Exclusives
Stephen King’s ‘It’ Isn’t Dead?
UPDATED 7:25PM CST | We got in touch with a Warner Bros. rep who tells us that It will remain at New Line Cinema with no firm determination on location or shooting schedule.
This Memorial Day news broke that “True Detective” director Cary Fukunaga had exited the latest film adaptation of the Stephen King’s It.
The stories cited creative differences, which included Fukunaga’s desire to direct in New York, while the studio wanted to cut costs by sending Pennywise to other locations. It was also said that one of the reasons for the budget concerns may have been the lukewarm opening Poltergeist, which also heavily used a clown in their marketing.
Anyhow, filming was to take place this summer, and thus was postponed indefinitely.
From the sounds of things, it would appear that It was dead. Or is it…
Well, good news, folks, as a regular insider told us that Pennywise may be rising up from the sewers!
A source from the inside is telling us that the project is very much not dead – and could be heading back to Warner Bros. (it was shifted to New Line during budget cuts) with filming still set for New York.
Even weirder is that Warners is expected to sign a new director (booooooooo!) in the coming weeks, and are currently meeting with candidates. It sounds as if “budget cuts” was just an excuse wrapped around a deeper issue between Fukunaga and the studio…
We were originally told that the current expectation was that Warners would move forward with the existing It scripts and New York locations for filming possibly later this year, which is unfortunately not the case.
It will be two separate films, one which tackled the protagonists as children and the second film to focus on them as adults.
No word on if Will Poulter is still cast to play the villainous clown “Pennywise”.
Hopefully we’ll get some answers in the coming weeks because this sucks.
Exclusives
‘The Haunting of Pennhurst’ Exclusive Clip Trains Scare Actors For Historic Haunt in Tribeca Doc
The past and present collide in haunting, poignant ways in the genre documentary The Haunting of Pennhurst, which sees a Halloween haunt serve as a reclamation of true historic horrors.
Ahead of its world premiere at the 25th Tribeca Film Festival, we have an exclusive clip that sees scare actors in training for the Halloween season. The catch? This haunt is opening at the historic Pennhurst State School & Hospital site, a facility that caused immense harm to its disabled patients over decades of its operation.
In the documentary, “For over seventy years, Pennhurst State School & Hospital was called a place of care. What happened inside killed over half its population. It closed in 1987, leaving behind unmarked graves and an unresolved history. Today, on those same grounds, disabled performers – many living with the same conditions that once sent people to Pennhurst – put on their makeup, pull on their costumes, and prepare to scare people for a living.
“Through grit, compassion, and buckets of blood, the eclectic performers of the Pennhurst Asylum haunted attraction are wrestling with a space that is at once a lucrative business and a gravesite.”
The upcoming documentary hails from directing trio Nathan Stenberg, Mike Attie, and Katarina Poljak, who explore their socially-relevant subject through archival footage, first-hand accounts, and an immersive verité.
“Pennhurst has haunted us since we first passed through its dragon-tooth gates; the horrors of the institution echo through the site today. We are so grateful to bring this film to the Tribeca Festival, particularly the Escape from Tribeca section, which feels right for a story where past and present bleed together. We hope audiences leave unnerved and asking the same uncomfortable questions we did,” Attie, Stenberg, and Poljak said in a statement.
Watch the clip below that sees disabled and neurodivergent scare actors learning the ropes of a Halloween haunt, reclaiming the site’s grim history in the process.
Tribeca Screenings:
- Public 1 (Premiere) Screening – Friday, June 5 at 9:15PM at Village East by Angelika
- Public 2 Screening – Sunday, June 7 at 3:15PM at Village East by Angelika
- Public 3 Screening – Tuesday, June 9 at 6:15PM at Village East by Angelika
You must be logged in to post a comment.