The novelisation of THE THING was considered a publicity tool - Alan Dean Foster was hired by Universal's publicity department, as was the custom at that time, early in pre -production and it was they he reported to. He was given the latest copy of the script and sent off on his own. It was finished months before the film was, and therefore does not, understandably, reflect many of the changes that were made.
We played no role in its production, nor did we expect to. I don't believe any of us ever met or had any contact with Mr. Foster. None of us were aware of the finished product until it was published ( in time for copies to be sent to exhibitors in early April ). I don't mean to cast any aspersions on the quality of the writing, but to point out how things were done then - we were simply out of the loop. Any embellishments in the novel that are not directly taken from an early script are Mr. Foster's, and Mr. Foster's alone...
