Volgende maand gaat de prequel film The Thing in de Nederlandse bioscopen draaien. Nu had de website Mania.com een interview met de Amerikaanse acteur Joel Edgerton over zijn rol in de film, en daar bij komen een paar hele leuke feitjes naar voren. Zo is de film in het Canadese Toronto opgenomen en hoe hij moest improviseren op The Thing dat uit CGI bestaat. Dus genoeg voer voor de horror en film fans.

Question: Were you familiar with the Carpenter film before pursing the role?

Joel Edgerton: Totally. I'd watched the film a few times before I got sent the script, then watched it again a few times in preparation. Since we weren't remaking the material or recreating the specific characters, it didn't feel like there was any reason to stay away from the original film. In fact, we sometimes used it to help establish certain shots. Things like the angle of the door or the position of an axe stuck in the wall. Ways the set would hang, things like that.

Q: What were the shooting conditions like?

JE: It was much easier than it would be if we were actually shooting in Alaska, which I know they talked about at one point. We shot in Toronto on a soundstage, and a few exterior shots in a quarry. We started shooting in this very cold climate, and by the time we finished we were almost in summer. So we're running around in flight suits and heavy jackets. We were dressed the opposite of what we needed to be, and that got uncomfortable.

Q: How was working with the effects? What kind of challenges did they present?

JE: (laughs) I actually think these movies are far more exciting to watch than they are to make. On the one hand, you're making something that's very visceral and intense and dynamic, but on the other hand, in order to do that you need to be very careful and precise and exacting. The acting requires a very robust and specific imagination. "There's this thing and it's not there right now, but it will be and you have to be scared of it." Sometimes, you get to see what it is because we had partial practical effects and that was a great boon. Other times, it was the guy with the tennis ball on a stick. We were much luckier than a lot of special effects movies because there was a real consideration towards the practical side. There was a need to give it a real camaraderie with the Carpenter movie, and that gave us some impressive practical models to work with.