This week on the Capes and Tights Podcast, Justin Soderberg is joined by filmmaker John Campopiano to discuss his documentary Pennywise: The Story of It and more!
Campopiano both wrote and co-director (along with Christopher Griffiths) the documentary which released October 3, 2021 on digital and later in the month on October 24, 2021 on Blu-ray and DVD. Kaleidoscope Home Entertainment acquired the UK distribution rights for the documentary.
Pennywise: The Story of It features interviews with director Tommy Lee Wallace (It, Halloween III) plus Tim Curry (Rocky Horror), Seth Green (Robot Chicken, Family Guy), Richard Thomas (The Waltons), and many more. The film touches on themes spanning the cultural phenomenon of the fear of clowns to Curry’s portrayal of the notorious clown.
The television mini-series is based on Stephen King‘s novel from 1986. Later the feature films It, and It: Chapter Two were released in theaters in 2017 and 2019 respectively.
Campopiano is also the man documentaries such as Snapper: The Man-Eating Turtle Movie That Never Got Made (2022) and Unearthed & Untold: The Path to Pet Sematary (2017). The filmmaker is currently working on RoboDoc: The Creation of RoboCop and Hollywood Dreams & Nightmares: The Robert Englund Story.
The filmmaker wrote a short-film in 2020 entitled “GEORGIE” for Creepy Kingdom. The film is a reimagining of the 1990 “It” miniseries that answers the question “what if Georgie came back?”. Starring Tony Dakota, the actor who portrayed Georgie Denbrough in the original series in his first role in 25 years! Also starring Meredith Binder and Ben Heller!
If you live in the Bangor Area, Campopiano will be appearing at the Bangor Comic and Toy Con’s Weekend of the Wicked from September 30-October 2, 2022. The filmmaker will have a few screen-used pieces in addition to his appearance.
