ALL SCI-FI Forum Index ALL SCI-FI
The place to “find your people”.
 
 FAQFAQ   SearchSearch   MemberlistMemberlist   UsergroupsUsergroups   RegisterRegister 
 ProfileProfile   Log in to check your private messagesLog in to check your private messages   Log inLog in 

The Thing (1982)
Goto page Previous  1, 2, 3, 4  Next
 
Post new topic   Reply to topic    ALL SCI-FI Forum Index -> Sci-Fi Movies from 1970 to 2000
View previous topic :: View next topic  
Author Message
Bud Brewster
Galactic Fleet Admiral (site admin)


Joined: 14 Dec 2013
Posts: 17016
Location: North Carolina

PostPosted: Wed Oct 16, 2019 11:07 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Krel wrote:
Back in 2000 George Clooney did a live tv version of "Fail Safe". It did pretty well, and it was announced that George Clooney was going to do a tv adaption of "Who Goes There". But for some reason it never came to be. A shame, as it was suppose to follow close to the story.

Wow! This promo for that Fail Safe production makes it look fantastic! I certainly wish they'd done Who Goes There?

Here's the network promo of it (which just has a blank thumbnail), and below that is the DVD release promo.


______ Fail Safe Promo CBS 2000 A Live TV Event


__________



__________________Fail Safe (2000) - Trailer


__________

_________________
____________
Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)


Last edited by Bud Brewster on Sun Sep 06, 2020 3:22 pm; edited 1 time in total
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Bud Brewster
Galactic Fleet Admiral (site admin)


Joined: 14 Dec 2013
Posts: 17016
Location: North Carolina

PostPosted: Fri Aug 14, 2020 11:50 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

________________________________

Thinking Outside the "Plot"!
________________________________

This strange alien species presents a puzzling contradiction.

On the one hand, it seems to be sentient and highly intelligent. While mimicking members of the humans, each alien seems to have all the knowledge of the original it morphed into.

On the other hand, we never see two or more of the aliens working as a team to lure various humans into situations where they could be absorbed. They always work alone.

Couldn't two-of-more aliens easily isolate individual humans and convert them to the alien versions?

Certain animal species of Earth, such as wolves, hunt in packs and trap there prey by cooperating. So . . . don't these aliens ever do this? Two aliens could overpower a lone man and absorb him — and then the three aliens could . . .

Well, you get the idea.

Consider how organized the "pod people" were in Invasion of the Body Snatchers. They took over an entire town, and they had plans to quickly move on to nearby towns as well!

~ A Question for the Members: Were the aliens in this story somehow incapable of cooperating with each other so that their efforts to replace all the humans would be more successful?

~ My Theory: Frankly I've got no explanation for why aliens who appear to be intelligent can't devise a unified plan for their group survival. Shocked

_________________
____________
Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)


Last edited by Bud Brewster on Wed Nov 16, 2022 12:36 pm; edited 1 time in total
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
johnnybear
Mission Specialist


Joined: 15 Jun 2016
Posts: 442

PostPosted: Sat Aug 22, 2020 8:36 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Do we identify the creature as absorbing the human and animal life as sustenance or just as a malevolent entity planning on surviving here as the best it can or as a tyrannical force in years to come?
JB
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Pow
Galactic Ambassador


Joined: 27 Sep 2014
Posts: 3400
Location: New York

PostPosted: Sun Sep 06, 2020 1:57 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Bud, when you referred to the Pod People from "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" it made me think of something.

What if there was a film where we see not one but two different alien life forms invading the Earth simultaneously? Each ALF has its own ruthless agenda as we humans are caught in the middle.

Imagine a Body Snatchers vs the Thing scenario.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Bud Brewster
Galactic Fleet Admiral (site admin)


Joined: 14 Dec 2013
Posts: 17016
Location: North Carolina

PostPosted: Sun Sep 06, 2020 3:27 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

________________________________

What a great idea! I love it! Cool

_________________
____________
Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)


Last edited by Bud Brewster on Mon Jan 11, 2021 10:31 am; edited 1 time in total
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
ralfy
Mission Specialist


Joined: 23 Sep 2014
Posts: 488

PostPosted: Mon Jan 11, 2021 1:08 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

From 2017:

"The Thing Star Keith David Breaks Down Final Scene, Teases Sequel | PeopleTV | Entertainment Weekly"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iY5N9d645po

with references to They Live (1988).
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Bud Brewster
Galactic Fleet Admiral (site admin)


Joined: 14 Dec 2013
Posts: 17016
Location: North Carolina

PostPosted: Mon Jan 11, 2021 12:47 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

________________________________

In Ralfy's posted video, Keith David speculates that his character (Childs) was the alien, because in the final scene, when Keith and Kurt are talking to each other, the cold air is causing Kurt's breath to create a cloud of fog every time he exhales . . . but Keith's breath never does that.

Not even once. Confused

Does this mean that Childs was not human and therefore not expelling warm, moist air like MacReady was?


______________ The Thing (10/10) Movie CLIP


__________



IMDB had 147 trivia items for this productionback in November 2017. I only posted six of them on page 1 of this thread.

Now they've got 261 items! Here's a few more I found interesting. Very Happy
________________________________

~ To give the illusion of icy Antarctic conditions, interior sets on the Los Angeles sound stages were refrigerated down to 40 degrees Fahrenheit, while it was well over 100 degrees Fahrenheit outside.

Note from me: Hey, this is similar to the way the crash site in 1951 version was filmed in Encino, CA, during a hot summer month.

~ The opening title attempts to replicate the appearance of the original Howard Hawks film. To create the effect of the title, an animation cell with "The Thing" written on it was placed behind a smoke-filled fish tank which was covered with a plastic garbage bag. The bag was ignited, creating the effect of the title burning onto the screen.

Note from me: They were wise to that. The 1951 title work is superb, and replicating it was a nice tribute.

~ The Norwegian dog in the film was named Jed. He was a half wolf/half malamute breed. Jed was an excellent animal actor, never looking at the camera, the dolly or the crew members. Jed, however, is NOT the dog seen in the beginning chase scene, where the Norwegian is trying to shoot him. Per Carpenter's commentary, this was another dog painted to look like Jed.

Note from me: Good lord! Jed the Dog had a stunt double! Laughing

~ The producers attribute the film's disappointing box-office performance to audiences' desire for a more benign interpretation of an alien presence on earth, as a result of Steven Spielberg's E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982), which was released several weeks prior.

Note from me: That was some very unfortunate timing. I've developed more respect for this movie than I used to have, and I feel sorry for Carpenter's bad luck.

~ Some scenes were shot with stop-motion animation, but John Carpenter rejected them, because they looked too fake.

Note from me: I think there's one stop motion scene that was used, the shot of the tentacle that comes up through the wooden floor and grabs the detonator for the explosives, then yanks it down through the hole.

I could be wrong, however. Here it is at the 2:30 mark.

Earlier in the clip we see Childs walk slowly back into the tunnel because he heard a noise caused by the Wilfred Brimley's "thing" character attack and adsorb the only other survivor..

This seems to be the moment when Childs was also caught by the alien (if indeed he was).


_____ The Thing (1982) - Final Battle Scene (HD)


__________



~ When the film first aired on U.S. network television, Universal executive Sid Sheinberg provided a completely different cut of the movie, which included early scenes introducing each character. Naturally, this version was disowned by John Carpenter, but can be seen on the 2016 Scream Factory Blu-ray release.

Note from me: I'd like to see that version!

~ There were many discussions on set about whether someone would know if they were the Thing or not. An agreement was made that if the Thing is a perfect imitation, whoever was taken over would still believe they were human, not an alien.

Note from me: This isn't consistent with the fact that Wilfred Brimley's last scene showed him attacking one of the three surviving humans, And when Windows' blood test reveals he's an alien, he doesn't act surprised, he transforms into a savage creature.

~ John Carpenter endorsed The Thing the video game, in which Mac and Childs were revealed to be human, as canonical to his movie. On November 23rd 2012 he tweeted "Yes, one of them was a thing."

So fans are no closer to an answer either way.


Note from me: Maybe Carpenter was replicated by an alien and he's lying. Wink

_________________
____________
Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
johnnybear
Mission Specialist


Joined: 15 Jun 2016
Posts: 442

PostPosted: Sat Jan 16, 2021 9:31 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Why would Carpenter say that? Probably because he was fed up being asked by the numerous fans! In my little mind I think that both men were survivors and neither possessed alien DNA which only works if there is another film proving that one of them was and what's he been doing for the past thirty nine years.
JB
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Bud Brewster
Galactic Fleet Admiral (site admin)


Joined: 14 Dec 2013
Posts: 17016
Location: North Carolina

PostPosted: Sat Jan 16, 2021 11:54 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Bud Brewster wrote:
~ John Carpenter endorsed The Thing the video game, in which Mac and Childs were revealed to be human, as canonical to his movie. On November 23rd 2012 he tweeted "Yes, one of them was a thing."

I, too, lean on the side of both men being human, JB.

And though I'm clearly grasping at straws, I'll point out that in the quote above, Mr. Carpenter said "a thing"— not "a Thing" — which he might have meant that "one of them was a thing . . . and so was the other one. But then, the liquor bottle was a thing, too!"
Laughing
_________________
____________
Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Pow
Galactic Ambassador


Joined: 27 Sep 2014
Posts: 3400
Location: New York

PostPosted: Sat Jan 16, 2021 12:51 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Some "Thing" Trivia.

Director John Carpenter was reluctant to join the project rebooting "The Thing."

He felt that the Howard Hawks produced 1951 "The Thing From Another World" film adaptation from SF author John W. Campell, Jr's novella "Who Goes There?" would be hard to surpass.

Carpenter did also feel that the make-up design from the 1951 film was not notable.

I gotta go with Carpenter on that one. I love both versions of "The Thing," but the 1951 film was wise to keep the alien (Jime Arness) scenes brief and in the shadows.

Not only for suspense & scary moments; but because the make-up is nothing to brag about.

"The Thing" reboot had several false starts before it finally got off the ground. Ridley Scott's SF-horror movie "Alien" and its great success revitalized the project.

John Carpenter read "Who Goes There" and watched "The Thing From Another World" film several times before filming.

By reading the novella, Carpenter found the concept of the alien being able to imitate humans quite creepy.

It also raised intriguing questions about those imitations and this inspired Carpenter to finally agree to direct the film.

Carpenter also drew parallels from Agatha Christie's mystery-murder novel "And Then There Were None" for his version of "The Thing."

He felt that the ideas were "timely" for him and he could make the movie "true to his day" as Howard Hawks had made his 1951 film in his.

Legendary FX maestro Rob Bottin joined the project when pre-production for the movie was already in progress.

He found that there wasn't any design for the "The Thing" at this stage.

John Carpenter conceived the alien as a single creature for his iteration just like the original film had.

Bottin suggested to carpenter that they take a different direction for the alien. Rob felt that the alien should be constantly morphing and able to appear as anything.

That was a brilliant suggestion to Carpenter by Rob.

Had Carpenter just gone with an actor in a bodysuit or elaborate make-up...even more sophisticated make-up compared to the 1951 movie...this reboot would have really suffered.

The constantly morphing of the creature leaves the audience unsure as to who they can trust. The paranoia becomes unbearable.

And Rob's designs for "The Thing" in its various forms is truly horrifying.

Interestingly, John Carpenter felt that Rob's idea was "too weird" at first.

Carpenter felt that anyone assimilated would not only be a perfect imitation, they would not realize they were "The Thing."

So if you are unaware that you are indeed "The Thing," then exactly how does this alien race complete its mission?

Do they just automatically conquer a world by proliferation over time until there's no one else to assimilate?

But if none of the duplicates realizes they are an alien life form that eliminated the indigenous inhabitants, then how do you know who won?

At the peak of the project, Rob Bottin had a 35-person crew of artists and technicians.

I also read that Rob worked himself into such a state exhaustion that he had to go into the hospital.

The intended lack of information regarding the movie's FX peaked the film's exhibitors.

A 20-minute show reel was prepared for them emphasizing action and suspense.

The reel avoided showing as much of the FX as possible.

Reaction by the exhibitors was generally positive.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Krel
Guest





PostPosted: Sat Jan 16, 2021 1:50 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

John Campbell wrote a novel length version of "Who Goes There". It was found a couple of years ago, and someone was trying to get the funding to have published. I don't know if they were successful or not. I guess I'm going to have to look it up.

David.
Back to top
Bud Brewster
Galactic Fleet Admiral (site admin)


Joined: 14 Dec 2013
Posts: 17016
Location: North Carolina

PostPosted: Sat Jan 16, 2021 2:00 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

________________________________

Another terrific post, Mike! Very Happy

Concerning the idea that each alien copy of a person wouldn't know it was an alien — because it "forgot" what it was before the change — seems illogical. After all, we started with one alien, and it changed to a human. But if he didn't know he was an alien, it would have ended right there! Confused

However, each alien was secretly bent on "infecting" other humans, which caused the number of aliens to increased as the number of human's decreased. Even the sled dog that came from the Norwegian camp infected a human and started a chain of imitators on it's own.

We also saw examples of human duplicates who morphed into hideous creatures when their identities were discovered.

And of course, the "blood test" showed that even small parts of the alien have a survival instinct which drives them to assimilate and imitate their victim.

Here's an interesting idea. Very Happy

What a sequel was made in which if an alien imitator was captured and confined to a hermetically sealed environment so he could be studied and questioned?

Since the alien knows what it is and has no need to pretend to be the man he replaced, would he be able-and-willing to answer questions about its origins?

This concept interests me because it mirrors the element of The Thing from Another World concerning the scientists' intense need to study the alien rather than destroy it.

In this case, if the world is fighting a battle with a spreading horde of aliens, it would be crucial for mankind to learn as much as possible about their enemy!

Could alien individuals communicate with each other telepathically? If so, the rest of the alien population would know whatever the captured alien was revealing. Would they instruct the capture one to give false info, and then tell other captured aliens to provide the same bogus stories?

I think this would make a great sequel!

_________________
____________
Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Pow
Galactic Ambassador


Joined: 27 Sep 2014
Posts: 3400
Location: New York

PostPosted: Sun Jan 17, 2021 10:53 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

That does indeed sound like an intriguing sequel, Bud.

How's this premise sound for a SF movie or TV show : An alien civilization sends out their dna material to infect inhabitants of another world.

The infection is a success and the planet is now entirely composed of these human-hybrids.

Time goes on; centuries in fact.

One day the alien beings that caused this finally arrive in person to what they consider to be "their" world, because it is populated by "their" race.

Trouble is that over the many centuries the human-hybrid inhabitants of Earth have only vague recollections of the original dna take over.

They do not relate to the ET's that are now here, anymore than we would to our distant caveman ancestors.

The human-hybrids don't welcome their alien relatives; and the aliens aren't about to walk away from a planet they conquered.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Bud Brewster
Galactic Fleet Admiral (site admin)


Joined: 14 Dec 2013
Posts: 17016
Location: North Carolina

PostPosted: Sun Jan 17, 2021 11:21 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

________________________________

That's a fascinating concept! It really is sort of an expanded version of The Thing, because we've always wondered if the aliens were just a kind of parasite that took over a host completely and "replaced" him within our species.

I'll have to ponder your premise a while before I can offer any thoughts, other than the questions below. Perhaps you can answer them and clarify the concept a bit. Very Happy

~ What change did the alien DNA make in humans? Did we become smarter, taller, stronger, or perhaps have longer lives?

~ Are the aliens very different from us in appearance? If they look just like us, what did we look like before we changed?

~ What did the aliens expect to do with their "conquered world" when they got here? Did they want to enslave us, breed with us, or something else?

~ The key question, I guess, is this. Why did the aliens want to create a planet of modified humans?

_________________
____________
Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)


Last edited by Bud Brewster on Sun Oct 31, 2021 11:12 am; edited 1 time in total
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Pow
Galactic Ambassador


Joined: 27 Sep 2014
Posts: 3400
Location: New York

PostPosted: Mon Jan 18, 2021 9:11 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

The aliens could choose to fight violently with an invasion of Earth....but this civilization chooses to "fight smart."

Best way is to physically infect and convert inhabitants of another world. This would take time but this alien race is patient. Very patient.

They also realize that if they invade a planet with their star ships ala War of the Worlds, you end up with one gigantic mess even if you win.

Dead humans everywhere creates the likelihood of massive disease. Perhaps diseases even these aliens are not ready for.

Buildings, infrastructure, plant life, animals all eliminated.

Means massive reconstruction for the aliens. Lot's of time wasted in rebuilding.

Weapons issues. The humans possess nuclear arms and might be desperate enough to employ them against the invaders.

Such weapons will poison the oceans, land, and air.

And while this alien civilization may have highly advanced technology; certainly far beyond Earth currently, even they might not be capable of restoring the planet back to pristine shape after an all out war for the aliens to occupy safely.

Why invade us in the first place?

I don't want to go with those oft used cliches like they want slave labor (they have ultra-sophisticated A.I robots, they don't need us), breeding (again, not interested), our planet's resources (nope, they can utilize any ores or minerals in space for anything they want).

Some ideas. They want to make the galaxy safe & secure by having copies of them on any habitable planets they discover.

Ruling a planet of discontented rebellious beings that aren't absorbed takes too much time, energy, and is just not productive.

What if this isn't an invasion at all? Not intentionally anyways.

A civilization could send out their DNA as a way of establishing contact with another species.

Ya know, Hi, we're here too.

Problem: something goes kablooey and the DNA begins to infect the world it came to peacefully visit.

Humans in their infinite wisdom & compassion begin experimenting with the DNA. Can they make an entire construct of the alien beings which sent it?

Do humans attempt to weaponize the DNA?

Pandora's Box scenario.

Could we then have a scenario where the well meaning aliens discover to their horror what they have inadvertently done in wanting to make friends with other worlds?

Now this race is on a mission to clean up their big fat mess.

But how will the infected populace respond to their intentions?

Anyhoo Bud, just some thoughts I compiled on the subject.

I'm sure some of my ideas could use further tinkering to address any loose ends or plot flaws.

Right now I'm in my brainstorming mode as opposed to nailing it all down so as to address every nut & bolt of the premise
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Display posts from previous:   
Post new topic   Reply to topic    ALL SCI-FI Forum Index -> Sci-Fi Movies from 1970 to 2000 All times are GMT - 5 Hours
Goto page Previous  1, 2, 3, 4  Next
Page 3 of 4

 
Jump to:  
You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot vote in polls in this forum


Powered by phpBB © 2001, 2005 phpBB Group