John Carpenter Returning To Direct After Over A Decade?
According to ComingSoon, legendary horror director John Carpenter has indicated that he could be coaxed into the director’s chair again for the right film project. The Halloween director has just released his new true crime anthology horror series Suburban Screams, which fittingly premiered on Friday, October 13th on Peacock. Though Carpenter directed the first episode of the series, he has not directed a feature film in more than ten years.
John Carpenter is one of the greatest directors in history, but he hasn’t directed a film in over a decade, and yet, he says that’s willing to come back one more time.
But John Carpenter says that, under the right circumstances, he would be willing to helm a movie again. Discussing his new series with the L.A. Times, Carpenter discussed directing for streaming, which he did remotely for Suburban Screams, but also was asked about what it would take to get him to make another feature film. In the interview, he says that he would be swayed by “the right one” or “the right budget,” saying, “yeah, I’ll do it.” But he has some caveats for anyone who might be considering asking him to once again take on the role for which he has been most well known.
Halloween made John Carpenter famous not only as a director but also as a composer, as he wrote the now-iconic music for the film, and he says his work in music has made him want to put in less work as a director. Calling music the “purest art there is,” he refers to the simplicity of being able to play music and having someone else, even in another country, “just feel it.” Though he seems to prefer music as an art form, he says he fell in love with movies, calling them the “craziest, silliest art form there is.
So, while John Carpenter is willing to return to directing a movie, he doesn’t want to work too hard at it. This is not just a sign of laziness; the director and composer admits that the stress of filmmaking was not good for his health. To cope with the pressures of being a director, Carpenter revealed that, like Keanu Reeves‘ John Constantine, he became a chain smoker, which was horrible for his physical well-being.
John Carpenter directed the first episode of his new series, Suburban Screams.
John Carpenter also says that he thinks a lot about the fact that he is closer to the end of his life than he used to be. This leads him to contemplate what lies next, which he says is “nothingness.” He says he took time off from making films because he needed some space and, it seems, some time to restore some of his health, though the effects of smoking will be with him for the rest of his life.
Halloween made John Carpenter famous not only as a director but also as a composer, as he wrote the now-iconic music for the film, and he says his work in music has made him want to put in less work as a director.
Ultimately, though, John Carpenter considers himself lucky. After a storied career that includes Classic films such as The Thing, Escape from New York, and They Live, along with multiple film scores and solo music albums, it seems he has a right to feel that way. Though his most recent feature film, The Ward, was made in 2010, there is still hope that the auteur will return to cinema one day.
Until then, you can see what John Carpenter has been up to lately by streaming Suburban Screams on Peacock.
