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‘IT’ Director Andy Muschietti Says Bill Skarsgard Shocked Him as Pennywise

This weekend, a character which has haunted so many of our childhood nightmares will be brought back to life only this time, he’ll be on the big screen!  We’re talking, of course, about Pennywise the clown and Andy Muschietti’s rebooted version of the 90s classic television miniseries IT.

Muschietti’s IT is, without a doubt, one of the most highly-anticipated films of the year and the film has even gained the full support of the one and only Stephen King, the man responsible for creating the story of Pennywise in the first place.

With King’s novel being a beloved horror masterpiece and Tim Curry’s iconic portrayal of Pennywise in the original television miniseries, it’s safe to say Muschietti had his work cut out for him when creating the new film.  In a recent press interview, Muschietti spoke about bringing the terrifying character to life once more.  He said he and Bill Skarsgard (the new Pennywise) talked for hours regarding the character and, for the most part, they were on the same page when it came to how this role should be portrayed.  While Muschietti and Skarsgard agreed on most everything that the character should be, Muschietti wasn’t totally prepared for what Skarsgard brought to the role. He said:

“We talked a lot about the unpredictable behavior of Pennywise as part of his dread and his impact as a monster. We have here a guy [referring to Skarsgard] that is committed and fearless. He just took the concept of ‘what is this monster and how do we make it unpredictable’ and I think one of the greatest things that he brought is embracing that concept of unpredictability and really giving something new at every point. I was shocked.  I was so surprised and gratified to see him doing these things. Because he was not surprising the audience only, he was surprising me at every point. And he was maybe surprising himself at one point.”

Early screenings of the film have left audiences shocked and speechless from pure terror so, it’s safe to say that Muschietti won’t be the only one surprised by Skarsgard’s performance.

IT will creep into theaters nationwide on September 8th.  Are you excited?

'IT' Director Andy Muschietti Says Bill Skarsgard Shocked Him as Pennywise

 

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