title: Moses

text: A theory developed by Cornelis Tiele in 1872, which has proved influential, argued that Yahweh was a Midianite god, introduced to the Israelites by Moses, whose father-in-law Jethro was a Midianite priest. It was to such a Moses that Yahweh reveals his real name, hidden from the Patriarchs who knew him only as El Shaddai. Against this view is the modern consensus that most of the Israelites were native to Palestine. Martin Noth argued that the Pentateuch uses the figure of Moses, originally linked to legends of a Transjordan conquest, as a narrative bracket or late redactional device to weld together four of the five, originally independent, themes of that work. and , the latter in a somewhat sensationalist manner, have suggested that the Moses story is a distortion or transmogrification of the historical pharaoh Amenmose (), who was dismissed from office and whose name was later simplified to (Mose). Aidan Dodson regards this hypothesis as "intriguing, but beyond proof". Rudolf Smend argues that the two details about Moses that were most likely to be historical are his name, of Egyptian origin, and his marriage to a Midianite woman, details which seem unlikely to have been invented by the Israelites; in Smend's view, all other details given in the biblical narrative are too mythically charged to be seen as accurate data.


title: Moses

text: The name King Mesha of Moab has been linked to that of Moses. Mesha also is associated with narratives of an exodus and a conquest, and several motifs in stories about him are shared with the Exodus tale and that regarding Israel's war with Moab (2 Kings 3). Moab rebels against oppression, like Moses, leads his people out of Israel, as Moses does from Egypt, and his first-born son is slaughtered at the wall of Kir-hareseth as the firstborn of Israel are condemned to slaughter in the Exodus story, in what Calvinist theologian Peter Leithart described as "an infernal Passover that delivers Mesha while wrath burns against his enemies".


title: Moses

text: An Egyptian version of the tale that crosses over with the Moses story is found in Manetho who, according to the summary in Josephus, wrote that a certain Osarseph, a Heliopolitan priest, became overseer of a band of lepers, when Amenophis, following indications by Amenhotep, son of Hapu, had all the lepers in Egypt quarantined in order to cleanse the land so that he might see the gods. The lepers are bundled into Avaris, the former capital of the Hyksos, where Osarseph prescribes for them everything forbidden in Egypt, while proscribing everything permitted in Egypt. They invite the Hyksos to reinvade Egypt, rule with them for 13 years – Osarseph then assumes the name Moses – and are then driven out.


title: Moses

text: Other Egyptian figures which have been postulated as candidates for a historical Moses-like figure include the princes Ahmose-ankh and Ramose, who were sons of pharaoh Ahmose I, or a figure associated with the family of pharaoh Thutmose III. Israel Knohl has proposed to identify Moses with Irsu, a Shasu who, according to Papyrus Harris I and the Elephantine Stele, took power in Egypt with the support of "Asiatics" (people from the Levant) after the death of Queen Twosret; after coming to power, Irsu and his supporters disrupted Egyptian rituals, "treating the gods like the people" and halting offerings to the Egyptian deities. They were eventually defeated and expelled by the new Pharaoh Setnakhte and, while fleeing, they abandoned large quantities of gold and silver they had stolen from the temples.


title: Moses

text: Non-biblical writings about Jews, with references to the role of Moses, first appear at the beginning of the Hellenistic period, from 323 BCE to about 146 BCE. Shmuel notes that "a characteristic of this literature is the high honour in which it holds the peoples of the East in general and some specific groups among these peoples."


title: Moses

text: In addition to the Judeo-Roman or Judeo-Hellenic historians Artapanus, Eupolemus, Josephus, and Philo, a few non-Jewish historians including Hecataeus of Abdera (quoted by Diodorus Siculus), Alexander Polyhistor, Manetho, Apion, Chaeremon of Alexandria, Tacitus and Porphyry also make reference to him. The extent to which any of these accounts rely on earlier sources is unknown. Moses also appears in other religious texts such as the Mishnah (c. 200 CE) and the Midrash (200–1200 CE).


title: Moses

text: The figure of Osarseph in Hellenistic historiography is a renegade Egyptian priest who leads an army of lepers against the pharaoh and is finally expelled from Egypt, changing his name to Moses.


title: Moses

text: The earliest existing reference to Moses in Greek literature occurs in the Egyptian history of Hecataeus of Abdera (4th century BCE). All that remains of his description of Moses are two references made by Diodorus Siculus, wherein, writes historian Arthur Droge, he "describes Moses as a wise and courageous leader who left Egypt and colonized Judaea". Among the many accomplishments described by Hecataeus, Moses had founded cities, established a temple and religious cult, and issued laws:


title: Moses

text: Droge also points out that this statement by Hecataeus was similar to statements made subsequently by Eupolemus.


title: Moses

text: The Jewish historian Artapanus of Alexandria (2nd century BCE), portrayed Moses as a cultural hero, alien to the Pharaonic court. According to theologian John Barclay, the Moses of Artapanus "clearly bears the destiny of the Jews, and in his personal, cultural and military splendor, brings credit to the whole Jewish people".


title: Moses

text: Artapanus goes on to relate how Moses returns to Egypt with Aaron, and is imprisoned, but miraculously escapes through the name of YHWH in order to lead the Exodus. This account further testifies that all Egyptian temples of Isis thereafter contained a rod, in remembrance of that used for Moses's miracles. He describes Moses as 80 years old, "tall and ruddy, with long white hair, and dignified".


title: Moses

text: Some historians, however, point out the "apologetic nature of much of Artapanus' work", with his addition of extra-biblical details, such as his references to Jethro: the non-Jewish Jethro expresses admiration for Moses's gallantry in helping his daughters, and chooses to adopt Moses as his son.


title: Moses

text: Strabo, a Greek historian, geographer and philosopher, in his "Geographica" (c. 24 CE), wrote in detail about Moses, whom he considered to be an Egyptian who deplored the situation in his homeland, and thereby attracted many followers who respected the deity. He writes, for example, that Moses opposed the picturing of the deity in the form of man or animal, and was convinced that the deity was an entity which encompassed everything – land and sea:


title: Moses

text: In Strabo's writings of the history of Judaism as he understood it, he describes various stages in its development: from the first stage, including Moses and his direct heirs; to the final stage where "the Temple of Jerusalem continued to be surrounded by an aura of sanctity". Strabo's "positive and unequivocal appreciation of Moses' personality is among the most sympathetic in all ancient literature." His portrayal of Moses is said to be similar to the writing of Hecataeus who "described Moses as a man who excelled in wisdom and courage".


title: Moses

text: Egyptologist Jan Assmann concludes that Strabo was the historian "who came closest to a construction of Moses' religion as monotheistic and as a pronounced counter-religion." It recognized "only one divine being whom no image can represent ... [and] the only way to approach this god is to live in virtue and in justice."


title: Moses

text: The Roman historian Tacitus (c. 56–120 CE) refers to Moses by noting that the Jewish religion was monotheistic and without a clear image. His primary work, wherein he describes Jewish philosophy, is his "Histories" (c. 100), where, according to 18th-century translator and Irish dramatist Arthur Murphy, as a result of the Jewish worship of one God, "pagan mythology fell into contempt". Tacitus states that, despite various opinions current in his day regarding the Jews' ethnicity, most of his sources are in agreement that there was an Exodus from Egypt. By his account, the Pharaoh Bocchoris, suffering from a plague, banished the Jews in response to an oracle of the god Zeus-Amun.


title: Moses

text: In this version, Moses and the Jews wander through the desert for only six days, capturing the Holy Land on the seventh.


title: Moses

text: The Septuagint, the Greek version of the Hebrew Bible, impressed the pagan author of the famous classical book of literary criticism, "On the Sublime", traditionally attributed to Longinus. The date of composition is unknown, but it is commonly assigned to the late 1st century C.E.


title: Moses

text: The writer quotes Genesis in a "style which presents the nature of the deity in a manner suitable to his pure and great being", but he does not mention Moses by name, calling him 'no chance person' () but "the Lawgiver" (, thesmothete) of the Jews, a term that puts him on a par with Lycurgus and Minos. Aside from a reference to Cicero, Moses is the only non-Greek writer quoted in the work; contextually he is put on a par with Homer and he is described "with far more admiration than even Greek writers who treated Moses with respect, such as Hecataeus and Strabo".


title: Moses

text: In Josephus' (37 – c. 100 CE) "Antiquities of the Jews", Moses is mentioned throughout. For example Book VIII Ch. IV, describes Solomon's Temple, also known as the First Temple, at the time the Ark of the Covenant was first moved into the newly built temple:


title: Moses

text: According to Feldman, Josephus also attaches particular significance to Moses's possession of the "cardinal virtues of wisdom, courage, temperance, and justice". He also includes piety as an added fifth virtue. In addition, he "stresses Moses' willingness to undergo toil and his careful avoidance of bribery. Like Plato's philosopher-king, Moses excels as an educator."


title: Moses

text: Numenius, a Greek philosopher who was a native of Apamea, in Syria, wrote during the latter half of the 2nd century CE. Historian Kennieth Guthrie writes that "Numenius is perhaps the only recognized Greek philosopher who explicitly studied Moses, the prophets, and the life of Jesus". He describes his background:


title: Moses

text: The Christian saint and religious philosopher Justin Martyr (103–165 CE) drew the same conclusion as Numenius, according to other experts. Theologian Paul Blackham notes that Justin considered Moses to be "more trustworthy, profound and truthful because he is "older" than the Greek philosophers." He quotes him:


title: Moses

text: Most of what is known about Moses from the Bible comes from the books of Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. The majority of scholars consider the compilation of these books to go back to the Persian period, 538–332 BCE, but based on earlier written and oral traditions. There is a wealth of stories and additional information about Moses in the Jewish apocrypha and in the genre of rabbinical exegesis known as Midrash, as well as in the primary works of the Jewish oral law, the Mishnah and the Talmud. Moses is also given a number of bynames in Jewish tradition. The Midrash identifies Moses as one of seven biblical personalities who were called by various names. Moses's other names were Jekuthiel (by his mother), Heber (by his father), Jered (by Miriam), Avi Zanoah (by Aaron), Avi Gedor (by Kohath), Avi Soco (by his wet-nurse), Shemaiah ben Nethanel (by people of Israel). Moses is also attributed the names Toviah (as a first name), and Levi (as a family name) (Vayikra Rabbah 1:3), Heman, Mechoqeiq (lawgiver), and Ehl Gav Ish (Numbers 12:3). In another exegesis, Moses had ascended to the first heaven until the seventh, even visited Paradise and Hell alive, after he saw the divine vision in Mount Horeb.


title: Moses

text: Jewish historians who lived at Alexandria, such as Eupolemus, attributed to Moses the feat of having taught the Phoenicians their alphabet, similar to legends of Thoth. Artapanus of Alexandria explicitly identified Moses not only with Thoth/Hermes, but also with the Greek figure Musaeus (whom he called "the teacher of Orpheus"), and ascribed to him the division of Egypt into 36 districts, each with its own liturgy. He named the princess who adopted Moses as Merris, wife of Pharaoh Chenephres.


title: Moses

text: Jewish tradition considers Moses to be the greatest prophet who ever lived. Despite his importance, Judaism stresses that Moses was a human being, and is therefore not to be worshipped. Only God is worthy of worship in Judaism.


title: Moses

text: To Orthodox Jews, Moses is called "Moshe Rabbenu, 'Eved HaShem, Avi haNeviim zya"a": "Our Leader Moshe, Servant of God, Father of all the Prophets (may his merit shield us, amen)". In the orthodox view, Moses received not only the Torah, but also the revealed (written and oral) and the hidden (the "hokhmat nistar") teachings, which gave Judaism the Zohar of the Rashbi, the Torah of the Ari haQadosh and all that is discussed in the Heavenly Yeshiva between the Ramhal and hismasters.


title: Moses

text: Arising in part from his age of death (120 years, according to Deuteronomy 34:7) and that "his eye had not dimmed, and his vigor had not diminished", the phrase "may you live to 120" has become a common blessing among Jews (120 is stated as the maximum age for all of Noah's descendants in Genesis 6:3).


title: Moses

text: Moses is mentioned more often in the New Testament than any other Old Testament figure. For Christians, Moses is often a symbol of God's law, as reinforced and expounded on in the teachings of Jesus. New Testament writers often compared Jesus's words and deeds with Moses's to explain Jesus's mission. In Acts 7:39–43, 51–53, for example, the rejection of Moses by the Jews who worshipped the golden calf is likened to the rejection of Jesus by the Jews that continued in traditional Judaism.


title: Moses

text: Moses also figures in several of Jesus's messages. When he met the Pharisee Nicodemus at night in the third chapter of the Gospel of John, he compared Moses's lifting up of the bronze serpent in the wilderness, which any Israelite could look at and be healed, to his own lifting up (by his death and resurrection) for the people to look at and be healed. In the sixth chapter, Jesus responded to the people's claim that Moses provided them "manna" in the wilderness by saying that it was not Moses, but God, who provided. Calling himself the "bread of life", Jesus stated that he was provided to feed God's people.


title: Moses

text: Moses, along with Elijah, is presented as meeting with Jesus in all three Synoptic Gospels of the Transfiguration of Jesus in Matthew 17, Mark 9, and Luke 9, respectively. In Matthew 23, in what is the first attested use of a phrase referring to this rabbinical usage (the Graeco-Aramaic ), Jesus refers to the scribes and the Pharisees, in a passage critical of them, as having seated themselves "on the chair of Moses" (, "epì tēs Mōüséōs kathédras")


title: Moses

text: His relevance to modern Christianity has not diminished. Moses is considered to be a saint by several churches; and is commemorated as a prophet in the respective Calendars of Saints of the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Roman Catholic Church, and the Lutheran churches on September 4. In Eastern Orthodox liturgics for September 4, Moses is commemorated as the "Holy Prophet and God-seer Moses, on Mount Nebo". The Orthodox Church also commemorates him on the Sunday of the Forefathers, two Sundays before the Nativity. Moses is also commemorated on July 20 with Aaron, Elias (Elijah) and Eliseus (Elisha) and on April 14 with all saint Sinai monks.


title: Moses

text: The Armenian Apostolic Church commemorates him as one of the Holy Forefathers in their Calendar of Saints on July 30.


title: Moses

text: Members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (colloquially called Mormons) generally view Moses in the same way that other Christians do. However, in addition to accepting the biblical account of Moses, Mormons include Selections from the Book of Moses as part of their scriptural canon. This book is believed to be the translated writings of Moses, and is included in the Pearl of Great Price.


title: Moses

text: Latter-day Saints are also unique in believing that Moses was taken to heaven without having tasted death (translated). In addition, Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery stated that on April 3, 1836, Moses appeared to them in the Kirtland Temple (located in Kirtland, Ohio) in a glorified, immortal, physical form and bestowed upon them the "keys of the gathering of Israel from the four parts of the earth, and the leading of the ten tribes from the land of the north".


title: Moses

text: Moses is mentioned more in the Quran than any other individual and his life is narrated and recounted more than that of any other Islamic prophet. Islamically, Moses is described in ways which parallel the Islamic prophet Muhammad. Like Muhammad, Moses is defined in the Quran as both prophet ("nabi") and messenger ("rasul"), the latter term indicating that he was one of those prophets who brought a scripture and law to his people.


title: Moses

text: Moses is mentioned 502 times in the Quran. Most of the key events in Moses's life which are narrated in the Bible are to be found dispersed through the different chapters ("suwar") of the Quran, with a story about meeting Khidr which is not found in the Bible.


title: Moses

text: In the Moses story related by the Quran, Jochebed is commanded by God to place Moses in an ark and cast him on the waters of the Nile, thus abandoning him completely to God's protection. The Pharaoh's wife Asiya, not his daughter, found Moses floating in the waters of the Nile. She convinced the Pharaoh to keep him as their son because they were not blessed with any children.


title: Moses

text: The Quran's account emphasizes Moses's mission to invite the Pharaoh to accept God's divine message as well as give salvation to the Israelites. According to the Quran, Moses encourages the Israelites to enter Canaan, but they are unwilling to fight the Canaanites, fearing certain defeat. Moses responds by pleading to Allah that he and his brother Aaron be separated from the rebellious Israelites, after which the Israelites are made to wander for 40 years.


title: Moses

text: One of the hadith, or traditional narratives about Muhammad's life, describes a meeting in heaven between Moses and Muhammad, which resulted in Muslims observing 5 daily prayers. Huston Smith says this was "one of the crucial events in Muhammad's life".


title: Moses

text: According to some Islamic tradition, Moses is believed to be buried at Maqam El-Nabi Musa, near Jericho.


title: Moses

text: Moses is one of the most important of God's messengers in the Baháʼí Faith, being designated a Manifestation of God. An epithet of Moses in Baháʼí scriptures is the "One Who Conversed with God".


title: Moses

text: According to the Baháʼí Faith, Bahá'u'lláh, the founder of the faith, is the one who spoke to Moses from the burning bush.


title: Moses

text: ʻAbdu'l-Bahá has highlighted the fact that Moses, like Abraham, had none of the makings of a great man of history, but through God's assistance he was able to achieve many great things. He is described as having been "for a long time a shepherd in the wilderness", of having had a stammer, and of being "much hated and detested" by Pharaoh and the ancient Egyptians of his time. He is said to have been raised in an oppressive household, and to have been known, in Egypt, as a man who had committed murder – though he had done so in order to prevent an act of cruelty.


title: Moses

text: Nevertheless, like Abraham, through the assistance of God, he achieved great things and gained renown even beyond the Levant. Chief among these achievements was the freeing of his people, the Hebrews, from bondage in Egypt and leading "them to the Holy Land". He is viewed as the one who bestowed on Israel "the religious and the civil law" which gave them "honour among all nations", and which spread their fame to different parts of the world.


title: Moses

text: Furthermore, through the law, Moses is believed to have led the Hebrews "to the highest possible degree of civilization at that period". 'Abdul'l-Bahá asserts that the ancient Greek philosophers regarded "the illustrious men of Israel as models of perfection". Chief among these philosophers, he says, was Socrates who "visited Syria, and took from the children of Israel the teachings of the Unity of God and of the immortality of the soul".


title: Moses

text: Moses is further seen as paving the way for Bahá'u'lláh and his ultimate revelation, and as a teacher of truth, whose teachings were in line with the customs of his time.


title: Moses

text: Moses is considered an important prophet of God in the Druze faith, being among the seven prophets who appeared in different periods of history.


title: Moses

text: In a metaphorical sense in the Christian tradition, a "Moses" has been referred to as the leader who delivers the people from a terrible situation. Among the Presidents of the United States known to have used the symbolism of Moses were Harry S. Truman, Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Barack Obama, who referred to his supporters as "the Moses generation".


title: Moses

text: In subsequent years, theologians linked the Ten Commandments with the formation of early democracy. Scottish theologian William Barclay described them as "the universal foundation of all things ... the law without which nationhood is impossible. ... Our society is founded upon it." Pope Francis addressed the United States Congress in 2015 stating that all people need to "keep alive their sense of unity by means of just legislation ... [and] the figure of Moses leads us directly to God and thus to the transcendent dignity of the human being".


title: Moses

text: References to Moses were used by the Puritans, who relied on the story of Moses to give meaning and hope to the lives of Pilgrims seeking religious and personal freedom in North America. John Carver was the first governor of Plymouth colony and first signer of the Mayflower Compact, which he wrote in 1620 during the ship "Mayflower"'s three-month voyage. He inspired the Pilgrims with a "sense of earthly grandeur and divine purpose", notes historian Jon Meacham, and was called the "Moses of the Pilgrims". Early American writer James Russell Lowell noted the similarity of the founding of America by the Pilgrims to that of ancient Israel by Moses:


title: Moses

text: Following Carver's death the following year, William Bradford was made governor. He feared that the remaining Pilgrims would not survive the hardships of the new land, with half their people having already died within months of arriving. Bradford evoked the symbol of Moses to the weakened and desperate Pilgrims to help calm them and give them hope: "Violence will break all. Where is the meek and humble spirit of Moses?" William G. Dever explains the attitude of the Pilgrims: "We considered ourselves the 'New Israel', particularly we in America. And for that reason we knew who we were, what we believed in and valued, and what our 'manifest destiny' was."


title: Moses

text: On July 4, 1776, immediately after the Declaration of Independence was officially passed, the Continental Congress asked John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, and Benjamin Franklin to design a seal that would clearly represent a symbol for the new United States. They chose the symbol of Moses leading the Israelites to freedom.


title: Moses

text: After the death of George Washington in 1799, two thirds of his eulogies referred to him as "America's Moses", with one orator saying that "Washington has been the same to us as Moses was to the Children of Israel."


title: Moses

text: Benjamin Franklin, in 1788, saw the difficulties that some of the newly independent American states were having in forming a government, and proposed that until a new code of laws could be agreed to, they should be governed by "the laws of Moses", as contained in the Old Testament. He justified his proposal by explaining that the laws had worked in biblical times: "The Supreme Being ... having rescued them from bondage by many miracles, performed by his servant Moses, he personally delivered to that chosen servant, in the presence of the whole nation, a constitution and code of laws for their observance."


title: Moses

text: John Adams, 2nd President of the United States, stated why he relied on the laws of Moses over Greek philosophy for establishing the United States Constitution: "As much as I love, esteem, and admire the Greeks, I believe the Hebrews have done more to enlighten and civilize the world. Moses did more than all their legislators and philosophers." Swedish historian Hugo Valentin credited Moses as the "first to proclaim the rights of man".


title: Moses

text: Underground Railroad conductor and American Civil War veteran Harriet Tubman was nicknamed "Moses" due to her various missions in freeing and ferrying escaped enslaved persons to freedom in the free states of the United States.


title: Moses

text: Historian Gladys L. Knight describes how leaders who emerged during and after the period in which slavery was legal often personified the Moses symbol. "The symbol of Moses was empowering in that it served to amplify a need for freedom." Therefore, when Abraham Lincoln was assassinated in 1865 after the passage of the amendment to the Constitution outlawing slavery, Black Americans said they had lost "their Moses". Lincoln biographer Charles Carleton Coffin writes, "The millions whom Abraham Lincoln delivered from slavery will ever liken him to Moses, the deliverer of Israel."


title: Moses

text: In the 1960s, a leading figure in the civil rights movement was Martin Luther King Jr., who was called "a modern Moses", and often referred to Moses in his speeches: "The struggle of Moses, the struggle of his devoted followers as they sought to get out of Egypt. This is something of the story of every people struggling for freedom."


title: Moses

text: Moses often appears in Christian art, and the Pope's private chapel, the Sistine Chapel, has a large sequence of six frescos of the "life of Moses" on the southern wall, opposite a set with the "life of Christ". They were painted in 1481–82 by a group of mostly Florentine artists including Sandro Botticelli and Pietro Perugino. Because of an ambiguity in Jerome's Latin Vulgate translation of the Bible, where Moses's face is described as (meaning either "shining" or "horned") when descending from Mount Sinai with the tablets, Moses is usually shown in Western art until the Renaissance with small horns, which at least served as a convenient identifying attribute.


title: Moses

text: With the prophet Elijah, he is a necessary figure in the Transfiguration of Jesus in Christian art, a subject with a long history in Eastern Orthodox art, and popular in Western art between about 1475 and 1535.


title: Moses

text: Michelangelo's statue of Moses (1513–1515), in the Church of San Pietro in Vincoli, Rome, is one of the most familiar statues in the world. The horns the sculptor included on Moses's head are the result of a mistranslation of the Hebrew Bible into the Latin Vulgate Bible with which Michelangelo was familiar. The Hebrew word taken from "Exodus" means either a "horn" or an "irradiation". Experts at the Archaeological Institute of America show that the term was used when Moses "returned to his people after seeing as much of the Glory of the Lord as human eye could stand", and his face "reflected radiance". In early Jewish art, moreover, Moses is often "shown with rays coming out of his head".


title: Moses

text: Moses is depicted in several U.S. government buildings because of his legacy as a lawgiver. In the Library of Congress stands a large statue of Moses alongside a statue of the Paul the Apostle. Moses is one of the 23 lawgivers depicted in marble bas-reliefs in the chamber of the U.S. House of Representatives in the United States Capitol. The plaque's overview states: "Moses (c. 1350–1250 B.C.) Hebrew prophet and lawgiver; transformed a wandering people into a nation; received the Ten Commandments."


title: Moses

text: The other 22 figures have their profiles turned to Moses, which is the only forward-facing bas-relief.


title: Moses

text: Moses appears eight times in carvings that ring the Supreme Court Great Hall ceiling. His face is presented along with other ancient figures such as Solomon, the Greek god Zeus, and the Roman goddess of wisdom, Minerva. The Supreme Court Building's east pediment depicts Moses holding two tablets. Tablets representing the Ten Commandments can be found carved in the oak courtroom doors, on the support frame of the courtroom's bronze gates, and in the library woodwork. A controversial image is one that sits directly above the Chief Justice of the United States' head. In the center of the 40-foot-long Spanish marble carving is a tablet displaying Roman numerals I through X, with some numbers partially hidden.


title: Moses

text: In the late eighteenth century, the deist Thomas Paine commented at length on Moses's Laws in "The Age of Reason" (1794, 1795, and 1807). Paine considered Moses to be a "detestable villain", and cited Numbers 31 as an example of his "unexampled atrocities". In the passage, after the Israelite army returned from conquering Midian, Moses orders the killing of the Midianites with the exception of the virgin girls who were to be kept for the Israelites.


title: Moses

text: Rabbi Joel Grossman argued that the story is a "powerful fable of lust and betrayal", and that Moses's execution of the women was a symbolic condemnation of those who seek to turn sex and desire to evil purposes. He says that the Middianite women "used their sexual attractiveness to turn the Israelite men away from [Yahweh] God and toward the worship of Baal Peor [another Canaanite god]". Rabbi Grossman argues that the genocide of all the Middianite non-virgin women, including those that did not seduce Jewish men, was fair because some of them had sex for "improper reasons". Alan Levin, an educational specialist with the Reform movement, has similarly suggested that the story should be taken as a cautionary tale, to "warn successive generations of Jews to watch their own idolatrous behavior". Chasam Sofer emphasizes that this war was not fought at Moses's behest, but was commanded by God as an act of revenge against the Midianite women, who, according to the Biblical account, had seduced the Israelites and led them to sin.


title: Moses

text: Keith Allan (2019) remarked: "God's work or not, this is military behaviour that would be tabooed today and might lead to a war crimes trial."


title: Moses

text: Moses has also been the subject of much feminist criticism. Womanist Biblical scholar Nyasha Junior has argued that Moses can be the object of feminist inquiry.


title: It (2017 film)

text: It (titled onscreen as It Chapter One) is a 2017 American supernatural horror film directed by Andy Muschietti and written by Chase Palmer, Cary Fukunaga, and Gary Dauberman. The film was produced by New Line Cinema, KatzSmith Productions, Lin Pictures, and Vertigo Entertainment. It is the first of a two-part adaptation of the 1986 novel of the same name by Stephen King, primarily covering the first chronological half of the book. It is the first film in the "It" film series as well as being the second adaptation following Tommy Lee Wallace's 1990 miniseries. The film stars Bill Skarsgård, Jaeden Lieberher, Jeremy Ray Taylor, Sophia Lillis, Finn Wolfhard, Wyatt Oleff, Chosen Jacobs, Jack Dylan Grazer, Nicholas Hamilton, and Jackson Robert Scott. Set in Derry, Maine, the film tells the story of The Losers' Club, a group of seven outcast children who are terrorized by the eponymous being which emerges from the sewer, only to face their own personal demons in the process.


title: It (2017 film)

text: Development of the theatrical film adaptation of "It" began in March 2009 when Warner Bros. started discussing that they would be bringing it to the big screen, with David Kajganich planned to direct, before being replaced by Cary Fukunaga in June 2012. After being dropped out as the director in May 2015, Andy Muschietti was signed on to direct the film in June 2015. He talks of drawing inspiration from 1980s films such as "The Goonies" (1985), "Stand by Me" (1986) and "Near Dark" (1987). During the development, the film was moved to New Line Cinema division in May 2014. Principal photography began in Toronto on June 27, 2016, and ended on September 21, 2016. The locations for "It" were in the Greater Toronto Area, including Port Hope, Oshawa, and Riverdale. Benjamin Wallfisch was hired in March 2017 to composed the film's musical score.


title: It (2017 film)

text: "It" premiered in Los Angeles at the TCL Chinese Theatre on September 5, 2017, and was released in the United States on September 8, 2017, in 2D and IMAX formats. A critical and commercial success, the film set numerous box office records and grossed over $701 million worldwide, becoming the third-highest-grossing R-rated film of all time. Unadjusted for inflation, it became the highest-grossing horror film of all time. It received generally positive reviews, with critics praising the performances, direction, cinematography and musical score, and many calling it one of the best Stephen King adaptations. "It" also received numerous awards and nominations, earning two Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association nominations, including Best Acting Ensemble. It was nominated for the Critics' Choice Movie Award for Best Sci-Fi/Horror Movie. The film won three Bogey Awards, for pulling in more than two million German admissions in 11 days. In addition, the motion picture was named one of the best films of 2017 by various critics, appearing on several critics' end-of-year lists. The second film, "It Chapter Two", was released on September 6, 2019, covering the remaining story from the book.


title: It (2017 film)

text: In October 1988, twelve-year-old Bill Denbrough crafts a paper sailboat for Georgie, his six-year-old brother. Georgie sails the boat along the rainy streets of small town Derry, Maine, only to have it fall down a storm drain. As he attempts to retrieve it, Georgie sees a clown in the drain, who introduces himself as "Pennywise the Dancing Clown". Pennywise entices Georgie to come closer, then rips his arm off and drags him into the sewer.


title: It (2017 film)

text: The following summer in June 1989, Bill and his friends Richie Tozier, Eddie Kaspbrak, and Stan Uris run afoul of older bullies Henry Bowers, Belch Huggins, Patrick Hockstetter, and Victor Criss. Bill, still haunted by Georgie's disappearance, calculates that his brother's body may have washed up in a marshy wasteland called the Barrens. He recruits his friends to investigate, believing Georgie may still be alive. Ben Hanscom, one of Bill's new classmates, learns that unexplained tragedies and child disappearances have plagued the town for centuries. Targeted by Bowers' gang, Ben flees into the Barrens and meets Bill's group. They find the sneaker of a missing girl named Betty Ripsom, while Patrick is killed by Pennywise while searching the sewers for Ben.


title: It (2017 film)

text: Beverly Marsh, a girl bullied over her rumored promiscuity, also joins the group; both Bill and Ben develop feelings for her. Later, the group befriends orphan Mike Hanlon after rescuing him from Bowers. Each member of the group has encountered terrifying manifestations of the same menacing clown who attacked Georgie: a headless undead boy (Ben), a sink that spews blood only children can see (Beverly), a diseased and rotting leper (Eddie), a disturbing painting coming alive (Stan), Mike's parents burning alive (Mike), and a frightening phantom of Georgie (Bill). Now calling themselves "The Losers Club", they realize they are all being stalked by the same entity, which they refer to as "It". They determine that It appears as their individual worst fears, awakening every 27 years to feed on the children of Derry before resuming hibernation, and moves about by using the sewer lines, which all lead to an old stone well hidden under an abandoned house on Neibolt Street. After Pennywise attacks them, the group ventures to the house to confront It, only to be separated and terrorized. As Pennywise gloats to Bill about Georgie, the Losers regroup and Beverly impales Pennywise through the head, forcing the clown to retreat. The group flees the house and begins to splinter, with only Bill and Beverly resolute in fighting It.


title: It (2017 film)

text: Weeks later, after Beverly confronts and incapacitates her sexually abusive father, Pennywise abducts her. The Losers Club reassembles and returns to the abandoned house to rescue her. Bowers, who has murdered his abusive father after being driven insane by It, attacks the group; Mike fights back and pushes Bowers down the well. The Losers descend into the sewers and find It's underground lair, which contains a mountain of decayed circus props and children's belongings, around which the bodies of It's child victims float in mid-air. Beverly, now catatonic after being exposed to bright lights inside It's gaping mouth, is restored to consciousness when Ben kisses her. Bill encounters Georgie, but recognizes that he is It in disguise. As Pennywise, It takes Bill hostage, offering to spare the others and go into hibernation if they let It feed on Bill. The Losers reject this, battling with It while overcoming their various fears. It is eventually defeated and retreats deeper into the sewers, with Bill declaring that It will starve during its hibernation. After finding the remnants of Georgie's raincoat, Bill finally comes to terms with his brother's death, with his friends comforting him.


title: It (2017 film)

text: As summer ends, Beverly informs the group of a vision she had while catatonic, where she saw them fighting It again as adults. The Losers swear a blood oath that they will return to Derry as adults if It returns. After the others make their goodbyes and disperse, Beverly and Bill discuss her leaving the next day to live with her aunt in Portland. Before she leaves, Bill reveals his feelings and they kiss.


title: It (2017 film)

text: The project was in ongoing development since 2009. The proposed film adaptation has gone through two major phases of planning: initially with Cary Fukunaga from 2009 to 2015, with the early contributions of screenwriter David Kajganich, and with Andy Muschietti, with Fukunaga remaining in some capacity due to prior screenplay contributions.


title: It (2017 film)

text: On March 12, 2009, "Variety" reported that Warner Bros. Pictures would be bringing Stephen King's novel to the big screen, with David Kajganich to adapt King's novel, while Dan Lin, Roy Lee and Doug Davison would be producing the piece. When Kajganich learned of Warner Bros. plans to adapt King's novel, he went after the job. Knowing that Warner Bros. was committed to adapting "It" as a single feature film, Kajganich began to attempt to try to find a structure that would accommodate such a large number of characters in two different time periods, around 120 pages, which was one of Warner Bros. stipulations. Kajganich worked with Lin, Lee, and Davison on "The Invasion" (2007), and he knew they would champion good storytelling, and allow him the time to work out a solid first draft of the screenplay. Kajganich spoke of the remake being set in the, "mid-1980s and in the present mirroring the twenty-odd-year gap King uses in the book and with a great deal of care and attention paid to the backstories of all the characters."


title: It (2017 film)

text: Kajganich also mentioned that Warner Bros. wished for the adaptation to be rated R which he furthered by saying, "we can really honor the book and engage with the traumas that these characters endure.", while Kajganich spoke of Warner Bros. wanting the adaptation as a single film. On June 29, 2010, the screenplay was being re-written by Kajganich. He said that his dream choice for Pennywise would be Buster Keaton if he were still alive, and the Pennywise that Kajganich scripted was "less self-conscious of his own irony and surreality."


title: It (2017 film)

text: On June 7, 2012, "The Hollywood Reporter" had revealed that Cary Fukunaga was boarding the project as director and will co-write the script with Chase Palmer, while Roy Lee and Dan Lin are producing, as with Seth Grahame-Smith and David Katzenberg of KatzSmith Productions. On May 21, 2014, Warner Bros. was announced to have moved the film to its New Line Cinema division, with overseer duties conducting by New Line's Walter Hamada and Dave Neustadter, along with Vice President of Production at Warner Bros., Niija Kuykendall. On December 5, 2014, in an interview with "Vulture", Dan Lin announced that the first film will be a coming-of-age story about the children tormented by It and the second will skip ahead in time as those same characters band together to continue the fight as adults. Lin also stated that Fukunaga was only committed to directing the first film, though was currently closing a deal to co-write the second. Lin concluded by mentioning King, to which he remarked, "The most important thing is that [King] gave us his blessing. We didn't want to make this unless he felt it was the right way to go, and when we sent him the script, the response that Cary got back was, 'Go with God, please! This is the version the studio should make.' So that was really gratifying." Lin confirmed that Fukunaga would begin principal photography in Summer 2016.


title: It (2017 film)

text: On February 3, 2015, Fukunaga was interviewed by "Slate" wherein he spoke about "It", while mentioning he has someone in mind for the role of Pennywise. On March 3, 2015, Fukunaga spoke of the film, particularly noting his goal to find the "perfect guy to play Pennywise". Fukunaga also revealed that he, Kajganich and Palmer had changed the names and dates in the script, adding, the spirit is similar to what he'd like to see in cinemas." On May 4, 2015, it was officially announced that Will Poulter had been cast to play Pennywise, after Fukunaga was "blown away" by his audition. Ty Simpkins was considered to play one of The Losers' Club members.


title: It (2017 film)

text: On May 25, 2015, it was reported that Fukunaga had dropped out as the director of "It". According to TheWrap, Fukunaga clashed with the studio and didn't want to compromise his artistic vision in the wake of budget cuts by New Line, which greenlit the first film at $30 million. However, Fukunaga maintained that wasn't the case, with him stating he had bigger disagreements with New Line over the direction of the story: "I was trying to make an unconventional horror film. It didn't fit into the algorithm of what they knew they could spend and make money back on based on not offending their standard genre audience." He made mention that the budget was perfectly fine, as well as his desire to make Pennywise more than just the clown. Fukunaga concluded by stating, "We invested years and so much anecdotal storytelling in it. Chase and I both put our childhood in that story. So our biggest fear was they were going to take our script and bastardize it so I'm actually thankful that they are going to rewrite the script. I wouldn't want them to stealing our childhood memories and using that. I was honoring King's spirit of it, but I needed to update it. King saw an earlier draft and liked it." On Fukunaga's departure, King wrote, "The remake of "IT" may be dead or undead but we'll always have Tim Curry. He's still floating down in the sewers of Derry."


title: It (2017 film)

text: On July 16, 2015, it was announced that Andy Muschietti was in negotiations to direct "It", with New Line beginning a search for a new writer to tailor a script to Muschietti's vision, with the announcement also confirming the possible participation of Muschietti's sister, Barbara Muschietti, as a producer, and Richard Brener joining Hamada, Neustadter and Kuykendall to oversee the project. On April 22, 2016, it was indicated that Will Poulter, who was originally tapped to portray Pennywise in Fukunaga's version, had dropped out of the film due to a scheduling conflict and that executives were meeting with actors to portray the antagonist. On April 22, 2016, New Line Cinema set the film for a release of September 8, 2017.


title: It (2017 film)

text: On October 30, 2015, Muschietti was interviewed by "Variety" wherein he spoke about his vision of "It", while mentioning Poulter was still in the mix for the role of Pennywise: "Poulter would be a great option. For me he is at the top of my list." He confirmed that next summer is the time for them to start shooting. It was decided to shoot "It" during the summer months to give them the time to work with the children who have the main roles in the first part of the film. Muschietti went on to say that "King described 50s' terror iconography," adding that he feels there is a whole world now to "rediscover, to update." He said there won't be any mummies or werewolves and that the "terrors are going to be a lot more surprising." On February 19, 2016, at the D.I.C.E. Summit 2016 producer Roy Lee confirmed that Fukunaga and Chase Palmer's original script had been rewritten, with Lee remarking, "It will hopefully be shooting later this year. We just got the California tax credit Dauberman wrote the most recent draft working with Muscetti, so it's being envisioned as two movies."


title: It (2017 film)

text: On May 5, 2016, in an interview with "Collider", David Kajganich expressed uncertainty as to whether drafts of his original screenplay would be used by Dauberman and Muschietti, with the writer stating, "We know there's a new director, I don't know myself whether he's going back to any of the previous drafts or writing from scratch. I may not know until the film comes out. I don't know how it works! If you find out let me know."


title: It (2017 film)

text: On June 2, 2016, Jaeden Lieberher was confirmed to be portraying lead protagonist, Bill Denbrough. On June 2, 2016, "The Hollywood Reporter" reported that Bill Skarsgård was in final negotiations to star as Pennywise, whose cast will also include Finn Wolfhard, Jack Dylan Grazer, Wyatt Oleff, Chosen Jacobs and Jeremy Ray Taylor. On June 2, 2016, there was a call for 100 background performers, with the background actor call going from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. and by 4 p.m. more than 300 people had gone through; the casting call also asked for a marching band and period cars between 1970 and 1989. On February 18, 2016, "The Hollywood Reporter" reported that Owen Teague was set to portray Patrick Hocksetter. On June 21, 2016, it was officially announced that Nicholas Hamilton had been cast to play Henry Bowers. On June 21, 2016, Bloody Disgusting reported that Javier Botet was added to the cast shortly before filming commenced. On June 22, 2016, "Deadline Hollywood" reported that Muschietti had chosen actress Sophia Lillis to portray Beverly Marsh. On June 24, 2016, Moviepilot reported that Stephen Bogaert was added to the cast shortly before filming commenced, with Bogaert portraying Al Marsh, the abusive father of Beverly Marsh.


title: It (2017 film)

text: On July 22, 2016, Barbara Muschietti was interviewed by "Northumberland News" Karen Longwell, wherein she spoke about the filming locations on "It", while mentioning the beauty of Port Hope being one of the reasons as to why it was chosen, while Muschietti added, "We were looking for an idyllic town, one that would be a strong contrast to the story. Port Hope is the kind of place we all wish we had grown up in: long summers riding bicycles, walks by the lake, a lovely main street, charming homes with green lawns, warm people." Muschietti also mentioned that 360 extras from the area, from adults to tiny kids, had been involved.


title: It (2017 film)

text: On August 11, 2016, at The CW TCA presentation for the upcoming series "Frequency", producer Dan Lin spoke of the piece's comparison to Netflix's "Stranger Things", with Lee describing "It" being a "homage to 80s movies", while remarking: "I think a great analogy is actually Stranger Things, and we're seeing it on Netflix right now. It's very much an homage to '80s movies, whether it's classic Stephen King or even Spielberg. Think about "Stand by Me" (1986) as far as the bonding amongst the kids. But there is a really scary element in Pennywise." Lin continued, speaking of how well the young cast has bonded in these first weeks of shooting. Lin stated, "We clearly had a great dynamic amongst the kids. Really great chemistry is always a challenging thing with a movie like It because you're casting kids who don't have a ton of experience, but it ended up being really natural. Each kid, like a "The Goonies" (1985) or "Stand by Me" (1986), has a very specific personality and they're forming the loser's club obviously We've spent a few months getting the kids to bond and now they're going to fight this evil, scary clown."


title: It (2017 film)

text: On February 9, 2017, at the press day for "The Lego Batman Movie" (2017), Lin confirmed that "It" is going to be rated R by the MPAA, to which he stated to Collider.coms Steve Weintraub, "If you're going to make a "Rated-R movie", you have to fully embrace what it is, and you have to embrace the source material. It is a scary clown that's trying to kill kids. They do have a scary clown that's taken over the town of Derry, so it's going to be rated R." On March 11, 2017, Muschietti, at the SXSW festival, spoke of an element of the pre-production phase in his attempt to keep Skarsgård separated from the film's child actors, wherein the actor wasn't introduced to the young cast until Pennywise's first encounter with the children: "It was something that we agreed on, and that's how it happened. The day that he showed up on the stage, they fucking freaked out. Bill is like, seven-foot high, and I can't describe how scary he looks in person. He's a wiry man, crouching, making sounds, snotting, drooling, speaking in Swedish sometimes. Terrifying." Muschietti stated that the story had been moved forward, with the scenes with the young Losers Club shifting from the 1950s to the 1980s, while also describing their plot as "getting much wider," with new material not in the novel or the 1990 miniseries. However, Muschietti said he hoped it would still strike the same emotional resonance that the book did for him when he first read it: "It's all about trying to hit the core and the heart."


title: It (2017 film)

text: On July 12, 2017, Muschietti, in an interview with French magazine "Mad Movies", spoke of when developing the R rated film, in which allowed him to go into very adult themes, which was championed from the people at New Line Cinema. He also stated that, "if you aimed for a PG-13 movie, you had nothing at the end. So we were very lucky that the producers didn't try to stop us. In fact it's more our own moral compass that sometimes showed us that some things lead us in places where we didn't want to go." In the same interview, on July 12, 2017, producer Barbara Muschietti added that there was only one scene that was deemed to be too horrific to feature in the new adaptation, in which she stated, "you won't find the scene where a kid has his back broken and is thrown in the toilets. We thought that the visual translation of that scene had something that was really too much." Muschietti concluded by emphasizing that nothing was removed from the original vision, nor was the violence of any event watered down.


title: It (2017 film)

text: On July 19, 2017, in an interview with "Variety"s Brent Lang, director Muschietti commented of the monstrous forms that It shall be taking, as well as noting the fact that they'll be very different from the incarnations present in King's story, in which he stated, "The story is the same, but there are changes in the things the kids are scared of. In the book they're children in the 50s, so the incarnations of the monsters are mainly from movies, so it's Wolf Man, the Mummy, Frankenstein, and Dracula. I had a different approach. I wanted to bring out deeper fears, based not only on movie monsters but on childhood traumas." While on the topic of what being the key to a successful horror film, Muschietti concluded by remarking that "Stay true to what scares you. If you don't respect that, you can't scare anyone." Muschietti explained how Skarsgård caught his attention to embody Pennywise, while pointing out that he didn't want the young cast to spend too much time with the actor when not shooting, and encouraged the cast to "maintain distance" between them, wherein Muschietti detailed: We wanted to carry the impact of the encounters to when the cameras were rolling. The first scene where Bill interacted with the children, it was fun to see how the plan worked. The kids were really, really creeped out by Bill. He's pretty intimidating because he's six-four and has all this makeup."


title: It (2017 film)

text: Production designer Mara LePere-Schloop went to Bangor, Maine, to scope out locations including the Thomas Hill Standpipe, the land running alongside the Kenduskeag Stream that in "It" is called The Barrens, it was confirmed on March 31, 2015, and the Waterworks on the Penobscot River. LePere-Schloop said during her tour that they were hoping to shoot some scenes in the city and possibly get some aerial shots, although currently the leading locations for the majority of filming for the movie are in Yonkers, New York, and in Upstate New York. On May 31, 2016, Third Act Productions was confirmed to have applied to film interior and exterior scenes for "It" in the municipality of Port Hope, Ontario, with filming slated for various locations around the municipality from July 11, 2016, up until July 18, 2016. Principal photography was confirmed to have begun in Toronto, with an original shooting schedule occurring from June 27 to September 6, 2016.


title: It (2017 film)

text: On July 8, 2016, Port Hope had undergone a number of changes to transform it into Derry; Port Hope Municipal hall is now Derry Public Library, The Port Hope Tourism Centre is now a City of Derry office, Ganaraska Financial is now Montgomery Financial, Gould's Shoes store front on Walton Street changed to a butcher shop, The Avanti Hair Design store front changed to Tony's Barber Shop, an empty storefront at 36 Walton Street changed to Reliance Cleaners, Queen Street Tattoo store front changed to Derry Scoop, a statue of Paul Bunyan was erected in Memorial Park, US flags now hang in place of Canadian flags downtown, and Port Hope Capitol Theatre had appeared to be showing "Batman" (1989) and "Lethal Weapon 2" (1989), thus confirming the film's setting of 1989.


title: It (2017 film)

text: On July 11, 2016, preliminary shooting took place in Port Hope Town Hall, Memorial Park cenotaph, Queen Street between Walton and Robertson streets and the Capitol Theatre. On July 12, 2016, filming occurred between the intersection of Mill and Walton street, Walton Street bridge, and in front and behind 16–22 Walton Street and Port Hope Town Hall. Other shooting locations included Queen Street between Walton and Roberston street, and Memorial Park, on July 13. It was also reported, on July 14, that filming had been set up on the alley between Gould's Shoe's and Avanti Hair Design, and John and Hayward streets. On July 15, 2016, Cavan Street between Highland Drive and Ravine Drive, and Victoria Street South between Trafalgar Street and Sullivan Street. Filming moved to Cavan Street between Highland Drive and Ravine Drive, and Victoria Street South between Trafalgar Street and Sullivan Street on July 15. Filming in Port Hope ended on July 18, at Watson's Guardian Drugs.


title: It (2017 film)

text: Oshawa had been chosen by producers of "It" as the next filming location, and on July 20, 2016, filming notices were sent out to homes in the area of Eulalie Avenue and James Street, near downtown Oshawa, advising residents that filming of a new adaptation will commence shooting in the area from August 5 up until August 8, 2016. On July 29, 2016, it was announced the crew had been busy on the formerly vacant lot at the dead end of James Street constructing the set, in the form of a dilapidated old house. It was also remarked that the structure is a facade built around scaffolding that will be used for exterior shots. The set is composed of pre-fabricated modules that are being trucked in and put into place by IATSE carpenters.


title: It (2017 film)

text: On July 18, 2016, production crews had arrived in Riverdale, Toronto, with filming beginning at 450 Pape Ave, which is home to a circa 1902 heritage-designated building called Cranfield House, up until August 19, 2016. It was reported, on September 4, that filming had wrapped its shooting in Oshawa, which included the haunted house location, as well as on Court and Fisher streets. Principal photography was confirmed to have ended in Toronto on September 21, 2016, with an altered shooting schedule occurring from June 27 to September 21, 2016, and ultimately with post-production initially beginning on September 14, 2016.


title: It (2017 film)

text: "It" was photographed with Arri Alexa XT Plus and Alexa Mini in a distributed aspect ratio of by Chung Chung-hoon. For photographic lens, Chung used Panavision G Series Anamorphic Prime, Angenieux Optimo, and Primo Prime in which Chung stated is used "when Muschietti wants to use a wider lens or needs more frame space for visual effects. The look of the lenses is nearly the same. I mix them a lot and it works well." Cinematographer Chung and director Muschietti's discussions on the lighting of "It" were of temperature, with Muschietti wanting a hot summer with everyone sweating all the time, while admiring characters with shine on their faces. Both also discussed the balance of making something realistic, but with an element of intrigue that something is not right. Chung mulled over the notion of a period look for "It", but ultimately felt the 1980s feel was conveyed through Claude Paré's sets and the work of Janie Bryant, in which Chung stated: "Trying to make a movie set in the 1980s look like the 1980s can be dangerous." Initially he had thought of photographing with 1980s lighting rules and gear, though later feeling it to be superfluous as Muschietti and he were trying to capture a natural look.


title: It (2017 film)

text: Muschietti himself found mainstream 1980s lighting too artificial thus preferred to through windows and bounce off the floor, allowing him to convey a feeling of intimacy with the characters, while admiring the approach of unsettling backlights and soft lights. Chung spoke of his experience on "Stoker" (2013), which taught him how to light quickly using one source: "I feel lucky because some directors will always say, Can you make more light? But this movie is very naturalistic. My responsibility is to the audience and to tell the story, and if you want this movie to scare people, a natural look is best."


title: It (2017 film)

text: Film editor Jason Ballantine spoke of the difference in pacing and rhythm that comes with horror in "It", in which a story like this was broken up into individual encounters with Pennywise for each of the characters, thus requiring a particular approach. Each segment had to have the appropriate rhythm and setup for the inevitable jump scare, to which he explained: "We were definitely conscious of trying to mix the rhythms up. Each encounter became somewhat more elaborate for the jump-scare in terms of what was shot. The first assembly was massively long So it did mean that screen time had to be dropped, either through the tightening of existing sequences or even scene deletions." Ballantine also spoke of the key factors when cutting "It", which included King's novel, and Tommy Lee Wallace's 1990 miniseries.


title: It (2017 film)

text: In approaching a scene for "It", Ballantine mapped out his day-to-day workflow from getting his dailies to sitting down with Muschietti looking through what he's pieced together. Upon receiving the dailies, Ballantine looked through the footage to see if he needs any pickups or reshoots to report back to set, resulting in Pearce Roemer, Elliott Traeger, Ferran Banchs and Daniel Miller to ensure all the footage had been copied over before returning the footage for formatting. From there, Ballantine asks his assistants to arrange the selects in script-order so that he can have a better understanding of the structure, as well as work at a faster pace without worrying about getting lost in the footage. Once Ballantine has a good chunk of the selects in the order he wants, the finished product from that batch will be about a third of the original length.


title: It (2017 film)

text: On August 16, 2016, in an interview with "Entertainment Weekly", costume designer Janie Bryant spoke of crafting Pennywise's form-fitting suit and the inspirations to which it drew upon involving a number of bygone times among them the Medieval, Renaissance, Elizabethan, and Victorian eras. Bryant explained that the costume incorporates all these otherworldly past lives, while highlighting the point that Pennywise is a clown from a different time. In designing Pennywise's costume, Bryant included a Fortuny pleating, which gives the costume an almost a crepe-like effect, to which Bryant remarked, "It's a different technique than what the Elizabethans would do. It's more organic, it's more sheer. It has a whimsical, floppy quality to it. It's not a direct translation of a ruff or a whisk, which were two of the collars popular during the Elizabethan period."


title: It (2017 film)

text: Bryant played with multiple eras as a way of reflecting Pennywise's immortality and added a "doll-like quality to the costume." She furthered this by stating "The pants being short, the high waistline of the jacket, and the fit of the costume is a very important element. It gives the character a child-like quality." Bryant spoke of the two puffs off the shoulder, sleeves and again on the bloomers, with her desire to create an "organic, gourd or pumpkin kind of effect", which includes the peplum at the waist, the flared, skirt-like fabric blossoming from below his doublet. She explains, "It helps exaggerate certain parts of the body. The costume is very nipped in the waist and with the peplum and bloomers it has an expansive silhouette." The main color of his costume is a dusky gray, but with a few splashes of color. She concludes the interview by stating, "The pompoms are orange, and then with the trim around the cuffs and the ankles, it's basically a ball fringe that's a combination of orange, red, and cinnamon. It's almost like Pennywise fades into his environment. But there are accents to pull out the definition of the gray silk."


title: It (2017 film)

text: Bryant explained that she wished for Pennywise to have an organic element about himself, with herself paying attention to King's description of Pennywise as being in a silvery gray. For Pennywise, Bryant's manufacturer built 17 different clown costumes to accommodate the action in the film. Muschietti spoke of the fact that the entity of Pennywise has been around for thousands of years, thus from an esthetic standpoint wished to depart from the 20th century clown framework, in which he stated "I think it looks cheap, and it's too related to social events and stuff and circus and stuff. Circus is fine, but I'm more aesthetically attracted to the old time, like the 19th century clown. And given that this guy has been around for centuries, I wondered myself why, why not, having an upgrade that was 1800s?"


title: It (2017 film)

text: Production designer Claude Paré commented that apart from 29 Neibolt Street, that the other main component of Muschietti's "It" were both the sewers and the cistern, to which Muschietti and himself worked every morning for roughly three months observing, looking at the plans and attempting to figure out what was the best pattern for themselves on stages they had access to a rather precise stage, though having to make profit as much as they could, of what they had. Paré discussed about knowing that Muschietti and himself had to have a culvert entrance in The Barrens, somewhere in or around Toronto.


title: It (2017 film)

text: The construction of 29 Neibolt Street was one of the great challenges of the production, with Paré later explaining he wanted the haunted house of the film to be visually strong and in line with the decor of the great films of the horror genre such as the Bates house from "Psycho" (1960), or the Overlook Hotel of "The Shining" (1980). Paré worked extensively with Muschietti to imagine a haunted house that unleashes a presence that is discovered to be a character in its own right. The exterior of 29 Neibolt Street was built in Oshawa, Ontario, with the interior scenes being filmed in a former hospice.


title: It (2017 film)

text: Six months after principal photography, Paré built the clown room on a sound-stage at Pinewood Toronto Studios as Muschietti felt the Neibolt Street sequence required more scares to which Paré stated Muschietti had the concept of wanting to have clowns from different eras, in which Paré said: "There were real clowns and fake clowns. There was lots of work put into dressing mannequins and putting some heads on them with masks and wigs and so on. Some of them were real people, so they start moving as you see in the movie." Conceptually, Muschietti himself spoke of how he wished to keep the cistern more grounded and real, instead of going into a world of fantasy: "I decided to do a compelling and surrealistic but still grounded physical place." Paré originally had wished that the sewers were composed of bricks, due to it being of more period-accuracy, however, the cost was deemed too great thus his team and himself decided to go with formed concrete which was constructed with a mixture of planks and plywood sheets. Paré spoke of the special attention paid to the water drainage for the sewer, as well as the water marks that he said echoed those of New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina.


title: It (2017 film)

text: Paré later explained that his team looked at the location, with them later having kids climb up and down to which later resulted in the construction of the well on the stage, which connects Pennywise's tunnel, giving access to the tunnels, which in turn gives access to the cistern: "which is the giant set that we're shooting now, and in which Pennywise has his wagon and on top of which there's a pile of all the clothes and toys of the dead kids over the many centuries." The vortex of dead children was also a creation of Muschietti and Paré, with floating being a "metaphor for dying," according to Muschietti. Paré had to get down to logistics with conversations taking place about how many bodies would be floating, as well as the speed at which the children were spinning around, with Paré remarking: "We didn't want to go over a year worth of kids, because all the kids that would have been dead would have been eaten in the 27 years that Pennywise was away So the kids of that era are basically a reserve for the next 27 years."


title: It (2017 film)

text: Chris Jenkins and Michael Keller were sound engineers for the film, tasked with sound mixing, while sound editor Victor Ray Ennis supervised the process. Director Muschietti was clear unto the sound engineers about every aspect of the soundscape, especially when it came to dynamics. During the final mix there were moments when Muschietti conducted the peaks and valleys of the sound design and score, to which sound designer Paul Hackner stated, "It was in these moments when perceived silence, created by small transients such as water drips, foot creaks, or actual silence, were revealed, resulting in a dynamic mix."


title: It (2017 film)

text: Nicholas Brooks was the overall visual effects supervisor and the visual effects company Rodeo FX worked on most of the visual effects on "It", completing 95 shots for the film. "Rodeo FX" was tasked with creating a number of CG assets to either enhance or even completely replace Bill Skarsgård's Pennywise, amongst others being the giant abandoned cistern within the heart of Pennywise's lair. Both from a technical and creative standpoint, the various shapes created for Pennywise presented a large challenge for "Rodeo FX"s modeling, rigging and creature FX teams. The visual effects company Atomic Arts were initially brought in to create the paper boat sequence for "It", which covers much of the first trailers, to which all of the shots were used in the final film and the company were awarded many more shots in Muschietti's piece. Atomic Arts highlighted the challenges in creating the paper boat sequence, as Muschietti and Chung shot in it bright sunshine. Amalgamated Dynamics worked on the special makeup effects on "It".


title: It (2017 film)

text: Producer Barbara Muschietti stated that "It" would use computer-generated imagery as a support tool in every circumstance; never as an element standing on its own in regard to its relationship with practical effects, to which she stated, "In every film, in this day and age, there is some CG, but we will use it as little as possible." Andy Muschietti spoke of "It" containing a small amount of CGI, with much of Pennywise being Skarsgård and his face: "The rest it's a shape-shifting monster, and I wanted to bring that to the screen, when he's basically trying to throw everything he has at them.", while signifying the importance of design and execution in the eternal discussion of practical versus CG.


title: It (2017 film)

text: Company 3s Stephen Nakamura collaborated with Muschietti to color grade "It", completing the film's digital intermediate in Blackmagic DaVinci Resolve at EFILM, spoke of the concepts about the look of Muschietti's film that evolved during production, and while continuing it in the DI, the idea that a lot of the film takes place in fairly high-key situations, not the kind of dark, shadowy world some horror films exist in. Nakamura said, "It's a period piece. It's set in a small town that sort of looks like this pleasant place to be, but all this wild stuff is happening!" On the work connected on Pennywise during the digital intermediate, Nakamura spoke of having alpha channel mattes cut around Pennywise's eyes for every shot he's in, while using the color corrector to make changes to his eyes:" Other moments Nakamura mentioned was the battle between the kids and Pennywise underground, wherein the setting shifts the story into darkness, with such an effect working powerfully in the 14-footlambert standard digital cinema version and even more so in the 31-footlambert HDR pass which was completed for the film's Dolby Cinema version, in contrast to Nakamura's work on "Tomorrowland" (2015), with him explaining: "In the Dolby Cinema version, the scene can feel significantly darker but also contain more detail. You're pushing more light through the images overall and the contrast ratio is massive so dark scenes can be even darker but we can hold onto every scary detail. It's a very effective tool to have for this kind of movie."


title: It (2017 film)

text: "It" is a loss of innocence story with fear, mortality and survivalist themes. Muschietti remarked of the film's elements of coming of age and issues of mortality, wherein he states such themes are prevalent in King's book, though that in reality these occur in a more progressive way, "There's a passage in "It" that reads, 'Being a kid is learning how to live and being an adult is learning how to die.' There's a bit of a metaphor of that and it just happens in a very brutal way, of course."


title: It (2017 film)

text: He also mentioned the characterization of Pennywise's survivalist attitude, and a passage in the novel which inspired Muschietti, was when Bill wonders if Pennywise is eating children simply because that's what we're told monsters do, in stating, "It's a tiny bit of information, but that sticks with you so much. Maybe it is real as long as children believe in it. And in a way, Pennywise's character is motivated by survival. In order to be alive in the imagination of children, he has to keep killing." While Muschietti acknowledges it to be a horror film, he, too, felt that it's not simply just that: "It's a story of love and friendship and a lot of other beautiful emotions."


title: It (2017 film)

text: Director Andy Muschietti said influences on "It" included the "visceral" authority of horror cinema: "The Howling" (1981), "The Thing" (1982), and "Near Dark" (1987). He also spoke of the influential contributions of Clive Barker and John Carpenter. He cited the influence of Steven Spielberg in "the way of understanding story and filmmaking, because he has such a strong emotional element to all his stories.", while crediting Stephen King, alongside directors such as [Carpenter] and Joe Dante. He also sought to emulate the whimsical and nostalgic perspective on childhood, while providing a balance with a much harsher viewpoint. He stated: "The movie, the tone of the movie regarding what childhood is and experiences of childhood is pretty wide. There's the Spielberg moments and there's the Larry Clark moments."


title: It (2017 film)

text: Muschietti spoke of bringing certain cultural experience within the genre to "It", in which he highlights his devotion to horror coming from international horror films and literature, to which he stated, "there's other sides to my storytelling influences that comes from of course Jorge Luis Borges and Adolfo Bioy Casares and writers like Horacio Quiroga But you know, my love for horror comes from movies that were mainly English language." Muschietti based his portrayal of bullying in "It" as an homage to personal experience in the '80s with bullies, through the pure cruelty of Henry Bowers, where he speaks of them being very mean and very expressionist in their art of bullying, which is an aspect he wanted to explore. The sequence with Judith, the woman in the portrait whose form It assumes to terrify Stan, was based on Muschietti's experience with the paintings of Amedeo Modigliani, one of which hung in Muschietti's childhood home, and which he found frightening, interpreting Modigliani's stylisation as monstrous.


title: It (2017 film)

text: Skarsgård spoke of Heath Ledger as being an inspiration, while contrasting between Ledger's Joker and his Pennywise, in which he stated: "I think the biggest difference between Pennywise and the Joker character or at least Heath Ledger's interpretation is that he's far more based in reality." He also sought to not attempt to emulate the performance in "The Dark Knight" (2008), he remarked: "I deliberately tried to make mine different because it's such a clear, iconic performance so I wanted to stray away from it as far as possible." Skarsgård studied animal programs to assist him in developing Pennywise's physical behavior, in which he zeroed in on the energy of hyenas and the lower-lip scowl of bears as touchstones. While speaking of the inexplicable nature of Pennywise, Skarsgård stated: "Ledger's Joker is rooted in the real; you can break down the psychology. But Pennywise is not a real person." Skarsgård explained that Pennywise's succinct shuffles, whilst attacking and lunging toward his targets, were inspired by his little brother, Ossian, to which he stated: "I don't know if you've seen kids run like this, but they move their arms way too fast, and it looks really, really funny. And I just loved the way my brother ran as a kid. It was just out of sync. So I incorporated that into the character, and you get this really explosive effect. It's really unsettling when it happens."


title: It (2017 film)

text: In approaching the story, Barbara Muschietti referred to Stephen King's "It" (1986) as "our bible", while thinking it to be interesting to respect the proper chronology, with the Muschietti siblings going into the casting process with the book in mind. Muschietti spoke of using Fukunaga and Palmer's original screenplay as a basis, however, "skewed it in a different direction", to which her brother stated: "It was a good script, in terms of characters and the depth of characters and such, but it didn't really tap into one of the most attractive traits of the character, which was the shape-shifting qualities." Screenwriter Gary Dauberman said influences on "It" included "Stand by Me" (1986), while stating: "that's one of my favorite stories so that's an element I wanted to preserve because it's there in the source material. Andy wanted to preserve it and really make that a part of "It" because I think those moments of levity provide a great contrast to those darker moments, or makes the darker moments feel all that much darker." Dauberman also spoke of the inspiration Muschietti had upon him, as well as director James Wan, while stating that: "a lot of 80s horror movies and such helped to bring that sort of aesthetic and sensibility."


title: It (2017 film)

text: On March 23, 2017, Benjamin Wallfisch was announced as the composer of "It"s score. Wallfisch stated that Jerry Goldsmith, John Williams, Alan Silvestri, as well as Dave Grusin's composition for "The Goonies" (1985) were largely influential in the score of "It", as he felt so passionate about those "big thematic style of scoring", albeit at the same time wishing to go beyond the idea that it would be a purely orchestral and adventurous score. According to Wallfisch, he had to develop a theme for Pennywise which included finding and creating music that could infect all the other melodies as there are several themes in the film but the Pennywise score is a very quiet and whispered childlike tune using very high strings. Wallfisch spoke of Pennywise's second theme, inspired by Skarsgård's portrayal, in which he used the old children's song "Oranges and Lemons", which had always disturbed him as a child: "We knew we wanted some kind of children's song to signify Pennywise's strange and demented inner monologue. I also very subtly use certain melodic fragments from it in other themes, for example the piano music that opens and closes the movie."


title: It (2017 film)

text: "It" premiered at Grauman's Chinese Theatre, on September 5, 2017 in Hollywood, California, after screening as a preview at BFI Southbank in London, England on September 4, 2017, while being selected to screen as the opening-film of the Fantasy Filmfest in Munich, Germany on September 6. "It" was released in 28 countries, including European nations (such as Russia and Netherlands), Middle Eastern nations (such as Israel and UAE), Latin America/Caribbean nations (such as Brazil and Panama), Australia, and New Zealand on September 7; 15 countries including the United Kingdom, and additional European, and Asian countries, including North America on September 8. On September 9, the film screened at the Deauville American Film Festival in Deauville, France, where it opened in the official sidebar section, The Premiers. "It" was selected to screen at Down Town Taito International Comedy Film Festival in Tokyo, Japan on September 17. The film was selected as the opening-film of the Slash Film Festival in Vienna, Austria on September 21, ahead of its final bow in Italy on October 19, and in Japan on November 3, 2017. On March 7, 2017, the title of the film was announced by Stephen King as "Part 1 – The Losers’ Club". On September 8, "It" opened in a total of 615 IMAX openings globally, of which 389 were in North America.


title: It (2017 film)

text: A few days before its release, "Variety" reported the film broke Fandango's pre-sales record to become the top horror pre-seller of all-time, eclipsing "Paranormal Activity 3" (2011), as well as setting the record as the site's top pre-seller among September releases, beating "Sully" (2016). "Variety" also reported that MovieTickets.com stated that "It" accounted for 54.4% of all tickets sold through September 6, with "It" selling 8x as many tickets as "Annabelle: Creation" (2017) did through two days prior to opening, 6x "The Conjuring 2"s (2016) totals with two days to opening, and 15x that of "" (2016) at the same point in the sales cycle. "TheWrap" reported the film broke Fandango's sales record to become the top horror second-week-seller of all-time, eclipsing "Get Out" (2017) by 2x as much.


title: It (2017 film)

text: The official website for "It" debuted on August 31, 2016, introducing a marketing campaign and interactive layout to promote the film. The website streamed the third trailer as well as containing a gallery, videos, and the 8-bit game "It: Enter the Sewer". On January 31, 2016, Muschietti, on his Instagram, posted a sketch that is thought to be the precursor to Pennywise's final look, to celebrate the pre-production getting underway. Beginning from July 11, 2016, Muschietti posted a variety of missing person posters of children within the Derry area, including Betty Ripsom, Richie Tozier, Paul Greenberg, Jonathan Chan, and Tania McGowan.


title: It (2017 film)

text: The first official image for "It" debuted on July 13, 2016 to promote "It", introducing the first look at Skarsgård's Pennywise The Dancing Clown, as well as an interview with Skarsgård, conducted by Anthony Breznican. Thomas Freeman of "Maxim" wrote that "Skarsgard in full, terrifying costume, he's clearly got what it takes to fill King's most macabre, nightmare-inducing creation." Chris Eggertsen of HitFix responded positively stating the image to be "an appropriately macabre look that doesn't deviate too radically from the aesthetic of Curry's Pennywise dare I say, a more creepily seductive look to Skarsgard's version that was absent from Curry's interpretation."


title: It (2017 film)

text: On August 16, 2016, "Entertainment Weekly" released the full costume image of Skarsgård's Pennywise to promote "It", including an interview with costume designer Janie Bryant. JoBlo.com's Damion Damaske was fond of the new design, though was understanding others being dismissive of it. Damaske also stated, "One of the chief complaints is that it looked too automatically scary, and that one of the reasons Pennywise chooses his guise is to trick and lure children." Dave Trumbore of "Collider" noted that "This one's going to divide some folks. It's nowhere near as baggy or colorful as the one Tim Curry donned but the new version certainly seems to have a lot more thought and intent behind its creation." Jonathan Barkan of Bloody Disgusting called the image one of "drawing attention and curiosity". Barkan then stated "I don't know if it's morbid curiosity or hopeful wishes but the overall response to his face and makeup seemed to be quite positive!"


title: It (2017 film)

text: On March 9, 2017, Neha Aziz of SXSW announced that Muschietti is set to appear at a screening event titled, "Face Your Fears", to share footage from "It", while discussing his inspirations and influences. On March 11, 2017, New Line Cinema showcased its promotion of "It", by releasing a teaser trailer and a scene at the South by Southwest festival. Trace Thurman of Bloody Disgusting heralded the trailer: "It was maybe 90 seconds of footage, but it was a damn impressive 90 seconds of footage. As far as teasers go, it's one of the best that I've ever seen." Dread Central's Jonathan Barkan praised the scene, and stated, "The kids are clearly very adept at working off one another. There was a chemistry between the four that was wonderful to see and it's obvious that Muschietti worked very hard to ensure they were believable." Eric Vespe of Ain't It Cool News remarked that "this one scene shows us the key traits of the bulk of the members of the Losers Club within one sequence. I loved it for that reason."


title: It (2017 film)

text: On March 28, 2017, New Line released a 139-second teaser trailer to promote "It", following a 19-second trailer and the official theatrical release poster the prior day, and for exhibitors at CinemaCon. Tom Philip of "GQ" heralded the trailer and its tonality by stating: "Dark corners everywhere and a pervading sense of absolute doom, even in the scenes where the creature isn't looming. That projector scene! Christ!" Michael Gold of "The New York Times" praised the trailer, and stated: "There's always tension in the sustained string chords of the soundtrack, and it imbues everything with suspense and darkness." "Wired"s Brian Raftery spoke most highly of the trailer, to which he stated, "The teaser's scariest moment features no gore or gotcha-ness; instead, it involves a misfiring slide-projector and a barely discernible clown-grin. Nothing in the "It" trailer feels like a cheap thrill, which is all the more thrilling." IndieWire's William Earl reacted positively to the "top-notch" production design of Derry, Maine within the trailer. The trailer reached 197 million views in its first 24 hours, setting a new record as the trailer with the most views in one day. In addition to dethroning "The Fate of the Furious" (2017), the trailer numbers surpassed previous records held by "Beauty and the Beast" (2017), "Fifty Shades Darker" (2017), and "" (2015).


title: It (2017 film)

text: On May 7, 2017, a second teaser trailer, this one lasting 137 seconds, was shown at the MTV Movie & TV Awards in Los Angeles, California, to promote "It", with the new preview showcasing a snippet of the film where the "Losers' Club" search for Pennywise's many victims. Daniel Kreps of "Rolling Stone" felt snippet of the film "was initially similar to "Stand By Me" (1986), with the Losers' Club playfully bantering about "gray water" A series of scary images soon follow before the trailer ends on Pennywise doing unimaginable balloon tricks to lure a victim." Matt Goldberg of Collider.com praised the trailer, and stated: "This new trailer really plays up the kids' role and their fears. It's a smart move, because if a sequel does come along, it's going to be looking at the kids as adults, so that aspect will be lost." Digital Spy's Jack Tomlin spoke of the clarity in that director Muschietti's film will carry on down the "creepy as hell" vibe he gave the first trailer. On July 13, 2017, "Entertainment Weekly" released a collection of new images and concept art such as Pennywise's lair to promote "It", including commentary from director Andy Muschietti. On July 19, 2017, New Line Cinema showcased its promotion of "It", by releasing three reels of footage at San Diego Comic-Con, before an advanced screening of "" (2017). On July 20, 2017, as part of Warner Bros.'s marketing campaign, an "It"-inspired virtual reality installation was brought to San Diego Comic-Con entitled FLOAT: A Cinematic VR Experience, which was located at the Interactive Zone across from Petco Park until July 23.


title: It (2017 film)

text: On July 27, 2017, Warner Bros. unveiled a third trailer to promote "It". Kaitlyn Tiffany of "The Verge" wrote that "the final 20 seconds of this trailer is a montage of nightmares, including a toilet full of blood" Mike Miller of "People" of the trailer felt that "One of the more disturbing new scenes revealed in the trailer introduces a room full of menacing clowns of all shapes and sizes." Ryan Parker of "The Hollywood Reporter" wrote "This trailer is wonderful in that I felt totally creeped out afterward, which is a nice change of pace This trailer, however, makes my skin crawl, which is what King is the master of doing in his books." On August 11, 2017, a four-minute extended footage reel of "It" was attached to prints of "Annabelle: Creation" (2017), as part of "It"s marketing campaign, which included an introduction by Stephen King, one month before release. John Squires of "Bloody Disgusting" described Skarsgard as "commanding the screen as Pennywise, turning in a performance that's likely going to remind many of the next level believably of Heath Ledger as the Joker in "The Dark Knight" (2008)." Kofi Outlaw of "PopCulture" wrote that "Skarsgård excels at portraying Pennywise as thing not of this world, that is only pretending to take the shape of something comprehensible to the mind All in all, it seems like we'll get a very good performance from Skarsgård." On August 14, through to September 10, Warner Bros. and New Line Cinema announced a haunted house experience called The IT Experience: Neibolt House, located at Hollywood Blvd. and Vine Street, which featured immersive film-inspired scenes complete with authentic set props, to promote "It".


title: It (2017 film)

text: "It" grossed $328.8 million in the United States and Canada, and $373 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $701.8 million, against a production budget of $35–40 million. The $123.4 million earned worldwide in its opening weekend was the 29th-largest of all time in the United States and Canada. "Deadline Hollywood" calculated the net profit of the film to be $293.7 million, accounting for production budgets, P&A, talent participation and other costs, against box office grosses and ancillary revenues from home media, placing it fifth on their list of 2017's "Most Valuable Blockbusters".


title: It (2017 film)

text: With "It" playing in 4,103 theaters, it set the record for most venues for an R-rated film, surpassing "Logan"s (2017) 4,071 theaters, as well as the record for the largest opening for an R-rated horror movie, improving on ""s (2017) 3,761 theaters. The film made $13.5 million from Thursday night previews, setting the record for highest amount for an R-rated film, (besting "Deadpool"s (2016) $12.6 million), an R-rated horror film (besting "Paranormal Activity 3"s $8 million), a September release, as well as the biggest Thursday preview for any of King's adaptations. The film opened to $51 million on its first day, breaking previous records for the highest-opening R-rated, non-sequel horror film (besting "The Conjuring"s (2013) $41 million), and the highest-opening Stephen King movie (besting "1408"s (2007) $20 million). The $51 million also gave "It" the biggest single-day opening for an R-rated movie of all time, dethroning "Deadpool"s $46 million, while nearly eclipsing "Paranormal Activity 3"s entire weekend gross of $52.6 million, which was the highest opening weekend gross for an R-rated horror film. Muschietti's "It" went on to open to $124 million, setting the records for largest opening weekend for both a September and a fall release (besting "Hotel Transylvania 2"s (2015) $48.4 million) and (besting "Gravity"s (2013) $55 million), while eclipsing the biggest adjusted September opening (besting "Rush Hour"s (1998) $62 million) and the biggest adjusted October opening (besting "Scary Movie 3"s (2003) $71 million).


title: It (2017 film)

text: Other records set by the film include the largest opening weekend for an R-rated horror film (besting "Paranormal Activity 3"s (2011) $52.6 million), the biggest theatrical debut in horror movie history (besting "Hannibal"s (2001) $58 million), the biggest non-holiday/long weekend R-rated debut of all time (besting "Logan"s $88 million), the cheapest movie ever to top $100 million in its debut weekend (besting ""s (2009) $50m budget), becoming the second-biggest debut for an R-rated film behind "Deadpool"s ($132.4 million), the biggest opening for an R-rated movie based upon a book (besting "Fifty Shades of Grey"s (2015) $85 million), and the third-highest opening of 2017 (behind "Beauty and the Beast" and "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2"), while joining "The Passion of the Christ" (2004) as the only film under $40 million to enter the biggest openers list. "Variety" noted that the film's opening weekend could have been even greater if not for Hurricane Irma shutting down nearly 50% of Florida's theaters, a state that typically accounts for 5% of the country's box office grosses. The film broke the record for the highest Monday that the month of September has ever seen with $8.8 million (besting "The Sixth Sense"s (1999) $6.37 million), the biggest Monday ever for an R-rated horror and/or scary movie, while breaking the record for the highest Tuesday that the month of September has ever seen with $11.4 million (besting "Sully"s $4.8 million), the highest Tuesday for a horror film (besting "The Conjuring"s $5.6 million), and the second-biggest single Tuesday for an R-rated horror film (behind "The Omen"s (2006) $12.6 million). The film went on to bring in $7.9 million to attain the biggest Wednesday in September history and the biggest Wednesday for an R-rated horror movie, while becoming the record holder for any horror film on a Thursday in September with $7.2 million.


title: It (2017 film)

text: The film became the highest-grossing Stephen King horror film ever in North America and worldwide, even adjusted for inflation (besting "The Shining"s (1980) $145 million). "It" went on to open to $60 million, setting the records for the largest second opening weekend for a September release, while also pushing the domestic total to $218.7 million to become the highest-grossing September film of all time (besting "Crocodile Dundee"s (1984) $174.8 million). The film went on to become the highest-grossing film ever between the Labor Day-to-November frame. Muschietti's "It" went on to earn to $236.3 million domestic, setting the records for highest-grossing horror film of all time in unadjusted domestic gross (besting "The Exorcist"s (1973) $232.9 million), the highest-grossing horror in unadjusted worldwide gross (besting "The Exorcist"s $441 million), while becoming the biggest Stephen King adaptation ever in North America for adjusted gross (besting "The Green Mile"s (1999) $233 million). In its third weekend, "It" was dethroned by newcomer "", finishing second at the box office with $30 million. On September 28, it passed the $500 million mark becoming the 176th film to do so, while becoming second-biggest movie ever starring a clown behind "The Dark Knight" (2008). In its fourth week, the film initially made a projected gross of $17.3 million, apparently retaking its top spot at the box office ahead of "Kingsman: The Golden Circle" ($17 million). However, the actual results had the film finishing in second by a gross of $16.90 million to "Kingsman"s $16.93 million, while beating out newcomer "American Made" (2017) ($16.8 million). The film continued to hold well in the following weeks, making $10 million and $6.1 million in its fifth and sixth weeks, finishing a respective third and fourth at the box office.


title: It (2017 film)

text: Internationally, the film was released on approximately 10,560 screens. By September 10, "It" opened in 46 markets, breaking opening first day records in various key countries. It grabbed $16.1 million on its opening day, bringing its cumulative gross to $25.7 million, debuting at first place in virtually all the markets. "It" broke opening day records for a horror film in the United Kingdom ($4.6 million), Brazil ($1.9 million), Russia ($1.3 million), Australia ($1.1 million), Spain ($1 million), Holland ($270,000) and in 5 other countries across Eastern Europe. Other markets which generated large opening days were South Korea ($554,000), and the United Arab Emirates ($360,000). IMAX generated $10 million globally which makes it Warner Bros.' best ever worldwide September play, while also becoming IMAX's best opening in any September in history.


title: It (2017 film)

text: After the nine days, "It" had a total gross of $152.6 million from 10,560 screens in 56 markets, while dominating Mexico ($13.85 million) on 4,300 screens, while breaking various records in the market. As of September 24, the largest markets outside of the United States and Canada were the UK ($34.5 million), Mexico ($21.1 million), Russia ($16.6 million), Australia ($14.9 million) and Brazil ($14.5 million), with new record breaking opening in France ($6.3 million) and Argentina ($4.1 million). The film opened in Germany ($11.6 million) and Greece ($756,000), breaking records for Wednesday night previews, the biggest opening for a horror film, and the top Warner Bros. film thus far in their respective markets. The film's largest markets were the United Kingdom ($42.5 million), Germany ($35.4 million), Mexico ($27.6 million), France ($20.2 million) and Japan ($19.2 million).


title: It (2017 film)

text: In North America, "It" was released alongside "Home Again", "9/11", "The Good Catholic", and "Gun Shy", and "Deadline Hollywood" reported a projected gross of around $50 million in its opening weekend. However, many analysts considered that the movie would overperform ever since the release of the trailer post-CinemaCon.


title: It (2017 film)

text: Shawn Robbins and Alex Edghill of "BoxOffice", on July 14, originally projected Muschietti's "It" to earn $40 million on a domestic total of $100 million, to which on August 11, a fifteen-percent increased the projection to $46 million on a domestic total of $115 million. On August 25, Robbins and Edghill suggested that "It" will earn $60 million on a domestic total of $150 million, whilst increasing their previous predication by seventeen-percent on September 1, to a $70 opening weekend on a domestic total of $175 million within 4,000 locations stating that ""It" continues to trend in unprecedented territory for a horror release". A few days before "It"s release, Shawn Robbins and Alex Edghill increased the estimated projection from $70 million to $81 million on in its opening weekend, with a statement later suggesting the forecast of $81 million to potentially be low.