John Carpenter Says He’d Never Be Famous Now: “Could I succeed if I started today? Probably not”
John Carpenter is horror royalty. That’s an undisputed fact. With Halloween, the filmmaker terrified movie lovers and helped kickstart the slasher boom. With that said, 1978 was a very different time for Hollywood. Filmmakers had far more latitude to execute their vision and getting a movie released to theaters was an easier feat in the days before DVD and VOD.
As Carpenter was making the press rounds a few years ago, The Guardian brought up the level of control contemporary filmmakers must relinquish to get a movie made. Carpenter admitted that he couldn’t imagine thriving under those conditions, saying:
“It was such a different time back then and the kind of movies were different. I started when you could actually make an exploitation film, a low-budget exploitation movie and get it into theaters. Nowadays it’s so ridiculously expensive. Could I succeed if I started today? Probably not. I’d be rejected.“
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Carpenter’s response is telling of the direction the movie industry has taken in the modern era. Wall Street investors coming on the scene and an obsession with repurposing existing intellectual property make it far more difficult for filmmakers to produce actual art. With that said, it’s still possible. Creators like Ti West and Radio Silence came to prominence on indie projects and were eventually able to helm theatrical fare. But to Carpenter’s point, a first-time director securing a wide theatrical release is all but unheard of these days.
All things considered, Carpenter is a luminary in his field and I don’t doubt for a second he would find a way if he were just starting out. But he’s always quick to under-sell his own brilliance.
That’s all we have for you for the time being. Be sure to stay tuned to the site for more updates as we unearth them. If you’re keen to keep up with all the latest developments, follow us on Twitter @DreadCentral.
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