Blackballed
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tenantennae — 11 years ago(May 11, 2014 02:15 AM)
No, I don't think so. He was already in the margins of the Hollywood majors by then.
He had conflicts with the studio over Big Trouble In Little China, and afterwards swore he would never work with the major studios again (though years later, he did).
The studio wanted Big Trouble In Little China to be Indiana Jones type blockbuster, but it turned out a big budget bomb. It probably made getting financing for subsequent projects more difficult. The saying goes you're only as good as your last movie.
They Live was his first movie after that, and it was made with a smaller company which I can't remember the name of at the moment. He made a few other movies with them, as well, all of them with smaller budgets. They Live w1354as the start of a downsizing in his projects, not the catalyst of it.
Despite its subversive theme, I don't think there was ever any serious backlash to that movie. If anything, it went over most people's heads at the time. -
ccr1633 — 11 years ago(May 19, 2014 09:59 PM)
It was the relative failure of The Thing (it did turn a minor profit) that diminished Carpenter's reputation with the big studios. That was the first real setback for him, and it embittered him toward the whole Hollywood scene probably ever since. And all after creating the greatest horror film in cinema history
Carpenter then recovered pretty well with his followup films, Christine and Starman, both of which turned a decent profit. But then, tragically, he flamed out big time at the box office with Big Trouble In Little China. That was the real killer in my opinion, not They Live (which turned a profit). The Thing started the decline, then Big Trouble In Little China sealed his marginalized fate until the mid-90s. -
Bergman_Fellini87 — 11 years ago(May 19, 2014 10:07 PM)
Don't forget Memo2000irs of an Invisible Man was really expensive due to its special effects & it bombed. It also doesn't help that this idiot has been lazy for the last 20 years. Maybe if he had put some effort into some of them, his career wouldn't be dead. The Ward was his first movie in a decade, & its utterly devoid of any creativity or has anything unique about a cliche formula. He is far from the so called "Master of Horror" that he keeps bragging about being.
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ccr1633 — 11 years ago(May 20, 2014 08:32 PM)
Carpenter clearly became embittered with the Hollywood business model (just read and watch the interviews). He flourished initially in the mid-70s when the inmates were running the asylum and had free reign to be more inventive. JC just gave up and decided that a superior life could be had smoking dope, playing video games, and cashing royalty checks. I don't blame him. Plus, he just doesn't look to be in good health. He has looked 15 years older than his age since the 90s.
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gummybear889966 — 11 years ago(May 23, 2014 06:15 PM)
Carpenter never bragged about being a Master of Horror. That was just a marketing gimmick for the Showtime series. Carpenter is an incredibly humble guy. I agree with your thoughts on The Ward. It's just a matter of him getting old and losing his mojo. That doesn't change the mastery of the many films he made when he was young, like Halloween, Escape from New York, The Thing, The Fog, and Christine, among others!
You are the Duke! You are A Number 1! -
sheavy — 11 years ago(June 19, 2014 05:50 PM)
I wish he would make some more films. I like most of the movies he has made. As far as that other poster calling him an idiot and that masters of horror comment. Whatever dude. Watch the movies with his commentaries. He is very self-deprecating. I love is commentaries with Kurt Russel.
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cary_howe — 9 years ago(June 24, 2016 10:40 PM)
I read an interview where he blamed the audience for Escape Form LA tanking. He didn't see a problem with the film where as most fans of Escape From New York hated it. Escape From LA was all but a parody of Escape From new York but sadly it wasn't even funny. Big budgets ruined him. He was best when he was young and hungry. All the compliments went to his head then he got frustrated and angry when most of his big budget films tanked. Big Trouble in Little China is a lot of fun but it's a confused mess. Some directors can't handle big budgets and Carpenter is one of them. Sadly now there's mostly trash and mega budget films. The best horror films I'm seeing are coming out of Ireland and England. The French and Norse genre films are now better than the US films. I loved Trollhunter so much I bought the Blu-Ray.
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joeyrenard — 11 years ago(March 26, 2015 02:50 AM)
New here
Sorry if what I am about to say does not fit in exactly with the line of thought for this thread,
but I need to get my message out loud & clear !
"The Thing" (1982) is not only Carpenter's masterpiece,
it is the absolute penultimate sci-fi and/or horror film ever produced.
If it wasn't for Carpenter's genius, the 2011 (planet-shaking) prequel would not have been conceived.
This is a trilogy in the making.
The 3rd and final piece of the sequence must be made !
I demand a finale !
So should you ! -
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Classics-Movie-Fan — 11 years ago(July 12, 2014 05:16 PM)
It was his choice.
He is not a yes man he has professional integrity & was offered a lot of big budget popular movies but turned them all down as he wants creative control on his projects not to just be a director for hire.
That is the main reason his career did not develop further & in the past few years he has found it very hard to get funding as that's how Hollywood has changed they want CGI tests before allowing Carpenter the budget to make Darkchylde! -
alesisqs61 — 10 years ago(June 13, 2015 01:34 AM)
Out of all his earlier films Memoirs of an Invisible Man is where I really thought he took a nose dive.
http://www.youtube.com/user/alphazoom
https://soundcloud.com/#carjet-penhorn -
TheModernSameri — 11 years ago(August 20, 2014 01:15 PM)
Nah
Carpenter had a period where none of his films performed like Halloween or Escape from new york. Sure they were in profit but he still had decent budgets. Vampires opened at number 1 in a lot of countries and kind of brought him back. He was in talks to do the MUTANT CHRISTMAS but did Ghosts of Mars instead.
That movie was a bomn -
inkwarp — 11 years ago(November 03, 2014 04:05 AM)
i can forgive carpenter everything for the thing. one of the greatest cinema experiences for me, ever, i still watch it at least once a year, i also love they live and mouth of madness which are terribly under-rated, and prince of darkness even when he is average his films are highly enjoyable, i.e. the fog and all that stuff. and, like any great artist when he is bad he is REALLY bad.. ergo, vampires and the worst in my mind, ghosts of mars. the mighty fall the hardest i guess anyone who made dark star gets a get out of jail free card from me though : )
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jhill804 — 11 years ago(November 16, 2014 03:10 PM)
It's amazing reading everything in this thread about the business side of Hollywood.
For me, as a regular guy/movie fan, Big Trouble in Little China, Escape from New York, The Thing and They Live were all huge successes and Vampires, on the other hand, is just one of a very long list of movies I honestly have no desire to see again.
Surprised to hear Vampires was considered a success by "Hollywood standards." But, then again, maybe that explains why Hollywood has steadily devolved into a gelatinous mass of uninspired rehashes. -
MrHooba — 11 years ago(March 19, 2015 10:57 PM)
Carpenter had a really good run from 1976 to 1988. He made nine exceptional films and two disappointments (the Fog and Prince of Darkness). Since then he has made one really good film (Mouth of Madness) and one fun flick (Escape From LA). It's hard to keep crank out consistently good films. His legacy is safe with his good films.
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andybob-3 — 11 years ago(March 25, 2015 10:09 AM)
Personally I think In the Mouth of Madness was brilliant, extremely under appreciated and one of the top reality-bender movies ever made, but after that I've lost faith in his ability (or desire) to tell the difference between a good and bad script. In my opinion Escape from LA was a tired, almost childish recycling of gimmicks from the first one, the casting of James Woods in Vampires was that film's only asset, and Ghosts of Mars was just plain awful.
I haven't gotten around to seeing The Ward yet, frankly I've been a little reluctant to, but hopefully I'll see a bit more of the Halloween/Fog/The Thing John Carpenter we all grew up with. -
joeyrenard — 11 years ago(March 26, 2015 02:47 AM)
New here
Sorry if what I am about to say does not fit in exactly with the line of thought for this thread, but I need to get my message out loud & clear !
"The Thing" (1982) is not only Carpenter's masterpiece,
it is the absolute penultimate sci-fi and/or horror film ever produced.
If it wasn't for Carpenter's genius, the 2011 (planet-shaking) prequel would not have been conceived.
This is a trilogy in the making.
The 3rd and final piece of the sequence must be made !
I demand a finale !
So should you !