iconic image was seen in 1976 with one of the greatest sports comedies of all time….
Okay, about that screen credit. In the mid 1960’s , Jack did character sketches and model sheets for TV cartoons “King Kong” and “The Jackson Five” from the Rankin/Bass Studios, the “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” folks. When R/B decided to make a feature-length stop-motion animated comedy starring the classic movie monsters, Jack was tapped to design them, including one voiced by Karloff himself. Here’s the trailer for MAD MONSTER PARTY…
…and the model sheet sketches of Count Dracula…
Now his most famous monster art may be this nifty poster offered in the back of Warren magazines like Famous Monsters of Filmland back in the 60’s. How many lucky “monster kids” had this taped to the inside of their bedroom door? Sorry, the coupon’s been invalid for fifty years…
So, here’s a big movie geeks thank you, Jack D! And there’s a lot of his art floating around out there that many of his biggest fans (like yours truly) have never seen! This prolific master is the gift that just keeps on giving! We’re sad that he’s left the art studio at age 91 and we extend our sympathies to his family, but hey, aren’t we all unbelievably lucky to have had nearly a century of Jack Davis?!
The Little Black Dress—From Mourning to Night is a free exhibit currently at The Missouri History Museum (Lindell and DeBaliviere in Forest Park, St. Louis, Missouri). The exhibit runs through September 5th.
The Little Black Dress – a simple, short cocktail dress—is a sartorial staple for most contemporary women. Prior to the early 20th century, simple, unadorned black garments were limited to mourning, and strict social rules regarding mourning dress were rigidly observed.Featuring over 60 dresses from the Missouri History Museum’s world-renowned textile collection, this fun yet thought-provoking exhibit explores the subject of mourning, as well as the transition of black from a symbol of grief to a symbol of high fashion. You’ll also see fascinating artifacts—from hair jewelry to tear catchers—that were once a regular part of the mourning process. Plus, you’ll have the chance to share your own memories of your favorite little black dress and even get the opportunity to design your own dress! (details on the exhibit can be found HERE)
A good dress does more than look pretty on screen. It creates some of cinema’s best moments.The movies have always influenced style and fashion, so we decided, to tie into the exhibit, that it would be fun to list the ten most iconic black dresses in film history (and the actresses who rocked them).
10. Clara Bow in IT (1927)
Coco Chanel introduced her famous ‘Little Black Dress’ in the mid-1920’s. Before then, women only wore black for mourning. It was after the premiere of the 1927 silent hit IT, that the black dress became acceptable evening wear. IT is beloved by silent movie fans, but remains popular with a wider audience and continues to be culturally relevant because of costume design that was influential both then and now. IT helped pave the way for black to become the beauty basic it is today. The film starred Clara Bow as a shop girl who is asked out by the store’s wealthy owner. As you watch the silent film you can see the excitement as she prepared for her date with the boss, her girlfriend trying hard to assist her. She was trying to use a pair of scissors to modify her dress in order to look more “sexy”. This movie did a lot to change society’s mores as there was only a few years between World War I and Clara Bow, but this movie went a long way in how society looked at itself. Clara was flaming youth in rebellion. the personification of the flaming Roaring Twenties, and the title “IT” was as a euphemism for “sex appeal”. Travis Banton was the star costume designer at Paramount during the studio’s heyday of glamour and sophistication in the 1930’s and was well-known for designing costumes for Mae West and Marlene Dietrich.
9.Marilyn Monroe in THE ASPHALT JUNGLE (1950)
Not an iconic dress (in fact, no costumer designer is even listed in the credits), but THE ASPHALT JUNGLE is notable in that it’s the film that introduced audiences to Marilyn Monroe (not her first film appearance but her first substantial part). She played Angela Phinlay, a “keptie” (kept woman) who appears in a this sexy black dress. Marilyn stole every scene she was in despite not even being listed on most opening night posters. Marilyn didn’t like wearing black in films, and later in her career, when she had more control over her wardrobe, she was rarely seen in it.
8. Liza Minnelli in CABARET (1972)
Okay, Liza does not wear a black dress in CABARET – but she did rock this iconic black ensemble. The outfit — a bowler hat and vest (with no shirt) atop hot pants, garters, stockings and boots — was heightened by its blackness against Minnelli’s ultra-white skin and siren-red lipstick. To achieve the authentic look of pre-Hitler Berlin’s “divine decadence,” director-choreographer Bob Fosse chose a German production designer and costumer. Charlotte Flemming had grown up in the Weimer Berlin of the movie’s setting and spent her entire career in the German film industry. She never “went Hollywood.” Minnelli, of course, was born there, the daughter of Judy Garland and director Vincente Minnelli.
7. Bette Davis in NOW VOYAGER (1942)
NOW VOYAGER (1942) was a fashion film if ever there was one, and one which emphasized the power of clothes. After all, the sack-like dresses that the troubled Charlotte Vale (Bette Davis) wears reflect her psychological state, and as she is transformed from browbeaten nervous wreck into a worldly woman with a newfound confidence. Her outfits – designed by the great Orry-Kelly (who was the head costume designer at The Muny Opera in St. Louis in the early 1930’s) goes from dowdy spinster to chic fashion-plate. So much so that she attracts a suave man on her maiden voyage as a new woman. In NOW VOYAGER , Davis played Charlotte Vale, a frumpy spinster who lives under the control of her cantankerous mother. With the help of a kindly psychiatrist, she has a mental and physical makeover and becomes a glamorous woman who is able to help out the similarly oppressed young daughter of the man she loves. Davis led the way for actresses who “ugly up” as a fast track to Oscar nomination, starting the film in sensible lace-ups, glasses and beetle-brows. Her transformation resulted in stunning chiffon gowns and glittering capes which prove that nobody needs to show a lot of flesh when a 1940s number with a gathered waist and shoulder pads will do the job. To play Charlotte before her transformation, Davis asked Orry-Kelly to pad her figure to suggest extra weight, then she had makeup artist Percy Westmore give her thicker eyebrows. Her look in the film was a compromise. Originally she had wanted a more extreme look, but Wallis considered it too grotesque. Orry-Kelly was the chief costume designer for Warner Bros. Studios from 1932 to 1944. He worked on more than 300 films during his career.
6. Joan Crawford in MILDRED PIERCE (1943)
Joan Crawford was always known for her broad shoulders, a style that was displayed to perfection in MILDRED PIERCE, the 1943 film that won the actress her only Oscar. Housewife Mildred Pierce moves from aprons to fur coats after her husband leaves her and she opens a successful restaurant. Joan played the title character, a selfless mother who does everything she can to provide for her two kids, but her oldest daughter Veda (Ann Blyth) is an ungrateful brat who looks down on Mildred for making her way up in the world through simple hard work and dedication. She doesn’t, however have any problem spending mom’s money, and after a while starts smoking and speaking in pretentious French phrases. Everybody sees that the daughter is bad news, but Mildred assures them: “You don’t know what it’s like being a mother. Veda’s a part of me. Maybe she didn’t turn out as well as I hoped she would when she was born, but she’s still my daughter and I can’t forget that.” During filming, director Michael Curtiz fought with the actress over her wardrobe. She was told to buy clothes “off the rack” to look like the working mother the film was about. But Joan refused to look dowdy, and had Warner Bros. costumer Milo Anderson fit the waists and pad out the shoulders. Anderson was a top wardrobe designer at Warner Brothers from 1933 to 1952 and worked on costumes for such classics as ADVENTURES OF ROBIN HOOD (1938), TO HAVE AND HAVE NOT (1944), and YANKEE DOODLE DANDY (1942).
5. Grace Kelly in REAR WINDOW (1954)
Alfred Hitchcock’s REAR WINDOW (1954) is not only a masterpiece of suspense; it’s also something of a fashion show with Grace Kelly’s Lisa Freemont trotting out one gorgeous summer ensemble after another for both our and James Stewart’s delight. After all, as James Stewart’s character Jeff Jefferies points out – this is the Lisa Freemont “who never wears the same dress twice”. The costumes in REAR WINDOW were designed by that doyenne of movie designers, Edith Head, who was nominated for 28 Oscars and won 8 times. According to Jay Jorgensen’s book, Edith Head – The Fifty Year Career of Hollywood’s Greatest Costume Designer, Hitchcock’s directive to Ms. Head was that Grace “was to look like a piece of Dresden china, nearly untouchable”. And yet, for most of the movie, it’s Lisa who is trying to seduce the incapacitated (with broken his leg) Jeff … For her second seduction scene – where she’s thwarted by Stewart’s obsession with his neighbors and the possibility that one of them has bumped off his wife – Lisa is a vision of sophistication in a black chiffon dress and ever-present pearls, a triple strand necklace.
4. Anita Ekberg in LA DOLCE VITA (1960)
There is sexy, and then there is Anita Eckberg, whose voluptuous figure splashing around the Trevi Fountain in Rome in Federico Fellini’s 1960 masterpiece LA DOLCE VITA, while wearing that bellissima black dress, was the ultimate symbol of male fantasy. The film won the Academy Award in 1960 for Best Costumes, thanks in large part to the black sleeveless gown that Miss Eckberg displayed in that famous scene. Costume designer Piero Gherardi worked in neo-realist Italian cinema from 1954 to 1971, notably on four key films by Federico Fellini. LA DOLCE VITA, 8 ½ (1963 – which also won him the Oscar), NIGHTS OF CABIRIA (1957), and JULIET OF THE SPIRIT (1965).
3. Rita Hayworth in GILDA (1946)
Before there was bad girl nightclub singer Jessica Rabbit there was Gilda, a bad girl nightclub singer played by Rita Hayworth in the 1946 film of the same name. Wearing a black strapless dress, Gilda ends her marriage to casino owner Ballin Mundson (George Macready) with a striptease to the song “Put the Blame on Mame.” That little number was so explosively sexual that the name Gilda was written on the first nuclear bomb tested after World War II. In GILDA, Hayworth was the ultimate femme fatale, the woman every man wanted to have. The role sealed Hayworth’s status in Hollywood, and gave her an unforgettable movie legacy. According to the posters, ‘There never was a woman like Gilda’, and clearly, there was never a wardrobe like hers either. Designed by Jean Louis, her costumes cost $60,000 dollars, and it was money well spent. The movie was a critical and commercial success, no doubt thanks to Gilda and her perpetual near nakedness – for despite that pricy wardrobe, a surprising amount of Gilda was on show. Jean Louis designed a wardrobe that allowed Gilda to flash her shoulders, and hinted at her bosom through translucent tops. Hayworth’s beauty was the stuff of pin-up legend and in 1949 her lips were voted the best in the business by the Artist’s league of America. Asked what held up the famous black satin dress, Hayworth answered “two things”.
2. Audrey Hepburn in BREAKFAST AT TIFFANY’S (1961)
There’s almost no black dress more iconic than the French designer Hubert De Givenchy’s sheath that Holly Golightly, played by Audrey Hepburn, wore to go window shopping at her favorite jewelry store in BREAKFAST AT TIFFANY’S (1961). Paired with a pearl necklace, long black gloves, a tiara, a pair of dark sunglasses and a cup of deli coffee, Hepburn’s look continues to define New York (and Hollywood) chic. Givenchy made two versions of the famous black gown gown: one which was completely straight and was for the actress to wear as she stood still outside Tiffany’s, and one which had a slit so she could walk in it. She’s glimpsed wearing the same dress again a few scenes later. Indeed, one of the surprises about BREAKFAST AT TIFFANY’S is that there aren’t that many different dresses – the same ones pop up more than once, but with different accessories. BREAKFAST AT TIFFANY’S is undoubtedly the film which cemented Audrey Hepburn’s status as a style icon and linked her forever more in the fashion-conscious public’s mind thanks to De Givenchy, who had previously dressed her for SABRINA and FUNNY FACE.
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will kick off its summer screening series, “The Last 70mm Film Festival,” on Monday, July 9, with a big-screen presentation of “It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World” (1963). The six-film series, which will run through August 13, will showcase 70mm classics from different genres, and will include a new print of “Spartacus” and rarely screened 70mm short subjects. All screenings will be held on Monday evenings at 7:30 p.m. at the Academy’s Samuel Goldwyn Theater. Pre-show festivities will begin at 7 p.m.
As theaters increasingly move towards digital projection, there has never been a better time to celebrate these vibrant, clear 70mm prints.
The complete schedule for “The Last 70mm Film Festival” is as follows:
July 9
“It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World” (1963)
“The Miracle of Todd-AO” (1956), a short film detailing the technological advancement of the Todd-AO wide-angle lens and the widescreen format as used in “Around the World in 80 Days” and “Oklahoma!”
July 16
“Sleeping Beauty” (1959)
“Williamsburg: The Story of a Patriot” (1957), the longest continually running motion picture in American film history, which still runs daily in VistaVision at the twin Patriot Theatres in Colonial Williamsburg, Virginia.
July 23
“Grand Prix” (1966)
“The March of Todd-AO” (1959), follow-up to “The Miracle of Todd-AO,” featuring the technology as used in “South Pacific.”
July 30
“The Sound of Music” (1965)
August 6
“2001: A Space Odyssey” (1968)
“To Be Alive!” (1965), the Academy AwardŽ-winning documentary short subject that shows the progression from childhood to adulthood in different cultures around the world.
August 13
“Spartacus” (1960)
From a new 70mm print.
An updated list of pre-show details will be available at Oscars.org.
Series passes for “The Last 70mm Film Festival” are on sale now. Passes are $20 for the general public and $15 for Academy members and students with valid ID.
Tickets to individual evenings, if still available, will go on sale Friday, June 29. Tickets are $5 for the general public and $3 for Academy members and students with valid ID. They may be purchased online at www.oscars.org, by mail, in person at the Academy during regular business hours or, depending on availability, on the night of the screening when the doors open at 6:30 p.m. The Samuel Goldwyn Theater is located at 8949 Wilshire Boulevard in Beverly Hills. For more information, call(310) 247-3600or visit www.oscars.org.
For more information about the Academy’s public events, visit:
