Excerpts from a 1985 interview from Starlog #100 with Halloween and The Thing director John Carpenter

“Nothing deflates a director’s ego more decisively than a box office disaster”… “Shocked by the onslaught of critical outrage over The Thing, John Carpenter retreated from his detractors, and privately suffered a painful period of self-doubt”… “It was a rough go. I was very embittered. I had to re-evaluate myself, and what I was doing. You make a movie for people to see. If they don’t want to see it, you have to ask yourself why. I came up with an explanation, but it didn’t make me feel better”… “I felt the picture had many important things to say about life, but perhaps that isn’t as entertaining to some people as it is to others”… “Although deeply disappointed by the resounding rejection of his work, Carpenter consoled himself with plans for his screen version of Stephen King’s Firestarter. Yet they wouldn’t allow me to make it for the budget I had prepared”… “His self-confidence as a filmmaker shaken by this double debacle, Carpenter insulated himself from the industry. ‘Let me tell you the truth – it was a growth period. I questioned my abilities, my perceptions, and what I wanted to do with myself life. I didn’t know if I wanted to continue directing, because it hurt so much. There are other things I care about. I knew I could just as easily do something else for a living’”… “He eventually emerged from his introspection with a renewed commitment to filmmaking. I realized that, regardless of whether my film was a success or a failure, or whether it was a happy or a painful experience, I still loved making movies”… “Once he was ready to resume his career, Carpenter was surprised to discover that his services were still in great demand. ‘I was offered many pictures to direct, which was very encouraging’”… “I learned something about failure. It doesn’t’ mean it’s the end for you. I don’t think that people won’t necessarily hire you again because you’ve had a failure. It depends on your entire body of work. My only job is to make the best film I can. The public can go and see it, or not. There is nothing I can do about that”… “Doing publicity isn’t my job. I was burned out after my experience with The Thing. The critics got me once, and I knew they were laying in wait for me again. I didn’t want to put myself through that twice”… “Uncomfortable in the glare of public scrutiny, John Carpenter prefers to let his work speak for him”… “Whatever movie you make, you have to make it incredibly special. That’s the secret. You must make a unique film”… “However, given the uncertain nature of big budget deal making, many of the projects he labored on never reached the screen”… “As he patiently awaits his next assignment, Carpenter joyfully occupies his time raising his infant son. The obligations of fatherhood have clearly had a profound impact on his personality”… “In less than a decade, John Carpenter has risen from the depths of exploitation obscurity to become one of Hollywood’s foremost young filmmakers. Along the way, he has learned to survive failure, and persevere through major studio politics”… “I have always had different aspects to my personality. I think I’m a long-term pessimist, and a short-term optimist. I do feel a great darkness about humanity. But – simultaneously and contradictorily – I also feel that life can be pretty fabulous. I should also express some of that in my work… I believe films should move you – one way or another. They should create a mood, and tingle you emotionally. That is what I’m after. I want the audience to experience some feeling. I want them to know they’re alive.”