It was never easy. When we set up shop at Universal in 1981 to make THE THING we were specifically admonished NOT to use the word horror when discussing the film. Too narrow a catchword, they said, despite a title that literally screams the unspoken. Sci Fi Thriller became the phrase of choice...

Did you know Brad Dourif was the runner up to Tom Waites for the role of Windows in THE THING ?

Thank you very much. Wasn't aware my replies were disabled. My settings control indicate they are fine...

That having been said if John Carpenter says he now KNOWS who's who at the end believe him. Trust him. Just make sure next time he's asked the question he takes a blood test first...

The ending was deliberately designed to be ambiguous. THE THING was made for a world with no aftermarket, the big screen being the only standard then. Flattering as it is, we never anticipated the film who be run, re-run incessantly and parsed for minute clues to identity. It simply wasn't the plan.

John Carpenter passed on directing THE GOLDEN CHILD in favor of BIG TROUBLE IN LITTLE CHINA, a move that infuriated his about to be ex agent. "I worked hard to get him out of the genre ghetto (his phrase), and now he's turned down the hottest property in Hollywood in order to do another genre film."

Surtees was extolled at the time for his versatility - the "ultimate professional" labeled by the American Cinematographer for his work on THE GRADUATE, THE LAST PICTURE SHOW and DR. DOLITTLE, all shot in 1967. Spent a ton of time playing hooky at Universal watching him shoot THE HINDENBURG...

" He's Gonna Piss It All Away!" Fondly remembering his turn in LET IT RIDE...

I urged the Academy last year to ask John Carpenter to present the special effects Academy Award to these guys. The worlds #1 Godzilla fan, the man half the filmmakers in attendance owed some debt of gratitude. The perfect choice. Still can't believe it didn't happen...

Don't tell us what we already know.

DO SOMETHING

The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street was a formative influence on Bill Lancaster as we developed the screenplay for THE THING. The modus operandi of the creature in our film (in the form of Blair, the biologist) and the dramatic dynamic that results is exactly that of the alien beings in Monsters..

Hu had already written the screenplay in Chinese, which of course no one could read. If memory serves producer Jonathan Taplin paid to have it translated and financed a location scout in Northern California but that's as far as things went...

A sensation when it made it's American debut at Filmex. King Hu used the occasion to pitch a new film he wanted to make here - nothing less than an epic re -telling of the building of the Transcontinental Railroad from the viewpoint of the Chinese workers who made it happen. There were no takers..

The original screenplay by Floyd Mutrix was a hot item and the subject of a bidding war. Secured by WB for the then high end price of $175.000...