Yeah yeah – not the most shocking and groundbreaking headline, I know.  But color me very impressed with the way that Warner Brothers and the folks behind the new IT movie have marketed it’s upcoming September 8th release.  Having seen the original 1990 mini-series and recently finishing the original Stephen King novel for the first time, I am more than ready to see this new incarnation of Pennywise ‘The Dancing Clown’ on the big screen.  And luckily for all of you as excited as me, there is more than enough fanfare to go around to keep the IT anticipation train rolling.

I was lucky enough to hop aboard the IT: Float cinematic virtual reality school bus a few weeks back at the ScareLA convention in Los Angeles.  After boarding the bus and standing in a mock sewer (with creepy audio surrounding you in addition to a jump scare or two), you’re taken to your VR chair where you put on the corresponding headgear and headphones and begin your IT journey through the streets of the town Derry where IT lives.  You can actually experience this for yourself HERE if you have the proper equipment.  It (no puns) was pretty cool and started to get me more and more onboard with the upcoming movie.  As did the recently released 8-bit video game that you can either play on your computer or phone.  Check that out HERE.

But by far the best promotional move for IT has come in the form of the actual Neibolt house from the book (this wasn’t really shown or referenced in the 1990 movie).  If you’re lucky enough to live or be in the vicinity of Hollywood, then you can experience the IT Experience: Neibolt House on the corner of Hollywood and Vine.  It’s pretty amazing that they got this up as fast as they did, and not so amazing is that reservations quickly sold out.  Luckily I had some, but if you’re not as fortunate then there is a standby line (with a wait time between 1-3 hours).

You’re guided into the house by Georgie (complete with yellow raincoat and all) and taken up some spiral stairs where you then go from room to room, experiencing some pretty cool animatronics and creepy live actors as well.  This limited haunted house runs through the weekend of September 10th.  And make sure you snatch up your tickets for the actual IT movie coming out that same weekend on September 8th!  All in all, this movie is on track to do in the area of $50 million on opening weekend, which is pretty amazing for any movie in September, let alone an ‘R’ rated horror one.  Kudos to anyone involved with the promotion and marketing for IT, because that has really helped spread the word, especially to people not even familiar with the book or original 1990 mini-series.  Now who’s ready to float with me?