The Thing

Badges for Alamo Drafthouse’s Summer of 1982 Go on Sale Tomorrow; 11 More Movies Added to Line-Up; Plus a Look at Mondo’s E.T. Poster

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: April 16th, 2012 at 1:16 pm

Last month, we reported that the Alamo Drafthouse would be spending this summer honoring the summer of 1982 by holding screenings of Conan the Barbarian, The Road Warrior, Rocky III, Poltergeist, Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial, The Thing, and TRON, with all the movies being presented in 35mm.  Tomorrow, a limited number of badges—priced at $80—will go on sale here at 11am CST and provide admission to all these movies.  The Drafthouse will also be selling tickets to the first movie in the series, Conan the Barbarian, which will play on May 11th.

In addition to the terrific movies that have already been announced, the Drafthouse has added 11 more movies to the summer series: Vice Squad, Escape 2000, The Sword and the Sorcerer, The Secret of Nimh, Pink Floyd: The Wall, Class of 1984, Friday the 13th: Part 3 in 3D, Halloween 3, Q: The Winged Serpent, The Dark Crystal, Fast Times at Ridgemont High, and The Last Unicorn.  The badges won’t cover these movies, so you’ll have to buy tickets.  Hit the jump for the full press release, which includes info on when you can buy tickets for each movie (and you better come to Rocky III since we’re co-hosting it!).  We’ve also included a look at Dan McCarthy’s gorgeous E.T. posters, which will be sold at the E.T. screening with any leftovers being sold online).

Alamo Drafthouse Sends Us Back to the Summer of 1982; Collider to Co-Host Screening of ROCKY III

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: March 2nd, 2012 at 10:02 am

The summer movie season keeps getting bigger but rarely does it get better.  There are always some standouts, but in 30 years time, will we have nine movies that will all be remembered as classics?  I’m not sure, but it’s only been done once before in the last 30 years, and that was in the summer of 1982.  From May through July, the world received (in chronological order) Conan the Barbarian, The Road Warrior, Rocky III, Poltergeist, Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial, The Thing, Blade Runner, and TRON.  Let that sink in for a moment.

The Alamo Drafthouse is paying tribute to the summer of 1982 by letting audiences relive it in the summer of 2012.  The Alamo will re-release the film on the same day that it was released in 1982, and a geek site will co-host a screening at the Alamo Drafthouse Ritz in Austin.  So for example, we’re co-hosting the screening of Rocky III on May 25th.  Select films will have big events with special guests and new Mondo posters.  Hit the jump for all of the release dates along with Alamo’s trailer for the summer of 1982.

THE THING Blu-ray Review

by Andre Dellamorte    Posted: February 2nd, 2012 at 5:00 am

We’ve seen many of the great horror films of the 70’s and 80’s remade and yet few if any have lived up to their predecessors. So remaking John Carpenter’s The Thing must have been a tempting but dangerous proposition. The film is considered one of the greatest horror films of that or any time, and a remake might aggravate fans (even though the 1982 film itself was a remake), on top of the knowledge that the Carpenter film was a flop when released. To circumvent that they made a prequel, which copies the original in a lot of ways, and takes place days before the original remake. 2011’s The Thing stars Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Joel Edgerton, and Eric Christian Olsen as the victims, and our review of the Blu-ray follows after the jump.

97 Original Scores Up for Oscar; DRIVE and ATTACK THE BLOCK Ruled Ineligible

by Adam Chitwood    Posted: December 23rd, 2011 at 12:04 pm

As the 84th Academy Awards move closer, we’re starting to get a better sense of how things will pan out. We recently shared the 39 songs that will contend for the Best Original Song category, and now the Academy has announced the 97 original scores eligible for the Best Original Score award. AMPAS is notoriously picky when it comes to eligibility in this category, and as we feared the scores for both Drive and Attack the Block have been deemed ineligible. Also disappointing is the ineligibility of Alexandre Desplat’s mesmerizing score for The Tree of Life.

While it’s upsetting to see some of the year’s best work side-lined, there’s plenty to be happy about. I was a huge fan of Howard Shore’s work in Hugo and Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross’s score for The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, as well as The Chemical Brothers’ brilliant work in the criminally underseen Hanna. Hit the jump for the full list, as well as who I think will make the cut.

Weekend Box Office – REAL STEEL Takes Top Spot Again with $16.3 Million; FOOTLOOSE a Close Second with $16.1 Million

by Adam Chitwood    Posted: October 16th, 2011 at 9:23 am

In a photo-finish that could very well end up too close to call, it looks like Shawn Levy’s sci-fi pic Real Steel has topped the box office for the second weekend in a row, just edging out the Footloose remake. Estimates have Real Steel with $16.3 million for the weekend, with Footloose finishing with a respectable $16.1 million. The neck-and-neck race may come down to Sunday totals, with the family-heavy day giving a slight edge to the all-ages Real Steel. Hit the jump for more details.

	Title	Weekend	Total
1	Real Steel	$16,300,000	$51,744,000
2	Footloose	$16,100,000	$16,100,000
3	The Thing	$8,700,000	$8,700,000
4	The Ides of March	$7,500,000	$22,154,000
5	Dolphin Tale	$6,345,000	$58,672,000
6	Moneyball	$5,500,000	$57,712,000
7	50/50	$4,315,000	$24,344,000
8	Courageous	$3,400,000	$21,378,000
9	The Big Year	$3,325,000	$3,325,000
10	The Lion King 3D	$2,708,000	$90,452,000

TOP 5: THE AVENGERS Trailer, PHANTOM MENACE 3D Poster, MAN OF STEEL and THE DARK KNIGHT RISES Set Photos, THE THING, FOOTLOOSE

by Jason Barr    Posted: October 15th, 2011 at 11:01 am

I’m writing you this afternoon less than an hour removed from my first trip to the little slice of Americana that is a Bass Pro Shop. For those unfamiliar with the chain, imagine a store with Wal-Mart-esque square footage that devotes itself entirely to all things outdoor. While I’ll admit to being a little out of my element (okay, way out of my element), even an outdoor novice like myself can relish the opportunity to have their picture taken with a taxidermic grizzly bear. For those of you waiting for me to somehow make a connection between my Bass Pro experience and this week’s “Top 5″, this ellipsis is about as close as you’re going to get…

…In this week’s installment you’ll find the much-anticipated first trailer from writer/director Joss Whedon’s The Avengers, the first poster for Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace 3D, some new set photos from Man of Steel and The Dark Knight Rises, and interviews for both The Thing and Craig Brewer’s Footloose. Hit the jump for a brief recap and link to each.

Friday Box Office – FOOTLOOSE on Top with $5.6 Million

by Brendan Bettinger    Posted: October 15th, 2011 at 9:23 am

Footloose opened at the top of the charts this Friday with $5.6 million, but the remake will have to keep dancing its heart out to fend off last week’s champion Real Steel.  Both movies should land in the $15-18 million range for the weekend.  The revival of fellow beloved 80s property The Thing debuted in third place with a weaker $3.2 million.  Still better than this week’s other wide release, The Big Year, which earned just $1.15 million this Friday despite a trio of high profile leads in Steve Martin, Owen Wilson, and Jack Black.  Check back tomorrow for the weekend totals.

	Title	Friday	Total
1	Footloose	$5,565,000	$5.6
2	Real Steel	$4,517,000	$40.0
3	The Thing	$3,200,000	$3.2
4	The Ides of March	$2,250,000	$16.9
5	Moneyball	$1,715,000	$53.9

THE THING Review

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: October 14th, 2011 at 6:01 am

The Thing is a horrifying and intelligent creature with purpose.  Sadly, the same cannot be said of its new movie.  Much like the horrifying hybrids its eponymous alien becomes, Matthijs van Heijningen Jr.’s The Thing doesn’t know what it wants to be.  Officially, the film is a prequel to John Carpenter’s 1982 classic horror film of the same name.  However, by copying certain elements of the original’s plot* and pacing, the new film is torn between how much it should emulate and how much it should invent.

Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje Talks THE THING and BULLET TO THE HEAD

by Christina Radish    Posted: October 13th, 2011 at 11:51 am

The Thing, a prelude to the 1982 classic from John Carpenter, follows a team at an isolated outpost in Antarctica, who discover an alien creature unearthed by a crew of international scientists. Carter (Joel Edgerton) and Jameson (Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje) are American helicopter pilots and friends, who service the camp with supplies and transport personnel. On one such run, they find themselves fighting for their lives, as a parasite with the ability to turn itself into an exact replica of any living being begins making its way through the team, and no one knows who they can trust.

To promote the film, British actor Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje spoke to Collider for this exclusive phone interview about being attracted to the suspense-thriller aspect of the story, his desire to play an all-around nice guy, how much fun he had working with the repulsive creatures, and how he enjoying being the film’s comic relief. He also talked about facing off against Sylvester Stallone in the upcoming feature Bullet in the Head, and his desire to keep people guessing with the roles he continues to play. Check out what he had to say after the jump.

Director Matthijs Van Heijningen Interview THE THING

by Christina Radish    Posted: October 12th, 2011 at 11:14 pm

The Thing, a prelude to the 1982 classic from John Carpenter, follows a team at an isolated outpost in Antarctica, who discover an alien creature unearthed by a crew of international scientists. As paranoia spreads and they start to question which of them have been infected with something inhuman that has the ability to turn itself into an exact replica of any living being, paleontologist Kate Lloyd (Mary Elizabeth Winstead), helicopter pilot Braxton Carter (Joel Edgerton) and his friend Jameson (Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje), and the Norwegian scientific team find themselves fighting this terrifying parasite to keep it from killing them off one at a time.

A veteran commercial director from Holland, Matthijs Van Heijningen makes his feature film debut with The Thing. To promote the scary thriller, he spoke to Collider for this exclusive interview about the appeal of telling a story that leads up to the beloved Carpenter film, being both scared and eager to take on his first American movie, the positive response they got from their first test screening, doing reshoots to clarify certain aspects of the story, and that he’s planning on a 20-minute making of feature, some deleted scenes and audio commentary for the DVD/Blu-ray. Check out what he had to say after the jump:

Mary Elizabeth Winstead and Eric Christian Olsen Talk THE THING and ABRAHAM LINCOLN: VAMPIRE HUNTER

by Tommy Cook    Posted: October 11th, 2011 at 10:36 am

Mary Elizabeth Winstead and Eric Christian Olsen’s characters Kate and Adam couldn’t be more dissimilar. Whereas Winstead’s Kate responds to the threat of a shape-shifting alien by finding her voice and becoming the de-facto leader of the remnant survivors, Olsen’s Adam slowly withdraws from the action, refusing to acknowledge the severity of the situation. Their arcs are not that far removed from the Ripley/Weaver & Burke/Reiser Aliens mold (although Olsen isn’t quite as repulsive as Paul Reiser’s Carter Burke – to be fair: who could?). It was oddly fitting then that the two were paired up for The Thing press day interviews – each balancing the other. Altruism vs. Self-interest – all contained in one room.

In the following interview with Winstead and Olsen, She explicates on her character’s transformation from mild-mannered to hero and He discusses the liberties allowed in playing “a coward”. Winstead also calls me out for making the (admittedly) slightest of parallels between The Thing and her upcoming Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter.  Hit the jump to watch.

Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje Talks THE THING and Walter Hill’s BULLET TO THE HEAD

by Tommy Cook    Posted: October 10th, 2011 at 11:24 am

Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje is an intimidating presence. Over 6ft, with massive arms and a Cheshire cat smile, Agbaje’s physical attributes have aided him in crafting some of the most threatening forces on the small screen – most notably in Lost and Oz. But recently Agbaje has begun to subvert this image playing against his natural appearance, last year as the cowering Evangelist seeking forgiveness in the under-seen/underappreciated Faster and now in The Thing prequel/remake as the jovial, soft-spoken Jameson. Agbaje doesn’t nearly have enough to do in the upcoming film, but he makes the most of his limited screen-time crafting an easy going camaraderie with Joel Edgerton’s Braxton and establishing an instantly likable persona. You can’t help but root for Jameson to beat this alien and make it the hell out of Antarctica – I mean, if that really even is Jameson to begin with.

In the following interview with Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, he discusses playing against type in The Thing, developing an American accent for the film and working with both practical and CGI effects. Agbaje also previews the forthcoming Walter Hill directed/Sylvester Stallone starring Bullet to the Head and describes his role in the film. The Thing opens Friday, October 14^th. For the interview, hit the jump.

Director Matthijs van Heijningen Interview THE THING

by Tommy Cook    Posted: October 8th, 2011 at 5:54 pm

The prequel to the remake of the adaptation, Matthijs van Heijningen’s The Thing certainly has a lot of material to draw from.  John Campbell’s iconic tale of an Arctic research team uncovering and releasing a shape-shifting alien first adapted via Hawks/Nyby as a commentary on science run amuck, then re-imagined as the great “who-am-I” existential horror by John Carpenter, now finds new life over twenty years later as a thinly veiled attack on national/cultural divides.  What would happen if a bunch of Norwegians and Americans were stuck in a room with an alien who could be any one of them?  The answer: not much good…

In the following interview, director Heijningen takes exception to my assertion that his Thing has more in common with Carpenter’s then the other Things, speaks about the cultural divides at the heart of his version and previews the horror-comedy he hopes to make in the future.  Of note: the interview/press-junket was held at the newly opened Thing maze in Universal Studios Hollywood.  Click through for the interview.

4 Clips from THE THING

by Adam Chitwood    Posted: October 5th, 2011 at 5:03 pm

Universal Pictures has sent over four clips from The Thing.  The film is a prequel to John Carpenter’s classic 1982 horror pic. The premise is similar to Carpenter’s original, as it centers on a group of scientists in Antarctica who are tormented by an alien being that has the ability to mask itself in human form. Directed by Matthijs van Heijningen Jr., the film stars Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Joel Edgerton, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Eric Christian Olsen, Ulrich Thomsen, and Davetta Sherwood. Hit the jump to check out the clips and look for our exclusive interviews with the cast in the coming days.  The Thing opens October 14th.

New Clip from THE THING Starring Mary Elizabeth Winstead and Joel Edgerton

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: September 30th, 2011 at 7:22 am

Everyone who thinks that The Thing is a remake and not a prequel can be forgiven.  Not only does the new film share the title of John Carpenter’s 1982 classic horror flick, but they bare the same premise: don’t trust anyone because they could be aliened-up.  This new clip shows that the upcoming pre-make throws at least one new element in the mix.  Because the movie takes place at the Norwegian station that initially held the alien before it escaped and made its way to the American camp, there’s a language barrier between the Norwegian scientists and Mary Elizabeth Winstead’s character.  Her inability to understand what they’re screaming adds an extra layer of confusion and terror to an already confusing and terrifying situation.

Hit the jump to check out the clip.  The Thing opens October 14th.

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