John Carpenter
Birth Name:
John Howard Carpenter
Birth Place:
Carthage, New York, United States
Profession
Composer, Writer, Director, Music department, Actor, Producer, Editor, Assistant director, Art department, Camera department
Fast Facts
- Received the Lifetime Award from the Freak Show Horror Film Festival in 2010
- Attended Western Kentucky University, transferred to the University of Southern California's School of Cinematic Arts, and then dropped out to make his first feature film
- Quote: "I don't deny that commercial success means a lot to me․ The best reviews you can get are at the box office․"
- Quote: "Monsters in movies are us, always us, one way or the other․ They're us with hats on․ The zombies in George Romero's movies are us․ They're hungry․"
- Quote: "(On declining to direct the sequel to "Halloween") "I didn't think there was a story after the first Halloween movie․ I didn't want to direct the same movie again, so I settled into my favorite role in the movie biz: sitting on my couch watching an NBA game and putting my hand out to collect a check․""
- Films he has turned down include "The Golden Child," "Top Gun," "Fatal Attraction," "Armed and Dangerous," "Zombieland" and "Mutant Chronicles․"
- Uses synthesizer-based music soundtracks for most of his films and composes them himself
Awards
- 1971CINE Golden Eagle - Student Film:Winner
- 1976Golden Scroll - Best Special Effects:Winner
- 1976Hugo - Best Dramatic Presentation:Nominated
- 1976Nebula Award - Best Dramatic Writing:Nominated
- 1978Gold Hugo - Best Feature:Nominated
- 1978Gold Hugo - Best Feature:Nominated
- 1979Critics AwardWinner
- 1979Grand PrizeNominated
- 1979New Generation AwardWinner
- 1980Critics AwardWinner
- 1980Grand PrizeNominated
- 1982Saturn Award - Best Director:Nominated
- 1982Jupiter Award - Best International Film:Nominated
- 1983Jupiter Award - Best International Film:Nominated
- 1984Grand PrizeNominated
- 1987Saturn Award - Best Music:Nominated
- 1988Saturn Award - Best Music:Nominated
- 1988Critics AwardWinner
- 1988Grand PrizeNominated
- 1989Grand PrizeNominated
- 1989International Fantasy Film Award - Best Film:Nominated
- 1990Saturn Award - Best Music:Nominated
- 1991ACE - Writing a Movie or Miniseries:Winner
- 1993International Fantasy Film Award - Best Film:Nominated
- 1994International Fantasy Film Award - Best Film:Nominated
- 1995Top 10 Film Award - Best Film:Nominated
- 1995International Fantasy Film Award - Best Film:Nominated
- 1995Critics' AwardWinner
- 1995Best FilmNominated
- 1996Chainsaw Award - Best Soundtrack:Nominated
- 1999Saturn Award - Best Music:Winner
- 1999Bram Stoker Award - Other Media:Nominated
- 1999Chainsaw Award - Best Score:Winner
- 2001Best FilmNominated
- 2001Stinker Award - Most Intrusive Musical Score:Nominated
- 2006Best FilmNominated
- 2006Carnet Jove - Special MentionWinner
- 2010The Greatest Films of All Time - Horror:Winner
- 2018Fright Meter Award - Best Score:Winner
- 2018Rondo Statuette - Best CD:Winner
- 2019ASCAP Award - Top Box Office Films:Winner
- 2021IFJA Award - Best Musical Score:Nominated
- 2021OFTA Film Hall of Fame - Score:Winner
- 2022ASCAP Award - Top Box Office Films:Winner
- 2022Chainsaw Award - Best Score:Winner
- 2022HMMA Award - Best Original Score - Horror Film:Nominated
- 2023ASCAP Award - Top Box Office Films:Winner
- 2023Chainsaw Award - Best Score:Winner