In today's divided social climate, there are but a few things that can manage to unite most. One such sentiment is that despite their supposed goal of making children laugh, clowns are creepy. There's just something about them that gets the under the skin of many, whether it be their painted-on grins, or garish make-up. Over the years, the world of pop culture has played host to more than one malevolent clown, but few are as famous as Pennywise, the favored form of the shape-shifting antagonist of Stephen King's classic novel IT.
Director Andy Muschetti is set to bring King's story to the big-screen this fall, but of course, that won't be the first time Pennywise has been immortalized on film. That happened back in 1990, when IT was adapted into a two-part TV miniseries for ABC. While opinions on the quality of the overall miniseries vary, one aspect most agree on is that Tim Curry's performance as Pennywise was excellent, with the veteran actor managing to turn on a dime from over-the-top joker to bone-chilling monster.
Curry's Pennywise has become Internet shorthand for the very concept of a scary clown, and it's arguably his most iconic role of all-time, depending on one's opinion of Curry's work in The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Oddly enough though, Curry has never really publicly discussed what it was like to play Pennywise, or his experience making IT as a whole. Thankfully, that's all about to change, as Bloody Disgusting reports that Curry is set to participate in Pennywise: The Story of IT, an upcoming feature-length documentary looking at the creation of the miniseries.
The documentary is being produced by the UK's Dead Mouse Productions, which has previously produced feature-length retrospective docs about fellow horror flicks Hellraiser and Fright Night, as well as John Campopiano and Justin White (co-directors of Unearthed & Untold: The Path to Pet Sematary). Despite IT (1990)'s high-profile status in recent history, this will be the first time an extensive behind-the-scenes feature has been made concerning the miniseries, outside of an audio commentary track on the DVD and Blu-ray release. That track featured director Tommy Lee Wallace and a few scattered cast members, but did not include comments from Curry.
It's unclear at the moment just how many other members of the IT (1990) cast and crew will end up appearing in Pennywise: The Story of IT, but Curry is obviously the biggest get one could ask for, and one assumes that him coming aboard will be followed by most of the other important players. Dead Mouse's other horror documentaries have been quite extensive, so it's likely that they'll attempt to get interviews with just about everyone. Between this and Muschetti's movie adaptation, it's shaping up to be a great year for IT devotees.
NEXT: IT (2017) Teaser Trailer Description
Source: Bloody Disgusting
