Caffeinated Clint
Out stumping “The Square” in the states, star Joel Edgerton was asked by Collider how his next project, the prequel to John Carpenter’s “The Thing”, compares to the original.
“[Director Matthijs van Heijningen]’s not trying to reinvent the film. He’s certainly not trying to eclipse the film. He’s certainly not trying to remake the film. But, what he’s trying to do is tell the story “pre” that film”, explains Edgerton. “Whoever’s familiar with the film knows that very early on in the original the two Norwegian guys seem to have become crazy. One is blown up in a helicopter and the other one gets shot by the Americans and in order to find out why they went crazy, Kurt Russell goes in a helicopter to see and question the Norwegian base and when he gets there it’s been decimated and they find the carcass of this “Thing.” And this story tells what happened to the Norwegian base.”
“What Universal and Matthijs are trying to do is make a partner piece to “The Thing” while also reinventing the aspect of – modern filmmaking has come a long way – so I guess they’re paying respect to the original while bringing a new time and different [approach] without throwing away what they did in the past.”
The “Thing” prequel co-stars Mary Elizabeth Winstead (“Die Hard 4.0”) and is shooting in Vancouver.
