Talking to Collider, Joel Edgerton has gone into great detail about his role in the upcoming prequel to the classic John Carpenter movie, The Thing, this time directed by Matthijs van Heijningen Jr. Below are just some of the main excerpts, but be sure to click on the link below to head on over to the site where you can read much, much more.
On His Decision To Sign Up For The Thing:
Yeah, well, I think so too. I thought that, when the whole idea of it came up for me. On one hand, I was wondering if this was Joel the 14-year-old kid. The bottom line was that the Carpenter version of The Thing and Ridley Scott’s Alien were two of my favorite movies when I was early in my teens, and I’ve watched them both a number of times since. I remember seeing them both again when I was finishing high school, and I’ve watched The Thing a couple of times since. They’re just great movies with great tension that are from an era of horror movies that have gone by us. I feel like, a lot of times, horror movies are thin on character and heavy on gore. It wasn’t that hard a thing for me to sign onto. Being a fan of the Carpenter version was definitely part of the lure for me.
On Whether The Fact That This Is A Prequel Put Him Off At All:
Yeah, I’m pretty skeptical about Hollywood and its fascination with the sequel and the franchise. It’s a zone we seem to be in, at the moment. It’s definitely a slightly nerve-wracking thing to get involved with. I don’t think I would have done it, if it was a remake because I personally believe that if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. But, the whole reason these guys had for doing a prequel was pretty genius, when you look at the Carpenter movie. It’s like it was served up on a plate by Carpenter, back in ‘82, with this whole mystery of what happened at the Norwegian camp. What (director) Matthijs [van Heijningen Jr.] and Universal did was open up a lovely chapter that you wish had been told.
On What It Was Like To Work On Such A CGI Heavy Movie:
I find that stuff all really tricky. I don’t know how I would do, if I was on a movie that was entirely green screen and entirely CGI effects. It requires a really, really incredible imagination, which I’m not sure that I’m really equipped for. We had a nice combination of practical and visual effects. Quite often on set, we would have certain practical elements of the alien to play with. It would have been a lot harder for me, if we didn’t have that. There were a couple of days that were being scared of a tennis ball on a stick acting moments, and I found that all pretty funny. I would say to Matthijs, “I love playing tennis. How am I going to be frightened of a tennis ball?” But, that’s the world of filmmaking that we live in. It’s just another one of those skills that an actor needs.
On Getting The Opportunity To Wield A Flamethrower During Filming:
No, that was the coolest thing of all. The first day of strapping on that flamethrower was brilliant. It was great. I equate this experience to my involvement in Star Wars. It was such a privilege to have someone go, “Hey, come and be involved in this world, of this film that you loved so much as a child.” Getting involved with Star Wars was that kind of experience. I can’t believe that I was involved with those movies. And, The Thing is like that because I was so fascinated with it and with Kurt Russell and that world, when I was so young. And then, they’re like, “Hey, why don’t you strap on a flamethrower and run around and fight this alien?” I felt like I was Kurt Russell.
STARRING:
Mary Elizabeth Winstead as Dr. Kate Lloyd
Joel Edgerton as Sam Carter
Ulrich Thomsen as Dr. Sander Halversen
Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje as Derek Jameson
Eric Christian Olsen as Adam Goodman
Trond Espen Seim as Edvard Wolner
Maria De Nancuva as Zara Larsen
RELEASE DATE: October 14th, 2011.