Horror found me. I got into the movie business to make westerns. John Carpenter More Quotes by John Carpenter More Quotes From John Carpenter Horror is always the same. It changes with the culture and changes with technology. The stories are always the same. There are just two basic stories in horror, two simple ones -- evil is outside and evil is in here [points to his heart]. John Carpenter technology simple heart Horror stories have always worked on film. It's where they work. That's where vampires and ghosts and UFOs are real. They're not particularly real in life, but they're real on the screen. It's the communal aspect of movie-watching. John Carpenter horror-stories vampire real We've got the prettiest girls in the world here in Los Angeles and there's a great music scene. And I learned what I learned about cinema here in Los Angeles so it's always been really important to me as a city to live in and I love making movies about it. John Carpenter love-making Film buffs who don't live in Hollywood have a fantasy about what it's like to be a director. Movies and the people who make movies have such glamour associated with them. But the truth is, it's not like that. It's very different. It's hard work. John Carpenter hard-work directors people One could make money and get a career going with a low-budget horror film about killers attacking on holidays. It is always flattering to have somebody copy you. John Carpenter killers holiday careers I enjoyed 'The Avengers.' I couldn't do that kind of movie though. Superheroes aren't my deal. John Carpenter superhero deals kind I had a talent for scoring films; I just developed it. John Carpenter talent film 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't work out. John Carpenter work-out cinema kind I made a decision back in 1978 that, in a trade off for money when I directed Halloween, I would have my name above the title in order to basically brand these movies my own. John Carpenter halloween names order I can play just about any keyboard but I can't read or write a note. John Carpenter keyboards play writing When I got into the movie business, working with actors was the one thing I was really weak at. I didn't know what to say to actors. They scared me and intimidated me. The actors that I've worked with who have had a lot of experience, or who I've even grown up watching as a kid, were really scary. I was like, "What am I going to say to this person?" But, I've matured. It's fun. I understand what actors do now. John Carpenter scary fun kids I'm always involved with casting my movies. I have final word on it. John Carpenter final-words casting finals You play with everything you've got. I'm not a lover of cheap tricks. I've always loved playing with people, but there's no rule about it. You try everything you can. John Carpenter play trying people What a director does... essentially, it's storytelling, but a director also controls the feeling and the sounds and the texture. It's an act of creation, like a symphony or a painting or a story. But with different tools. John Carpenter symphony sound feelings 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 terrifying. John Carpenter falling-in-love powerful hero 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 writing men thinking Halloween put me on the map, and I'm very sad to hear of his death. John Carpenter very-sad maps halloween From a will: And to my communist nephew Oswald, I leave the sum of 10,000 pounds - to be shared equally with his fellow Britishers. John Carpenter communist nephew pounds There are a lot of movies that I don't care about, especially not remakes. John Carpenter remakes i-dont-care care There's nothing better than being in an asylum, if you're going to have a bunch of crazy people in an asylum, and they're all beautiful Hollywood actresses. John Carpenter crazy beautiful people
