DUBAI: Hollywood actress Jessica Chastain, who stars in “It Chapter Two,” has taken to red carpet premieres of the movie around the world in an array of Lebanese-designed gowns.
The star showed off an emerald green ballgown by Zuhair Murad at the Los Angeles premiere of the film last week and took to the European premiere of the horror film in London on Monday wearing a sleek black dress by Elie Saab.
Chastain turned heads in Zuhair Murad’s green gown, complete with an off-the-shoulder neckline and geometric beading across the length of the dress. She decided to tone things down in London, wearing a black number with a plunging neckline and a semi-sheer skirt straight from Elie Saab’s ready-to-wear Autumn/Winter 2019-20 collection.
Chastain wore an emerald green gown by Zuhair Murad to the US premiere of ‘It Chapter Two.’ (Getty)
The actress stars in soon-to-be released horror flick “It Chapter Two,” in which murderous clown Pennywise lurks in sewers and feasts on terrified children, based on a Stephen King novel.
But beyond the killer clown’s gruesome theatrics, King’s novel is an exploration of the dark underbelly of small-town America, director Andy Muschietti told AFP, tackling sinister yet tragically real themes such as spousal abuse and incest.
Movie sequel “It Chapter Two” covers the concluding sections of the novel in which the children — now grown up and enjoying successful lives elsewhere — must return to their hometown to confront a resurgent Pennywise.
The performance of the first “It” movie at box offices in 2017 leaves no doubt that the franchise resonates today with audiences, more than three decades on from King’s novel.
The R-rated blockbuster took in a whopping $700 million around the world to become the highest-grossing horror film of all time.
Hollywood actress Jessica Chastain stars in new horror flick ‘It Chapter Two.’ (AFP)
“Yeah, that was ridiculous!” said Muschietti. “The first weekend was just insane … it just went through the roof.”
According to Muschietti, King was nothing but supportive of the direction of his film adaptations — to the point of making a cameo appearance in the sequel.
“He’s very respectful of adaptations. It was I who actually reached out to him,” said Muschietti, who showed King the sequel’s script ahead of filming.
Some are predicting even higher box office returns this time around, potentially approaching the billion-dollar mark and Muschietti admits the pressure is on.
“I don’t want to think about that too much — I’d rather have low expectations to start with,” he said, before conceding that the nearly three-hour-long sequel is more ambitious in scope.
“It’s bigger. It’s a longer, richer story — it’s a little more intense in every box… it’s a bit of a stab in the heart.”
