POLTERGEIST, the remake, flopped in movie theaters this weekend.. for those who say the amount of money films make don’t matter, take this into consideration: New Line Cinema and Cary Fukunago have ended their relationship, and in jeopardy is a clown named PENNYWISE…
All credit goes to THE WRAP on this matter… they have an exclusive story lighting up horror websites today written by Jeff Sneider.. Sneider reports that the director, Fukunago, is OUT as the director of the IT remake.. Even more, all of this reporting credited to Sneider:
Insiders tell TheWrap that “True Detective” director Fukunaga repeatedly clashed with the studio and did not want to compromise his artistic vision in the wake of budget cuts that were recently demanded by New Line, which greenlit the first film at $30 million. The situation came to a head over Memorial Day weekend, leading to Fukunaga’s abrupt exit from the ambitious project.
“It” was originally set up at Warner Bros. before moving to New Line in recent weeks, which was one reason behind the unfortunate split. Shooting locations were another issue at the heart of the departure, with Fukunaga expressing a strong desire to film in New York, which is more expensive than other locales. Another source indicated that New Line was getting cold feet about the project in the wake of the less-than-stellar opening of “Poltergeist,” which featured a clown in its marketing materials.
I think it’s a bit mistaken to say that clowns won’t sell. There seems to be a mis-judgement on New Line’s part, in my opinion.. What people rejected is a remake of the movie they grew up with, came to love, and have good hearted nostalgia about. POLTERGEIST was amazing in its original form .. the remake was a sick joke remake. It did not have to be done.
On the flipside, I wholeheartedly believe that PENNYWISE THE DANCING CLOWN would be widely accepted in concept by most horror fans and movie goers.. Just secure an August or September release date.. and the theaters will work their magic..
I also do not believe that Memorial Day weekend is a time for horror.. Or horror remakes for that matter. The summer movie season desires box office biggies with bombs and bursts, explosions and disaster.. SAN ANDREAS or JURASSIC PARK stuff. Not horror.. August and September, along with early October, work best for that..
More information reported by THE WRAP:
It’s unclear whether New Line will hire a new director to immediately take over the project or go back to the drawing board for an entirely new approach, but one insider told TheWrap that “It” was dead as currently constituted. A studio insider acknowledged the film has been pushed indefinitely but did not go into the specifics of Fukunaga’s exit.
And maybe that’s fine..
Maybe Tim Curry’s IT portrayal will stand..
Maybe the movie will not be able to be outdone, even though it was made for TV..
I recall, as a child, being at my sister’s apartment when IT was premiering.. I was so excited, but she made my do my homework first–she didn’t want to face the wrath of Mom. I did my homework completely that night, and fast too.. and as a child, my love of horror and hatred of clowns were amplified by this amazing Stephen King story as an adaptation on TEE VEE.. Perhaps it should stay that way.
And it will for now..
So as long as NEW LINE gets nervous about horrific events happening to their horror releases, an ‘IT’ remake may stay a concept and not a product..
And call me crazy.. but it sure doesn’t seem that Stephen King has been too upset by the IT remake botch up..
The remake of IT may be dead–or undead–but we’ll always have Tim Curry. He’s still floating down in the sewers of Derry.
— Stephen King (@StephenKing) May 25, 2015
