Hacker Cinema
It
1990 · TV series · 90 min episodes · 1 season
Created by Stephen King
MysteryScience FictionFantasyDrama
In 1960, seven outcast kids known as "The Losers' Club" fight against an ancient shape-shifting alien who poses as a child-killing clown, while also dealing with bullies and abusive parents. Thirty years later, they reunite to stop the creature once and for all when it returns to their hometown.
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8 comments on Hacker News
As others point out this essay is not good (does not even touch on the Native American threads prevalent in the movie that are missing in the book).
However, it does sort of point to a major characteristic in King’s typical “could’ve been good” villains: As opposed to totally evil characters, eg Bev’s husband in It, who are driven by their primal urges, these characters would have landed in a whole different place had the dice landed differently. Overall they are good but with a few weaknesses, which evil forces manipulate to pull them under. Another good example of such a character is Nick, in The Stand.
If you replace “evil forces” above by “life’s circumstances”, I think this to be a good description of how real-life villains are made.
This isn't true. It's rare, but there are some terrific child actors. Watch the original IT to note just how good Seth Green and Emily Perkins are. Dakota Fanning and her sister. Haley Joel Osment felt very natural in The Sixth Sense. Brooke Shields in Alice, Sweet Alice was more in control of her performance than most adults.
Anyway, kids in movies and television shows aren't going away. We have to make sure they are well-treated.
could you output it again, but make it like john oliver wrote it ChatGPT
I'll do my best to capture the humorous and satirical style of John Oliver, the host of "Last Week Tonight." Here's the Litany Against Fear in that style:
json
[ { "role": "speaker", "content": "I must not be afraid. No, seriously. Because fear is basically the mind's version of that terrifying clown from Stephen King's 'It.'" }, { "role": "speaker", "content": "It's the mind-killer, like if your brain decided to binge-watch all the 'Saw' movies back-to-back and then said, 'Sure, this seems like a sensible way to perceive reality.'" }, { "role": "speaker", "content": "Fear is the 'little death.' And no, that's not the name of the world's saddest funeral home for pets. It's a metaphor for how fear can lead to total oblivion. Yeah, cheery thought, right?" }, { "role": "speaker", "content": "I will face my fear. It's like facing the fact that yes, British food is terrible. But we do it anyway because, well, I'm not quite sure, actually." }, { "role": "speaker", "content": "I'll allow it to pass over me and through me. Just like the way I imagine a ghost might. If that ghost happened to be a metaphor for fear. And not, you know, a vengeful spirit with unfinished business." }, { "role": "speaker", "content": "And when it's gone past, I'll turn my inner eye to see its path. Because nothing says 'self-improvement' quite like mentally replaying your moments of terror in slow motion." }, { "role": "speaker", "content": "Where the fear has gone, there will be nothing. A bit like the space between Boris Johnson's ears." }, { "role": "speaker", "content": "Only I will remain. And maybe some crumpets. Because as we've established, British food is terrible, but crumpets are alright, aren't they?" } ]
There seems to be some leeway in the US. For example, Stephen King's book It has a very descriptive sex scene amongst a group of children which even gets into differences in penis size and how each of them responds to orgasm differently. That chapter suggests that is what "It" is. Needless to say the scene is completely omitted from both versions of the movie.
That's interesting. Years ago, I recall King stating that The Shining was the best movie adaptation of any of his stories. I wonder what changed, or maybe I'm misremembering?
Regardless, it's my favorite King movie (though I haven't yet seen "It").
Eh. Unlike the previous commenter, I didn't like the miniseries "way more," but in certain respects it's an unfair comparison--a workmanlike director rather than Stanley Fucking Kubrick, an overlong script treated as more or less untouchable, and what was, when push comes to shove, a TV movie budget for special effects. This affected nearly all of King's TV adaptations, with the possible exception of "Salem's Lot," which had the good fortune to be directed by Tobe Hoober. (For all the fondness the original "It" is remembered with, it's...more unintentionally comical than I think people remember, too.) Even so, I would argue that the miniseries does a better job of capturing the novel's themes about alcoholism and mental illness than the movie does. If they'd had a slightly more inventive director--and both the willingness and contractual freedom to make it a two-part miniseries instead of a three-part one--it would have been pretty great. Not Kubrick great, no, but great.
(Also: Steven Weber is a better Jack Torrance than Jack Nicholson is. Fight me.)
Personally, I'm pretty sure it's because I stumbled onto a showing of either IT or Killer Klowns from Outer Space[1] on the TV when I was a small child. Ruined Bozo[2] for me...
[1] http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0095444/
[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bozo_the_Clown
There was a truly distressing scene in the IT miniseries involving showerheads in a locker room. That perhaps?