The Thing - a podcast by Chris, Sean, Jeremy | Force Fed Sci-Fi

This time, we take a look at the body horror isolationist classic The Thing and along the way we ask what’s the deal with Kurt Russell’s hat, what kind of research happened at Outpost 31 and was this movie spoiled right from the beginning? Let’s dive in….
Cast&Crew

Directed by John Carpenter: Prior to directing The Thing, he had directed Halloween, The Fog and Escape from New York and had previously passed on the chance to direct this film but the opportunity came back around after directors Tobe Hooper and John Landis passed on the project.Starring Kurt Russell as MacReady: Russell and Carpenter previously collaborated on a television film Elvis as well as Carpenter’s action cult classic Escape from New York. Russell was about 10 years into restarting his film career after an injury derailed his burgeoning baseball career

Keith David as Childs: This was one of David’s first major film roles after having become a prominent stage actor. He’s since gone to have starred in other films like They Live, Platoon and and Mrs. Smith as well as several voiceover roles in video games like Halo and the Mass Effect seriesWilford Brimley as Blair
K. Carter as NaulsDavid Clennon as Palmer




Also StarringRichard Dysart as Dr. Copper
Charles Hallahan as NorrisPeter Maloney as Bennings
Richard Masur as ClarkDonald Moffat as Garry
Joel Polis as FuchsThomas Waites as Windows


Before these actors were cast, many other actors were considered for these roles including Christopher Walken, Jeff Bridges, Nick Nolte, Sam Shepard, Brian Dennehy, Kris Kristofferson, Ed Harris, Tom Berenger, Scott Glen, Fred Ward, Peter Coyote, Powers Boothe, Lee Van Cleef, Jerry Orbach, Isaac Hayes and Ernie HudsonRob Bottin’s Legendary Creature Effects
 Universal had originally set the budget for The Thing at $10 million but this was increased following Carpenter’s suggestion as well as storyboards for the visual and creature effects that were to be created by artist Rob Bottin. Carpenter took to Bottin’s designs so well that he was able to influence the story as well as the actor’s rehearsals.His suggestion that the Thing would retain a little piece of what it had previously assimilated and would be seen in future creatures. He also contributed the idea that whoever was taken over would not be aware that they are the Thing until it would start to reveal itself in a large group setting.

Bottin worked so much on the film that he ended having to be hospitalized at different points in production for exhaustion, double pneumonia and bleeding ulcers. He also never took a day off for over a year and lived on the Universal backlot.Bottin was only 21 years old at the time and had previously worked on a horror film titled The Howling and due to his hospitalizations, special effects legend Stan Winston was brought on to assist in production specifically for the Norris Thing scene. Winston even refused to take a credit for his work and instead received a “thank you” in the final credits.
What is the Message of The Thing?Carpenter is a fan of incorporating an overall message in his films. His later films are more overt with this messaging and early films hide this in some subtle ways. He has repeatedly mentioned that Halloween is meant to address the notion that the suburbs are safe. The majority of his films have this message in some way but Carpenter is also outspokenly liberal in his political views and this was apparent in the cult classic They Live about disguised aliens that have hidden among the population and have placed subliminal messages to unsuspecting people to “Purchase” and “Reproduce”. While The Thing lacks any sort of major political message, Carpenter addresses themes of nihilism, isolation and the fact that danger can be lurking even in the most remote part of the world.

Mystery has continued to surround the themes of the film most specifically aroun...

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