John Carpenter News (Up To Aug96)

News as of 7th August. I just wanted to let you know that we've put a higher quality version of the trailer up on the site. Please take a look. Before the movie comes out on Friday, we'll also have a 6 minute behind-the-scenes documentary available. From : Alexander Buccino

News as of 1st August. John Carpenter ONLINE! The dominion sci-fi web site will have an IRC chat with John Carpenter on August 5th, open to anyone I believe. For more info check out the official site.

News as of 22nd July. The Escape From La Website has been seriously updated, with an excellent interactive game, check it out.
The Escape from L.A. soundtrack has already been released (USA) as of July 16, 1996 Soundtrack Information . This soundtrack consists of music inspired by the film from such artists as Ministry, Toadies, White Zombie and Biohazard. As well, the Escape from L.A. score is scheduled for release on August 27, 1996. This score will be composed by John Carpenter and Shirley Walker and it will incorporate the original theme from Escape from New York in a few segments. From: Adam Bodnar

News as of 12th July. Theodore Elrickhas answered my query regarding the news below. An interview with J Carpenter concerning his Howard Hawks documentary and EFLA can be found at Directors Guild of America website.

News as of 11th July 1196 This is from the IMDB, in the Sandy King biography section, I do not know how recent this information is, or the current progress. Any help would be appreciated : Where are they now (career information) Currently at work on a documentary for the British Film Institute, "Howard Hawks, American Artist", with her husband, John Carpenter.

News as of 1st July 1996 The trailer is online, however it is not of particularly good quality (very dark image) so beware. The EFLA web site has been seriously updated, click here for the gear. David Fakrikian

News as of 18th June 1996 Well, the Escape From LA web-site is here. I won't bore you with details, just click an go! There is not much there at the moment, but it is under severe construction. David Fakrikian

News as of 13th June 1996 The US Premiere magazine lists EFLA at number 15 in its predicted summer blockbusters (link). Good to see someone looking forward to it. They also have a nifty picture of a flying Plissken. Try link (removed) for a news article in french from the french version of Premiere. David Fakrikian

News as of 12th June 1996 David Fakrikian has kindly scoured the Usenet archives and provided me with a wealth of information about Escape From LA. Careful though, a lot of it is quite detailed so SPOILER warnings are in effect. Click here for the news.

News as of 6th June 1996 From Usenet archives, so may be a bit old: Buena Vista will be doing the special FX for EFLA (have done them). It is their last project as Sony has disbanded them since the Dreamquest merger.
I had the pleasure of talking to Shirley Walker a while back via e-mail and I was told that John Carpenter's theme will be incorporated into Escape From L.A. - From: Aidan Milner.
The following is from Corona Productions EFLA's budget is $50 million, which includes Russell's fee of $10 mil, Carpenter's $5 mil, and then producer/co-writer Hill's smaller paycheck of $2 million. On top of this, the trio reportedly get to split 20% of the grosses.[Scoop reported by 'ear-to-the-studio-wall' 'Sylvester']. Peter Fonda's character may be called 'Pipeline', he and other surfers patrol the new Californian coast. A second soundtrack featuring heavy metal rock groups such as Biohazard and White Zombie should be out by July 16. [Scoop info mailed in anonymously.]

News as of 5th June 1996 European release dates and a plot summary are now up on the UIP site, in the coming soon section. The UK date is 6th Sept. There's also a picture of Snake Plissken there, in his natty new leather coat. From: David Fakrikian

News as of 4th June 1996 Apparently there will be two soundtracks to the new film, one will be a soundtrack featuring various metal bands, and the other will be a score composed by Carpenter himself. There is no word if he will have any collaborators on the score. The soundtrack with the various artists will be released July 16/96 (USA). From: Adam Bodnar

There are a number of comments on Usenet about this film, including a complete plot spoiler by someone who has read the screenplay, and thinks it is brilliant. I havn't included this as I don't want to spoil the film. If you are curious then search Deja-News using keyword Plissken.

News as of 30th May 1996 The trailer for Escape From LA has started showing in American cinemas, with Mission Impossible and other Paramount features. Release Date for full film is August 9th in USA. From: Chuck Sims 

News As Of 13th May 1996 Moving Pictures (Howard Schuman) has a feature on Escape from LA, BBC2, Tuesday 14th May, 11pm. I shall have a transcript of this as soon as possible.

The follwing information is from Empire magazine, June 1996 issue.

Bojesse Christopher, one of the bank robbing ex-presidents in surf movie Point Break has a part as a surfer in the new John Carpenter movie, Escape From LA. "I don't mind playing a surfer, as long as it's not the typical 'Hey, dude' interpretation," he says. "This was fun. Me and Peter Fonda play two post-nuclear earthquake, road warrior, ass-kickin' surfers who guard the coastline."

The following information is from Corona Productions Escape From LA
Production Company: Paramount Pictures.

Studio: Paramount.

Project Phase: Greenlighted.

Who's In It: Kurt Russell (Snake Plissken); Steve Buscemi (Map-To-The-Stars-Eddie); Cliff Robertson (The President); Stacy Keach (U.S. Police Force Commander); George Corraface (Cuervo Jones); Pam Grier; Peter Fonda; Bruce Campbell (The Beverly Hills Surgeon); Valeria Golino; A.J. Langer (Utopia).
Who's Making It: John Carpenter (Director); Debra Hill, Kurt Russell (Producers); John Carpenter, Debra Hill, Kurt Russell (Screenwriters); Gary Kibbe (Director of Photography); Edward Warschilka (Editor); Lawrence Paull (Production Designer).

Premise: Snake Plissken is back - hey, isn't he supposed to be dead? Set in the bleak future world of 2013, Plissken is sent into L.A. this time, to stop a lunatic from setting off a Doomsday device. And he's got to do it before the virus placed inside his body will kill him, 10 hours tops. Snake isn't too thrilled about this, you know.

Release Date: August 9, 1996.

Comments: Both Bruce Campbell and Steve Buscemi??? YOWZA.

At the July 1995 announcement for the go-ahead of the project (after a 14 year trip of speculation), Kurt Russell talked briefly about what to expect from the show: a bigger budget, and so, bigger action. Russell has always said that the character of Snake was one of his favorites to reprise again.

Rumors: October, 1995... Rumors have it that the chief nemesis to Snake will be the President's daughter, who apparently is some kind of homicidal maniac with the weapons to back her up.

Scoop Feedback:

February, 1996... Bruce Campbell's character is reportidly a maniacial plastic surgeon who wants to get his hands on Snake's other 'good' eye. [Scoop provided by 'bbish'.]

March 16, 1996... More on Campbell's character: he's called the 'Beverly Hills Surgeon'. No word if he did the nose jobs of the 90210 gang. [Scoop reported by Jonathan Hrabovsky.]

April 8, 1996... Tid-bits from the Escape filming: Russell wears his original Snake costume from the 1981 movie early on (he still fits it). A tsunami rolls down Wilshire Boulevard. Snake gets severe-looking new threads. Issac Hayes, who portrayed the Duke of New York in the first flick, tried to convince Carpenter to be cast as the Duke's twin brother - no dice. And director Carpenter hints at a possible sequel to this movie, suggesting there's only one other place they can think of for Snake to escape from: Earth. [Scoop sent in by 'Atreides'; originally reported by USA Today.]

April 9, 1996... The President's daughter, Utopia, isn't the principal bad-guy. She's duped by the main heavy, Cuervo Jones, into giving him the doomsday device, so he can re-shape the world into the twisted image of L.A. As for the Beverly Hills, it's considered off-limits. Anyone who goes in is grabbed and used for body parts for the rich citizens of Beverly Hills. Bruce Campbell's character, the Surgeon, is deeply revered by the patchwork, freakish citizens. No word if this lot include anyone from the cast of 90210. [Additional character names and info provided by 'Pavlov'.]

This is old news but : More Damnation -- the home of film director John Carpenter at 380 Drake's View Drive was destroyed Oct. 3 by the Inverness Ridge fire. A year ago, when Carptenter's local filming of The Village of the Damned angered some residents in Point Reyes Station, his wife Sandy King claimed an arsonist had set a fire on their property. The earlier fire was quickly doused, but last week's wildfire moved too quickly for firefighters to save the home.