‘The Thing’ finds itself dateless
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Hard-core horror and monster-film fans who were awaiting the new version of ‘The Thing’ this spring will have to wait a little longer. Or a lot longer.
Universal Pictures, the monster-minded studio which is making the prequel to John Carpenter’s 1982 classic, has scrapped the film’s scheduled April 29 opening and opted to leave the movie without a release date.
In its place, the studio has moved up ‘Fast Five,’ its fifth installment in the auto-racing ‘Fast & Furious’ franchise; the franchise goes from June 10 to the April slot. (More on other movie changes at Universal in a post we just wrote on our sister Company Town blog.)
A Universal spokeswoman said that ‘The Thing’ was not yet ready and that the studio was very keen on the new ‘Fast & Furious’ movie, citing the successful release of the franchise’s fourth film in April 2009.
Carpenter’s ‘Thing,’ which is loosely based on a 1951 movie called ‘The Thing From Another World,’ stars Kurt Russell and concerns a parasitic alien being that imitates and attacks humans.
The new ‘Thing’ tracks the discovery of the alien craft in Antarctica in events that directly precede those in Carpenter’s film. The new film is being directed by debut filmmaker Matthijs van Heijningen Jr. Production began last spring. When it comes out is a mystery almost as great as the identity of you-know-what.
-- Steven Zeitchik
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