Is 'It' getting a second film adaptation?

*Originally published on 3/13/09

Word has spread around that infamous series of tubes known as the Internet that Warner Bros. is planning to release a big screen adaptation of Stephen King's epic classic novel, It.

I love the novel.  I've said this before, and there is little doubt that I will say it again in the future.  Still, I don't know if the book can work as one film.  There's just so much stuff to cover.  The book is so rich that it couldn't possibly work as just one film.

The best bet would be to break it up into two, maybe even three, movies.  The Lord of the Rings books were about a thousand pages total.  It is over a thousand as well.  Even two movies may not be enough.  I mean, there was that 2 part miniseries back in 1990 and that had to cut a lot of stuff.  On the other hand there is a bigger budget and less restrictions on the material.

King's material and film do not tend to mix very well for whatever reason.  Up until 1408 was released, the only director to really get King's work was Frank Darabont, director of The Shawshank Redemption, Green Mile, and The Mist.  If he were signed on to direct, I would have faith that he could do the novel justice.

Another thing that would need to be done is sign Tim Curry on to reprise his role as Pennywise.  As much as people crack jokes about how corny the old miniseries is, Curry's performance remains a serious highlight.  Everything else may seem corny and non-frightening, but Tim Curry's Pennywise continues to give us the heebie-jeebies.

There's been talk of "modernizing" the novel.  That is to say that instead of taking place in the 50's and the 80's, it would take place in the present and...the 80's?  I don't know.  On the one hand it seems like a trivial change, and it may even work out just fine.  Usually though, modernizing a work and trying to put it into a different time frame just doesn't work.  If they stick with the modern route, I'd be curious to see how it turns out and would give the film a fair shake but I would much rather they left well enough alone.  There's no need to fix what isn't broken.

This is a roll of the dice for me.  If it works out, I (avid fan that I am) would be insanely giddy.  However, that same enthusiasm would turn into anger and bitterness regarding Hollywood's inability to get the book right.

Things are still in the early stages, so I can't really go in depth as far as my thoughts on the topic go.  It's a 50/50 deal, so we'll just wait and see.  When things start to develop we can get a better understanding of what the producers have in mind.