Stephen King’s IT remains one of the greatest pieces of horror fiction ever created. The gigantic 1100 page epic blew readers away when it was released in 1986. The novel became so popular that studios were dying to make a film right away, which resulted in 1990 TV miniseries, IT. Tim Curry’s performance as Pennywise is still terrifying to this day, even if the actual miniseries is pretty lackluster looking back.
In 2017, New Line Cinema wanted to make another adaptation to scare modern audiences. 2017’s IT was a critical and commercial success, making it one of the highest-grossing R rated movies ever. There’s a reason people are so passionate about King’s work, as it continues to infiltrate pop culture. Here are ten interesting facts about Stephen King’s IT that you may not know.
Pennywise Was Not Inspired By John Wayne Gacy
Despite what many think, King has gone on record saying that serial killer John Wayne Gacy wasn’t the inspiration for Pennywise the Dancing Clown, the most common form that IT takes in the novel and films. King believed that clowns are terrifying to kids, which made him create this iconic character.
Instead of being influenced by Gacy (who dressed up as a clown), King borrowed from other famous clowns he deemed to be terrifying such as Ronald McDonald, Bozo, and Clarabelle from the Howdy Doody show. While Gacy definitely was responsible for clowns becoming such a terrifying thing for kids, Pennywise was still inspired by others.
IT Was Inspired By A Norwegian Fairy Tale
While Pennywise was inspired by other famous clowns, the actual entity of IT and the story as a whole was inspired by The Three Billy Goats Gruff, a Norwegian fairy tale. In this tale, three goats outsmart a troll that lives under the bridge.
Of course King’s novel is much more complex than that, but he did use this tale as a template. The troll lives under a bridge, while IT lives in the sewers under Derry. King stated about the genesis of his own tale, “I thought of how such a story might be cast; how it might be possible to create a ricochet effect, interweaving the stories of the children and the adults they become”
Tilda Swinton Was Considered For Pennywise In The 2017 Film
Not to take anything away from Bill Skarsgård’s brilliant performance, but just imagine it Tilda Swinton took on the role. Swinton is a highly praised performer who is known for being an excellent character actress. The producers said that they auditioned hundreds for the role. Then someone suggested Swinton, which many agreed would be great.
Unfortunately, Swinton was too busy at the time to take on such an iconic character. It also wouldn’t have mattered if a woman played Pennywise, considering IT is a cosmic entity not even from this universe that clearly goes way beyond male or female.
Beverly And Richie Appear In Another Stephen King Novel
One of King’s more recent novels, 11/22/63 (which is easily one of Stephen King’s best books), does have a section where the main protagonist Jake goes back in time and visits Derry to prevent a brutal murder. While he’s there, Jake is told by residents about the Derry murders and how many claimed to have seen a clown be responsible.
Derry is featured in many of King’s novels, yet 11/22/63 actually has a section where Jake runs into Beverly and Richie, two members of the Loser’s Club. It’s a very heartwarming and happy scene where Jake teaches them how to do the Lindy-hop dance.
IT Is Referenced In Other King Novels
Technically, Pennywise has only been shown in one other novel, The Tommyknockers, where Tommy remembers seeing a clown staring at him from the sewers with “shiny silver dollar eyes.” That being said, there have been other references to IT in the Stephen King universe.
In Dreamcatcher, a character sees graffiti writing that shows “Pennywise Lives.” Also, IT’s true home is the Macroverse, which has been featured in the Dark Tower series. Specifically, Gan, or The Other, is an almighty being who created the Multiverse and is more powerful than IT and IT’s greatest enemy, Maturin.
Tim Curry Has Less Than 20 Minutes Of Screen Time
Even though Tim Curry’s performance as Pennywise is iconic, he actually only had about 20 minutes of screentime. With a run time of around 192 minutes, this leaves Curry only sharing about 10% of it total. This just goes to show how tremendous of a performance he did, as most people only remember his parts of the film.
It’s similar to Anthony Hopkins in TheSilence Of The Lambs, who won an Oscar despite only having about 15 minutes of screentime. You could tell in the newer films, they really upped the ante on Pennywise time, for better and for worse.
The Novel Was Co-Written By Cocaine And Alcohol
King isn’t shy talking about his dark past where he was once addicted to cocaine and alcohol. He even admitted to being high most of the time while filming his one and only directorial credit, Maximum Overdrive. Well, he was also addicted while writing much of IT.
We shouldn’t be surprised though, as the IT novel is ridiculously insane and unconventional (to say the least) in some parts. The Ritual Of Chud is as absurd as it is clever. Let’s also not forget about the infamous and bizarre sexual scene with the Losers Club at the end, which would never ever be adapted to the big screen.
The Adrian Mellon Murder Was Based On A Real-Life Hate Crime
The beginning of the novel depicts the tragic murder of Adrian Mellon. This awful hate crime was actually based on a real-life murder that happened in 1984. In Bangor, Maine, Charles Howard was walking down the street with his boyfriend, but then three teenagers physically assaulted the couple. Howard was then thrown over a bridge, after which he later drowned.
This murder is very similar to what happens in the novel where Adrian is thrown over the bridge in Derry. The scene was also implemented in 2019’s IT: Chapter 2. The writers felt it was necessary to show as these types of evil actions are still, unfortunately, an issue today.
Andy Muschietti Wants To Make A Huge Director’s Cut Of Both Films Combined
It’s very clear that the new adaptations are faithful to the source material in essence and themes, yet it doesn’t follow the same structure as the book. The novel constantly jumps back and forth between 1984 and 1958, even in the end where they face IT as both kids and adults.
Director Andy Muschietti has stated in interviews that he wants to make a giant cut of both films that would be structured similar to the novel. Both IT and IT: Chapter 2 together make up a five hour run time, although Muschietti says he wants to film new scenes as well, making it even longer.
Cary Fukunaga’s Original Script Was Too Controversial For Warner Bros.
The novel has many graphic moments and explores a lot of mature themes like the loss of childhood innocence. It’s no surprise then that Cary Fukunaga, who created the gritty and gothic True Detective, was going to have much of that in his script. Fukunaga clashed with Warner Bros. over his artistic vision to make an unconventional horror film that was much more psychological and sexual in nature.
Early drafts of his script were far more graphic than the final product. It also wouldn’t have been a faithful adaptation, similar to Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining, which King has described as “poor adaptation.”
