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The film sets a new highwater mark in adapting the work of Stephen King.
It has no name, no face.
Brooke Palmer/Warner Bros.
It is infinite, ageless, immortal.
It feels only hunger.
But It has a favorite form.
Brooke Palmer/Warner Bros.
Mercedes,The Mist, and more on the horizon.
In recent years Kings output has redoubled.
And its back to unleash terror, still hungry for more.
Judging by the unsettled reactions of the Internet, hes already curdling blood around the world.
He even gave director Muschietti the creeps.
He started doing things in the audition that were like … what?
Brooke Palmer/Warner Bros.
His face contorts in very weird ways.
He has these eyes that are the scariest thing.
He can be very scary.
Brooke Palmer/Warner Bros.
The filmmaker waggled his fingers in front of his eyes, indicating pinwheeling pupils.
I was like, Whoa.
I never saw someone do that voluntarily, he said.
EW
[Skarsgard] does something with his lip thats freaking impossible, she said.
I dont know if people are aware what a great actor he is.
Meet him in person and hes stunningly handsome, but he doesnt care.
Hes completely unawareand if he is aware, he doesnt give a sh.
Andy Muschietti agrees, saying many actors were scared off by Pennywise.
But [Skarsgard] said, Lets just do it.
Most people who play antagonists always search for the humanity.
They often claim their character isnt even a villain but rather misunderstood or misguided.
Skarsgard says the key to Pennywise was ignoring all that empathy.
This is a monster, not a man.
Its such an extreme character.
Inhumane, Skarsgard says.
Its beyond even a sociopath because hes not even human.
Hes not even a clown.
Im playing just one of the beings It creates.
That includes the peplum at his waist, which is the flared, skirtlike fabric blossoming below his doublet.
It helps exaggerate certain parts of the body, Bryant says.
But this creature is walking upright and calling to you with a fistful of balloons.
There is almost a doll-like quality to the costume, Bryant says.
It gives the character a childlike quality.
The gloves are so tight and seamless they make his hands look like porcelain.
Even Pennywises creator finds this version creepy.
Its a scary clown, King tells EW.
But to me theyre all scary.
In Kings story Pennywise faces down a team of outcast kids known as the Losers.
Theyre the ones in Derry who against all odds have developed a sensitivity and compassion from years of abuse.
It truly enjoys the shape of the clown Pennywise and enjoys the game and the hunt, Skarsgard says.
Whats funny to this evil entity might not be funny to everyone else.
But he thinks its funny.
Inside the mouth of a storm drain.
In Kings book the boy is found with his arm torn off.
In the movie … hes never found at all.
He has a real quest, and in that quest, he brings the Losers.
I just rolled with it, Muschietti says.
But with the promise that on the second movie, dialogue between timelines will be more present.
Stan Uris (Wyatt Oleff) is tormented for being Jewish.
All of the kids, apart from being really good actors, theyre brilliant children, says Barbara Muschietti.
you’re free to see characteristics in them that you would see in the Losers.
They all come with baggage but in a fantastic way.
The filmmakers hosted bonding sessions for the kids: bike rides, swimming trips, hikes through the woods.
Only one actor was excluded.
From Entertainment WeeklysThe Ultimate Guide to Stephen King.Buy it here.
