The Thing

The Thing (2011)

Timing: 1:43 (103 min)

6.23/10
3128

6.463/10
157813

6.3/10
154000

All about film

Video 6

Photo 44

Actors and characters

Release date

2011-10-12

Country

United States

Production

Universal Pictures, Strike Entertainment, Morgan Creek

Genre

Horror, Science Fiction, Mystery, Thriller

Budget

$38 000 000

Revenue

$31 505 287

Website

http://www.uphe.com/movies/the-thing-2011

Director

Matthijs van Heijningen Jr.

Actors

Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Joel Edgerton, Ulrich Thomsen, Eric Christian Olsen, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Paul Braunstein, Trond Espen Seim, Kim Bubbs, Jørgen Langhelle, Jan Gunnar Røise
All actors and roles (10)

Scenario

Eric Heisserer

Producer

Marc Abraham, Eric Newman, J. Miles Dale, David Foster, Lawrence Turman, Gabrielle Neimand

Operator

Michel Abramowicz

Composer

Marco Beltrami

Artist

Audition

Denise Chamian, Diane Kerbel, Angela Demo

Editing

Peter Boyle, Julian Clarke, Jono Griffith
All team (130)

• Despite the film being set in Antarctica, British Columbia served as the filming location.
• Producers convinced Universal Studios to let them film a prequel to John Carpenter's science fiction film *The Thing* (1982), rather than a remake, believing that Carpenter had made an excellent film, and a remake would be like 'drawing a mustache on the Mona Lisa.' The prequel was given the same title as the original film because no one could come up with anything better.
• There was an unimaginable number of screenshots from the first film on set, to make the Norwegian polar station as close to the original shown in the first film as possible.
• Studio representatives constantly interfered with the filming process, and director Matthijs van Heijningen Jr. disliked it so much that he stopped making films for almost a decade. He subsequently returned to directing films in Norway, vowing to never work with American film studios again.
• The blueprints for the sets of John Carpenter's film were not preserved, and when determining the size of the Norwegian polar station sets to build, the filmmakers used Kurt Russell's height (176 cm) as a reference point.
• The main character, played by Mary Elizabeth Winstead, shares more similarities with Ellen Ripley, portrayed by Sigourney Weaver in the franchise that began with Ridley Scott's horror film "Alien" (1979), than with the film's protagonist, played by Kurt Russell.
• The special effects needed to bring the alien creature to life were filmed using animatronics at the director's insistence. In case the animatronics didn't look convincing (for example, with the creature's tentacles), computer graphics were planned. However, the audience reaction at previews was such that studio executives ordered the replacement of almost all animatronic special effects with computer graphics.
• The film's premiere was originally scheduled for April 15, 2011, but studio executives insisted on reshooting numerous scenes, adding new computer graphics, remounting the footage aiming for a "PG-13" rating (children under 13 are not advised to watch), and completely reshooting the ending. Some scenes were filmed just a couple of weeks before the October 14, 2011 premiere, and work on the computer graphics continued less than 24 hours before the postponed premiere.
• Ronald D. Moore wrote the first draft of the screenplay back in 2009, but the executives at Universal Pictures decided to give the script to Eric Heisserer for revisions. In 2014, Moore became a producer and writer for the series "Helix," which has a similar plot (a team of scientists at a polar research station fights a deadly virus that, if released, will destroy all of humanity).
• Actor Dennis Storhøi was cast in one of the roles, but after a week of filming, he went on a drinking binge and was fired. Scenes already filmed with the actor were altered during post-production – Ulrich Thomsen's face was digitally superimposed. Storhøi, in an interview with Norwegian media, vehemently denied the suggestion that he was fired due to alcohol abuse, claiming he left the project of his own accord.
• The alien ship was supposed to be revealed in more detail: The initial script featured cameras showing other alien lifeforms infected by 'The Thing,' as well as 'Pilots' – aliens who controlled the crashed ship. Thus, instead of the scene where Kate sees a hologram in one of the ship's halls, she was supposed to encounter one of those 'Pilots,' who had also been assimilated by 'The Thing,' and during a fight with him, he is burned and blown up with a grenade. A full-size model was built and all the scenes with it were filmed, but the producers abandoned this idea at some point to avoid confusing the audience.
• At the end of the film, you can notice Colin, played by Jonathan Walker, with his throat and veins slashed – and he appears exactly like this in the 1982 film. A scene was even filmed where he locks himself in a room, but hearing the approach of the alien creature, he slashes his veins and then cuts his throat. This scene did not make it into the film, but it can be seen in the 'BluRay' edition.
• The red axe that the character played by Joel Edgerton drives into the wall is visible when the Americans arrive at the Norwegian camp in John Carpenter's original film.
• Kim Babbes almost fainted while filming the scene of her own scream after transforming into The Thing. Before the filming, the director told her that her scream would likely not be included in the film, but her scream was so convincing that it was ultimately left in.
• Sam Carter is armed with a Beretta 92FS pistol, which is an anachronism. Beretta did launch the 92 series in 1982, but the 92F/92FS modifications were not available until at least 1983.
• One of the final scenes in the film shows the surviving Norwegian, Lars, chasing an infected dog alongside helicopter pilot Matthias. Lars is armed with a German Heckler & Koch HK33 submachine gun, while in the 1982 film, this character wielded a Heckler & Koch HK93A2. The main difference is that the Heckler & Koch HK93A2 is a semi-automatic variant of the Heckler & Koch HK33 for the civilian market.
• The main female character, played by Mary Elizabeth Winstead, shares more similarities not with the film’s protagonist Carpenter, played by Kurt Russell, but rather with Ellen Ripley, played by Sigourney Weaver, from the franchise that began with Ridley Scott’s 1979 horror film “Alien.”
• The alien ship was supposed to be revealed in more detail: The initial script featured cameras showing other alien life forms infected by “The Thing,” as well as “Pilots” – aliens who piloted the crashed ship. Thus, instead of the scene where Kate sees a hologram in one of the ship's halls, she was supposed to encounter that very “Pilot,” who had also been assimilated by “The Thing,” and in a fight with him, he is burned and blown up with a grenade. A full-size model was built and all scenes with it were shot, but the producers at some point abandoned this idea to avoid confusing the audience.