LOS ANGELES (AP) 鈥� While has become synonymous with fictional horror storytelling, the 75-year-old director and composer is dipping his toe into true life terrors with his new show, 鈥淛ohn Carpenter鈥檚 Suburban Screams.鈥�
The legendary director, known for genre-defining classics including 鈥淗alloween鈥� and 鈥淭he Thing,鈥� sat down with The Associated Press for a wide-ranging interview ahead of the release of the unscripted anthology series, which fittingly hits Peacock on Friday, Oct. 13. The interview has been edited for clarity and brevity.
AP: I know you鈥檝e talked about how film school helped you understand the plumbing of making movies. But it鈥檚 interesting because now with education we have so much more access to information thanks to the internet.
CARPENTER: Tell me about it. It鈥檚 all different now. Oh, everything is different. The technology of the business is different. The business is different. I would be starting over completely green if I had to right now. I learned everything about the camera and editing and sound and all that stuff. All that stuff has changed. It鈥檚 all different. The sound now is like, 鈥榃hat the hell is that? Where鈥檚 the NAGRA?鈥� At USC, we had a lab where you could do processing. We don鈥檛 process any more. It鈥檚 all digital.
AP: I鈥檓 curious if you had any reluctance at the time about dropping out or if it was like full steam ahead.
CARPENTER: No, I knew what I was doing. I just wanted to get out of there, get on with my career.
AP: I have noticed that a lot of recent academic literature has been written about horror movies, even outside of film studies. For so long it was thought of as kind of low brow. Now, scholars are writing about it. And we鈥檙e seeing this interest in elevated horror, directors like Jordan Peele.
CARPENTER: His movies are pretty damn good. The is great. I loved it. I see horror as a genre that gets reinvented by every generation to fit their generation. You know, I did it with mine. Tobe Hooper and George Romero reinvented it for theirs. It always happens.
AP: But some people still turn their nose up at it.
CARPENTER: They still look down on it, don鈥檛 they? We鈥檝e always been looked down on. We鈥檙e close to being pornographers. Just a little above, you know? Just a bit.
AP: Have you been playing any good video games lately?
CARPENTER: I鈥檝e been playing one for a long time, the 鈥淔allout鈥� game. I鈥檓 looking forward to the new 鈥淎ssassin鈥檚 Creed鈥� game. I don鈥檛 know if it鈥檚 going to be any good, but I鈥檒l check it out.
AP: I think video games are having a similar kind of moment. They were written off for a long time, and now they鈥檙e having a kind of renaissance.
CARPENTER: Roger Ebert said video games will never be art. And I thought, 鈥淲ait a minute now. It is.鈥� In its own way, it鈥檚 art.
AP: So now you are pivoting to real scary stories 鈥� things that actually happened. Can you talk a little bit about what prompted you to make this sort of shift in your storytelling?
CARPENTER: Well, I鈥檝e never done this before 鈥� true stories that involve frightening things. True stories of killers are a staple of television. But what we鈥檙e concentrating on in this series are the survivors. You know, we don鈥檛 care so much about the perpetrators. The thing about 鈥淒ahmer,鈥� the character that I remember the most is 鈥� the character from the survivor鈥檚 point of view. And that鈥檚 something I haven鈥檛 done. I also haven鈥檛 done a true-life deal, except for Elvis, which 鈥� that doesn鈥檛 count. But I also remote directed this series and that鈥檚 fantastic. The cast and crew were in Prague, and I鈥檓 sitting in my living room. I have a full cup of coffee in my hand saying, 鈥淒o this, do that.鈥� That鈥檚 fabulous. I cannot wait to do it again that way.
AP: And how did the stories come to you? Were they pitched to you and then you vetted them?
CARPENTER: Yeah, that鈥檚 it. We have researchers who find the stories out there and we pick the ones that are the most interesting. I picked the phone stalker because I couldn鈥檛 believe that this woman was being stalked for six years and they couldn鈥檛 catch this guy. What the hell is that? It鈥檚 crazy.
AP: It鈥檚 been a tumultuous time in Hollywood with the writers and actors strikes this summer. I鈥檓 curious what your thinking is on the state of the industry.
CARPENTER: Oh, wow. Well parts of it , parts aren鈥檛. I mean, look, 鈥淏arbie鈥� is the biggest movie of the year and it worldwide, made by a woman. That鈥檚 incredible. That鈥檚 progress. I can鈥檛 promise you that I understood the damn movie or cared about it that much. It鈥檚 just so, you know, it鈥檚 just different. However, I appreciate what she did. Appreciate everybody involved in that film.
So, I mean, come on. The movie business has always been cooking along. We all love to go to movies. We still love to go to movies. We鈥檙e watching a lot on our TVs, though. And I guess on our computers too. I鈥檓 not sure about that. That doesn鈥檛 make sense to me. Why that? I gotta see it big. Anyway, what do I think of the business? Well, I love cinema. I love movies. The art of motion pictures. So, wherever the business goes, I鈥檒l follow along and still love it. But I fell in love when I was really young. And it hasn鈥檛 gone away.
Krysta Fauria, The Associated Press
