John Carpenter

Overview

Born
January 16, 1948 · Carthage, New York, USA
Birth name
John Howard Carpenter
Nickname
- JC
Height
1.80 m

Biography

Family

Spouses
Children
Parents

Trademark

[Horror] Although Carpenter has directed films in numerous other genres (dark comedy, sci-fi, romance), he is known primarily for making horror films (Lễ Hội Kinh Hoàng (1978) and the subsequent sequels not directed by him, Làn Sương Ma (1980), Quái Vật Biến Hình (1982), etc.). He is also known as the "Master of Horror" or the "Prince of Darkness" (after one of his films).
[Attribution] The words "John Carpenter's" appear before almost all of his film and TV titles (e.g., John Carpenter's Lễ Hội Kinh Hoàng (1978)).
Uses synthesizer-based soundtracks that he composes himself (Most famous for the theme song to Lễ Hội Kinh Hoàng (1978), obviously).
[Cheap Scare] Many of Carpenter's films include what he calls a "cheap scare", where something comes into view very fast and leaves just as quickly, intensified by musical cues. Carpenter makes open compositions that allow the villain/monster (or sometimes just an object) to pop into frame from the background, the immediate foreground or from either side of the frame. It has since become a horror cliché after using "cheap scares" so effectively in Lễ Hội Kinh Hoàng (1978).
[Apocalypse] Apocalyptic overtones run throughout Carpenter's films, most prominently in his unofficial but aptly titled Apocalypse Trilogy (Quái Vật Biến Hình (1982), Hoàng Tử Bóng Đêm (1987), Trong Cái Miệng Của Sự Cuồng Loạn (1994)) and more subtly in films like Lễ Hội Kinh Hoàng (1978), Chúng Nó Sống (1988) and Escape from New York (1981).

Trivia

Based his most famous character, the iconic Michael Myers from Lễ Hội Kinh Hoàng (1978), on a thirteen year old boy he saw at a mental institution on a school trip.
Praised longtime friend and frequent collaborator Kurt Russell for being a hard-working, professional actor who isn't afraid to take on roles that might hurt his image or make him look like a fool.
Said in a 1982 interview that he thought the R rating for Lễ Hội Kinh Hoàng (1978) was justifiable, but Làn Sương Ma (1980) should've been rated PG.
Is an avid fan of the Godzilla films. He considers the first Godzilla movie (Gojira (1954)) to be an inspiration for him.
Named his six favorite films as Only Angels Have Wings (1939), Thị Trấn Rio Bravo (1959), Công Dân Kane (1941), Quay Cuồng (1958), Lễ Giáng Sinh Hắc Ám (1974) and Blow-Up (1966).

Quotes

In France, I'm an auteur; in Germany, a filmmaker; in Britain; a genre film director; and, in the USA, a bum.
We're a violent country. We always have been. We embrace our individuality and our violence.
Things haven't been going great lately. For a while now people haven't really been getting my movies. Certainly the box office hasn't been up to speed. Sure, some of my recent stuff hasn't been perfect, but neither has it been the shit that many have said. Critically, it's all become a bit of a crapshoot. The critics thought I was a bum when I started out and they think I'm a bum now.
[on why he passed on Sự Cuốn Hút Chết Người (1987)] There wasn't a grain of originality in it - it was Play Misty for Me (1971) with Michael Douglas filling in for Clint Eastwood. Also, the original version, the script I read, had Glenn Close winning in the end by killing herself and thereby getting the moral upper hand. I knew the audience was never going to buy that. The audience was always gonna want to see the wife shoot the bitch. Sure enough, they shot the original script, previewed it, got booed off screen and went back and shot the ending you see today. That was a journey I couldn't be bothered to go on.
I don't deny that commercial success means a lot to me, the best reviews you can get are at the box office.