Cary Fukunaga gives his two cents on why he left Stephen King’s It

Cary Fukunaga certainly caught everyone off-guard with his brilliant direction on the entire first season of True Detective, so when it was announced that he would be handling an adaptation of Stephen King's IT, horror fans had good reason to be excited. Fukunaga and screenwriter Chase Palmer had been working on a script for years that would embody two films. Months before shooting was scheduled to begin this summer, the film shifted from Warner Bros. to New Line and Fukunaga walked away from the project. At the time it was said that he repeatedly clashed with the studio and did not want to compromise his artistic vision in the wake of budget cuts that were demanded by New Line, but now we have word from the man himself on the situation.

It’s never easy. Chase and I had been working on that script for probably three years. There was a lot of our childhood and our experience in it. Ultimately, we and New Line have to agree on the kind of movie we want to make, and we just wanted to make different movies. It’s like a relationship: you can try to make the other person who you want them to be, but it’s impossible really to change. You just have to work.

It's easy to point fingers (sorry Josh Trank), but there are obviously ways to handle studio business amicably and Fukunaga seems to know that all too well. While not divulging much in the way of "secrets," he knows that this is a business and sometimes studios are willing to budge. Furthermore, despite his time devoted to the project, I'm glad he decieded to walk away if he felt his vision would be compromised. If IT does come to fruition, I hope New Lines takes a good, long look at what they have before shooting something half-assed (if that be the case). As for Fukunaga, I'm sure he'll do just fine.

Cary Fukunaga's next film, BEASTS OF NO NATION, will see a limited theatrical and Netflix release on October 16, 2015.

Cary Fukunaga with his Emmy from True Detective.