IT director Andrés Muschietti has admitted that he "wasn't a big fan" of the 1990 miniseries based on author Stephen King's classic horror novel. Twenty-seven years ago, IT scared the wits out of television viewers when the adaptation of King's 1986 bestselling novel was presented in two terrifying parts on ABC-TV.
The tale of a group of pre-teen misfits tormented by the demented clown, Pennywise (Tim Curry), the series no doubt resulted in phobias of the circus players, especially for viewers the same age as the protagonists in the story.
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Apparently not one of the people affected by the IT miniseries is Muschietti, who in three weeks is unleashing his hotly-anticipated, R-Rated film adaptation of the twisted tale in movie theaters with Bill Skarsgard as Pennywise. In an interview with SFX Magazine, the director gave an honest answer about his feelings towards the 1990s TV version of the story:
"To be honest, I wasn’t a big fan of the miniseries. I was not a child anymore when it came out in 1990. So my attachment was very much to the book and to the world of Stephen King more than the miniseries."
That's not to say that Muschietti doesn't understand how the miniseries messed with people's psyches:
"I totally acknowledge how iconic that miniseries was for a generation. But also you have to say that it impacted that generation because they saw it with very young eyes as a TV movie or on VHS. A lot of people don’t remember the whole thing, but they are terrified of the iconic scenes of the clown behind the sheets in the beginning and the storm drain."
Just because the film didn't affect Muschietti in the same way it terrorized viewers, fans shouldn't hold the helmer's remarks against him. Apart from cultural phenomenons like Star Wars and Star Trek, very few films or TV shows have the same effect on viewers that spans generations - and in the case of Muschietti and IT, he was simply in a phase of his life where such childhood terrors didn't affect him anymore.
In fact, fans should embrace a director who "wasn't a big fan" of the miniseries, since he clearly won't be influenced by what came before him. True, the heart of the story will likely remain the same, except for this time it will be told through a fresh vision that look as scary, if not scarier, as it did before.
No matter how similar or different Muschietti's version of IT ends up being, the interest is certainly there. Not only was IT teaser trailer an online smash success in terms of views, the film is projected to have the biggest September opening ever with $50 million or more in its first weekend of release. With that sort of reception, maybe Muschietti will get his wish to remake King's horror hit Pet Sematary next.
NEXT: IT Star Explains the Psychology of Pennywise
Source: SFX Magazine
