Stephen King’s novel IT is finally getting an adaptation worthy of the name. But what’s interesting is that the author himself had no involvement with the film’s production.
Now director Andy Muschietti has explained in an interview with Collider on just why that is:
“I’m very happy making an adaptation, my interpretation of the story, and I would be thrilled to meet Stephen King, but there comes a time in the process where you start feeling good with your interpretation of it, and your contribution to the story, and it doesn’t feel like I want to discuss my ideas with him, you know? I don’t know. It feels like something that I would be embarrassed to tell him, you know? ‘Your words and your moments don’t work,’ right? [laughs].”
He does have a point, as there’s plenty of adaptations from the past – including the recent Dark Tower film – where King was heavily involved. If that doesn’t prove King can’t always guarantee a successful adaptation, I don’t know what will.
The director also continued to explain why he chose a more 19th century depiction of Pennywise the Dancing Clown.
“Yeah. Well, the fact that this entity has been around for thousands of years…I’m more drawn, I never, aesthetically, I don’t dig the 20th century clown. I think it looks cheap, and it’s too related to social events and stuff and circus and stuff, which circus is fine, but I’m more aesthetically attracted to the old time, like the 19th century clown. And given that this guy has been around for centuries, I wondered myself why, why not, having an upgrade that was 1800s.”
A group of young kids face their biggest fears when they seek answers to the disappearance of children in their hometown of Derry, Maine. They square off against an evil clown named Pennywise, whose history of murder and violence dates back for centuries.
For the record, King is satisfied with the film:
“I wasn’t involved at all. I wished them well,” he said, before admitting: “Geez, I don’t even think they sent me any swag from that one! But maybe that’s a good thing. I’ve seen it, it’s fabulous.”
IT hits theaters September 8, 2017.