John Carpenter News Up To March 1997

News as of 19th March Largo Entertainment are the company in charge of developing VAMPIRE$. They currently advertised for new projects, mentioning the fact that they only take projects viable for 'international release' and that will make a good profit. They are currently developing GI Jane, the films starring Demi Moore. No mention of VAMPIRE$.

News as of 12th March From: ash73 I found the Snake model kit from Death, Inc. It was expensive, but I got it anyway. It's very cool. It's going to take some major work (sanding, gluing, painting), but it's gonna look great! The place I got it is called Monsters In Motion. It's in California. Their number is 714-281-3007. I'm not sure how many more they have. Just thought I'd pass on the info.
EFLA is available as an import laserdisc in the UK, but I am afraid I do not have any distributor information.
Prior to taking on his new King Kong project, Peter Jackson (The Frighteners, Bad Taste) was offered the remake of Creature From The Black Lagoon by Universal. Seems this project is well out of JC's hands now.

News as of 10th March I have started reading the VAMPIRE$ novel and it is excellent so far. For a great review and all the ISBN information then look here. The Interviews section has JC's recent TV appearance and an old interview discussing his love of trashy movies.
If you are unlucky enough to live in Southern California you have just missed the chance of winning a trip to Mexico as a tie-in with EFLA, the details are here. For 2nd prize they had an EFLA script autographed by JC and Kurt Russel.
The comp ties in with the appearance of EFLA on a pay-per-view channel.

News as of 6th March The VAMPIRE$ novel (that is the correct spelling) has been re-released in the UK. I shall have the ISBN number up soon. John Carpenter was on Channel 4's new chat show The Show recently. Check the interviews section for a full transcript. He looked very well and was on good sarcastic form.
From: MRX213 - I know this doesn't have anything to do with John Carpenter, but Kurt Russell's next movie is called Soldier and stars him as soldier stationed on a distant world fights against aliens to protect a colony. It sounds very Plisskenish.

News as of 6th February Some extremely interesting news from Stephen Cody : Just writing to let you know that, according to Harry Knowles' "Ain't it cool" site, the film JC is currently working on is "Vampires" about a Vatican priest's mission to track down and destroy vampires. It's been written by Don Jacoby who is now apparently rewriting it with Carpenter. Hope this sounds authentic to you. Sounds interesting. Pity Donald Pleasence is not around anymore as it sounds like a role tailor made for him.
The above site is an excellent resource for rumours about the movie industry. The next news segment is a direct quote from their page, so cheers. John Carpenter Behind the Camera Again!!! A new John Carpenter film is coming!!! Yes, I know he hasn't been in top form recently, but that doesn't matter. Ya see, Carpenter is one of them film makers that makes ain't it cool movies. Now they might not be for everyones' taste, but they sure as shooting are up my alley. Carpenter will be directing VAMPIRES, which tells the tale of Vatican hired crucifix-carrying holy water spewing garlic breathed vampire exterminaters that hunt down the ancient bloodsuckers. Sign me up. I'm ready. This is the type of film he needs to be making. Carpenter is currently rewriting the Don Jacoby screenplay, juicing it up with his trademarked cool attributes. Now if only he could get Kurt Russell to star. This film definitely sounds like it will be very interesting. I would appreciate any info or more news on this development.
Don Jakoby (notice the different spelling) is credited as one of the writers of Arachnaphobia. Here is the IMDB page on Don Jakoby. The most interesting snippet is that Jakoby wrote the story for The Philadelphia Experiment, an enjoyable sci-fi yarn. Carpenter was executive producer of this film, indicating that the two do have some sort of relationship. This sounds better all the time.
Even more information! As always, the excellent Corona Website is on the ball with a Vampires page. Loads of info there. The scoop from their page :"February, 1996... John Carpenter climbs aboard the project as the film's director. Carpenter seems set to jump-start the, uh, nearly-dead project. Carpenter will re-write Don Jacoby's screenplay and get the $20 million dollar project on the go soon." All I can say is, thank god JC is finally doing another film. The corona site lists Jacoby as the writer, so maybe he is not the same guy as Jakoby. The film is based on a John Steakley novel.
I guess Mutant Chronicles is definitely off now. Here is a review of the book that I found. Not a favourable review mind. I am sure there are loads of other reviews out there.

News as of 3rd February The IMDB entry for ERIC SLEE :- Real name Eric Eugene Slee, Date of Birth (location) 11 June 1980, Height 6' 1", Mini biography Eric was born to Scott and Mary Beth Slee. His mother is currently a librarian at the Liberty Center Public Library and his father works at the Maumee Youth Center helping troubled youth. He is currently one of the youngest directors making movies. After a few short features he is at work on a thriller called The Stalker. Although he is an independent movie maker he hopes on day to attend film school and work for a mjor movie studio. Biography Writer Anonymous. Trivia Is brother of actor Tate Slee. So, he is 16 years old and this is his first film. I have had a few discussions with others about this, and we have come to the conclusion that this entry was put there either by Slee himself or a friend. The fact that it is an anonymous contribution sort of seems a little suspicous. Also, the little titbit about his brother which seems to make it more genuine, well the only film this Tate Slee is listed for is .... The Stalker.

News as of 30th January 1997 The IMDB has an entry for JC as composer on the 1996 film The Stalker. I am afraid I know nothing about this film, and the facts seem a little strange. JC wrote the music with Alan Howarth and Howard Shore. The film is about a kid who kills his family and gets fostered to another one, then starts again. Now, the main character in the film is played by an actor called Tim Myers who plays a character called Micheal Myers! Now, how much of a coincidence is that? The film is written and directed and practically single-handedly made by one Eric Slee, the only entry the IMDB has for this guy. Anyone else have any more information? It is also the only film the production company, Action Hero Pictures, are credited for.

News as of 29th January 1997 The Halloween : Through The Eyes of Tommy Doyle page has a new piece of info regarding JC and Halloween 7. I reprint the information here, so thanks to that site. "Just a bit of news to report to you -- and this is by no means an "official" word (although highly probable). My agent had a conversation with John Carpenter's assistant yesterday, a woman by the name of Chris Svoboda. He inquired about the possibility of Carpenter and Curtis returning for H7. She said, in no uncertain terms, "Never." She said that it would be a minimum of $15 million above-the-line for the two of them -- more than three times the budget of H6! Although she and Carpenter are well aware of the fans' interest in the return of Laurie Strode, she said not to hold your breath. "Jamie Lee almost certainly would never do it -- especially without John attached as director." So, not to dash the hopes of the fans, but at least for now this is Carpenter's position. On the other hand, Kevin Williamson (the writer of SCREAM) tells me that Miramax is actively pursuing the idea of Carpenter/Curtis for the 20th anniversary of the original HALLOWEEN. Perhaps they know something Carpenter himself doesn't??? At this point, though, I guess we have to rely on the word of John's assistant rather than the HOPES of Miramax to get him."
For those who may not have seen it, and those of us in the UK be sure to check out Scream, Wes Cravens new slasher film that contains multitudes of tributes to previous teen-slasher films, including the classic Halloween.

News as of 23rd January 1997 The Corona web-site page has some startling info on Mutant Chronicles. I don't know whether JC is still involved with the project but the rumours are that it may become a Jackie Chan vehicle. This is the wierdest rumour I have heard, if Jackie Chan is involved and JC is still involved then we will have a very strange film.
The following info is courtesy of David Fakrikian, and he states it much better than I could so this is a direct quote (cheers Dave) " Everyone rejoice ! For a modest sum, you can now own EFLA in a letterboxed, widescreen edition, on Laserdisc, in THX Dolby Digital AC-3 stereo (and close captionned too). The jacket says 1.85, but on the disc you get the complete 2.35:1 picture format. You will only miss a few of the right or left edge depending on your TV overscan. The transfer is superb, akin to great transfers like T2, i.e scenes appearing night blue in the theatrical release are now light brown tinted, to ensure visibility on all tv screens & Reel changes are nowhere to be seen. The side break is also a dream. One must, however, deplore a little annoying aliasing, (witness Map Eddie's shirt for example). It's not as bad as Die Hard 3, but it's there. The sound kicks, play it loud to really enjoy it.! As far as current technology goes, this transfer is good. A Pan & Scan version on tape & LD is available also. "

News as of 6th January 1997 Courtesy of the Snake Plissken page. The Escape from Earth rumor seems increasingly more likely (though I personally don't think so - MB).John Carpenter mentions it in his AOL interview (see interviews section). According to the Snake Plissken page Carpenter has made similar comments to the ones he made on AOL in various other publications.
EFLA will be released for rental on Jan. 21st. EFNY will be re-released on laserdisc, date unknown. According to Mr. Roy, the EFNY-EFLA boxset rumor is unfounded. Alas! (Once again, EFNY's videotape future is in limbo. Can anyone tell me if there are any plans to re-release it?) The Snake comic book will be released on Jan. 22. It's a 32 page one-shot from Marvel, and apparently it features Snake battling a cyborg clone of himself. All Release dates are for the USA.
For all you fans with large amounts of disposable money, Snake's gun in EFLA (the big black one he loses during the motorcycle chase) is for sale through Cinema-Props auction for $2500. Also: the Snake Plissken model kit. Take a look at an unpainted figurine. This kit is produced by Death, Inc., but I am not sure if it's in existence any longer.