On this day in movie history - The Thing (1982 movie & novella):

The Thing

directed by John Carpenter,

written by Bill Lancaster,

based on the novella Frozen Hell aka Who Goes There? by John W. Campbell,

was released in the United States on June 25, 1982.
Music by Ennio Morricone.

Cast:

Kurt Russell, A. Wilford Brimley, T. K. Carter, David Clennon, Keith David, Richard Dysart, Charles Hallahan, Peter Maloney, Richard Masur, Donald Moffat, Joel Polis, Thomas Waites.

Recommended reading:

Frozen Hell

By John W. Campbell Jr.

Published 2019.

Published by Wildside Press.

Paperback.

ISBN-10: 1479442828

ISBN-13: 978-1479442829

Description:

In 1938, acclaimed science fiction author John W. Campbell published the novella Who Goes There?, about a team of scientists in Antarctica who discover and are terrorized by a monstrous, shape-shifting alien entity. The story would later be adapted into John Carpenter’s iconic movie The Thing (following an earlier film adaptation in 1951). The published novella was actually an abridged version of Campbell’s original story, called Frozen Hell, which had to be shortened for publication.

The Frozen Hell manuscript remained unknown and unpublished for decades, and it was only recently rediscovered. Frozen Hell expands the Thing story dramatically, giving vital backstory and context to an already incredible tale. We are pleased and honored to offer Frozen Hell to you now, as Campbell intended it. You will be among the first people to ever read this completed version of the story.

On this day in movie history - Dark Star (1974 movie & novel):

Dark Star

directed by John Carpenter,

written by John Carpenter and Dan O'Bannon,

was released in the United States on March 30, 1974.
Music by John Carpenter.
Title song Benson, Arizona performed by John Yager.
Lyrics by Bill Taylor.

Cast:

Brian Narelle, Dan O'Bannon, Cal Kuniholm, Andreijah "Dre" Pahich, John Carpenter, Joe Saunders, Barbara "Cookie" Knapp, Miles Watkins, Nick Castle.

Recommended reading:

Dark Star

By Alan Dean Foster.

Published by Del Rey.

First published 1974.

ISBN-10: 0708880487

ISBN-13: 9780708880487

Description:

Bombed out in space -- with a spaced-out bomb!

ALL SYSTEMS -- SNAFU!

If anything could possibly go wrong aboard the scout ship Dark Star, sooner or later it would. Now, in the twentieth year of their mission -- destroying unstable planets -- the ship and its crew were slowly and steadily falling apart.

After 20 years in space, isolation and loneliness had left their mark. The four surviving crew members were bored beyond relief. Only an occasional bomb run or another of the inevitable malfunctions aboard ship upset the monotony.

Then, one day, Bomb #20 was primed, armed, and set to detonate ... and suddenly life on the Dark Star became frantic ...

On this day in movie history - Christine (1983 movie & novel):

Christine

directed by John Carpenter,

written by Bill Phillips,

based on the novel by Stephen King,

was released in the United States on December 9, 1983.
Music by John Carpenter and Alan Howarth.

Cast:

Keith Gordon, John Stockwell, Alexandra Paul, Robert Prosky, Harry Dean Stanton, Christine Belford, Robert Darnell, Roberts Blossom, Kelly Preston, William Ostrander, Steven Tash, Stuart Charno, Malcolm Danare, David Spielberg.

Recommended reading:

Christine

By Stephen King.

Published by Viking Press.

First published 1983.

Hardcover.

ISBN-10: 0670220264

ISBN-13: 978-0670220267

Description:

It was love at first sight. From the moment seventeen-year-old Arnie Cunningham saw Christine, he knew he would do anything to possess her.

Arnie’s best friend, Dennis, distrusts her – immediately.

Arnie’s teen-queen girlfriend, Leigh, fears her the moment she senses her power.

Arnie’s parents, teachers, and enemies soon learn what happens when you cross her.

Because Christine is no lady. She is Stephen King’s ultimate, blackly evil vehicle of terror…

Christine, blood-red, fat and finned, was twenty. Her promise lay all in her past. Greedy and big, she was Arnie’s obsession, a ’58 Plymouth Fury. Broken down but not finished. There was still power in her – a frightening power that leaked like sump oil, staining and corrupting. A malign power that corroded the mind and turned ownership into Possession.