20 Things You Didn't Know About The Thing
1. Kurt Russell Came Up With The Final Line Of Dialogue
The movie's final line sees MacReady, resigned to his fate and well aware he will probably die, simply asking Childs, "Why don't we just wait here for a little while, see what happens?"
It's a brilliant line that perfectly encompasses the film's nihilistic themes and ending, yet wasn't a piece of dialogue meticulously crafted by screenwriter Bill Lancaster.
Rather, Kurt Russell actually came up with it himself during shooting, and considering the evidently grim-looking conditions of the shoot, that's even more impressive.
Russell clearly proved himself an able creative to Carpenter, given that the pair ended up co-writing Escape from L.A. more than a decade later - even if it's certainly the weakest of their collaborations together.