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[COCKLES]

http://www.scifi.com/scifiwire/art-sfc.html?2004-09/07/11.45.sfc

SCI FI Channel has partnered with Oscar-nominated director Ridley Scott to revive The Andromeda Strain and with fellow Oscar nominee Frank Darabont to produce a remake of The Thing. Scott and his brother, Tony Scott, will executive produce a new four-hour miniseries version of The Andromeda Strain, based on Michael Crichton's best-selling novel about an alien virus, the network announced.

Pulitzer Prize winner Robert Schenkkan (The Quiet American) will write the script for the updated Andromeda Strain. David W. Zucker and Tom Thayer will also executive produce the miniseries, from Scott Free Productions and Thayer's Traveler's Rest Films, in association with NBC Universal Television Studio.

Darabont will executive produce a four-hour miniseries remake of The Thing, about an Antarctic expedition that stumbles upon a shapeshifting alien. David Leslie Johnson will write the screenplay. David Foster (producer of director John Carpenter's 1982 film version of The Thing) will also executive produce the miniseries, from NBC Universal Television Studio. The Thing is originally based on John W. Campbell Jr.'s classic SF short story "Who Goes There?" The story was first adapted for the screen as The Thing in 1951.

Darabont told Variety that Johnson should complete his adaptation of The Thing by Christmas and shooting could get under way next year, with an airdate on SCI FI either in December 2005 or early spring 2006.

 

[hiryu]

Bah, no way will it exceed Carpenter's genius.

 

[Willco]

WHY?

Carpenter's remake was awesome and the original ain't bad either. A remake of a remake? Give me a fuckin' break.

Just another reason why Sci-Fi is going down the toilet. That channel will be pretty much dead to me once the Horror Channel launches.

 

[Guzim]

the Horror Channel

Tell me more!

 

[Prospero]

Robert Wise's Andromeda Strain movie is pretty dated now, so a remake of that as a miniseries would be nice.

But remaking The Thing? I doubt that Darabont can compete with either the Howard Hawks or the John Carpenter version (which are essentially two different movies). You gotta be fucking kidding.

 

[COCKLES]

I imagine it will be more like the short story. More characters, less gore.

Still be greatful. Could have been STEPHEN SOMMERS'S THE THING! - considering it's a Universal property.

 

[Willco]

Tell me more!

Get out there and start informing you television provider (be it cable or satellite!)...

For THE HORROR CHANNEL starts broadcasting this month.

I think the best part of this channel is that it's small and has fans running it, so hopefully it'll grow into something great. I think they're going to start showing uncut, cult-classic and classic horror movies to begin with, because USA/Sci-Fi have rights to a lot of horror flicks.

 

[Litigation Manuel]

I'm so sick of all these videogame-turned-movies.

 

[sc0la]

I liked the book the andromeda strain. 4 hours seems a little long for the concept though.

 

[Dagless M.D.]

Crichton's books are never half as good on film, they should just leave them be

 

[Error Macro]

Bah, no way will it exceed Hawk's genius.

Fixed.

 

[DarienA]

Carpenter's remake was awesome and the original ain't bad either. A remake of a remake? Give me a fuckin' break.

Between that and this latest thing where they'll make knock-off disaster movies that seem to remind you of big screen stuff...

 

[Error Macro]

Oh yeah, and I forgot to add that the original, 1971 version of The Andromeda Strain, was pretty damn good already. These new mini-series' sound like shit. I'm so damn tired of remakes. Hollywood is creatively bankrupt.

 

[Willco]

Oh yeah, and I forgot to add that the original, 1971 version of The Andromeda Strain, was pretty damn good already. These new mini-series' sound like shit. I'm so damn tired of remakes. Hollywood is creatively bankrupt.

Seriously. They are REMAKING THE REMAKE.

 

[COCKLES]

You won't be happy until you get ALIEN vs THE THING vs PREDATOR!

(hears the tinkle of a lightbulb in a hollywood execs head)

 

[Willco]

You won't be happy until you get ALIEN vs THE THING vs PREDATOR!

(hears the tinkle of a lightbulb in a hollywood execs head)

Fuck that bullshit. I think they should just do Carpenter's idea for the sequel if they're going to go anywhere near that property.

 

[DarienA]

I'd like a sequel to Carpenter's Thing where you spend the whole movie trying to figure out if MacReady has been taken over... Have a team after the Thing have MacReady be saved somehow, escape, and then have him always showing up around "Thing" incidents...

 

[ManaByte]

because USA/Sci-Fi have rights to a lot of horror flicks.

Being owned by Universal gives you that.

Look at Conan and Walker Texas Ranger!

 

[COCKLES]

You could actually still do a Thing sequel...if you look at the start of the movie and compare it to the end, McCready looks like his aged 20 years...add on some frostbite effects to disguse Kurts aging and it's viable - Keith David from what I can see in Chronicles of Riddick has hardly aged at all. Don't think Carpenter is all that intrested to be honest and I don't think Universal want to spend real money on it.

THE THINGS
THE THING AWAKES
RETURN OF THE THING
THE THING COMETH

Comics were a bit shit to be honest...the one set in Argentian island was laughable...as soon as the creature reaches non-freezing mainland of any kind, it's all over for mankind...fuck knows what they were thinking there. Chuck Russell one was OKish...

 

[Willco]

Actually, following the success of the videogame, both Universal and John Carpenter were very interested in doing a sequel. Carpenter apparently wants to do a sequel.

The problem is that he's demanding the kind of money he would've got if he was the same director he was a decade or so ago, and Universal isn't willing to give him that much considering his string of box office bombs.

 

[Error Macro]

His string of box-office bombs... which has lasted about 22 years.





It's okay though, some of his worst performing movies are my favorites.

 

[DarienA]

It's okay though, some of his worst performing movies are my favorites.

You and me both.

 

[Kiriku]

The movie is awesome, and I actually hadn't seen it until a year ago. Shame on me!!
I guess it constantly has to live in the shadows of the Alien movies, but I think it almost matches the best Alien movie in terms of greatness to be honest. Best Alien movie, according to me, would be the first. And yes, I'm probably in the minority since most people seem to like Aliens the most.

Anyway, more "The Thing"-related goodness is appreciated by me, I even played through the game and enjoyed it. I hope it turns out well.