Pennywise: The Story of It (John Campopanio/Christopher Griffiths, 2021, USA)
Pennywise: The Story of It (2021) recounts the story behind the making of the 1990 ABC miniseries adaptation of Stephen King's 1,000-page 1986 bestseller. Following several critical and commercial misfires in the latter half of the 1980s, the two-part miniseries reinvigorated King's brand and led to the first King renaissance in the 1990s. It also marked the beginning of the TV miniseries era of King, with a seemingly endless list of TV adaptations throughout the 1990s - including The Stand , The Tommyknockers , The Shining , and The Langoliers . ABC's It miniseries was a major television event when major television events were still a possibility. It also marked one of the first times King's work was made adaptable and accessible to a younger audience. The film traces the origins of the television adaptation, starting with screenwriter Lawrence D. Cohen. The challenge of distilling King's epic novel into two nights of television is explored, and then we are
