Outpost #31 News

For a complete list of all site updates/additions see our Disc. Board thread HERE.

June 25th, 2009:
Today is the 27th Anniversary of the film, 1982 - 2009.
 

April 29th, 2009:

Premiere of metalalien's fan film, THE THING II. This film project is 5 months in the making, complete with many complex monster scenes and old school SFX props from liquid latex to stop-motion. A "mainlad infection" breaks out in Nevada, winter 2009. HUGE kudos to everyone involved on this awesome fan film project! Check it out.....

Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gwAk1-QmBvw

Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nT-0fIL19pU

Part 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SOByim-1AUI

Part 4: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bBLIkXtCG9A

Behind-the-scenes Making of Featurette

Part 1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GxjObN8TG6E

Part 2
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z31A17OqB-s

April 1st, 2009:
A fan from Nevada has been working on some incredible props for his fan film, here is a video of the Blair-Monster: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mv9L8P3zt2E 

Photo of Metal Alien's Blair-Monster prop... More pics here: http://thethingfan.11.forumer.com/viewtopic.php?t=2540
 

March 30th, 2009:
Actor Richard Dysart, who played Dr. Copper, is the oldest of the cast and he turns 80 today.

Jan. 16th, 2009:
John Carpenter turns 61 today! Best wishes to him from everyone at Outpost #31!
 

Nov. 12th, 2008:
It is with great sadness that on Nov. 4th, 2008 Steve Crawford a long-time contributing member of this site passed away suddenly and unexpectedly in his sleep at the age of 38. Our deepest condolences and prayers to all of Steve's family members and friends. Steve (who went by the handle of SPC) submitted absolutely incredible contributions to this site. He was the person who single-handedly found Outpost #31 on our trip to the remote filming location in northern B.C. There is a memorial page with photos and more info HERE.

Steve in front of Salmon Glacier on the 2003 trip to Stewart, B.C.

Oct. 18th, 2008:
Rue-Morgue's Cinemacabre THING-FEST is a huge success with the largest turn-out to date! Actor Thomas G. Waites who played Windows in the film attends to meet fans, sign autographs, and do a Q&A following the screening. Memorabilia and props from the film were also on display. Photos and video from the event can HERE.

Todd and Thomas Waites at THING-FEST
 

August 11th, 2008
Excellent GI Joe/THE THING fan tribute video: http://youtube.com/watch?v=rT7AH4JyuNs  Also, THE THING will be released on Blu-ray DVD on Sept. 30th, 2008.

June 25th, 2008
THE THING turns 26 today, it opened on Friday, June 25th, 1982.

April 1st, 2008
Actor Richard Dysart (Dr. Copper) has sent us an e-mail! Richard celebrated his 79th B-Day on Sun. March 30th.

From: "Richard Dysart" 

Thanks for your message to Kathy D. and thanks for your birthday  
greeting to me!  What a trip, to discover all your great work.

Dr. COPPER

March 18th, 2008:
Keith David (CHILDS) and Tom Waites (WINDOWS) were at the Monster-Mania X Con in NJ over the weekend. A HUGE thanks to Ian and Chris for getting these photos for Outpost #31.

"I appreciate all my fans with great gratitude and enthusiasm. I respect and am honored you guys love the film so much. Cool. WINDOWS! Forever." ~Tom Waites

March 6th, 2008:
The full 15 minute version of this fan film is up now: http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x4gsa0_john-carpenters-the-thing-full-swed_shortfilms

Some fans have made their own awesome 6-min short film of THE THING and it is submitted in Filmmaking Frenzy's Rewind Kindly contest! View the short and vote for it here: http://beta.filmmakingfrenzy.com/sites/filmfrenzy_beta/ViewFilm.aspx?FilmId=152 Huge kudos to Mario Restive and everyone who contributed on this film - excellent work guys!!
 

Dec. 10th, 2007:
Some very cool news into the Outpost today, both Tom Waites (Windows) and Keith David (Childs) will be appearing at the Monster-Mania Con in Cherry Hill, New Jersey on the March 14th - 16th weekend. http://www.monstermania.net
 

Nov. 18th, 2007:
Recent interview with Keith David on horror website The Colonel's Crypt.

 

Oct. 30th, 2007:
We had our annual 35mm screening of THE THING this past weekend at THING-FEST 2007 in London, Ontario. The past couple of years there has been a small turn-out of fans and this year was no different but everyone was very appreciative of this rare opportunity to see the film in the theater. There's a handful of photos from the TF7 Weekend up HERE. We will do it again next October and I am currently working on the possibility of moving the 'FEST to Toronto. Hope to see some fans out for TF8:THING-FEST 2008!

Oct. 22nd, 2007:
I have just returned from Orlando to see THE THING: Assimilation at Halloween Horror Nights - Universal Studios. I went down there with a blank slate on what to expect and I was blown away. As possibly one of the biggest THING fans I was more than impressed, the guys who created this and set it up did a fantastic job. A+ This is a creepy walk-thru of Outpost #31 including the rec room, infirmary, kennel...dark, spooky, and full of scary THING's! Get an Xpress Pass - you'll want to go through twice! This event runs until Sat. Nov. 3rd. www.halloweenhorrornights.com

Oct. 4th, 2007:
Rue- Morgue magazine issue #72 hits newsstands with a special 25th Anniversary Retrospective on THE THING. New in-depth interviews with Carpenter, Russell, Keith David, Rob Bottin and yours truly. This article is a must-see for all fans - check it out!

June 25th, 2007:
Today marks the film's 25th Anniversary, THE THING opened on June 25th, 1982 - 25 years ago! Happy 25th! Watch the Oct. issue of Rue-Morgue magazine for special coverage on the film, Outpost #31, and THING-FEST! 

Also Tim Palgut has created an awesome insert booklet for the 2004 DVD (that did not come with one). It is a printable .pdf file however it is large at 58MB. Find it here: Fan Images

May 20th, 2007:
An incredible addition to the site today, Dan Fowler has submitted a 5-page prequel comic covering the events at the Norwegian outpost. A must-see, check it out in the Fan Images section. Also check out a very cool Jed artwork by James Wolf.

April 18th, 2007:
Unbelievably two more fan tattoos have been sent in the past month, (Spider-Head and the Norwegian-Thing split faces!) Be sure to swing by the Fan Tattoos section and check them out! SFX foam latex master Rob Burman has contacted us and answered questions from the fans. You can read what he has to say about his involvement and work on the film in the Special FX section.

March 15th, 2007:
Just added to the Fan Tattoos section: Zalus from Hungary has sent in a pic of his new tattoo, an awesome inking of the glow-face poster artwork. Incredible! Also, if you haven't been by our Disc. Board, James Russell also known as the "Movie Man" in Hyder, Alaska will be screening THE THING for us at the Bearden Theater on the August 2009 Return to Stewart Trip. We'll be watching the film just down the road, literally, from where the movie was shot. How cool is that?

Jan. 11th, 2007:
I got a first hand look at the SOTA Toys MacReady Vs. Kennel-Thing box set today and let me tell you, it is awesome! A HUGE thanks to Jed Haigh @ SOTA for sending this new figure into Outpost #31. More photos and a report can be found on our Disc. Board. It is available to order now on the SOTA Toys for only $24.99!

SOTA Toys MacReady Vs. Kennel-Thing Box Set