John Carpenter has earned the ability to give any kind of interview he’d like to give. After writing, directing, and composing for an impressive, multi-decade run of films, Carpenter may now kick back and relax, spending more energy on playing video games and watching basketball than worrying about the perfect way to answer an interviewer’s questions.
His approach means that we get what we get from Carpenter at this point. Want to know his opinion about the Oscars nominees? That might not happen. Want to know what games he’s playing lately (Horizon Forbidden West), which Halo entry he thinks is best (Infinite apparently), or his thoughts about that ABBA single from last year? Well, you’re in luck.
With this in mind, we bring you a new Carpenter Q & A from The Hollywood Reporter that’s less an interview than it is a grab bag of the horror master’s opinions on a loose collection of topics.
On Escape From L.A. Versus Escape From New York
“Escape From New York had Donald Pleasence as the president of the United States, which to me was great. But Escape From L.A. has Peter Fonda and Kurt Russell surfing. Doesn’t get much better than that.”
On The Success Of The New Halloween Movies
“I feel fabulous about it. It is also fabulous when I look up from my perch on my couch and a check arrives in the mail. I feel extremely happy.”
On The Status Of That Revival Of The Thing
“I would like to do a sequel to The Thing, or a continuation, something like that. But I don’t know. See? There are a lot of things in this world I don’t know.”
On The Question Of Whether Horror Movies Are Better In Theaters
“Yeah, it’s more fun. But it can work in the privacy of your house. Depends on how good the movie is.”
On Horror Movie Gore
“To each their own. Halloween Kills, the second installment in this modern trilogy, was extremely gory. But it worked with the audiences. They loved it. Go figure.”
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And there you have it. These thin, no-nonsense replies are what Carpenter has deemed fit to give us for the time being. If we want more of them, well, someone better get to work on actually getting a new The Thing project going so he has more of a reason to share his thoughts.
Check out the rest of the Q & A for a few more very brief Carpenter answers.
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