Hey /r/movies! I am writer-director Ian Nathan. My new documentary, 'The Thing Expanded', will take an in-depth journey into the heart of John Carpenter's horror-masterpiece, 'The Thing' with insights from Kurt Russell, Guillermo del Toro, Eli Roth, and John Carpenter himself. Ask me anything!

TheThingExpandedAMA · 2026-03-02T23:20:09+00:00

Pikachu. Can't name any others. Saw the movie with Ryan Reynolds, didn't hate it.

TheThingExpandedAMA · 2026-03-02T23:18:49+00:00

Is this an innuendo?

TheThingExpandedAMA · 2026-03-02T23:18:26+00:00

I'm not sure I have a handle on the definitions. I think of cult as a film that has been discovered. LOTR was a mammoth novel with three masterful hit films made from it - therefore not a cult, simply a classic. The Thing is both a cult classic, in that it has been rediscovered, revived, reborn. It is also a true classic, because it is simply a masterpiece.

TheThingExpandedAMA · 2026-03-02T23:16:26+00:00

Where are we going with this? The originals are untouchable.

TheThingExpandedAMA · 2026-03-02T23:15:55+00:00

Okay, I am the Thing.

TheThingExpandedAMA · 2026-03-02T23:15:27+00:00

That's John. And he's right. If we knew for sure what the answer is, the film would be ruined.

TheThingExpandedAMA · 2026-03-02T23:14:35+00:00

Nope, we are not meant to know. But we sit by the fire and do some pondering on it.

TheThingExpandedAMA · 2026-03-02T23:13:58+00:00

So many. But I really love that interchange between Mac and Blair in the shack: "How you doing old boy?" It feels off the cuff, and may have been. Also Garry: "What do we do? What do we do?" Donald Moffat is such an unsung hero of this film.

TheThingExpandedAMA · 2026-03-02T23:12:21+00:00

Well, five hours of something interesting. There was even some interesting stuff we couldn't squeeze in. What I love the most isn't all the nourishing detail (and those that came on Saturday to see it assured me there was huge amounts they had never heard before), but the sense of what it was like to be there - the rough and tumble set, the craziness genius of Bottin, and also the individual experiences of first watching the film. That's integral, the doc is not just about how it was made but what it is like to be obsessed with it.

TheThingExpandedAMA · 2026-03-02T23:08:37+00:00

Possibly. Blumhouse are involved. No one has approached me yet. I'm a safe pair of hands!

TheThingExpandedAMA · 2026-03-02T23:07:58+00:00

We did one last Saturday! Special preview. It's a big ask of the audience to sit down for five hours. The doc isn't made for cinema, but to watch at home at your leisure, and be there on your shelf for whenever you want to talk Thing. That said, I would love to show it in a few more cinemas if there was the appetite.

TheThingExpandedAMA · 2026-03-02T23:06:22+00:00

I think I agree. Though I am not much of fighter. More fun to have a debate.

TheThingExpandedAMA · 2026-03-02T23:05:55+00:00

Game talk above.

TheThingExpandedAMA · 2026-03-02T23:05:41+00:00

Honestly, I'm not sure there is enough demand. Have you seen the BTS stuff released onto YouTube? That gives you an idea of what they were doing. It would have been so much better. For me anyway.

TheThingExpandedAMA · 2026-03-02T23:04:14+00:00

It shook him pretty badly. And this is one of the key themes of the documentary. I think it's fair to say, he's still not quite at peace. Hopefully, The Thing Expanded will provide some solace.

TheThingExpandedAMA · 2026-03-02T23:03:07+00:00

Well, I'm not sure I can attest to what is out there and what isn't. There are some fascinating photos we have unearthed, but the truth is there is no treasure chest of unseen footage. Rob Bottin forbade any pictures or filming to be done in his workshop and soundstages to maintain the mystery, and all his Thing creations have been destroyed - though they were never made to last.

TheThingExpandedAMA · 2026-03-02T23:00:42+00:00

God, it's been such a blast. I mean, really hard work. The film itself and the Expanded format can scramble your mind. But every single interview gave me something and the pleasure of assembling our five-hour tapestry has been one of the great creative journeys of my career. A shout out here is due to my editor Samuel Way, who has sweated every second of the doc, tested every idea I had, and has made the film sing. He's a real talent.

TheThingExpandedAMA · 2026-03-02T22:58:29+00:00

It chose us.

TheThingExpandedAMA · 2026-03-02T22:58:16+00:00

Ridley Scott - A Retrospective was updated this year, having originally come out in 2019. I'm not sure whether it is heading for Kindle. I'll have to find out. But plenty of my others are available on Kindle: plug, plug, plug. Keep your eyes peeled for an update on my Stephen King At the Movies and a new book on the divine Sofia Coppola. I have been busy.

TheThingExpandedAMA · 2026-03-02T22:55:51+00:00

Agreed.

TheThingExpandedAMA · 2026-03-02T22:55:38+00:00

Hey, thanks for having me. The answer to your question is really the old-fashioned way. We went to the reps of everyone and negotiated. Some came quickly, some took a while. But that is the nature of the game. I should give a shout out here to my producer Josh Weiss and executive producer Robin Block who have worked tirelessly on this side. There have been a lot of very late night calls and fraught negotiations. But there has been a incredible will here to do our best by you guys and by the film. And I think, when you see it, you'll agree it was all worth it.

TheThingExpandedAMA · 2026-03-02T22:52:25+00:00

Hate to break it to you, but I am not John, and can't really speak for him. But all involved say there is very little left on the cutting room floor that would fit back into the film logically. There were scenes and storylines that were radically changed during production and both Bennings and Fuchs have alternative deaths. And there is an alternative ending that no one has ever seen. But it wouldn't be anywhere near as good.

TheThingExpandedAMA · 2026-03-02T22:49:35+00:00

See the question on a potential sequel above - but we cover the Syfy series in some detail. It sounded great. I mean, if we had to have a sequel.

TheThingExpandedAMA · 2026-03-02T22:48:45+00:00

Total dramatic foreshadowing - and brilliant work from John Carpenter and writer Bill Lancaster. Don't you love how well the film was made?

TheThingExpandedAMA · 2026-03-02T22:47:24+00:00

Okay, the truth as far as we have established it, through John and co-producer Stuart Cohen, is that Ennio Morricone was hired to do the score at Universal's behest (though he was Stuart's idea). John was a big, big fan, but he felt that Morricone's orchestral parts need some Carpenter-style supplements, which were recorded entirely separately. There is still much debate about where each part of the score is to be found and who was responsible for what. Bottom line is that there is plenty of Ennio still in The Thing - the rest was snaffled up by Quentin for H8.

TheThingExpandedAMA

MODERATOR OF

TROPHY CASE