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John Carpenter

John Howard Carpenter (born January 16, 1948) is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, editor, composer, and occasional actor. Although Carpenter has worked in numerous film genres in his four-decade career, his name is most commonly associated with horror and science fiction. Most films in Carpenter's career were initially commercial and critical failures, with the notable exceptions of Halloween (1978), The Fog (1980), Escape from New York (1981), and Starman (1984). However, many of Carpenter's films from the 1970s and the 1980s have come to be viewed as cult classics, and he has been acknowledged as an influential filmmaker. Cult classics that Carpenter directed include: Dark Star (1974), Assault on Precinct 13 (1976), The Thing (1982), Christine (1983), Big Trouble in Little China (1986), Prince of Darkness (1987), They Live (1988) and In the Mouth of Madness (1995). His films are characterized by minimalist lighting and photography, static cameras, use of steadicam, and distinctive synthesized scores. Carpenter is also notable for having composed or co-composed most of the music of his films; some of them are now considered cult as well, with the main theme of Halloween being considered a part of popular culture. His music is generally synthesized with accompaniment from piano and atmospherics. He released his first studio album Lost Themes in 2015, and also won a Saturn Award for Best Music for Vampires (1998). Carpenter is an outspoken proponent of widescreen filming, and all of his theatrical movies (with the exception of Dark Star and The Ward) were filmed anamorphic with a 2.35:1 or greater aspect ratio. The Ward was shot in Super 35, the first time Carpenter has ever used that system. Carpenter has stated he feels that the 35mm Panavision anamorphic format is "the best movie system there is", preferring it over both digital and 3D film. Many of Carpenter's films have been re-released on DVD as special editions with numerous bonus features. Carpenter has been the subject of the documentary film John Carpenter: The Man and His Movies, and American Cinematheque's 2002 retrospective of his films. Moreover, in 2006, the United States Library of Congress deemed Halloween to be "culturally significant" and selected it for preservation in the National Film Registry. In 2010, writer and actor Mark Gatiss interviewed Carpenter about his career and films for his BBC documentary series A History of Horror. Carpenter appears in all three episodes of the series. He was also interviewed by Robert Rodriguez for his The Director's Chair series on El Rey Network. Many filmmakers have been influenced by Carpenter, including James Cameron, Quentin Tarantino ((The Hateful Eight was heavily influenced by The Thing), Guillermo del Toro, Robert Rodriguez, Edgar Wright, Danny Boyle, Nicolas Winding Refn, Bong Joon-ho, among others. The video game Dead Space 3 is said to be influenced by Carpenter's The Thing, The Fog and Halloween, and Carpenter has stated that he would be enthusiastic to adapt that series into a feature film. Description above from the Wikipedia article John Carpenter, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia


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Born:
Jan 16, 1948 In Carthage, New York, USA
Movie/TV Credits:
61
First Appeared:
In the series The Rifleman 1958-09-30
Latest Project:
Movie In Search of Tomorrow 2022-02-19
Known For
Poster of An Opera of Violence
Poster of Halloween: A Cut Above the Rest
Poster of Halloween: Unmasked
Poster of After Sunset: The Life & Times of the Drive-In Theater
Filmography
Movie In Search of Tomorrow Self - Interviewee 2022-02-19
Movie The History of Metal and Horror Self 2021-09-17
Movie In Search of Darkness: Part II Self 2020-10-06
Movie Henchman: The Al Leong Story Self 2018-12-15
Movie The Puppet Man The Taxi Driver 2016-01-22
Movie Jean-Michel Jarre: The Rise of Electronic Music Self 2015-09-19
Movie Why Horror? Self 2014-10-03
Movie Nightmare Factory Self 2011-10-27
Movie Charlie Brown's Blockhead Revenge Himself (Host) 2011-10-31
Series A History of Horror 2010-10-11
Movie Halloween: The Inside Story Self 2010-10-25
Movie Let There Be Light: The Odyssey of Dark Star Himself (voice) 2010-10-26
Movie Tales from the Script Self 2009-01-10
Movie The Master's Touch: Hitchcock's Signature Style Self 2009-11-03
Movie Monsterland Self 2009-03-29
Movie Pure Cinema: Through the Eyes of the Master Himself 2008-01-01
Movie Lovecraft: Fear of the Unknown Self 2008-07-24
Movie Fantastic Flesh: The Art of Make-Up EFX Self 2008-10-07
Movie In the Master's Shadow: Hitchcock's Legacy Self 2008-10-07
Movie Bloodsucking Cinema Self 2007-10-26
Movie Going to Pieces: The Rise and Fall of the Slasher Film Self 2006-10-13
Movie Born to Controversy: The Roddy Piper Story Self 2006-11-14
Movie Big John Self 2006-12-11
Movie Robby the Robot: Engineering a Sci-Fi Icon Self 2006-11-14
Movie The Perfect Scary Movie Self 2005-10-29
Movie John Carpenter: The Man and His Movies Self 2004-03-23
Movie Tales from the Crypt: From Comic Books to Television Himself 2004-10-31
Movie Broadway's Lost Treasures II Arvide Abernathy (segment "Guys & Dolls") 2004-10-26
Movie Hollywood's Creepiest Creatures Self 2004-10-30
Movie Halloween: A Cut Above the Rest Himself 2003-08-05
Movie Do You Remember Laurie Zimmer? Self (voice) 2003-03-07
Movie The Wages of Sin Self - Filmmaker 2003-11-18
Movie An Opera of Violence Self - Filmmaker 2003-11-18
Movie Something to Do with Death Self - Filmmaker 2003-11-18
Movie Dario Argento: An Eye for Horror Self 2001-04-15
Movie Hidden Values: The Movies of the Fifties Self 2001-09-04
Movie Guns for Hire: The Making of 'The Magnificent Seven' Self 2000-05-13
Movie The American Nightmare Self 2000-09-11
Movie Halloween: Unmasked Self 1999-09-13
Movie Cradle Will Rock Power - William Randolph Hearst 1999-12-10
Movie The Thing: Terror Takes Shape Self 1998-09-08
Movie 100 Years of Horror: Witchcraft and Demons Himself 1996-01-01
Movie Village of the Damned Man at Gas Station Phone 1995-04-28
Movie After Sunset: The Life & Times of the Drive-In Theater Self 1995-09-29
Movie The Silence of the Hams Trenchcoat Man / Gimp 1994-03-11
Movie Body Bags Coroner 1993-08-08
Movie Fear in the Dark Self 1991-10-29
Movie First Works Self 1989-10-10
Movie The House on Carroll Street 1988-03-04
Movie They Live Voice That Says 'Sleep' 1988-11-04
Movie Stephen King's World of Horror Self 1986-01-01
Movie The Boy Who Could Fly The Coupe de Villes 1986-08-15
Movie Big Trouble in Little China Worker in Chinatown (uncredited) 1986-05-30
Movie Starman Man in Helicopter (uncredited) 1984-12-13
Movie The Thing Norwegian (video footage) (uncredited) 1982-06-25
Movie Take One: Fear on Film Self 1982-01-01
Movie Puccini: Manon Lescaut A lamplighter 1980-03-29
Movie Halloween Paul (voice) / Michael Myers (uncredited) 1978-10-24
Movie Assault on Precinct 13 Gang Member (uncredited) 1976-10-08
Movie Night of the Ghouls Capt. Robbins 1959-05-03
Series The Rifleman Unknown 1958-09-30
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