Eric Heisserer Talks 'The Thing' Prequel/Remake
Friday, August 7, 2009
We've got a special report for you guys as we caught up with Eric Heisserer, who is in the process of rewriting Ronald D. Moore's draft of The Thing (and also rewrote the reboot of A Nightmare on Elm Street), the forthcoming prequel/reboot that's being helmed by Matthijs van Heijningen Jr. In the interview he reveals who the main character could be, along with details on how they plan on referencing the original film in the new one - this is sure to make fans very happy. Read on and talk about it below, is this a film you're excited for?
Heisserer tells us that he is still working on his draft of THE THING, which he says could go into production as early as January of 2010.
“[I’m working on it] as we speak, that’s why I have my laptop here,” he tells us on the set of New Line Cinema's A Nightmare on Elm Street reboot back in July.
Some early rumors were that the prequel would follow the brother of R.J. MacReady, who was played by Kurt Russell in the first film.
“That was certainly a character in Ronald Moore’s draft,” he tells B-D. “I can’t comment on whether or not were going to keep that going forward.”
One of the best parts about making a prequel is that a writer gets to really dissect the first film in order to construct a backstory.
“It’s a really fascinating way to construct a story because were doing it by autopsy, by examining very, very closely everything we know about the Norwegian camp and about the events that happened there from photos and video footage that’s recovered,” he continues, “from a visit to the base, the director, producer and I have gone through it countless times marking, you know, there’s a fire axe in the door, we have to account for that…were having to reverse engineer it, so those details all matter to us ‘cause it all has to make sense.”
“We explain how it got there,” he continues referring to the axe, adding that he found a way to bring suspense back to the film. “We’re finding so much from Carpenter’s movie that you think you’ve seen, but in actually it allows us to come up with certain twists on what we have that will allow people to be on the edge of their seat, and not know who’s going to make it and who’s not.”
In the screenplay by Ronald D. Moore that Eric is rewriting, the prequel takes place from the Norwegian camps point of view. An American scientific expedition to the frozen wastes of the Antarctic is interrupted by a group of seemingly mad Norwegians pursuing and shooting a dog. The helicopter pursuing the dog crashes leaving no explanation for the chase. During the night, the dog mutates and attacks other dogs in the cage and members of the team that investigate. The team soon realizes that an alien life form with the ability to take over bodies is on the loose and they don't know who may already have been taken over.
