<P> In early drafts, Windows was called Sanchez, and later Sanders . The name Windows came when Waites was in a costume fitting and tried on a large pair of dark glasses, which the character wears in the film . Norbert Weisser portrays one of the Norwegians, and Jed appears uncredited as the dog "Thing". The only female presence in the film is the voice of MacReady's chess computer, voiced by Carpenter's then - wife Adrienne Barbeau . Russell described the all - male story as interesting, since the men had no one to posture for without women . Members of the crew appear in a cameo on a recovered photograph of the Norwegian team, including camera operator Ray Stella, production manager Robert Brown, producer David Foster, Franco, stunt coordinator Dick Warlock, and Lancaster . Stella also stood in for the shots where needles were used to take blood, telling Carpenter that he could do it all day . Likewise, Franco serves as the Norwegian wielding a rifle and hanging out of the helicopter during the opening sequence . Anita Dann served as casting director . </P> <P> The Thing was storyboarded extensively by Mike Ploog and Mentor Huebner before filming began . Their work was so detailed that many of the film's shots replicate the image layout completely . Cundey pushed for the use of Anamorphic format aspect ratio, believing that it allowed them to place several actors in an environment, and make use of the scenic vistas available, while still making them feel confined within the image . It also allowed them to make use of the negative space around the actors to imply something may be lurking just off - screen . </P> <P> Principal photography began on August 24, 1981, in Juneau, Alaska . Filming lasted approximately 12 weeks . Carpenter insisted on two weeks of rehearsals before filming as he wanted to see how scenes would play out . This was unusual at the time because of the expense involved . Filming then moved to the Universal lot in summer when the outside heat was over 100 ° F (37.8 ° C). The internal sets were climate controlled to 28 ° F (− 2.22 ° C) to facilitate their work . The team considered building the sets inside an existing refrigerated structure, but were unable to find one large enough . Instead they collected as many portable air conditioners as they could, closed off the stage, and used humidifiers and misters to add moisture to the air . After watching a roughly assembled cut of filming to date, Carpenter was unhappy that the film seemed to feature too many scenes of men standing around talking . He rewrote some already completed scenes to take place outdoors to be shot on location when principal photography moved to Stewart, British Columbia . </P> <P> Carpenter was determined to use authentic locations instead of studio sets, and his successes on Halloween and The Fog (1980) gave him the credibility to take on the much bigger - budget production of The Thing . A film scout located an area just outside Stewart, along the Canadian coast, which offered the project both scenic value during the day, and ease of access . On December 2, 1981, roughly 100 American and Canadian crew members moved to the area to begin filming . During the journey there, the crew bus slid in the snow towards the unprotected edge of the road, nearly sending it down a 500 feet (152 m) embankment . Some of the crew stayed in the small mining town during filming, while others lived on residential barges on the Portland Canal . They would make the 27 miles (43.5 km) drive up a small, winding road to the filming location in Alaska where the exterior outpost sets were built . </P>

Where was john carpenter's the thing filmed