JOHN CARPENTER

[aurora]

Awesome!

A John Carpenter thread.

My favourite 2 John Carpenter movies are:

Halloween and Escape From New York

I think EFNY has one of the best concepts ever! Its fucking awesome! And way before its time.

Everyone talks about JC's best movies... what about best scores? My top 5 are:

Halloween
Assault
Escape From New York
Halloween III
Ghosts Of Mars maybe? (I really liked that we did on ProTools!)

Speaking of Halloween... has anyone seen 'Black Christmas'? It was apparenty a huge inspiration to Halloween.

[socketlevel]

yeah i've seen it.  can see that inspiration/comparison for sure.  black christmas isn't all that good though in the end.  i really want to like it cause i'm canadian but the ending kind of sucks.

-sl-

[MacGuffin]

Carpenter faces his 'F.E.A.R.'
The veteran filmmaker discusses what he loves about video games and his input on the upcoming horror title.

Filmmaker John Carpenter is best known for movies that drench audiences in dark, atmospheric horror suffused with intense action, including "Halloween," "Escape from New York," "Big Trouble in Little China" and many more. Now that interactive entertainment has reached a reasonable level of sophistication, Carpenter also served as a consultant on "F.E.A.R.: First Encounter Assault Recon," a PC game from Vivendi Universal Games/Sierra Entertainment developed by Monolith Productions that goes on sale Oct. 18. Carpenter recently spoke with The Hollywood Reporter editorial director digital media Chris Marlowe about "F.E.A.R." and how it fits in with his life as a director, writer, composer and actor.

The Hollywood Reporter: As an established filmmaker, what drew you to video games?

John Carpenter: I grew up with and made my career in movies and cinema, and that's my first love in life. The language of film is something I learned instinctually first of all but secondly at film school, at USC. I learned to deeply love it and try and understand it. But games have their own language, and I got completely fascinated by them. When my son was very young, he and I started playing games together, and as he grew up, I grew up with him in games. So I became an addict myself. But this new game, "F.E.A.R.," is as close as I've ever gotten to playing a movie.
 
THR: What makes that so?

Carpenter: The graphics are extraordinary, and there's a certain amount of randomness in some of the actions because of the artificial intelligence they're using, so it's not a repeated pattern over and over again. Your control over the game, where you look, how you move, how fast you move is so individualized that it allows you almost to be the master of your own film. I really, really enjoy this game.

THR: What was the nature of your involvement with "F.E.A.R."?

Carpenter: My involvement in "F.E.A.R." was absolutely delightful because all I had to do was come down and give my opinions -- which is something that I love to do anyway. I am sort of a consultant and spokesman for the game, saying as a horror director -- (as) somebody who has made his career at this -- you're going to love this game. It's terrifying. It's absolutely terrifying. Now, I will admit as a gamer, as somebody who plays games, I'm a fraidy-cat. I really am. Mario scares me worst of all. But this, this is a step forward in sophistication. That's what I love.

THR: What advice did you provide that the creators ignored?

Carpenter: I begged to have a role, I mean visually. I was in a game called "The Thing," which was a remake of my movie. I was a character in it. And I so much wanted to be in this, but they wouldn't let me.

THR: But you died in "The Thing."

Carpenter: I know. But you see, I wanted to come back as the guy who gets the girl and gets all the money. I wanted to be a heroic-type character. That's the way I see myself. I would have been great, too.

THR: What does it feel like to have your films become games?

Carpenter: It's a different medium. Even when a movie of mine is shown on television, it's not the same experience. It just isn't. But I'm in the process of perhaps developing a few games.

THR: What ideas will you incorporate?

Carpenter: I'm not going to tell you. I can't tell you my secrets.

THR: Will your games be in the horror genre?

Carpenter: In a sense, yes. I am just now starting to get into interactive gaming because I haven't been real conversant in that area in terms of being a director. I have PlayStation, I have Xbox, I have Game Cube, I have all there is, and I love playing video games. But now, as this new generation comes out with better graphics and more high definition, something better happens. It's just getting more and more exciting.

THR: You are accustomed to directing every element of a movie. But for a game, by definition characters have minds of their own. Will that be a frustration or an exciting challenge?

Carpenter: Exciting! It's a new world and you have a different canvas. Film is restrictive in some ways; it's a three-act story of a certain length, usually, although oftentimes when directors take themselves too seriously the movie gets longer and longer. But this is a whole different arena to be in, and it's one that I'm still learning about. Ideas are still the king here. You first come up with an idea and a story, and you work from there. And then it's the artistry of the people involved.

THR: You said how much you love "F.E.A.R." What aspects of a game make it successful?

Carpenter: A movie is about editing, about shot and close-up and what the person sees. A movie is about interaction between characters. An audience is sitting there in the dark, and they get emotionally involved with certain characters so that what happens to those characters starts to happen inside the person. That's what we depend on as filmmakers. In a game, there's an entirely different language to it and entirely different rules. As you're playing a game, there's a big leap made by the gameplayer because there I am. I'm doing these things, I'm looking around this place, I'm exploring my environment. Something just happened to me. So if you turn off the lights in the room and you start playing "F.E.A.R.," you're going to get really scared.

THR: Is traditional Hollywood changing its opinion of video games?

Carpenter: I think they were dismissive in the early days, and I think there have been a lot of experiments in making movies from games that are not always very good. The choices that are made often in translating the game to a movie are not done with love. You need to love the game. You have to appreciate what a game does. But this is an ancient story in Hollywood. They've always tried movies and books, movies and songs, movies and this and that. They've been doing it for years and years and years. They're always looking around for something that they can make a film and sell, that has people interested in it already. Now, games are geared to a certain age, and that's the audience they want to go for. What better vehicle, what better place to start than a game? Young adults, teenagers, they all play games. So that's the incentive.

THR: What are your favorite games?

Carpenter: I started with my son, so the first game I got really hooked on was "Sonic the Hedgehog." I got invested in that one night. It was late, and I started playing it, and the sun came up. I like platform games, the cartoon-y action adventure games. I love them. If I see something that's graphically appealing, that's the first thing I look for. I'm a visual person. I like to get involved in graphics.

[SHAFTR]

I just watched the Thing, pretty great.  John Carpenter's early work is very good.  I love Halloween, The Fog & The Thing.  I also enjoyed Assault on Precinct 13.  Now, Ghosts of Mars is downright terrible.  I guess next for me is Escape from New York & Big Trouble in Little China.

[matt35mm]

Big Trouble in Little China.

One of my favorite films of all time.

[modage]

Big Trouble in Little China.

One of my favorite films of all time.

ditto that.

[72teeth]

Big Trouble in Little China.

One of my favorite films of all time.

ditto that.

trido...

[MacGuffin]

Is Snake Plissken Leaving This Planet with Carpenter?
Source: Bloody-Disgusting

It has been 25 years since Kurt Russell made his first appearance as the bad ass Snake Plissken in John Carpenter's Escape from New York, now it looks like Russell and Carpenter are teaming up once again, this time to leave Earth. Escape From Earth is the title of the third entry to the franchise, according to our anonymous scooper. Inside you can read the unconfirmed scoop, which we'll be looking into this week...

Anonymous writes in:
"A major meeting was held at Paramount last week with both John Carpenter and Kurt Russell in attendance. The topic -- preparing for a third entry in the Snake Plissken chronicles entitled Escape From Earth.

Apparently, Carpenter completed a script for the project eight years ago but the studio has now taken an interest in it after Russell demanded doing it before signing on with the studio for a three picture deal.

Although the screenplay is being kept under tight wraps, I'm told (by another anonymous) who was lucky enough to take a peek at the first thirteen pages that the script takes off immediately where the previous left off and features our planet en-route to Armageddon.

It looks as though Carpenter will push-off the production of Psychopath with Titan Productions and collaborator Todd Farmer in order to ready this entry for a 2008 release.In the first film, which takes place in 1998, the US President crashes into Manhattan, which is now a giant max. security prison, a convicted bank robber is sent in for a rescue.

[MacGuffin]

In his 30 year career of writing, directing and producing movies, John Carpenter has made more people mess their pants than Billy Madison. He is best known for directing the original Halloween, The Thing and more recently he was unofficially "inducted" into the Masters of Horror by directing two episodes in the first two seasons. For his latest episode Pro-Life, recently released on DVD, Carpenter again teamed with the writing duo that penned his first episode, Cigarette Burns. Pro-Life tackles the sensitive issue of abortion and whether there is a right situation for having one but puts it into a horror movie context with terrifying and gross results.

Daniel Robert Epstein: What are you up to today?

John Carpenter: I'm waiting for basketball to start. I'm a big basketball fan.

DRE:I've heard.

John:I'm going to play a couple of videogames. I'm finishing up one so I can make room for God of War 2.

DRE:It's funny, I told a friend of mine that I was going to be talking to you and he said, "Ask him about basketball and videogames."

John:Well, it's March Madness so that's always fun. I watch that out of the corner of my eye. But I'm a real big NBA fan. Right now, the Phoenix Suns and the Dallas Mavericks are just great. They had a great game the other night.

DRE:What's your favorite team?

John:You got to love your home team. You got to be true to your home team but the Los Angeles Lakers suck. We're just in awful shape right now. But I like the Phoenix Suns. I like the Dallas Mavericks.

DRE:Have you always been into videogames?

John:No, my son and his friends actually got me hooked on them. I guess it was in the 90's. As my son grew up and became interested in videogames, I played along with him. I really loved it so I had my second childhood through him.

DRE:What systems do you have?

John:I have PlayStation 3, I have Xbox 360, I have PlayStation 2 but I don't use it much anymore. I've got GameCube that I just don't use. I've got basically everything.

DRE:I don't know if you've seen 300 yet...

John:Not yet. I'm anxious to see it.

DRE:Often when film critics don't like the story in a movie they will say it is comic-like but since 300 is already based on a comic book they started comparing 300 to a videogame. But they seem to forget that videogames, like comics, have some pretty complex stories. Would you say that videogames are starting to get close to being as complex as films?

John:With some videogames, because you're involved in the action yourself, are truly exciting. You get lost in it. Whereas a movie is really a passive experience. You're sitting, eating popcorn. If you're at home, you're drinking a beer, smoking a cigarette, whatever you're doing. That's a different experience. That's what I grew up with, movies as passive entertainment. When critics compare 300 to a videogame, I'm not quite sure what they're talking about. I think they're talking about computer generated graphics. I think that's a way in to attack a movie on the grounds that it's more of a videogame or a comic book or something.

DRE:They can't insult it by calling it a comic book-like movie. They just come up with something else they don't really understand to compare it too.

John:Well, it's all an insult, like this is not important enough. That's the way it always happens.

DRE:I read about some videogame you were involved with a couple of years ago, Psychopath.

John:Yeah, that's still percolating away. I'll be involved with anything if it pays me money.

DRE:[laughs] With Pro-Life, was it just a coincidence that you decided to film another script by Drew [McWeeny] and Scott [Swan] or did you help them with it?

John:The first project that we did on Masters of Horror was a Drew and Scott original that I read [Cigarette Burns] and I thought, "This is great. Let me do this. I want to do this." Then the second season came up and they pitched me, "We have this idea about a monster movie in an abortion clinic." I said, "That's great!" I love working with those boys. They're just really talented. As writers, they're very open and we worked it up a little bit. They just do a great job for me.

DRE:Since Cigarette Burns is all about film buffs did you connect on that level?

John:Yeah, we connected in the sense of loving horror, loving science fiction, that kind of a thing. Drew and Scott are very talented writers. They're very knowledgeable about the genre. That always helps you when you're doing something like an hour cable show. I suppose we're all geeks in our own way. My brand of geekdom goes all the way back to the 50's and 60's. I'm the older geek.

DRE:You've got a couple of years on them.

John:Yeah I do, quite a few actually.

DRE:I thought that Cigarette Burns had an interesting look to it, cinematography-wise and production design-wise while Pro-Life was a bit more straightforward.

John:It was the same crew but it's a different story. So your look and the way it feels is always going to be dependent on the story. The story and the look of Pro-Life is very different. It is set in a clinic so you can't really apply the same techniques.

DRE:Had you known Ron Perlman before casting him in Pro-Life?

John:I met Ron for the first time at the very end of Cigarette Burns. There's a famous hotel in Vancouver, where everybody who's shooting there stays, called the Sutton Place. I met him in the bar one night and I said, "I really like your work and The Name of The Rose is one of my favorites." We started talking and then he accepted the role in Pro-Life. It was very cool.

DRE:I read that you're not a big fan of method actors. Is that true?

John:It doesn't matter. It depends on how much work I have to do. Some actors come prepared and ready to go. I can give you a list of those, Kurt Russell, Sam Neill, Jeff Bridges. We work ahead of time on the rehearsals and we come ready to go on the set. Some actors need emotional stimulation and support and sometimes intellectual stimulation and support right on the set as we're doing the work. That's a little hard. So it's all about my comfort.

DRE:I read that Ron was a bit of a method actor, but I'm sure you guys got along.

John:I didn't see method in him at all. We talked real briefly about how to play the character in the beginning. I just said, "Play him as a hero. Play him as a good guy. He's a strong man. Don't have one moment of doubt about what you're doing except for at the end." That was it. We just did the work. It was fun.

DRE:I shouldn't have, but I got stoned before I watched Pro-Life.

John:I got stoned while making it.

DRE:[laughs] I really almost got sick when it Ron was aborting the male doctor's insides.

John:Actually that was a more elaborate scene originally in the script. The boys wrote something I've never seen. I said, "You can't do this, okay? We have to tone this down a little bit."

DRE:That was toned down?

John:That was really toned down. Oh man, it went on and on. Page after page of it and it was rough.

DRE:I don't know how much of this new trend in horror, the torture porn, you've seen, but it seemed like that sequence was making a comment on that just because it was so outrageous.

John:It is but you don't see anything. It's all implied, which is just the reverse. Torture porn is what you see, the close-up. You get to see all the grotesque stuff. Listen I'm a big fan of the Saw movies. I love that shit. I don't know if I'd want to do it but it's great fun to watch. It is like the zombie movies in the 60's and 70's, with biting chunks out of people and all that stuff. It's all great.

DRE:I got a chance to interview Drew [McWeeny] last year. He said that you'd never be able to guess his politics from watching Pro-Life. Was it important to keep the points of view a bit murky and not make something more pointed like what Joe Dante did with his Masters of Horror episodes?

John:That's just not me as a director. Joe did a great job with his show. He did it out of passion. That's not the way I approach things. I didn't want to make a political statement though I have before. In the movie called They Live, I made a pretty strong political statement. In this one I can unfortunately see both sides of it so I can understand it. If you want to know my politics, I'm a pro-choice guy because it's none of my business as a male. That's a decision a woman has to make. But I understand how pro-life folks feel. I don't agree with it, but I understand it. I think Ron did a good job being that guy.

DRE:He was terrifying and almost sympathetic until he sucked out the guy's guts.

John:That's where he goes over the top. He's motivated and getting revenge.

DRE:I know you've done plenty of television in the past, including your own show. Have you ever had as much freedom script-wise and content-wise as you did with these Masters of Horrors?

John:Yeah, I've pretty much always had freedom. I've never really experienced too much censorship or lack of freedom in that area. I've been lucky. Actually that's my whole career. Staggered into it. Staggered through it. Staggered to the chair. It's always been great.

DRE:These Masters of Horror episodes just seem so personal. Is that the result of the scripts or was it the lower budget that makes things seem a bit more intimate?

John:Every director makes a movie in a different way. Takes his ten days of shooting, which is what we had, and takes it to where he wants it to go. Some people write their own scripts. Some folks have scripts written for them. Everybody's different. But it's fun to see everybody work.

DRE:Don Coscarelli told me he didn't want to do an episode for the second season because he says with all the time and energy he put into making it, he feels like he could have made a feature film. Do you have the same attitude?

John:Hell, it's fine. Look, it's great to be able to go and prep for a few days and shoot for ten days and go home. You don't have the physical and emotional pain of a feature. So it's a vacation time. I still hate to get up in the morning. God, getting up is really rough. But other than that, it's pretty much fun.

DRE:With Pro-Life, you could have taken the choice to not show the monster, what made you decide to do that?

John:Well, it would be pretty hard not to see him. He's a pretty good monster. He's reminiscent of an old movie that I saw when I was a kid called Curse of the Demon [directed by Jacques Tourneur]. That's what he's based on, sort of. Drew and Scott had a hand in fashioning him and I said, "I want him to look like your dreams too." But we kept him in the dark. I think he's got a big mouth. He roars a lot. Monsters are fun so why keep him in the dark? I remember once this actress and I were having lunch and she was lecturing me like, "You never show the devil. That's just not done in movies." I said, "Well, why not? If you could really have a great devil, show him. Where does that rule come down?" So sometimes it's good not to see, but hell, we love watching monsters. Show me my monster.

DRE:Obviously you're a big music fan and you do a lot of the music for your projects. How was it working with your son Cody on the music?

John:He was at the right age and he had the right talent. It worked out. It was fabulous. I'm really proud of him.

DRE:I interviewed your ex-wife [Adrienne Barbeau] last year and she said Cody's band is wonderful.

John:He's involved in music. He's also in Japan right now finishing up his degree in Asian studies. He's a Japanophile.

DRE:Did he capture the John Carpenter music flair that you wanted or did the two of you work on it together?

John:The themes are his. They're very different than mine. They have their own unique feel to it. I'm just so delighted. It's also really fun to see him get paid and I don't have to worry about it.

DRE:I talked to Norman Reedus and I asked why his character in Cigarette Burns didn't really have any reaction when he saw the angel. Norman said, "Well, what do you do when you see an angel? No one knows." Was that what your thinking was?

John:If I walked in and saw an angel there and I had somebody like Udo Kier talking to me out of my side, I would think, "This whole thing is ridiculous. This is a fake." I don't know what I would think. Norman played it perfectly. I would go with what he said. No one knows.

DRE:I spoke with Will O'Neil who wrote one of those Snake Plissken comic books a few years ago. He had said that you, Kurt [Russell] and [producer] Debra Hill owned the character of Snake. Is that true?

John:Yes, but we share it with Canal Plus. It's a long story, but the movie was originally made for a company called Avco Embassy. Avco Embassy was sold to Dino De Laurentiis. Dino De Laurentiis sold his share to Canal Plus.

DRE:So in this remake they're talking about...

John:I don't know that it's a remake. I think it's a lot about Snake before he gets to New York.

DRE:But it just made me think that maybe the remake rights might be different than the rights to the character Snake Plissken because none of the articles mentioned you guys being involved with the project. Are you guys going to be credited producers?

John:Executive producer.

DRE:Do you have any desire to be more involved?

John:My main involvement is I read the scripts and make sure the character is the same character that we wrote originally. I think that would be cool. My other main involvement in this project is to extend my hand and have a check placed in it.

DRE:It's always nice when you don't have to do anything, right?

John:You're right. After 30 odd years of being in the fucking business, it's nice to not have to do anything and get paid. That's what I've been trying to do all my life.

DRE:Then the past few years must have been pretty good for you.

John:Not bad. Not bad.

DRE:Obviously Snake was a character that was perfect for the time he was in, so do you think Snake will lose the faux mullet?

John:I don't know what to do about that. That's not my decision. Snake is a character who was born out of the 1970's when New York was having real problems. He came out of a post-Vietnam era and he was an anti-authoritarian. He was a really unique type of character back then. He'll probably be reinvented for his time. But we'll see. I don't know if he will be mullet-less or with the mullet.

DRE:Have you ever seen any of Gerard Butler's previous movies?

John:Yes, I like his work.

DRE:I think you'll be very impressed after you see 300.

John:I can't wait to see 300. It sounds really exciting. It looks great.

DRE:You don't seem to mind these remakes, is that a result of you directing remakes yourself?

John:Well, if I'm not directing a movie, it's not really mine. I'm flattered when somebody wants to take an old film of mine or a story of mine and rework it. I think that's nice. I'm not trying to protect golden calf or something. It just isn't that way. It's just a damn movie, man.

DRE:On the other side, I don't think you're involved with the Halloween remake.

John:No, I bailed out of that after a while. But Rob [Zombie] has been a friend of mine for years. He did a song for me way back when [for Escape from LA]. He's a real nice guy. He called me up when they were going to make it and I said, "Just make it your own. Hell. That's the most important thing. Make it yours."

DRE:If they re-use a piece of your music, will you get a check then?

John:Oh yeah. Big time. There was an agreement made, I can't remember when it was finalized, but every time a sequel is made there are certain payments. I encourage more and more sequels.

DRE:I heard about this his project that you might be doing next, L.A. Gothic.

John:Well, I'm involved in a couple of things right now. I just don't know. The script for L.A. Gothic is very good. I'd like to tweak it a little bit, but we'll see. When it happens, it happens. If it doesn't, there's always basketball.

DRE:From what I've heard, you might not have been too happy with your last feature film [Ghosts of Mars].

John:The experience was pretty grim for a number of different reasons. But I have to take responsibility for it. It's probably my fault. Look, when one gets burned out on the business, it really can be destructive to you, emotionally, physically, in all sorts of ways. It's easier when you're young, but as you get older, it's more and more difficult. So I decided, "You know what? Fuck this. I'm going to take some time off." Now it's been the best time in my life.

DRE:Does doing the Masters of Horror episodes make you think, "Maybe I could spend two years on a feature again."?

John:Oh sure. I love making movies. I love directing. It's always been the love of my life. But I do have other issues. Myself. My own happiness. My parents. My mom died a couple of years ago. I went through that.

DRE:It's interesting that both of your parents were still around with you for so long because you think that a guy who made the films that you made that maybe...

John:I didn't have parents, right?

DRE:[laughs] Oh, I really screwed this one up.

John:Yeah, I really didn't have any parents. I was left on a doorstep.

DRE:[laughs] Do you see doing something as personal as dealing with your mother's death in a film?

John:In this business, I've learned to never say never. I'm attracted to stories. If I create the story or if someone else does and it is good, I'd be interested in it. But movies are really about fake life, not real life. Fake life is more fun. Drama, comedy, horror and all those things are fun to do. That's what I've been involved with, in my career so I'll probably keep doing it.

DRE:I was actually on the set of the prequel to the remake of Texas Chainsaw Massacre. When we were interviewing the producers, I asked them why didn't they ask Tobe Hooper to direct and they said, "Tobe Hooper doesn't have anything to learn from me. He's done it all a million times." To me that was just insane.

John:But there's a grain of truth in what he said. They're not going to be able to control Tobe like they can some young guy. They can control you better when you're green and starting out.

DRE:So that's what it comes down to?

John:Partially it does. If you have a commercial background or a music video background or some tricky background, you bring your panache to the project. So you run around and get a bunch of trick shots and you're not demanding final cut, so in the end it brings a breath of fresh air to the project. Tobe's already done his movie. He doesn't want to do it again.

DRE:What would happen if someone wanted you to remake one of your films?

John:That's happened. I don't want to do that. I've done it. You'd be treading the same ground. Especially with the Halloweens. That's where it came up. We finished the story off. But that's my personal opinion.

DRE:How soon do you think you want to get a project up and running again?

John:I don't know. Whenever it happens. If I get a project going, that's fine. If I don't, that's fine. It's not life and death.

DRE:Have you heard of SuicideGirls before?

John:I know all about you. I know everything.

DRE:It's got tattooed, naked girls who like your films.

John:That's my idea of heaven. Tattooed naked girls who enjoy horror movies. There's nothing better than that.

DRE:Have you ever seen a John Carpenter related tattoo on someone?

John:I haven't.

DRE:I'll have to have someone e-mail you one.

John:Would you? I think I need to see that.

[MacGuffin]

Carpenter: Horror films don't cause violence
Source: Hollywood Reporter

Horror movies reflect the culture we live in and cannot be blamed for causing real-life violence, said the slasher genre director of the Hollywood classic "Halloween."

As the top U.S. media watchdog is suggesting Congress could regulate violent content on television, John Carpenter told a Tribeca Film Festival panel on violence on the big screen that government control of films is not needed.

"Real life causes this, fake life does not cause it," Carpenter said Thursday. "The reason for a lot of these movies is the culture that we live in, the events that have gone on in our world."

"Censorship never works. You cannot destroy an idea. You can hide, you can try to cover it up, but you can't destroy it, it will be there and it will bubble up again," Carpenter said.

Others on the panel agreed, including Peter Block, executive producer of the "Saw" series of horror films, and Jim Steyer, CEO of Common Sense Media, a group aimed at improving media and entertainment for children. 

The FCC released a report Wednesday that found exposure to violence in the media can increase aggressive behavior in children, at least for a short while.

The FCC's list of recommendations included a suggestion that Congress could develop a definition of excessively violent programming, though it said such language needed to be narrowly tailored.

The FCC regulates obscenity, sexual content and profanity on radio, television, wire, satellite and cable, but does not have the power to regulate violence on the airwaves.

"I do believe media impacts people's behavior. The average kid today spends about 50 hours a week consuming media, and they now get it on every kind of platform imaginable," Steyer said.

"We have a violent society, and we as a broader society need to address that, but I don't think limiting ... creative freedom has anything to do with addressing that," he said.

The MPAA controls a voluntary system of rating movies to indicate what age group a film is suitable for. Most filmmakers submit their movies for a rating as it makes it easier to distribute and market.

"I worry so much more about my kids wandering into the room when the news is being blurbed on television and they're watching," said Block, who is also president of acquisitions and co-productions at Lionsgate Entertainment.

"It's never happy shiny people stories, it's the war or murder or something that happened and I can't protect them from that and they know that's reality," Block said.

[Pubrick]

you got it, john. it's just like napoleon, you know, when he was the king of the roman empire. a dull insight repeating itself all over again.

[Alexandro]

i dont think is carpenter's fault to say that same crap all over again...there are not too many answers for those questions....but these media assholes keep pushing that angle on that subject cause they have no creativity as journalists....

[MacGuffin]

Cage, Carpenter may team up for prison film
In final negotiations for 'Scared Straight' thriller
Source: Hollywood Reporter

Nicolas Cage and director John Carpenter are in final negotiations to team up for a prison thriller titled "Scared Straight."

Nu Image/Millennium Films would finance the film and is in negotiations with Contrafilm's Beau Flynn and Tripp Vinson along with Randall Emmett and George Furla to produce. Avi Lerner also would produce.

"Straight" follows a troubled youth who's sent to prison off the Scared Straight crime-prevention program, which imprisons delinquent teens for a short period in the hopes of deterring them from a life of crime. While the teen is there, a riot breaks out and the prisoners take him hostage. A lifer, played by Cage, is forced to help the young man out.

The project was set up at New Line for a couple of years but was let go recently. Contrafilm brought the project to Emmett/Furla Films, which has a deal with Nu Image/ Millennium.

Joe Gazzam wrote the original spec, which was rewritten by Ron Brinkerhoff.

Noah Rosen is exec producing as is Rob Cohen, who was attached to direct at one point.

An October start is being eyed.

[MacGuffin]

Heard to Star in John Carpenter's Ward
Source: ShockTilYouDrop

A Bigger Boat and Echo Lake are pairing up to produce John Carpenter's horror film The Ward. Shooting is to begin this May based on a script by Michael and Shawn Rasmussen.

All the Boys Love Mandy Lane's Amber Heard will star as a young woman trapped in a mental institution with a malevolent ghost. As danger creeps closer, she comes to realize that this ghost might be darker than she could have imagined.

"The Ward is the kind of script that I've been looking for: a complex, visceral story, full of suspense and scares," says Carpenter. "I am especially pleased to be working with Amber because I know she will create a powerful central performance."

On the producing side, Doug Mankoff, Mike Marcus and Andy Spaulding will represent Echo Lake; Peter Block will shepherd the project along under his newly born Bigger Boat banner.

"Working with John Carpenter on The Ward is a dream come true - fans everywhere, me included, have been waiting for just this kind of thriller from him," Block says. "It's great to be able to tackle it with the Echo Lake gang whose work I've also admired for years."

Block is currently producing Adam Green's latest, Frozen.

[SiliasRuby]

'Halloween', 'Escape from New York', and 'Assault from Precinct 13' are my fav. carpenter flicks but I haven't seen 'EFNY' in a long time so perhaps its time to revisit it.