Spending some time with the master of the modern horror movie.
It’s not every day that one gets to sit down and pick the brain of a filmmaking legend, but attendees of Fantasia Fest 2020 got to do just that when the one and only John Carpenter agreed to sit down for a virtual masterclass. Carpenter was also the recipient of this year’s Cheval Noir Award from Fantasia Fest, a lifetime achievement honor which he happily accepted from his home in California, commenting: “The greatest part of this award is that impaled on top of this is this Canadian Pegasus.”
When it came to his acceptance of the award, the director reflected on his career journey, reflecting on his early days in the business. “I would probably tell myself to relax. I would also say to myself: ‘It’s a long road and there’s no use in getting this ramped up too soon.’”
Having spent a good amount of time during the pandemic playing plenty of Fallout 76, Carpenter hasn’t really given too much thought to how Covid-19 could find its way into the horror genre in the future. “We’re still scared of the same stuff; so we’ll just add one more thing.” he shrugged. “Horror is always with us. It always entertains us.”
In a career which spans enough years to see the genre evolve and re-shape in ways he irrefutably had a hand in, Carpenter was asked if there was one thing he missed most about the horror directing game. “From the industry, I miss nothing,” flatly declared. “It used to be friendlier, but not now. It was a great time to make horror films. I was just lucky.”
After more than four decades in the business, Carpenter reflected and shared the creative way in which he’s most different from the young horror maverick he started out as. “I wrote my way into the movie business,” he said. “I’d work for long days at a time on the outline, do nothing for a couple months, then fill it out before the deadline. Now it’s a difficult process, but I can tell when it’s working for me.”
Moderated by Fantasia Fest’s Tony Timpone, the virtual session was more fan Q&A that actual masterclass. However when the subject is John Carpenter, dark pearls of wisdom and unguarded anecdotes are par for the course.
Here are some key takeaways from the talk…
The Vampires sequel that got away:
“We had a good sequel script that was ready to go, but I don’t think the studio was interested. I don’t know why. I kept the cross though. It’s one of my favorite pieces of memorabilia. We’ve also got Mrs. Pickman (from In the Mouth of Madness) sitting in the living room.”
Almost casting Peter Cushing in Halloween and the current state of the new sequels: “Before Donald Pleasance, we had offered the script to Peter Cushing and his agent laughed at us. He told us that Cushing was making movies about himself.” Regarding the new sequels: “Jason Blum said to me: ‘They’re gonna make it whether you’re not involved or not. So why don’t you come aboard and stop criticizing them from a distance and try and make it better?’ So I did. David Gordon Green wanted me to do the music and we had a great time doing it. We just finished the score for the next one. It is the quintessential slasher film; it’s so intense. Oh, my God!”
His best memory of making The Fog– “That was a tough picture because we had a lot of problems with it. So my favorite part was to be done with it. That was just great.”
The collaborations on The Thing: “We had a great, great cast and Ennio Morricone was a deeply decent man, deeply talented. He provided an extra, unexpected layer. The Thing is ultimately the end of everything. Ennio’s score just made you feel, first of all cold, and that there was no hope here. I loved working with him; loved it. As for the look of the film: “The matte paintings weren’t don’t by Albert Whitlock, the punk. He had his assistants do them and I don’t know why. Maybe he didn’t like me.”
Questions about The Thing he still won’t tell us:
“Who was the thing in the end? I know the answer, but I’m not going to answer. My involvement with the remake of The Thing? I’m not gonna tell you that either.”
The effects of Memoirs of an Invisible Man:
“Oh, lord! That was a rough one! I almost quite the business because of that movie. Let’s not talk about that. Let’s talk about happy things.”
The merchandising boom of They Live:
“I wish they would pay me for those shirts. No, man, it feels great. It’s just great.”
Memories of Prince of Darkness
“Alice Cooper was a great guy. He was the one who actually gave us that bicycle impaling gag. That was my first return back to independent filmmaking. I was inspired by Dario Argento’s Inferno because that felt like a movie where anything could happen. Making the movie I thought: ‘I’m just gonna let this go!’
The legacy of Big Trouble in Little China
“I always thought there was a lot going on there in that script. I would’ve loved to have done a sequel. But it’ll never be done. Well…I shouldn’t say that.”
On turning down Fatal Attraction and The Exorcist III: “I thought Fatal Attraction felt like Play Misty for Me and I wasn’t interested. The Exorcist III, on the other hand, I actually worked on for three weeks. But I could tell William Peter Blatty really wanted to direct it and I knew he was going to be trouble so I backed out.”
Like most of the sensible, civilized world, Carpenter has largely been spending the majority of the pandemic in doors, but remains to be freakishly busier than ever. The horror master (as he is known on Twitter) has been busy with a slew of upcoming projects. There’s the long awaited next chapter of his famous apocalyptic series, Escape from Earth possibly coming as a comic book, while its creator will also have a hand in the reimagining of
the original Escape from New York. “I’m a consultant on that, but I don’t know where we are with it,” he admits.
There’s also a new album of his acclaimed synth sounds and electronic scores due out in February as well as the fun-sounding “The Storm King,” an app featuring plenty of Carpenter-related merchandise and comics that is launching a couple of months. And although he’s remaining tight-lipped, it appears the director might soon be entering the streaming world. When asked about the subject, Carpenter once again offered little-to-no details, simply stating: “I’m sworn to secrecy; I cannot tell you.” It’s hard not to immediately start chomping at the bit when a fan thinks of how an artist of Carpenter’s caliber would fare among the streaming wars. “You embrace them, but it doesn’t make anything easier,” he states. They’re all tools to fortify a vision at the end of the day.”
The most welcome tidbit from the session came with the director’s confirmation that he will indeed be returning to the director’s chair, even though he’s found plenty of peace and contentment away from the practice which helped make him famous. “The muse of my life is directing. It will always be directing,” he says without hesitation. “But I also find myself at my happiest in front of the TV watching basketball,” he added. “I’ve gotten older now and I don’t miss how tough it was. Still, if someone offered me a great movie that was financed, then I’d do it.”
Since the event was after all a masterclass, Carpenter of course couldn’t leave without offering a couple words of advice for young filmmakers; words one suspects he believes just as much now as he did back in the 1970s. “Try to take a good hard look at yourself; a good hard look,” he stressed. “Determine if you have any talent, or if you just really like movies. If you do have talent…then just don’t stop.
Well, it seems that Carpenter certainly won’t be anytime soon.
Fantasia Fest 2020 runs from August 20th to September 2nd.