After watching this TV show, part of "The Directors" series on the Reelz Network, one has to wonder what gruesome thoughts go through John Carpenter's head. This guy has had a career of mostly dark films. He has been called the "Prince of Darkness" for all the horror films he's done although one of his biggest hits was a romance - Starman (1984).
One also sees how directors have their favorite actors, whom you see over and over in their films. With Carpenter, it's mainly Kurt Russell, but also Carpenter's ex-wife Adrienne Barbeau, Jamie Lee Curtis, Jeff Bridges and a few others. Russell, however, is his main man.
Carpenter won a "student academy award" of "The Resurrection of Bronco Billy" while a student at USC, and his career was off-and-running. He wrote screenplay to "Eyes Of Laura Mars" which gave him financial freedom and then did his first film: "Assault on Precinct 13," a modern-day tale of the western Rio Bravo.
Other films of Carpenter, discussed and shown here in the TV program in chronological order, are Halloween - the most successful independent film of all time; "The Fog." "Escape from New York" (shot in St. Louis, by the way); "The Thing;" "Starman;" "Big Trouble In Little China;" "Prince Of Darkness;" "They Live;" "Memoirs Of An Invisible Man;" "In The Mouth Of Madness;" "Village Of The Damned" (Christopher Reeves last movie before his horrible accident which left him paralyzed); "Escape from L.A;" "Vampires" and "Ghosts Of Mars"
NOTES - "The Thing" almost cost Carpenter his career. It came out two weeks after E.T. and was the opposite of that good-feeling alien movie. "I got called more bad names for that film than any I ever did," the director recalls......"Halloween" established the career of Jamie Lee Curtis, who is grateful to this day. The mask in Halloween originally was a William Shatner/Star Trek mask re-done).....Carpenter calls Russell "a natural-born mimic, a natural-born actor." He calls Sam Neill "brilliant" and lumps him in with Russell as an actor.....Russell said "Big Trouble In Little China" is a "cult favorite" now.
One also sees how directors have their favorite actors, whom you see over and over in their films. With Carpenter, it's mainly Kurt Russell, but also Carpenter's ex-wife Adrienne Barbeau, Jamie Lee Curtis, Jeff Bridges and a few others. Russell, however, is his main man.
Carpenter won a "student academy award" of "The Resurrection of Bronco Billy" while a student at USC, and his career was off-and-running. He wrote screenplay to "Eyes Of Laura Mars" which gave him financial freedom and then did his first film: "Assault on Precinct 13," a modern-day tale of the western Rio Bravo.
Other films of Carpenter, discussed and shown here in the TV program in chronological order, are Halloween - the most successful independent film of all time; "The Fog." "Escape from New York" (shot in St. Louis, by the way); "The Thing;" "Starman;" "Big Trouble In Little China;" "Prince Of Darkness;" "They Live;" "Memoirs Of An Invisible Man;" "In The Mouth Of Madness;" "Village Of The Damned" (Christopher Reeves last movie before his horrible accident which left him paralyzed); "Escape from L.A;" "Vampires" and "Ghosts Of Mars"
NOTES - "The Thing" almost cost Carpenter his career. It came out two weeks after E.T. and was the opposite of that good-feeling alien movie. "I got called more bad names for that film than any I ever did," the director recalls......"Halloween" established the career of Jamie Lee Curtis, who is grateful to this day. The mask in Halloween originally was a William Shatner/Star Trek mask re-done).....Carpenter calls Russell "a natural-born mimic, a natural-born actor." He calls Sam Neill "brilliant" and lumps him in with Russell as an actor.....Russell said "Big Trouble In Little China" is a "cult favorite" now.