The It movie has taken the cinematic world by storm over the last few days, breaking box office records and earning such impressive reviews that fans are already counting down the days until its sequel is released.
Those involved in bringing “It” to the big-screen are understandably feeling rather proud of their achievements. I recently had the chance to speak to producer Dan Lin about “It,” and he went into more detail about why he is so satisfied with the film’s success, which he believes is because it was much more than a horror film.
“It has been really satisfying because people understand that we made more than a horror movie. I’d never produced a horror movie before, and we decided that if we were going to make a film in this genre we had to do it with our core values. Which for “It” was a coming of age story, and I think people are really resonating with that.”
Lin is still well aware that one of the biggest draws for audiences was the fact that “It” featured the terrifying villain Pennywise and scares expertly crafted by director Andy Muschietti, but he also highlighted the importance of The Losers’ Club. “Obviously it’s a horror movie with Pennywise and he’s a scary villain, but ultimately it’s about this group of kids that bond together to defeat this evil villain,” Lin insisted.
It’s no surprise that Dan Lin and the other “It” producers, Roy Lee, Seth Grahame-Smith, David Katzenberg and Barbara Muschietti, are so proud of “It” and its triumphant release. The adaptation of Stephen King’s 1986 novel has been in the works since 2009, with David Kajganich originally adapting the novel, Cary Fukunaga on-board to direct and Will Poulter in place to portray Pennywise. However, they all ultimately left the project.
Despite these setbacks Lin and his team were able to regroup, though, and ultimately “Mama’s” Andy Muschietti directed the film from a script by Chase Palmer, Fukunaga and Gary Dauberman, with Bill Skarsgård as Pennywise. Their film has proven to be a huge hit with audiences, and Lin will be intent on getting each and every one of them back for “Chapter 2.”
