Quotes by John Carpenter

About John Carpenter:

John Howard Carpenter is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, editor and composer. Although Carpenter has worked in numerous film genres, he is most commonly associated with horror and science fiction films from the 1970s and 1980s.
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

When somebody who makes movies for a living - either as an actor, writer, producer or director - lives to be a certain age, you have to admire them. It is an act of courage to make a film - a courage for which you are not prepared in the rest of life...

John Carpenter

It's a very good time for horror. This business certainly has changed, but there's still room for serious horror films. Look at 28 Days Later, that's not a tongue-in-cheek picture.

John Carpenter

I never got in this business, in cinema, to make horror movies. They arrived on my doorstep and I got typecast. Which was fine, I enjoy it, but I got into this business to make westerns. And the kind of westerns I used to see, they died. So that didn...

John Carpenter

I think there are certain subjects I don't want to tackle, that I don't think I could do a good job with. I don't think I'd be good with... broad comedy? I don't know. Maybe I would.

John Carpenter

One of my heroes is a composer named James Bernard, and oh my God... I can still listen to his music today and be stirred and moved by it. But I think that you fall in love with... Well, again, when you're young, it really is more powerful. Much more...

John Carpenter

Well, 'They Live' was a primal scream against Reaganism of the '80s. And the '80s never went away. They're still with us. That's what makes 'They Live' look so fresh - it's a document of greed and insanity. It's about life in the United States then a...

John Carpenter

You have to fight really hard for a private life, and sometimes you don't have one. It just gets to you after a while. It's tough.

John Carpenter

I have two different categories of favorite films. One is the emotional favorites, which means these are generally films that I saw when I was a kid; anything you see in your formative years is more powerful, because it really stays with you forever....

John Carpenter

When I was a kid, I loved 'The Curse of Frankenstein,' 'The Creeping Unknown,' 'X: The Unknown.' I love 'Forbidden Planet,' 'The Thing from Another World.' They were science fiction/horror movies, generally.

John Carpenter

In England, I'm a horror movie director. In Germany, I'm a filmmaker. In the US, I'm a bum.

John Carpenter

To make Michael Myers frightening, I had him walk like a man, not a monster.

John Carpenter

In Halloween, I viewed the characters as simply normal teenagers. Laurie, Jamie Lee's character, was shy and somewhat repressed. And Michael Myers, the killer, is definitely repressed. They have certain similarities.

John Carpenter

What scares me is what scares you. We're all afraid of the same things. That's why horror is such a powerful genre. All you have to do is ask yourself what frightens you and you'll know what frightens me.

John Carpenter

Evil hiding among us is an ancient theme.

John Carpenter

I can play just about any keyboard but I can't read or write a note.

John Carpenter

First of all, I was a wrestling fan when I was young. Even when I figured out what wrestling was, I was still a fan.

John Carpenter

I enjoyed 'The Avengers.' I couldn't do that kind of movie though. Superheroes aren't my deal.

John Carpenter

There are two different stories in horror: internal and external. In external horror films, the evil comes from the outside, the other tribe, this thing in the darkness that we don't understand. Internal is the human heart.

John Carpenter

Way back in the '70s, I was approached to talk about the story I'd write for a Spider-Man movie. They also talked to me about Batman. I had to think about it, but that was way, way back when.

John Carpenter

I had a talent for scoring films. I just developed it.

John Carpenter

Author Bio

  • NameJohn Carpenter
  • DescriptionAmerican film director, screenwriter and producer
  • BornJanuary 16, 1948
  • CountryUnited States Of America
  • ProfessionFilm Producer; Film Director; Screenwriter; Actor; Composer; Writer