It 1990:
It (also known as Stephen King’s It) is a 1990 American supernatural horror drama miniseries directed by Tommy Lee Wallace and adapted by Lawrence D. Cohen from the Stephen King novel of the same name. It is the first of two adaptations of the novel; the second being the 2017 film adaptation and its upcoming 2019 sequel.
The story revolves around a predatory shapeshifter which has the ability to transform itself into its prey's worst fears, allowing it to exploit the phobias of its victims. It mostly takes the human form of a sadistic, wisecracking clown called Pennywise. The protagonists are The Lucky Seven, or The Losers Club, a group of outcast kids who discover Pennywise and vow to destroy him by any means necessary. The series takes place over two different time periods, the first when the Losers first confront Pennywise as children in 1960, and the second when they return as adults in 1990 to defeat him a second time after he resurfaces.
It features an ensemble cast, starring Richard Thomas, John Ritter, Annette O'Toole, Harry Anderson, Dennis Christopher, Tim Reid and Richard Masur as the seven members of the Losers Club, and Tim Curry as Pennywise. The child counterparts of the Losers that appear in part one are played by Jonathan Brandis, Seth Green, Emily Perkins, Brandon Crane, Adam Faraizl, Marlon Taylor and Ben Heller. Michael Cole, Jarred Blancard, Gabe Khouth, Chris Eastman, Olivia Hussey, Frank C. Turner, Tony Dakota, Ryan Michael, Tom Heaton and Chelan Simmons also play supporting roles.
Originally planning a four-part eight-hour series, ABC enlisted writer Lawrence D. Cohen to adapt the 1,138-page King novel. Cohen's script condensed the source work into a two-part, three-hour mini-series that retained the core elements of the novel, but Cohen was forced to abandon numerous subplots by virtue of the novel's length and the network's time-slot restrictions. Production on It began in early 1990, and the series was filmed over a period of three months in New Westminster, British Columbia in mid-1990.
It aired on ABC over two nights on November 18 and 20, 1990, attracting 30 million viewers in its premiere. Critics praised Tim Curry's performance as Pennywise. For his work on the miniseries, Richard Bellis received a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Achievement in Music Composition for a mini-series or a Special (Dramatic Underscore).
It 2017:
It (also known as It: Chapter One) is a 2017 American supernatural horror film directed by Andy Muschietti, based on the 1986 novel of the same name by Stephen King. The screenplay is by Chase Palmer, Cary Fukunaga and Gary Dauberman. The film tells the story of seven children in Derry, Maine, who are terrorized by the eponymous being, only to face their own personal demons in the process. The novel was previously adapted into a 1990 miniseries.
The film stars Jaeden Lieberher and Bill Skarsgård as Bill Denbrough and Pennywise the Dancing Clown, respectively, with Jeremy Ray Taylor, Sophia Lillis, Finn Wolfhard, Wyatt Oleff, Chosen Jacobs, Jack Dylan Grazer, Nicholas Hamilton, and Jackson Robert Scott in supporting roles. Principal photography began in the Riverdale neighborhood of Toronto on June 27, 2016, and ended on September 21, 2016. Other Ontariolocations included Port Hope and Oshawa.
It premiered in Los Angeles on September 5, 2017, and was theatrically released in the United States on September 8, 2017. Upon release, the film set numerous box office records and grossed $700 million worldwide. Unadjusted for inflation, it is the highest-grossing horror film and the third highest-grossing R-rated film of all-time (after Deadpool and The Matrix Reloaded). It received positive reviews, with critics praising the performances, direction, cinematography and musical score, with many calling it one of the best Stephen King adaptations.
A sequel, It: Chapter Two, is scheduled to be released on September 6, 2019.
