He returned wearing a surgical glove beneath a black glove that was painted to resemble his complexion. [20][36] The team considered building the sets inside an existing refrigerated structure, but were unable to find one large enough. [183] In 2017, Mondo and the Project Raygun division of USAopoly released The Thing: Infection at Outpost 31, a board game. © Valve Corporation. MacReady sits nearby as the station burns. [25] They would make the 27-mile (43 km) drive up a small, winding road to the filming location in Alaska where the exterior outpost sets were built. [174][175] An excursion of fans to the filming location in British Columbia is currently scheduled to take place in 2022, to celebrate the film's 40th anniversary. [49] He also played the score from Escape from New York for Morricone as an example. The piece is used throughout, I take every failure hard. This was unusual at the time because of the expense involved. [109], The central theme of The Thing concerns paranoia and mistrust. The attraction included MacReady and Childs, both held in stasis, the Blair-Thing and the outpost kennel. [84], Since its release, cultural historians and critics have attempted to understand what led to The Thing's initial failure to connect with audiences. First Name. ", "From "Instant Junk" to "Instant Classic" – Critical Reception of 'The Thing, "44 Body Horror Movies To Kill Your Appetite", "The Thing board game is as infectious as the movie", "Event Report: Universal Orlando's Halloween Horror Nights 18", "Take an exclusive look at Mondo's limited-edition The Thing board game", "On Location with John Carpenter's The Thing", "John Carpenter Announces New EP Lost Cues: The Thing", "Exclusive: A Look at the Return of the Thing screenplay", "15 Things You Never Knew About John Carpenter's 'The Thing, "New Details Thaw On Arrow'S Crystalline 4K Release Of The Thing", "The Thing At 35: Lasting Impressions Of The Ultimate In Alien Terror", "The Thing Fans Planning Epic 40th Anniversary Trek To Filming Sites". A cast was made of makeup artist Lance Anderson's arm and head, around which the Dog-Thing was sculpted in oil-based clay. Cohen suggested reusing the destroyed American camp as the ruined Norwegian camp, saving a further $250,000. [120][121] In a 1982 interview, when given the option to describe The Thing as "pro-science" like Who Goes There? [1], — John Carpenter in 2008 on the contemporary reception of The Thing[69], The film received negative reviews on its release, and hostility for its cynical, anti-authoritarian tone and graphic special effects. I loved making Christine (1983) and Starman (1984) and Big Trouble in Little China (1986), all those films. It also enabled the use of negative space around the actors to imply something may be lurking just offscreen. [25] For Blair, the team chose the then-unknown Wilford Brimley, as they wanted an everyman whose absence would not be questioned by the audience until the appropriate time. Revealing himself as the Thing, Norris-Thing's chest transforms into a large mouth that severs Copper's arms. [81] The review noted that the narrative "seems little more than an excuse for the various set-pieces of special effects and Russell's hero is no more than a cypher compared to Tobey's rounded character in Howard Hawks' The Thing". [76][73] Spencer was critical of Carpenter's direction, saying it was his "futile" attempt to give the audience what he thinks they want and that Carpenter was not meant to direct science fiction, but was instead suited to direct "traffic accidents, train wrecks, and public floggings". The Atlantic's Noah Berlatsky said that unlike typical horror genre films, females are excluded, allowing the Thing to be identified as a fear of not being a man, or being homosexual. Their biologist, Blair, performs autopsies on the remains and finds a normal set of human organs. [79][72] Arnold said that the "chest chomp" scene demonstrated "appalling creativity" and the subsequent severed head scene was "madly macabre", comparing them to Alien's chest burster and severed head scenes. Copper suggests a test to compare each member's blood against uncontaminated blood held in storage, but after learning that the blood stores have been destroyed, the men lose faith in Garry, and MacReady takes command. the Extra-Terrestrial ($619 million), a more family-friendly film released two weeks earlier that offered a more optimistic take on alien visitation. [47][48] Carpenter flew to Rome to speak with Morricone to convince him to take the job. [8] Carpenter, a fan of Hawks's adaptation, paid homage to it in Halloween, and he watched The Thing from Another World several times for inspiration before filming began. the Extra-Terrestrial, which offered an optimistic take on alien visitation; a summer that had been filled with successful science fiction and fantasy films; and an audience living through a recession, diametrically opposed to The Thing's nihilistic tone. [30][57] Stop-motion expert Randall William Cook developed a sequence for the end of the film where MacReady is confronted by the gigantic Blair-Thing. The one I took the hardest was, Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films, "John Carpenter Talks About His Storied Filmmaking Career, Creative Differences, and the Term 'Slasher, "The Men Who Were The Thing Look Back on a Modern Horror Classic", "Scorekeeper May Or May Not Be The Thing But Bsx Records Latest Release Definitely Is! [20] Foster, Franco, and Lancaster, along with other members of the crew, make a cameo appearance in a recovered photograph of the Norwegian team. [18] Bottin said the pressure he experienced caused him to dream about working on designs, some of which he would take note of after waking. Go West wrote "One Way Street" for the movie by request of Sylvester Stallone. Werewolf And More!! They wanted reassurance that The Thing was a first-rate production capable of attracting audiences. the Extra-Terrestrial to appeal only to children. His proposed 5% budget cut would set PPB back by $10.1 million, Lovell said in the proposal. In the spring, the characters are rescued by helicopter, greeting their saviors with "Hey, which way to a hot meal?". [2], Bill Lancaster initially met with Turman, Foster and Cohen in 1977, but he was given the impression that they wanted to closely replicate The Thing from Another World, and he did not want to remake the film. He lamented that it took a long time for The Thing to find a wider audience, saying, "If The Thing had been a hit, my career would have been different. ", "Steven DeKnight Went From Pacific Rim Fanboy to Pacific Rim Uprising Director", "The Thing for PlayStation 2 Reviews, Ratings, Credits, and More at Metacritic", "The Thing for PC Reviews, Ratings, Credits, and More at Metacritic", "Guillermo del Toro Praises John Carpenter in Epic Twitter Marathon", "10 great films about aliens visiting Earth", "John Carpenter: 'Halloween's a very simple film, "EXCLUSIVES[Interview] 'The Thing 2011' Screenwriter Explains How The Film Transformed Into What You Saw!!! Blair autopsies the new creature and learns that it can perfectly imitate other organisms. The Thing is a 1982 American science fiction horror film directed by John Carpenter and written by Bill Lancaster.Based on the 1938 John W. Campbell Jr. novella Who Goes There?, it tells the story of a group of American researchers in Antarctica who encounter the eponymous "Thing", a parasitic extraterrestrial life-form that assimilates, then imitates other organisms. [23][32] Anita Dann served as casting director. Synonyms for budget cuts include downsizes, reduces, decreases, diminishes, lessens, lowers, abates, downscales, eases and dwindles. Discussions with the studio involved using actors Christopher Walken, Jeff Bridges, or Nick Nolte, who were either unavailable or declined, and Sam Shepard, who showed interest but was never pursued. What … For the rest of the set, Cundey created a contrast by lighting the interiors with warmer lights hung overhead in conical shades so that they could still control the lighting and have darkened areas on set. What are synonyms for budget cut? [10], The team originally wanted to shoot the film in black and white, but Universal was reluctant as it could affect their ability to sell the television rights for the film. Two, John Sayles and Edgar Wright, cited The Thing. My pieces were very simple electronic pieces – it was almost tones. [10], After securing the writer and crew, the film was stalled again when Carpenter nearly quit, believing that a passion project of his, El Diablo (1990), was on the verge of being made by EMI Films. And [Carpenter] took the electronic score. "[44] According to Cundey, Bottin was very sensitive about his designs, and worried about the film showing too many of them. Of the film's $15 million budget, $1.5 million was spent on Rob Bottin's creature effects, a mixture of chemicals, food products, rubber, and mechanical parts turned by his large team into an alien capable of taking on any form. An adaptation of the novel of the same name by Norman Lebrecht, it stars Tim Roth and Clive Owen as childhood friends from London whose lives have been changed by World War II. The Thing is a 1982 American science fiction horror film directed by John Carpenter and written by Bill Lancaster. Some analysts blamed Universal's poor marketing, which did not compete with the deluge of promotion for prominent films released that summer. They used available footage, including alternate and extended scenes not in the finished film, but avoided revealing the special effects as much as possible. [63] The response to public pre-screenings of The Thing resulted in the studio changing the somber, black-and-white advertising approved by the producers to a color image of a person with a glowing face. the Extra-Terrestrial, respectively. For example, if the state of Oklahoma receives 10% less tax revenue in a year than it received the previous year, it may institute 10% budget cuts on all state agencies so the state remains in balance. was "timely" for him, meaning he could make it "true to [his] day" as Hawks had in his time. Español - Latinoamérica (Spanish - Latin America), https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K2PYVSEdBjo&list=PLqTAvRb8yoez3C0ag3sxAf0OUAK7ovCBQ. Several years after his childhood friend, a violin prodigy, disappears on the eve of his first solo concert, an Englishman travels throughout Europe to find him. [37] Carpenter insisted on two weeks of rehearsals before filming as he wanted to see how scenes would play out. [30] On its opening day, a special screening was held at the Hollywood Pacific Theatre, presided over by Elvira, Mistress of the Dark, with free admission for those in costume as monsters. [11] The final cost was $12.4 million, and overhead costs brought it to $15 million. Please see the. The team imprisons him in a tool shed. Budget cuts are a stressful time for human resources departments and all other parts of the organization. [25] Masur turned down a role in E.T. The Thing is a being beyond our understanding and possesses the ability to destroy all life on Earth quickly. Since Halloween, several horror films had replicated many of the scare elements of that film, something Carpenter wanted to move away from for The Thing. Services Requested. All rights reserved. Ennio Morricone composed the film's score, as Carpenter wanted The Thing to have a European musical approach. The decision was made to tone down the color of the blood and viscera, although much of the filming had been completed by that point. Lancaster aimed to create an ensemble piece where one person emerged as the hero, instead of having a Doc Savage-type hero from the start. [80] Arnold considered The Thing as the end result of Alien raising the requirement for horrific spectacle. [40] Filmed when the heavy use of special effects was rare, the actors had to adapt to having Carpenter describe to them what their characters were looking at, as the effects would not be added until post-production. [12][171] In January 2010, Clarkesworld Magazine published "The Things", a short story by Peter Watts told from the Thing's point of view; it is unable to understand why humans are hostile toward it. [49] Morricone wrote complete separate orchestral and synthesizer scores and a combined score, which he knew was Carpenter's preference. Cook created a miniature model of the set and filmed wide-angle shots of the monster in stop motion, but Carpenter was not convinced by the effect and used only a few seconds of it. He removed scenes from Lancaster's script that had been filmed, such as a body suddenly falling into view at the Norwegian camp, which he felt were too clichéd. [21] In part, Carpenter cited the practicality of choosing someone he had found reliable before, and who would not balk at the difficult filming conditions. Get An Estimate. [23][85][86] Carpenter described it as the complete opposite of his film. "Yamato, Jen. [106] These versions eventually ceased being manufactured. [12][172] In 2017, a 400-page art book was released featuring art inspired by The Thing, with contributions from 350 artists, a foreword by director Eli Roth, and an afterword by Carpenter. The intent with the character was to have him become infected early in the film but offscreen, so that his status would be unknown to the audience, concealing his intentions. [53] As part of the Thing's design, it was agreed anyone assimilated by it would be a perfect imitation and would not know they were the Thing. [103] It is based on an earlier draft of the script and features some differences from the finished film. [70][71] Cinefantastique printed an issue with The Thing on its cover asking, "Is this the most hated movie of all time? What does budget cut mean? Last Name. [10] They were used for both interior and exterior filming, meaning they could not be heated above freezing inside to ensure there was always snow on the roof. [14] Carpenter initially considered Bottin's description of his ideas as "too weird", and had him work with Ploog to sketch them instead. This item will only be visible to you, admins, and anyone marked as a creator. MacReady speculates that the Thing intends to return to hibernation until a rescue team arrives. On their return, Nauls abandons MacReady in a snowstorm, believing he has been assimilated after finding his torn clothes in the shack. A list of lyrics, artists and songs that contain the term "budget cut" - from the Lyrics.com website. [12] To take some pressure off his crew, Bottin enlisted the aid of special effects creator Stan Winston to complete some of the designs, primarily the Dog-Thing. He also made some significant changes to the story, such as reducing the number of characters from 37 to 12. But I needed a job. Filming lasted roughly 12 weeks, beginning in August 1981, and took place on refrigerated sets in Los Angeles as well as in Juneau, Alaska, and Stewart, British Columbia. The final foam-latex puppet, worn by Anderson, featured radio-controlled eyes and cable-controlled legs,[56] and was operated from below a raised set on which the kennel was built. But my career would have been different. As Copper attempts to defibrillate Norris, his chest transforms into a large mouth and bites off Copper's arms, killing him. Hates the cold. [83] The film was nominated in the Razzie Awards for Worst Musical Score. Players take on the role of characters from the film or the Thing, each aiming to defeat the other through subterfuge and sabotage. And I had written one, which was electronic music. Budget Cuts is a VR stealth game where you dexterously zip, sneak or rambo your way forward through thrilling, oil-splatter filled combat! [79][73] Even so, Canby said that the effects were too "phony looking to be disgusting". "[1] Shortly after its release, Wilbur Stark sued Universal for $43 million for "slander, breach of contract, fraud and deceit", alleging he incurred a financial loss by Universal failing to credit him properly in its marketing and by showing his name during the end credits, a less prestigious position. [78] Kehr did not like that the men did not band together against the Thing, and several reviews noted a lack of camaraderie and romance, which Arnold said reduced any interest beyond the special effects. Carpenter considered this a suggestion that he lower his expectations of the film's performance. [8][186] A 2002 video game of the same name was released for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 2, and Xbox to generally favorable reviews. [23], Principal photography began on August 24, 1981, in Juneau, Alaska. [41] The effect of the Norris-Thing's head detaching from the body to save itself took many months of testing before Bottin was satisfied enough to film it.