John Carpenter "really wanted to quit the business" after experience on 1992's Memoirs Of An Invisible Man

John Carpenter's on-set experience during Memoirs Of An Invisible Manwas marred by "he shall not be named who needs to be killed"

By Gabrielle Sanchez | January 12, 2023 | 3:58pm

Aux News Memoirs of an Invisible Man

John Carpenter Photo: Emma McIntyre

Hollywood legend John Carpenter has shared that he almost left the movie business following his experience making the 1992 film Memoirs Of An Invisible Man, starring Sam Neill, Daryl Hannah, and… Chevy Chase. In unsurprising news, it had nothing to do with the film’s dismal box office performance and nearly everything to do with a certain top-billing actor.

“Chevy Chase, Sam Neill—who I love and had a longtime friendship with—and Warner Bros., I worked for them, and it was pleasant,” Carpenter tells Variety, before adding, “No, it wasn’t pleasant at all. I’m lying to you. It was a horror show. I really wanted to quit the business after that movie.”

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“God, I don’t want to talk about why, but let’s just say there were personalities on that film,” he continues. “He shall not be named who needs to be killed. No, no, no, that’s terrible. He needs to be set on fire. No, no, no. Anyway, it’s all fine. I survived it.”

It’s obvious Carpenter is not referring to Neill, who he later calls a “terrific actor” with a working style similar to The Thing’s Kurt Russell. While he does not name Chase specifically, it’s all too easy to read between the lines (and the wishes for a violent death).

While some would call Chase a “difficult” actor to work with, it’s also just as accurate to call him a temper tantrum-throwing egomaniac with racist and misogynistic tendencies. In 2018, Dan Harmon of Community opened up about Chase’s frequent racist comments toward Donald Glover on-set. His former Saturday Night Live co-stars have also attested to his bad behavior, with Pete Davidson saying on The Howard Stern Show (via People), “Fuck Chevy Chase. He’s just a genuinely bad, racist person and I don’t like him. He’s a putz.”

In response to the accusations, Chase said, “I am who I am. And I like where— who I am. I don’t care. And it’s part of me that I don’t care. And I’ve thought about that a lot. And I don’t know what to tell you, man. I just don’t care.”