Interview: Gary Dauberman

Co-writer of the hit horror movie It.

The Hollywood Reporter sat down with screenwriter Gary Dauberman who co-wrote the movie It (with Chase Palmer and Cary Fukunaga). His primary concern writing the screenplay? Disappointing Stephen King: “That’s the thing that haunted me through this process. He is part of the reason I am who I am, and I have his books all over my house and all of that stuff. And finally to hear how much he enjoyed the movie, it felt like I was holding my breath the last year or so and I could finally exhale.”

An excerpt of the interview:

Why do you think sci-fi or horror seems to be the way kids can really make their mark these days?

It provides an opportunity to run the gamut in terms of emotions. For me, the best horror has moments of humor, it has moments of tenderness and it has moments of extreme darkness. I think for an actor, that would be a real challenge to take on. And that’s why when you send the script out, you get a great response. I think they see, “Oh, I can do this and I get to play that,” and you get to do things you wouldn’t necessarily be able to do in a comedy or a straight dramatic role.

This movie has some special ’80s things, most notably New Kids on the Block. What else did updating this story from the ’50s to the ’80s do for you?

There were some great decisions made before I came on board to focus on the kids and to update it and set it in the ’80s. I was super excited, because I grew up in the ’80s. I was the same age as these kids are in the movie. It just worked out. I love to pepper pop culture references and stuff in the script. I feel like it provides a nice seasoning and adds to the flavor of it. It’s kind of second nature, because I’m a product of the ’80s. Not a lot of research involved.

A trailer for the movie It:

For the rest of the interview, go here.

The appetite for nostalgia continues unabated. Another story world set in the 1980s. Remake of a TV series based on a Stephen King novel. The movie opening to ginormous business. Sequel already announced.

Living in the present apparently means loving the past.