News for
John Carpenter (I)

photos

board

add

contact

details

IMDbPro offers the latest entertainment industry news from the Hollywood Reporter. Sign-up for a two-week free trial today. Click here for a free trial!

Butler Withdraws From 'Escape From New York' Remake
5 November 2007 (WENN)
Scottish actor Gerard Butler has pulled out of upcoming remake Escape From New York due to "creative differences." Butler's casting in the update caused controversy earlier this year when Kurt Russell, the star of director John Carpenter's original 1981 movie, demanded an American, not a Scot, take on the role of Snake Plissken. Speaking earlier this year, Russell said, "When I was told, my initial reaction was, 'Oh man.' I do think that character was quintessentially one thing - and that's American."

Wiseman Set To Direct 'Escape From New York' Remake
16 August 2007 (WENN)
Filmmaker Len Wiseman is in negotiations to direct the remake of cult classic Escape From New York. Actor Gerard Butler has already signed up to star in the update of director John Carpenter's futuristic action film as anti-hero Snake Plissken, a part made famous by Kurt Russell in the 1981 original and its 1996 sequel Escape From LA. Wiseman most recently directed this year's Live Free Or Die Hard.

Russell Replaces Rourke As 'Grind House' Killer
25 July 2006 (WENN)
Kurt Russell has replaced Mickey Rourke as the sick killer in Quentin Tarantino's new horror film Grind House, according to internet reports. Rourke reportedly pulled out of the project earlier this month and Tarantino immediately went to Russell and asked him to play Stuntman Mike, a man terrorizing young girls in his portion of the new film, which will also feature a separate storyline shot by pal Robert Rodriguez. Internet website Moviehole.net reports the Poseidon star signed on for the role on Friday. Tarantino's section of Grind House, subtitled "Death Proof," will also feature Marilyn Manson's ex-girlfriend Rose McGowan and Kill Bill stuntwoman Zoe Bell in her first starring role. Horror movie master John Carpenter is in negotiations to record the film's score.

'Halloween' Producer Dead at 54
8 March 2005 (StudioBriefing)
Debra Hill, who produced the 1979 film Halloween and co-wrote it with director John Carpenter, has died at the age of 54. She was also involved in producing and writing the sequels to the movie and formed an independent production company with Lynda Obst that made Adventures in Babysitting, Heartbreak Hotel, and The Fisher King. Other films that she produced included The Dead Zone, Head Office, Clue, and Gross Anatomy. The cause of her death was not disclosed.

Movie Reviews: 'Assault on Precinct 13'
21 January 2005 (StudioBriefing)
Assault on Precinct 13 , which stars Laurence Fishburne, Ethan Hawke, and John Leguizamo, is the kind of movie that has critics wondering how producers are able to land terrific talent for remakes of B-pictures. The original was produced in 1976 and directed by John Carpenter. Several critics suggest that the director, Jean-François Richet, making his American film debut, is no John Carpenter. As A.O. Scott writes in the New York Times: "Mr. Carpenter's film ... still resonates with the political paranoia and social unease of the era. Mr. Carpenter's cynical refusal to distinguish clearly between good guys and bad guys feels freshly unsettling, while Mr. Richet's 'modernization' looks like something we've seen a hundred times before." Wesley Morris writes in the Boston Globe that the film "is disappointing for a number of reasons. For one thing, it's silly. For another, it's not always silly enough to be diverting." On the other hand, Peter Howell in the Toronto Star calls the movie "a bold calling card by a helmer to watch." Kevin Thomas in the Los Angeles Times writes that director Richet "displays a terrific sense of mood and atmosphere, and his terse, succinct pacing and involving characters deftly deflect any questions of plausibility." And Bruce Westbrook in the Houston Chronicle adds that "the performers give this potboiler pop."

Anthrax In Name-Change Dilemma
12 October 2001 (WENN)
Thrash-metallers Anthrax are considering changing the name of their band after the recent biological warfare scares in America. The rockers, who recently appeared on the soundtrack of John Carpenter's Ghosts Of Mars, have become more than a little uncomfortable since the disease after which they are named has become the country's number one fear. Lead singer Scott Ian says, "It's as though it's 1937 and I'm a bandleader named Freddie Hitler. Maybe we should change the name now. A friend suggested Basket of Puppies." Ian, who came up with the name 20 years ago in a high school biology class, continues, "People keep coming up to me and saying, 'Hey, wouldn't it be funny if you got anthrax?' I'm like, 'Oh, that would be hilarious.'" He's even stocked up on Cipro, the antidote for the germ, and adds, "I will not die an ironic death."

Statham Loses Starring Role To Rapper
29 August 2001 (WENN)
British actor Jason Statham's first starring role in a Hollywood film has ended in humiliation - after he was replaced by rapper Ice Cube. The Snatch star had been hoping to "do a Vinnie Jones" by making the jump from Guy Ritchie's gangster movies to stardom in Tinseltown. Statham was sure he had got the big break he needed when he was sent a script by director John Carpenter. The movie-maker - best known for lensing Halloween and Escape From New York - wanted Statham to play the lead role in his new sci-fi horror pic, Ghosts Of Mars. Jason was set to feature as heroic James "Desolation" Williams, in the big budget chiller opposite sex symbol Natasha Henstridge. But just as cameras were ready to roll, studio bosses financing the film got cold feet and decided that Statham wasn't a big enough star to top the billing and ensure good box office returns. They re-cast the lead role to Ice Cube and relegated Statham to a much smaller part as sidekick cop Jericho Butler. Jason said, "John Carpenter saw me in Lock Stock And Two Smoking Barrels and set up a meeting. He wanted me to play the prisoner the cops have to transport in Ghosts of Mars, but the studio insisted he cast a higher-profile actor."

Another Slice Of Pie
27 August 2001 (StudioBriefing)
A slew of new releases failed to take off at the box office over the weekend, as American Pie 2 held on to the top position for the third week in a row (only the third release to do so this year, after Hannibal and Spy Kids). The movie earned an estimated $12.8 million, to bring its total to $109.6 million. Rush Hour 2 remained in second place with $11.4 million, bringing its four-week total to $183.2 million. Kevin Smith's Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back opened in third place with $11.1 million, while the new Freddie Prinze movie, Summer Catch, placed sixth and John Carpenter's Ghosts of Mars opened ninth. Two other newcomers failed to make the top-ten list at all. Disney's Bubble Boy tanked with just $2 million, while Woody Allen's The Curse of the Jade Scorpion, which debuted on only 903 screens, earned a so-so $2.5 million.

The top ten films for the weekend, according to studio estimates compiled by Exhibitor Relations: 1. American Pie 2, $12.8 million; 2. Rush Hour 2, $11.4 million; 3. Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, $11.1 million; 4. The Others, $8.6 million; 5. Rat Race, $8.3 million; 6. Summer Catch, $7.5 million; 7. The Princess Diaries, $6.7 million; 8. Captain Corelli's Mandolin, $3.9 million; 9. John Carpenter's Ghosts of Mars, $3.8 million; 10. Planet of the Apes, $3.5 million.

Movie Reviews: Ghosts Of Mars
24 August 2001 (StudioBriefing)
Mars, which fared poorly with critics and audiences alike in its recent film appearances (Mars Attacks!, Mission to Mars, Red Planet) is not doing much better with John Carpenter's Ghosts of Mars. "Occasionally veering into that so-bad-it's-good category," Liam Lacey comments in the Toronto Globe and Mail, "mostly Ghosts of Mars is just so bad." Many critics simply found the movie boring. "It's like a zombie picture directed by one of the undead," Elvis Mitchell writes in the New York Times. "We knew Mars was a dry planet, but this dry?" Jay Carr remarks in the Boston Globe. Steven Rea in the Philadelphia Inquirer disagrees -- sort of. "While this cheesy, heavy-metal melange of horror, space hooey and cowboy shoot-'em-ups isn't exactly dull," he concludes, "it isn't anything to write home about either. In fact, it's hardly worth writing a review."

Natasha Henstridge Plunges Into Sci-fi Role
2 August 2001 (WENN)
Actress Natasha Henstridge was completely traumatized by the task of replacing Courtney Love in the sci-fi movie Ghosts Of Mars. According to the film's director, John Carpenter, Henstridge performed brilliantly when the role was thrust upon her at the last minute. Carpenter says, "She came in at the last possible moment, just a week before production began. She hit the ground running and was literally in every scene. It was like an endurance test for her." But although Henstridge impressed all of those around her, the experience was a harrowing one for the star. She explains, "It was horrendous. We were working in New Mexico, over gypsum mines. Every night we were coughing, and it was literally coming out of our noses." Carpenter meanwhile, refuses to comment on reports that Love left the project because her boyfriend's ex-wife ran over her foot in a Volvo while she was training for the picture. He states, "I can't really talk about it at this point. It simply needed to be done." Ghosts of Mars is set for release on August 24th.

Millionaire Has A Millionaire
19 November 1999 (StudioBriefing)
At long last, producers of Who Want to Be a Millionaire have found a contestant willing to go all the way and win $1 million, the New York Daily News reported today (Friday), saying that the top prize will be awarded to John Carpenter of Hamden CT during tonight's (Friday) telecast. The newspaper, which cited sources who saw Thursday's taping of the show, said that Carpenter, an IRS worker (!), won the money when he correctly named Richard Nixon as the only president to appear on Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In. The News said that Carpenter did not use any of the show's "lifelines" to help him answer any of the questions but when he reached the final round, he did use the "phone a friend" lifeline to phone his father. However, instead of asking for help in answering the question, he remarked, "Dad, I'm about to win a million dollars."

Directors Pick Hitchcock's Greatest Film
6 August 1999 (StudioBriefing)
On Alfred Hitchcock's centenary, a panel of top directors assembled by the British Film Institute's Sight and Sound magazine has selected Psycho as Hitchcock's greatest work. The panel included Martin Scorsese, Canada's Atom Egoyan and the U.K's Bruce Robinson, each of whom voted for Psycho. Milos Forman, John Carpenter and Baz Luhrmann selected Vertigo. The 10 greatest, in order: 1. Psycho (1960), 2. Vertigo (1958), 3. Notorious (1946), 4. Birds, The (1963), 5. North by Northwest (1959), 6. Shadow of a Doubt (1943), 7. Foreign Correspondent (1940), 8. Frenzy (1972), 9. Lady Vanishes, The (1938), 10. Marnie (1964).

Movie Reviews: John Carpenter's Vampires
30 October 1998 (StudioBriefing)
Joining a raft of scary movies already installed in theaters this Halloween weekend is Vampires (1998), from the Halloween movie creator John Carpenter. For the most part, the film is receiving frightful reviews. "Vampires never manages to be either frightening or suspenseful, " writes Lawrence Van Gelder in the New York Times, adding, "By its end, a world that should be saved from movies like this has, at least, been saved from a new breed of evildoer." Many critics agree that Carpenter's usual restraint is largely absent from his latest effort. Tom Maurstad in the Dallas Morning News observes, "Enough severed heads roll around this movie to open a bowling alley for the damned." Eleanor Ringel in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution comments that Vampires "starts out great and ends up limp." Roger Ebert in the Chicago Sun Times allows that the movie "has a certain mordant humor" but, he adds, "the movie is not scary." "What you've really got is a bore, " says Susan Wloszczyna in USA Today. But Bob Strauss, in the Los Angeles Daily News comments that the film succeeds on its own terms. "It's hardly a great film, " Strauss writes, "but taken in the properly twisted spirit, it's smart and nasty Halloween fun." And Jami Bernard in the New York Daily News concludes, "Vampires is a guilty pleasure, a Halloween horror howler."