All quotes and info from other sources are in Italics, all other text is my own reflection on the news. The John Carpenter News Archive :

Just read at ain't it cool (http://www.aint-it-cool-news.com/display.cgi?id=4536) that GHOSTS OF MARS had been financed by Columbia and is scheduled to start filming in March! - Patrick Kerr

Just thought you'd like to know that today's Hollywood Reporter on-line states that John Carpenter has signed a deal with Sony's genre label Screen Gems to begin production on "John Carpenter's Ghosts of Mars."

Here's the full blurb as it appeared today...

Screen Gems sees 'Ghosts' as first prod'n

"John Carpenter's Ghosts of Mars" will be the first project to go into production at Sony's niche label Screen Gems, sources said Thursday.  A sci-fi thriller set some 200 years in the future, "Ghosts of Mars" is a story of human colonists on Mars who must be rescued after becoming possessed by vengeful Martian ghosts.  The screenplay was written by Carpenter and Larry Sulkis.  "Ghosts of Mars" comes on the heels of last year's successful Sony release of "John Carpenter's Vampires," which opened to $9.2 million, the biggest-ever opening for a Halloween weekend.- SW Carlson

"Marco" - It's true go to www.film.com and you will see in the news  section that john carpenter has a new movie called john carpenter's ghosts of mars in the
works for the year 2000.

You can be sure that I shall get all the news up here as soon as it comes out.

October 12th The Official Update The following quote, that has surfaced in various places over the web, got my interest going (obviously!)

i was at the New Orleans Film and Video Festival today, and i got to meet Debra Hill! she was there promoting Crazy in Alabama and was on a panel of producers talking about how to get funding... after the panel was over i went up to her and told her how much i like her work with carpenter... she told me that she had lunch with him very recently and he has a new film in the works! a *remake* of Assault on Precinct 13 set on mars... called Ghost on Mars or something like that. i know this sounds like i'm bullshiting you, but that's what she said... has anyone else heard anything about a project like this??
shannon

so I decided to go straight to the source for confirmation. What I get was yet more evidence of the high regard JC and his team hold their fans in, basically full on answers to queries about the new projects and also answers to various questions that have been on the site for a while:

There is no Assault on Mars.  There will be, however, in the next two hours probably, news about the new film as soon as the deal becomes final.  There is a possible remake of Assault--as a different film--for some French guys, if they come up with the right deal, which we are also waiting on.  It would be set in Los Angeles, not Mars.  Someone has just combined the two things, I guess.  The Mars film will not be an outer space movie in the classical sense.  It is set on Mars itself. No space ships.  Think "Zulu" on Mars.  ;-)  I was selling this one at Cannes this year and we are probably closing the domestic deal today.  When it happens, I'll let you know.
Meanwhile, we are in the process of building a new, improved website--one that might not crash anyone's computer anymore.  It should be up in a couple of weeks.  What a pain in the ass they are!  I don't know how you keep doing it.

Sandy then went on to answer some of the queries and rumours that have been on the website recently:

Just dropped by to check in on you after your email and saw a few of the fan questions.  I don't know some of the answers, since some of the things fans question never occured to us!

Re John being ill, he is fine.  Always has been fine.  He was very tired after Vampires came out because he was doing literally hundreds of interviews.

Nobody seems to know what the folks at British GQ were thinking when they said John would be appearing in a film that as far as we know, was made a couple of years ago.  The photo shoot was just a thing that Cerruti asked John to do, and it seemed cool.  No big symbolism there.
The Tim Robbins film thing is just a rumor.  We have no idea when it started, but we don't even know Tim.  Maybe it came about because of our friendship with Frank Darabont?  Who knows...

There is no new low-budget picture being planned.

Yes, there is a double feature DVD of Vampires with Frankenstein.  I think they just did it because Halloween is coming up and they thought it would be a fun party thing.  Also, they are both a little more gold lame than your everyday horror movies.  Anyway, they're both good gothic horror, so what the hell.  ROLL WITH IT.

The jeeps in Vampires were customized by our special effects department with anything they thought looked cool.  All the lights and stuff were functional, including the winch on the front.  (Winch?  Wench?  Oh well, they were both real...) Even the dirt was painted onto the jeeps so that it would match in every shot.  Don't even ask what it cost me per car to put them back in order to return them to the dealer.  A nightmare.

I'll ask JC about the Elizabeth Dane.  I don't think it existed as aship at all, but I may be wrong.

And I think that clears up a load of things. Most exciting, obviously, is the new movie. Fantastic news that really gets the appetite going. I'll keep you posted as I get more info.

October 8th 1 Year of HitsThe counter on the main page has now been running for exactly a year, so I selfishly thought I'd praise myself and show you the hit statistics, which have nothing to do with JC news but keep me amused:

that amounts to 29,620 hits in a year - only a few short of 30,000 and only a few hours left to get the rest in. Which probably won't happen - the averages are about 500 hits a week, not bad for an amateurish site dedicated to a cult director. The site itself has been going for close on five years (where has my life gone?!). The lovely big peak corresponds to the week Vampires opened in the US, the steady flux seem to be the regular fans/visitors.

October 7th I know, an extremely long time between updates this time around again, not enough time and too many new students to spend any time sifting through e-mails and news reports. Anyway, I have been through them now so replies should be forthcoming. On with the news:

JC in Tim Robbins Film? Maybe a 'fashion shoot' has the answer? - This is mad, seems JC was in style mage GQ modelling suits, the article mentioned JCs cameo in Robbins' new film

... this month's British GQ mag has a Hollywood males fashion spread, featuring none other than the man himself in some fine clobber (yes, the most
unlikely JC assignment ever), and mentionig that he's in the movie. G. Glass - and thanks to Jack Crow as well for that info

but then Seedking tells us this

Just thought you might want to know, the rumor about Carpenter playing  Randolph Hearst in a new Tim Robbins movie is totally false. At least,
Carpenter seemed to be pretty surprised to hear about it. He asked, "Was I good?"

so what is going on?

Mary Shelley's Vampires Patrick Kerr, a fellow JC website pioneer, keeps us up to date with this strange info

Got a DVD tidbit for you about VAMPIRES which is just plain wrong IMO, but here it is, from the Organized Chaos e-mailer (to join: local@ultranet.com): Expected to come out today (Aug 31) a "double-feature reissue of John Carpenter's VAMPIRES and Mary Shelley's (or is it Kenneth Branagh's?) FRANKENSTEIN".  I mean, what the hell?  They have absolutely nothing in common!  Oh well, it's news. Patrick

Special Edition EFNY DVD - Yeeesssssssssssssssss! That says it all really :

If you don't already know Escape from New York Collectors edition is scheduled to be released on December 31st. It's going to have audio commentary with John and Kurt, Deleted scenes containing an alternate beginning and alternate ending. Hope you like the news. Matt

Low Budget JC Movie? - Anyone have any info on this, I would love to know more:

I am a huge horror movie buff and was lucky enough to go to Western Kentucky University.  Here is my question.  In the summer of 1989, John
made a low budget movie on Western's campus at the SAE house.  I remember my broadcasting teacher Bart White was the killer.  Anyway, I can't remember the name of it and cant find any information about it.  I just thought I would see if you could find anything out about it. Chrissie Mueller

JC on A&E Long time source Don M. spots JC:

Probably some old news, but it was interesting anyway. A & E was running biographies on child stars last week and I happen to catch one on Kurt Russell. Having a suspicion that the program may include some comments from J.C. himself, I was pleased to see that J.C. was used extensively throughout the entire program. There were several segments where he described how great an actor and talent Kurt Russell is and how their friendship has evolved. This was awesome to see and listen to this. They did mention every project that Carpenter and Russell colaborated on and there was absolutely no negative comments made concerning any of the films. There was no, "The Thing was a box office bomb" or "BigTrouble in Little China was a major disappointment". They were stating things like, "Big Trouble, a cult classic" and "The Thing, a classic horror film" or something like that. Also, the program date was 1999, so this was a
recently shot show. Well, just wanted to update you on something I thought was really interesting. You can pick up A&E biography tapes at most Barnes and Noble Bookstore's I believe. May be something worth having. We'll talk to you later.  Don M.

1975 And Or 1979 Captain Kirk Mask Wanted!

Yes Ive been on a quest for four years with no luck to find 2 certain Captain Kirk Masks made by The Don Post Mask Company.  One is a 1975 Captain Kirk Mask and the other is a 1979 Star Trek The Motion Picture Captain Kirk Mask.  These both are adult and full headed Masks.  A finder fee will be payed to you if I can get my hands on any of these.  Please can you help?  Thanks for the time and take care - fever999@aol.com

Dum-da-da-dum-dum

Just thought you might be interested to know that the latest single (titled "For Real") from British trip hop artist Tricky contains a b-side called "Bombing Bastards"  which uses JC's Assault on Precinct 13 score for the music.  Its a great song and JC's music with Tricky's voice make a great combination!
I think the two should do an album together! };) Erin Howe

Sounds interesting, though I don't like Tricky myself. I remember Bomb The Bass (showing my age!) using the same track as the basis for their Beat Dis single.

JC DVD Error

Not a major error and it clears up something I once got confused about:

I noticed some words on the DVD of Christine and wanted to fill you in on some funny news. Upon watching the film (best transfer yet) I skipped over to the film notes on the diredtor and cast. In the John C. section they note in his credits as being the author of a certain book -
Report from the Besieged City and Other Poems
uopmn fearing I had missed an important JC little tidbit (much like his scoring of SENTINAL) I rushed to the PC and a seach , lo and behold the DVD fact is WRONG. The author is indeed named John Carpenter, but not our favorite director-just a well noted author . Check this link for details-

http://www.poems.com/~poems/elegdher.htm

Chris Chouinard

Black Christmas Seems like my rant at least didn't fall on completely stony ground. Kirk Hazen comes back with an eloquent comparison of the two films. Now you should know that name, as Kirk is responsible for some great fan fiction involving characters from JCs films. Look for Patrick Kerr's webiste in my links section and check out Kirk's stories.

--------- Halloween/ Black Christmas editorial (spoilers ahead for those of you who haven't seen either film) -------------------

It seemed inevitable that, along with the resurgence of the horror film and the overwhelming popularity and fanbase of HALLOWEEN, one of my favorite unsung suspense films, BLACK CHRISTMAS, would finally get it’s due. I’ve been championing this little masterpiece for years (I saw it around the same time I saw HALLOWEEN back in 1981-’82, and both have had quite an impact on me) and have always placed it alongside HALLOWEEN as a benchmark in how to do horror and suspense right. But the recent buzz- and I have heard it quite a bit in the last year or two- about how John Carpenter ripped off BLACK CHRISTMAS is, quite simply, bullshit. Apparently Carpenter and Bob Clark did work on a script or scripts together back in the mid 70’s and Carpenter was an admirer of BLACK CHRISTMAS. When Clark had a sleeper hit with the film, there was some talk of a sequel, one that would take place on HALLOWEEN night. Now, if I’m not mistaken, didn’t Irwin Yablans come up with the mad slasher element for HALLOWEEN first? And then Carpenter and Hill came in on the project? Well, I recall reading that Carpenter was aware that Clark was thinking of doing the Halloween BLACK CHRISTMAS sequel and Carpenter actually called him and asked if it would okay if the Halloween setting was used for their movie and Clark was fine with it. In the Fangoria retrospective on BLACK CHRISTMAS, Clark basically
says that the similarities are marginal and doesn’t even hint at being ripped off or plagiarized. In the film business, there are quite a few films that have very similar set-ups and scenes, especially the Maniac on the loose sub-genre. Certainly, HALLOWEEN doesn’t have near as many ‘lifted’ elements as the later slasher films of the 1979-82 heyday, because it was the trendsetter. To use a baseball analogy, BLACK CHRISTMAS was a
line drive to center field and HALLOWEEN was a home run- and they were both in the same inning. BLACK CHRISTMAS is heavy on plot elements and red-herrings (fit together very well, mind you) whereas HALLOWEEN is more direct and lean in it's narrative structure. In a Cinefantastique interview from 1980 (highly recommended reading; one of JC’s best early interviews), Carpenter was asked about HALLOWEEN having the ‘Bob Clark/BLACK CHRISTMAS style cheat’ ending to which he responded ‘BLACK CHRISTMAS was about who the killer was. In my movie his identity is irrelevant. Wait ‘til next Halloween; he’ll be back to getcha!’ In my opinion, there are indeed similarities between the to films: 1. Atmospheric holiday setting- both films have this in spades; 2. POV of the Killer shots- HALLOWEEN uses this technique at the beginning, because Carpenter doesn’t want you to know the killer is a child yet; after that, the Shapes location is often within the frame or kept ambiguous to set up a scare (EX. Bob in the kitchen/Laurie by the couch, with the knitting needle). In BLACK CHRISTMAS, Clark is forced to use the POV more because the Maniacs identity is being withheld; 3. The ‘heroine discovering the bodies’ scene- to me, one of the sharpest similarities between the two films. Both Laurie and Jess open a bedroom door and see the body/bodies of their friends, and then meet the killer. Both films do a smashing job at this; the Shape fading out of the dark doorway and attacking Laurie/the Maniac’s bulging, insane eyeball in the doorway crack as he whispers psychotically to Jess. The main difference is that Jess knows there is a killer in the house before she opens the door, making her considerably gustier than Laurie, at least up until that point. And as far as merit, both scenes are absolutely shit-in-your-pants spine-chilling; 4. The phone as an instrument of terror- Both films utilize the phone as a connective device between the killer and the heroine, but BLACK CHRISTMAS does it much more, and in a way that ratchets up the psychological terror to a fever pitch. HALLOWEEN uses it sparingly and atjust the right moments, because, as we all know, the Shape isn’t much of a talker. The BLACK CHRISTMAS killer is defined by the phone calls; his incredibly creepy and insane babbling voice(not to mention bulging eyeball) is as important as the ghostly white mask, butcher knife, and quirky tics of the Shape, who is the certainly the more laconic of the two killers; 5. The twist ‘he’s still out there!’ ending- let’s face it- both films have done this better than any other in horror history. They leave you with a knot in your gut and goosebumps on your arms, the way a horror film should. The endings do have some similarities as well: in HALLOWEEN, we see all the locations of the attacks/murders, as the Shapes breathing dominates the soundtrack. It’s a direct twist ending, leaving nothing to doubt; the empty lawn and Loomis’s face tell us that ‘He’s still out there!’. BLACK CHRISTMAS’s is slightly more ambiguous; the camera moves through the quiet house from Jess’s room (as she sleeps soundly) to the other rooms/murder locations. As it nears the attic, we then hear the giggling, whispering maniac and cut to the interior of the attic for his signature ‘Agnes, it’s meeee, Billy’ line (as he sits amid the bodies that the police didn’t yet find). It’s a bit more subtle than HALLOWEEN, but no less effective (especially since we know that Jess is lying asleep a few rooms down, unprotected!). Overall, I feel that Carpenter was obviously influenced, if even just slightly, by BLACK CHRISTMAS, but HALLOWEEN is still in it’s own class- it’s more straightforward and much more of a traditional horror film, drawing on the ‘boogey-man’ mythology and the holiday itself. BLACK CHRISTMAS is, in it’s own right, a suspense classic, and should rightly be viewed as the progenitor of the modern slasher (and it’s lightyears ahead of WHEN A STRANGER CALLS, the other ‘phone/killer’ movie). Both films should be acknowleged as two classics of the genre and let's put all the rip-off tripe to rest...unless you can give me video footage of John Carpenter paying Bob Clark off for his silence with a briefcase full of green in a empty parking lot as their heavily armed henchman look on with twitching eyes...Do that, and I'll buy you a sody-pop at the local five and dime.

Carpenter in Entertainment Weekly

Here is a small item from the new Entertainment Weekly that I thought might interest you:

JOHN CARPENTER's Five Favorite Scary-Movie Moments

PSYCHO 1960 "Martin Balsam walks up the stairs in the old, dark house.
High-angle shot, looking down at him reaching the second-floor landing.
Mother-Norman - comes out of nowhere with the knife. Popcorn goes flying."

THE THING 1951 "Kenneth Tobey and his men reach a closed doorway. Dewey
Martin's Geiger counter is flickering wildly. What's beyond the door? The
door is opened and James Arness is standing there right in front of them.
Milk Duds go flying."

THE FLY 1958 "David Hedison is a scientist who jumps in a matter transmitter
and gets mixed up with a fly. Patricia Owens is his wife,who suddenly rips
the black hood off his head. Giant twitching fly-head leers back at her.
7-Up goes flying out of it's cup.

REPULSION 1965 "Catherine Deneuve is crazy and she's locked herself in her
apartment. The last 45 minutes of this classic is terrifying. Not a dry seat
in the theater."

SUSPIRIA 1977 "Forget the plot and watch Dario Argento's exquisitely violent
ghost story. When the music starts, it's time to be scared. Feminists,
children under 17, and wimps will not be admitted to the theater."

(#504 - Sept.24, 1999; The Hundred Greatest Movie Moments 1950-2000)

Bill

Ship in The Fog? Anyone help us out?

Hi,
This is a question I was wondering if you could help me with. Do you know
what kind of ship, or possibly what ship John Carpenter used to double as the
Elisabeth Dane? I'm a model builder, and have been trying for years to find
out what ship type it was so I could kit bash one. If you could help, I'd
appreciate it.
Thanks Jack

Halloween Special Edition DVD Reviews A couple of reviews have come through, and my copy of the DVD is in the post. Every review is completely favourable, so what are you waiting for, go out and get it!

Review 1:

Hi folks. Forget about every version of Halloween that you may have seen on
either video, laserdisc or early DVD transfers. Anchor Bay has just
released the newly restored version of Halloween. The special limited
double DVD that came out on September 14th brings out the best of Halloween
sound and picturewise ever. The movie was painstakingly restored from the
original camera negatives and what a picture that is!!! Superb colours and
depths, razor sharp video and excellent contrast show Dean Cundeys
beautiful cinematography and lighting. The transfer of the picture was
personally approved by him. The first DVD of the double set offers the
theatrical version of Halloween in both widescreen and pan and scan. The
second DVD contains the "TV version" of Halloween restored in widescreen,
meaning that the 11 minute footage shot for the 1980 NBC broadcast (USA)
was added to the picture. The surprise is that even the TV footage is
offered in widescreen making it a rare treat for fans of the movie. The
1980 footage was produced during the shoot for Halloween II, since the NBC
people required a few cuts for the TV Version leaving the running time of
Halloween a little short. The original cast of Halloween was reassambled in
1980 including Donald Pleasance, Jamie Lee Curtis, P.J. Soles etc. and
under J.C. direction the additional scenes were created. What you see on
DVD number two of the set is the full Halloween movie in widescreen plus
the 11 minutes of the TV footage spliced into the story.(NO cuts!) Those
scenes are not so important storywise and I can agree with Carpenter who
says that it makes Michael Meyers even more scary the less you know about
about his backstory. But who would miss the additional footage if it is
available??? I myself prefer the threatrical version since the 11 minutes
of the TV version slow down the movie a little bit but hey, I am glad to
have those scenes for the first time in Widescreen. Those were only
available on the 1994 Criterion Laserdisc release in the United States, but
only as isolated scenes in crappy-bad looking full frame.
The sound of the restored version of Halloween is another story: DVD one
with the cinema version of Halloween was restored in 5.1 Dolby Digital. The
music sounds absolute great, crisp and clear. The sound has been completely
redesigned and remixed for the Digital Surround world. Directional effects
like rainstorm and wind create a creepy atmosphere and nicely dwell upon
the rear channels! Of course, only when it really fits and not ALL of the
time. As we are told Alan Howarth had his hands on the remixing process of
the sound. Great work with a lot of taste for the piece! This is another
way of listening to the effects and music and we all know how important
this is particular in the case of Halloween. It transforms the picture
again into the year 2000 without killing it's spirit (no pun intended!).
For the purists out there the original mono soundtrack is also available on
the DVD to choose. The sound of the "TV version" is available in mono only.
The extras of the special limited edition DVD are great too. There is a 30
minute documentary called "Halloween unsmasked 2000" including new
interviews of the cast and crew partly shot on original shooting sights. I
don't want to go too much into detail but every time I see Jamie Lee Curtis
talk about her work on Halloween I am stunned at her intelligence, her
humour, her sympathy and her loyalty towards John Carpenter and Debra Hill.
By the way, I could listen to Debra Hill and John Carpenter for hours in a
row. I work for a local radio station and if I ever have the chance to meet
them I am gonna sell my soul to make an interview with John, Debra or
Jamie-Lee. Anyway, the docu was really great and enyoable! Apart from that,
there are trailers, tv and radio spots, movie trivia and picture galeries
availabe on the DVD extras.
All in all it makes the new Anchor special edition of Halloween the best
that ever happened to a video release of that movie. Pitty, they didnt
re-released the new prints in a theatrical run. Well, if you want the DVD
double set, you better move fast. It is limited to 21.000 copies. The
restored movie only will be availble on September 28th as regular Dolby
Digital 5.1 widescreen version. One more thing. Anchor Bay has not regional
coded those DVDs. Play them whereever you are, Europe, States, Asia,
Australia or Africa it really doesnt matter. Enjoy folks! I am still
enjoying!!!

Dave Joerg, Wiesbaden (Germany)

Review 2:

  Hey Marc,
   Just wanted to drop a line and give a review on the recently released
Halloween Limited Edition DVD.  To start out,  AMAZING!!! The movie never
looked better.  The picture was as pristine as could be. It looks as if the
movie was filmed yesterday.  Color fidelity, Sharpness, Contrast, Lighting,
all Flawless. The blacks were all crystal clear, no grain at all in the
picture.  The opening title sequence will leave you breathless.  The movie of
course is presented in the 2:35:1 aspect ratio and I can't stress enough how
superior the quality of this DVD really is.  Equally as astonishing is the
newly remastered Dolby Digital (5.1) soundtrack.  The audio fidelity is
outstanding and the soundstage set by the soundtrack is incredible.  No more
having to view the movie and it sounding like its being played in a tin can.
The audio is first class and again sounds like it was recorded yesterday.
All I have to say is the opening scene where Dr. Loomis and the nurse are on
their way to pick up Michael Myers from the institution, the sound effects of
the thunder and rain and the music under the dialogue, all exquisite. To sum
this DVD up is to say that it is the ultimate Halloween expreience. Next best
thing to having seen it in the theatres, which I was unfortunately unable to
do.  Anchor Bay has really made a statement with this title and all their
time and hard work has paid off immensely.  The extras on the DVD include a
30 min short "Unmasked Halloween 2000" with updated interviews with J.C.
Deborah Hill, Dean Cundey, P.J. Soles and even Jamie Lee Curtis.  Also,
there's a theatrical trailer and teaser, Actor-Director bios, Scene
Selection, and a photo gallery that is really fantastic.  The DVD has been
given the THX stamp of approval and believe me, it is well deserved.  I
cannot forget to also let you know that there is another disc included which
has the entire Television version in Letterbox and THX included. I know
everyone knows this and interestingly enough on the insert, the tracks are
labeled with the added television scenes (added for time) highlighted.  Well
Marc, hopefully, this review will help everyone understand how great this DVD
is and I look forward to the next Carpenter release on the best format in the
world. Talk to you later.
Don M. in the states.

Review 3:

Hello, Marc!

How are things with you! Don't know if you've had a chance to read it
yet, but I just reviewed the new Anchor Bay Entertainment Limited
Edition DVD for our website and e-zine. You may reprint the review on
your site with my permission. Best check it out before Wednesday,
because the new reviews will be posted by then. If so, you can find
HALLOWEEN in the archives under 9/22/99.

http://www.impaler.com/organizedchaos/digital.html

The disc is oustanding! Does Anchor Bay issue their titles in England?
Keep up the great work!

Kenneth J. Souza

New JC Interview On-Line Well, an old interview, but you know what I mean....

I'm the Senior Editor at IGN For Men, part of the IGN.com network. We ran a JC interview I did a few years ago where he and I talked about wrestling and westerns. I'd really appreciate it if you would link it to your site.

formen.ign.com/news/8960.html

Spence Abbott

A Tribute To John Carpenter has been updated - Jesper says:

After over a month in totally inacticity I finally got time to make an update! 20 new pictures has been added and a lot more are waiting on my harddisk to hit the internet! :) There are new pictures in the following sections:
 Memoirs of an Invisible Man
 Vampires
 Escape From New York
 The Fog
 and Halloween

http://www.johncarpenter.dk - A Tribute To John Carpenter

September 1st A Rant Ok, no new info or news today. If you want some juicy tidbits about the slow moving world of JC then stop reading now cos I am bored, on a coffee break and feel like getting a few things off my chest:

Black Christmas V Halloween - I just do not get this argument at all. Let me summarise it for you, JC is a sheister who ripped off Bob Clark's earlier slasher movie. Now Clark claims that he planted the seed for Halloween in JCs head with this movie. It's hard to argue with that given that we do not know what JCs inspiration was, but even Clark stops short of claims of plagiarism. So both films use POV for the serial killer, so what? Both involve teens (yeah, like Margot Kidder is really a teen in Black Christmas!) and both use a holiday to stage the 'event' (Christmas and Halloween respectively). They sound similar when listed like but they are extremely different in terms of style, substance and critical/commercial success. Black Christmas is a bit of a dissapointment after all the hype it gets as a bit of a 'lost classic'; it treads too closely to melodrama with the unreal exchanges between the teenagers involved. Part of Halloween's success is its spot on depiction of teenage school years. However, the fundamental difference, and the key to Halloween's success, is in the serial killer himself, Micheal Myers. I don't want to spoil Black Christmas for those who havn't seen it but it does have a sort of coventional 'whodunnit' structure that quickly becomes labored. In Halloween we know straight off who Myers is because of that wonderful pre-credits sequence. This is evil, pure and simple with no intention to keep us guessing at identities and motives (which is why I think the Halloween sequels pretty much sucked, but that is another rant).. Ditch the extra TV scenes and the exposition outlined in the novelisation and all we know about Myers is that he wants to kill people. This turns him into a pure force, leaving us to gape in horror as this relentless machine terrorises this town, all within the space of the blackest night (this unity of time is also another strong point of Halloween). So I want to stop hearing about JC ripping off Clark, it did not happen. Halloween is a milestone in cinema, Black Christmas is a mildly enjoyable movie that outstays its welcome after the first half hour. On a tangent, I see that Blair Witch is now the most profitable indie movie ever, a title held by Halloween for quite a while before going on to Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles! At least a horror film has regained the spot - can't really comment myself as I havn't seen it yet (not out in the UK) but the trailer sure is effective. Anyway, that is the end of this extremely occasional rant feature for now.

John Carpenter - Murderer! This old chestnut has come up again! I don't know if someone was pulling my leg or something but every once in a while someone lets me know that Carpenter murdered Bob Crane (Hogan of Hogan's Heroes) back in 1978. Jeepers, do you really think a major Hollywod director could get away with this given that the topic comes up on the web regularly. Now let me see, what could it be? I know, 'John', a popular first name and 'Carpenter', plenty of people with that surname about. Could there be more than one John Carpenter!? No you cry, but surely statistics cannot lie! Anyway, an end to sarcasm, for the full info read this

http://wildcat.arizona.edu/papers/old-wildcats/fall94/November/November1,1994/04_1_m.html

Addendum: Jeepers, this thing just keeps on motoring! Now I have a few people who claim to have articles stating that it is THE John Carpenter - this is the typical form of these rumours

             " Yesterday, a friend told me some very disturbing news. He was told by
                    his manager (at a movie store) that John Carpenter was recently tried
                    (and let off on a technicality) for the murder of Bob Crane (Hogan of
                    "Hogan's Heroes"). This murder occurred approx. 20 years ago and was
                    extremely grizzly. According to my friend's boss, JC and Crane were
                    friends in the '70's. Supposidly, they were heavily into drugs,
                    prostitutes, and pornography. It was also rumored that many of their
                    sordid exploits with above mentioned prostitutes were found on tape in
                    Crane's home. He then went on to tell me that "In the Mouth of Madness"
                    was made for the sole purpose of paying JC's lawyer fees.

                    Now, I'm a big big fan of John Carpenter's movies, and I have never ever
                    heard anything about this. I'm usually very suspect of things I hear
                    second or third hand, so I thought I'd ask around. Does anyone else know
                    anything about this?
                    "

This is a load of rubbish, very old rubbish that keeps getting recycled and will not die a decent death. Look up old articles about the case, check out numerous Bob Crane and Hogan's Heroes websites; the murderer was John HENRY Carpenter, an electrician/video salesman - this has nothing to do with JC except for the coincidence of the name. That lawyer's fees rumour is funny though......

August 26th Ok, I know, the time between updates is getting longer and longer. The problem is it really does seem that the JC camp is on some sort of prolonged hiatus; I hesitate however to draw any conclusions about JCs future career, we shall just have to wait and see. What I don't want to do is update this news page every time I tweak a page on the website - that is not what this page is for. I shall endeavour to keep us all up to date but I need everyone to send in any info they have to help me do this; and you will get a response, even if it does take a loooong time!

JC Acting Role This snippet was reported a while back and here is some follow up info "Thought you might like to know, the Internet Movie Database confirms that it's John Carpenter in the new Tim Robbins movie.  Now all we need is Tim Robbins in a JC movie, and we're talking business...Regards George Glass" Anyone have any more info on this?

JCs Mystery Illness This is a saga that has gone on for a long time, with most people acknowledging the fact that JC was not a well man. I have refrained from reporting on it in the past as I didn't want to start any rumours; I still don't but I believe this and think that JCs fans would want to know - "At the time we spoke to him,during 1993 (seems like a hell of a long time ago!) he was looking a little tired and was clearly suffering from the effects of the skin cancer he informed he had contracted.He told me this was a result of filming in the sun and snow during The Thing,tho he did chain-smoke constantly during the 3 or so hours we were chatting with him! He told us then ,that the rumours currently circulating concerning a sequel to The Thing were complete speculation and that he knew nothing about them,he also said that Universal had hated the first movie and he was sure that they would have nothing to do with a second film should it happen. He did say, though, that if he were to direct a follow up, he would favour basing it on the Dark Horse comics "The Thing From Another World" (which, by the way are really good comics, I will see if I can dig out my copies) Anyway, keep up the good work,I thought i would just add my (outdated) pennyworth of info on a truly nice guy,and an inspiring director." So I think we have the final answer on it there. I don't really know what to add, just send my best wishes to JC and hope he fells well now.

A Voice of the Millenium We already new that JC is one of THE voices of the millenium and now we have official recognition of that fact!  - "Thought you would like to know (if you didn't already) - CNN has what they call  Voices of the Millennium - short video new stories on key news events which happened over this last century.  These usually have some well known person commenting on the news story. They recently aired a VOICES OF THE MILLENNIUM on the moon landing and the well known person commenting on the event was John Carpenter. These are fairly short - about one minute segments that cut in throughout the day and evening on CNN usually right before or after a commercial break. Thought you would like to know - Jeff Carney"

www.johncarpenter.dk Updated Jesper Berg lets us know about the updates to his great source of JC media - " I found some  rare and cool Carpenter stuff in France. Press releases, production stills, and  productions notes to They Live, a lot of production stills to Escape from L.A., and a couple of video covers etc. They are all included in this update. There are new pictures from, They Live, Escape from L.A., Escape from New York, Starman, In the Mouth of Madness, Halloween, Christine, The Fog,  and a couple of portraits of JC. A special "thank you" must go to Christopher Weedman  for sending me three great pictures from They Live. They are also included in this update."

German Vampires Tobias keeps us up to date again "short news before I leave for vacation. Vampires is still going strong here: 700.000 admissions. I don´t think it will pass a million, but this is a big success - even more so if you consider that the distrubutor is a small one. This must be the most successful Carpenter-Movie here for a really long time." Good to hear about that, I reckon Vampires must have been a pretty profitable film.

Christine DVD Tobias again with some info on the disc "Christine" seems to be available in September - as a DVD, code 2. (see dvdworld.co.uk.)" Now we have a review of the movie sent in by long time contributor Don M.
"  Hey Marc, Just wanted to send in a review of the recently released DVD Christine. Of course this is a Carpenter classic and the DVD lives up to its claim as the best format around.  The picture is crystal clear and no artifacts were present. You can really see how they were trying for the 1950's effect with the tone of the picture in the opening sequence.  The DVD is presented in the 2:35:01 aspect ratio which Carpenter has shot all of his films in and in my opinion, unless you see it as it was meant to be seen, your missing the real movie. So much is going on in the left and right corners of the frame that watching this movie in pan and scan is a waste.  Anyway, the soundtrack is Dolby Digital 2-channel, and sounds just fine in Dolby pro-logic. I just picked up a Dolby Digital receiver and have not had the opportunity to hear the film in digital sound yet. I'll follow up with a review on that when I get a chance to do so.  No special features here and a major disappointment is that there is no theatrical trailer.  If Evil Dead 2 can have a trailer on its DVD, why can't Christine.  Anyway, the menu is pretty cool, not really animated, but has a nice presentation to it.  Other than that, some character Bio's, some diff languages and subtitles and that's about it.  In all, just to have this Carpenter work on the best format in the world and in its intended aspect ratio, the DVD gets a 10.  Hope everythig's going well and we'll check back with you when I pick up the Halloween special edition on DVD set to be released Aug 31st. Anyway take care. Don M. in the States"

JC Gear Here we have the latest request for merchandise info "Hello- i was just wonderin if there were any inormation posted about the Jeep
Wrangler TJ used in the film (Vampires)?  It's real cool- and I would like to know how many winches it actually had- and what mods and upgrades were made to accomodate the multiple lights? thanks- dano" As usual, all info greatly appreciated. And now for the next request - " I'm searching for the lyrics of "Benson, Arizona" from the Carpenter movie "Dark Star". Can you help me further with this? Sascha"

John Carpenter DOUBLE FEATURE in NJ, USA"http://www.voicenet.com/~jnelson1 - EXHUMED FILMS is doing it again. This time they are playing HALLOWEEN and THE THING on october 15th, in mt. ephriam, New Jersey. This double feature is in a real theater, from 35 mm prints. Admission will be $7. Check their website for more details and directions to get there. They have in the past shown THE FOG and HALLOWEEN. They are also doing two more double features in October, one of Texas Chainsaw Massacre 1 & 2 (Tobe Hooper Night), and Peter Jackson Night with Dead Alive and BAD TASTE! Later, Anthony" Sounds like a fantastic event to me, and if you fancy a great night out go and see the Jackson films as well.

July 29th German Vampires Tobias Kessler is keeping us well up to date with what is happening in Germany

short news from germany: ,,Vampires" had a very good first week: more good reviews and 160.000 admissions (Escape from LA had 360.000 in its
entire run).

Entertainment Weekly

A lot of info on this, good to see JC getting increased recognition in the press. Let's hope this inspires him to make another film soon!

The new issue of Entertainment Weekly (#495) has an article on the 25 scariest films of all time and I was pleased to see our favorite director made
the list. They rank Halloween as the #5 scariest film of all time and The Thing as the #12 scariest film of all time. JC is the only director to make the lost twice.
The authors said Carpenter was the only director to make the  list twice. Carp said he was shocked because everyone hated the Thing at
first. The authors state " Time to set the record straight" the thing is a great horror film. Here is a little tidbit... I remember watching Siskel and
Ebert, and the late Gene Siskel liked the Thing...alot. He cited the blood test scene as a text book example of suspense and that the film was much more than a monster running around. Interestingly, Siskel also gave Vampires a very positive review noting the western themes and James Woods electrifying performance..that review is online somewhere but you got to dig for it. Anyway, it is good to see John Carpenters' The Thing is finally being recognized , as many articles have appeared in trade papers singing its praises.

Here is the list in EW's order:
1. The Exorcist
2.  Texas Chainsaw Massacre
3.  Alien
4.  The Silence of the Lambs
5.  Halloween
6.  Jaws
7.  Psycho
8.  Seven
9.  The Shining
10.  Rosemary's Baby
11.  A Nightmare on Elm Street
12.  The Thing
13.  Night of the Living Dead
14.  The Omen
15.  Carrie
16.  Henry:  Portrait of a Serial Killer
17.  Phantasm
18.  Suspiria
19.  The Hitcher
20.  Dead Ringers
21.  Near Dark
22.  The Stepfather
23.  Lost Highway
24.  Freaks
25.  The Vanishing (1988)

Thanks to - Mike Kovacs, NadaLives, Jaxstor

Interesing JC Spotting Ok, this is thin and probably wouldn't be in if news wasn't so slow, but hell, it made me smile and Tim Robbins is another great director so

Hello there, mailing from Ireland, keep up the good work.  Spotted something of interest recently - at the bottom of the credits for Tim Robbins new
movie The Cradle Will Rock (which debuted to a mixed response at Cannes), the actor listed as playing William Randolph Hearst (model for the title
character in Citizen Kane, the films a true story about Orson Welles theatre company, set in the depression era) is none other than John Carpenter.  Now, is this one hardened Hollywood (Robbins) liberal giving a gig to another (JC), or is there simply an actor of the same name?  Be interesting to know. I've also seen the U.K./Irish release date of Vampires listed as Halloween, hopefully we'll get to see it on the big(ish) screen.  Anyhows, all the
best.- George Glass

Another note for the UK Vampires release as well, confirming earlier rumours (or at the very least, reinforcing them), roll on Halloween!

Halloween Special Ed DVD

I have reported on this excellent looking disc before and here is the latest

I just wanted to let you know that we now have a new chapter in our production diary to Anchor Bay's upcoming special edition of "Halloween".
This time we take a look at the still galleries on the release and reveal some exclusive pictures, not to mention a snafu from an early test copy of the DVD!
Don't miss it and stop by if you're interested. Darius DeMartini DVD Review - http://www.dvdreview.com

Help The JC Fans

Should I add a new section to the site for this? Here we have two more people looking for various bits of JC paraphernalia. If interest is high enough maybe a swap-shop type notice board would be a good idea?

i really like this movie and i think it is one of the best made...i was really happy that it was not some cheesy love story like most vampire
movies...i was trying to find some of the contact lenses that the vampires wore in the movie...can you help me out...hopefully they will be cheap...but
i want them to look exactly like the ones in the movie...get back to me please...thanx
brad brown ( RedStrLush@aol.com)

Hey man, I was just on your site and I found it very interesting and pretty cool acually. But I was wondering do you know where I can get the Guitar  Tablature to John's movie "In the Mouth of Madness" I want the Tab for that song that starts in the begining of the movie and it also plays right after the movie when it rolls the credits. So if you can help me out, I'd appreciate it...Thanks for all your help.- Kolt (heatzeeker@hotmail.com)

July 18th Back after a long hiatus. I know it has been an age since the last update, same old story of very little JC news and my ever changing adventures in the new (to me anyway) world of work. Want to know what I have really been up to? Switch over to this site and watch some of the finest rugby moves ever played, and all the fantastic new home stadium! 29-19!

Welcome Back Jesper Been hankering for a real fix of JC based multimedia? Anxious to find out how they did those special FX in Memoirs.... or see the trailer for The Thing? Then rejoice brother, salvation is near. After languishing in disconnected purgatory for far too long Jesper Berg's excellent John Carpenter site is back on-line, check out

www.johncarpenter.dk

and find out why you need a new modem to download all of those sound and vision goodies.

Christine Trivia

Here is Another interesting fact or something that remains yet unclear:

The 350 Golden Commando was, as Stephen King says, not the motor used in
Christine. It talks about this in the book, where it says that the air filter
"Had the numbers "318" painted on it, with lines swept backward to indicate
speed". This means the 318 motor, not the 350. However I do not know that the
318 was out in '58. Was this another one of King's errors, just as the 58 was
never a four-door? Or was it the movie company's mistake?

I have a  ' 65 Plymouth Sport Fury with a 318 in it... and am a Fury
enthusiast. Matter of fact I am looking for a ' 58 to paint up like Christine,
with the personalized tag ("CHRSTINE") on the back. Anyone know where I might
find one in need of restoration?

James Coats
Marion, NC

So there you go, some minutae on one of JCs movies. Anyone help the guy out or answer the queries?

Vampires

The german distributor of Vampires has opened its website:
www.vampire-film.de

Cheers, Tobias

I also have it on good authority that it has  recently opened in Spain. Seems like the UK may get it this Halloween, if we all live that long. Anyway, the web seems to have a lot more Vampires activity than the real world, so I shall continue:

In my searches for Vampires pages, and well, pictures too, I came
across this link:

http://www.cecchigori.com/cinema/VAMPIRES/home.htm

I don't know if you've seen it or not, I don't think I saw the link on
your page. The web page itself is in french, and I haven't felt like trying to use
one of the translation programs to figure out exactly what it says.
They DO have about 10 Vampires pictures, either ones I haven't come
across before, or ones that are much better in quality.

Here's what I found interesting, this picture:

http://www.cecchigori.com/cinema/VAMPIRES/pic/vampires09.jpg

It's not in the actual article anyplace, I just happened to change the
numbers at the end of the file names of some of the other pictures.
(I've found that places sometimes have a couple more pictures than are
listed anywhere....)

The picture itself is of Jack Crow, kneeling over Father Adam with a gun
to his head. But it from the background, it looks like the same place that the final
scenes take place in (the town/city's/village's name escapes me).

I thought you might be interested.

Dave Kotmel

and now we have some merchandising queries,

Hi, Perhaps you can help me on this question (and it is not an easy one). In the
movie, James Wood wore a pair of glasses. They are really cool. I would like
to get a pair but have no idea who makes them or what style they are. Any
ideas, if not who could i email to find out such info (ie wardrobe director
etc..) thanks for any help you can give me (drpete@home.com).

EFNY DVD Info

I got my copy of the "Escape from New York" DVD (Region 2, PAL system)
today. When I first read the information on the back of the cover I was
shocked. It said the movie was in the "original aspect ratio 1.33 : 1".
Excuse me? All of JCs movies made for cinema (excpet for "Dark Star")
are shot in the Panavision ratio 2.35 : 1, so I was pissed.
When I played the disc I saw that the movie is actually transferred in
flat widescreen (prox. 2.25 : 1 aspect ratio) but no enhancement for
widescreen TVs, well I can live with it, as long as I see the whole movie.
The transfer is okay, a little grainy and dark at times but overall
satisfying, a little better than the former US Laserdisc transfer. The good
thing about this DVD: You can actually read the word "Air Force One" when
the code "David 14" is revealed. Former video transfers often screwed it
up. Apart from a few production notes, there are no extras on the DVD from
BMG. Maybe a forthcoming US DVD some time in the future will have the same
interview and commentary sections that are on the New Line Laserdisc from
the US that I have in posession.

Dave Jörg

Halloween 8, is Myers Dead?

Webmasters,

We have just received information that another HALLOWEEN sequel is in the
works. It is in its conceptual stages at the moment and we need your help.

Currently, "big wigs" in the franchise are thinking about doing a Michael
Myers-less sequel, much like HALLOWEEN III. While I try to have a
non-biased opinion in what appears on halloweenmovies.com, I think most
everyone will agree this is not the direction the franchise needs to move
to. So, we're mounting up a "Save Halloween" campaign.

I'd like to ask you to link to our fan-feedback form, at
http://www.halloweenmovies.com/h8.htm , where fans can submit their
opinions on this development in the series. We will be compiling this
feedback and sending them to "the powers that be" - they have personally
asked us to gather this information.

Your help would be appreciated and we continue to thank you for the support
and work you've given to the HALLOWEEN franchise.

Brian Martin
www.halloweenmovies.com

Hmmm, interesting. Personally I really liked the idea of Halloween 3 (if not the execution) and H20 was so good cos it was the full stop on the saga. Watch 1,2 and H20 back to back and you have a fascinating, if flawed trilogy. Anyway, that's my three quarters of a Euro.

Silent Predators and Big Trouble DVD!

I caught that TV movie SILENT PREDATORS on TBS -- it was okay, but obviously had been reworked
from JC's original concept.

You might want to post on the site that DVD Express, which is probably the biggest online retailer here in the U.S. (and certainly one of the
cheapest for DVDs), now has a "disc alert" listing for BIG TROUBLE IN LITTLE CHINA. Although the DVD hasn't been announced, they will send
people e-mail announcements when the studio does release information on the DVD. Go to this page --

http://www1.dvdexpress.com/consumer/products_movies_fr.asp?NO_CATALOG=X&AVAIL=N&PRODUCTNUMBER=8796

and type in your e-mail address. That's it. Also, DVD Express occasionally sends info to studios about their most requested titles, so
if a lot of people start making noise about BIG TROUBLE, it might force CBS/Fox to get moving! There's also a listing for ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK, which is slated for later this year.

Ken Souza.

Fantastic news to see a digital Burton.