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John Carpenter's GHOSTS OF MARS
Hey folks, Harry here. First off, let me show ya this letter I got from Uncapie today. I think, this is something I'm going to do from time to time. And that's to feature a question, and then answer it for you fans. I don't have time to answer every question... Only the ones that make me feel like answering. So here we go...
Harry,
I was talking to a reliable source today about John Carpenter's "Ghost Of
Mars". The basic story is "Assault On Precinct 13" on the red planet. KNB
will be doing the effects on it with filming to being a few months down the
road.
Can't Carpenter come up with a better idea than this?
Chief Uncapie has spoken.
Alright... So what question am I answering? "CAN'T CARPENTER COME UP WITH A BETTER IDEA THAN THIS?"
The answer is YES. While I haven't read the script, I have been lucky enough in life to have spent some time with John Carpenter and his lovely wife and producer, Sandy King in their home in Los Angeles. And, I have had conversations about GHOSTS OF MARS.
Comparing ASSAULT ON PRECINCT 13 with GHOSTS OF MARS is a bit like comparing... oh... let's say TANGO AND CASH and BIG TROUBLE IN LITTLE CHINA. Assault took place in a single location, specifically a closed down Precinct Headquarters and dealt with the transfering of the a particularly dangerous criminal. A bunch of gang members attack the jail and the little group... well... if you haven't seen it, I don't want to spoil it for ya. BUT... it really is a great little siege film. Kinda like an urban Alamo type of thing.
From what I gather about GHOSTS OF MARS is that... there is weird ass shit happening all over the place. There is a 'precinct-type' place where the characters are supposed to be holed up for a while and there is a dangerous criminal type. But that's about where the comparisons will end. From what I heard and saw... there's multiple cities, trains, hot-air balloon things, decapitations out the wazoo, ghosts and many other creepy thingees. The point is, this film doesn't stay in the jail. It's not just a siege movie. Now believe me, I've been begging for a script from John and Sandy... as well as working all my connections over at SONY, as well as the many agencies where the go out for actors. So far... They've done a damn good job of keeping it quiet.
I do know that it looks like my head will be chopped off and put upon a pike in the film. I'm going to be headed out to KNB to have them use up all the plaster in the world to make a cast of my ENORMOUS head, so they can then use all the latex and rubber in the world to cast my head.
John refers to this film as his ZULU movie. Somewhere down the line, someone made a vocal comparison of ASSAULT ON PRECINCT 13 with GHOSTS OF MARS, but that's really not very accurate. There are some aspects that look kinda the same.... but this film will be far more violent, far more visually exciting... from the character descriptions I've heard... the make up of the group is very different... almost completely opposite from in ASSAULT. And then there's the bit about how it's not just set in a jail.
The last thing I heard on the project was that they were looking at their female actresses at this point... but that nothing has really been locked in. And I do know that the scoop that Patrick at Coming Attractions posted about Courtney Love being approached was true, but it is not known if she accepted. Also, the MATRIX fight choreographer is not going to be doing the fights in GHOSTS OF MARS, Sandy told me that it'll be the guy that choreographed the fights in FIGHT CLUB, BIG TROUBLE IN LITTLE CHINA and so on. I forget the gentleman's name right now. And... there ya go.
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Hey harry, why don't you act in more movies? Practically everyone in Hollywood knows you, so why aren't you winning any golden globes?
Just a thought...
Another thought... I'm first, and I don't feel any different. -
But it's been a long time since he did anything great. This sounds like another 'Black Moon Rising' to me. I am no slavering fan of his work, but I always go to his movies without fail, hoping against hope that he will pull another Starman or Thing out of the bag. Hell - I'd be satisfied with another 'Prince of Darkness'. Best not to pass judgement until we know that it absolutely, irretrievably sucks. I might like it anyway.
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It's a bastard wanting your favourite film-makers continue making films as great as they used to... Vampires was a pretty close return to form and Ghosts of Mars sounds a lot more fun than Up my arse of Madness...
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I've been a Carpenter fan since I was a little ugly kid in Denmark. The man has only made... well... a couple of bad movies. But that dosn't mean, they should go straight to friggin' video in Denmark! For once... I wanna see a Carpenter movie in a theater!!!
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That would be great why not.Vampires was also better than I expected .I mean who needs another Vampire movie really but this one was great with a lot of mood and atmosphere but the end of the movie was shit.So lets hope this Ghosts on Mars thing rocks.
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This is supposed to be the year of Mars huh? I mean how many movies are they going to make this year about the darn planet. Oh and don't forget those damn documentaries that follow if the movie is a hit.
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Jan 24, 2000 9:13:17 AM CST
Why the hell isn't Big Trouble in Little China on DVD yet? Plus
by wesley snipes
You can't find this on widescreen anywhere except a very rare laserdisc edition. And seemingly every other John Carpenter film is out on DVD, even freaking Dark Star! So why isn't Big Trouble in Little China, ostensibly Carpenter's best crowd-pleaser, not on DVD yet? I hope the delay is due to the disc producers trying to make a good special edition, and not due to a more mundane reason, such as the Fox DVD division sucking ass.
Also, according to the IMDB, the fight choreographer was James Lew, the Lethal Weapon 4 dude who gets killed by Jet Li on the rooftops. I believe he was one of the good guy fighters in BTiLC. Another guy called Jim Lau is also credited. Don't know where he's from except that he's the ex-Mr.Joan Chen. :) -
Not that John can't work wonders with a shoestring (hell, it's kinda been the theme of his entire career,) but I felt VAMPIRES was hamstrung by an obvious lack of cash. And, judging from the sequences Harry was describing, it sounds like this puppy will require some substantial dough in order to look convincing. I still have faith in Carpenter (he's as responsible as any other filmmaker for making me want to be a director,) but I worry that, after ESCAPE FROM L.A., it'll be a long time before any studio allots him that kind of budget again.
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Jan 24, 2000 1:41:58 PM CST
Was I the only one who thought "Escape From L.A" was A really co
by gilmour
It has REALLY bad f/x but other then that is really similar to the original.
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I would go see anything John Carpenter does - and yes, "Escape fro L.A." WAS awesome, better than "Vampires".
I think the idea of Carpenter doing another raw suspense film in the vein of Precinct 13 is a great idea - Precinct 13 is one of my favorite movies. -
Just for the sight of Plissken surfing a tsunami wave down Wilshire Blvd. only to leap onto a moving car would alone be enough to make Escape from L.A. one cool flick but when you bring in a climatic ariel assault with Plissken and Pam Grier swooping down on hang gliders with guns blazing, then you're in the realm of an inspired B-classic. That's not even to mention the ending in which Plissken shuts down the entire world - just out of spite! I think a lot of viewers didn't like the irreverent attitude that Carpenter brought to Escape from L.A. but I thought it was a blast. Can't wait for Ghosts of Mars.
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Cheesy, but enjoyable, and a *great* ending. Snake plunges the world into chaos, and enjoys a hard-earned smoke. That defines cool, if you ask me.
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I just pulled the name off the top of my head from the credits of "Big Trouble In Little China" and I don't know if I'm right, but whoever it is that choreographed those fights deserves the full-blown, name-in-lights treatment.
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Props to Wesley Snipes for having the right ID on the fight choreographer of "Big Trouble In Little China", and I think you're right about the LW4 connection. Oh, and always bet on black.
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. . . I'll keep watching em. Even if it was a 'remake' of Assault on Precinct 13 (an incredibly cool flick) I'd still check it out. In fact . . . Christ! I think I've seen every Carpenter film ever made! I just kinda realized that. And out of all of them, I've only disliked two films. Sooooo . . . odds are I'll dig whatever he crafts in the future.~~~~~~~~~~~ Speaking of 'crafts'-I WANNA LOVECRAFT FILM FROM JOHN! WAAHHHH! (tantrum sounds.)
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Jan 25, 2000 1:17:34 AM CST
if you liked Escape from LA, then you have never seen Escape fro
by mckracken
Escape from LA is TOTALLY a remake of NEW YORK, every damn detail is the same. Of course, NEW YORK was the superior film because well, the President's LIFE was in jepardy, and Snake Plissken WAS really in danger of DYING from the toxin!!! In Escape from LA, the prsidents bitchy DAUGHTER holds a CD ROM (or something) and nobody gives a shit what happens to HER because she's not important!!! The toxin that is supposidly running amuck through Snakes BLOOD is... AHEM the FLU VIRUS!! (HOW ANTI-CLIMACTIC IS THAT?????) I suspect that this story sounds an auful lot like something John said while walking down a hallway and he didnt have enough time to express himself fully and give a detailed description, something quick like comparing it to his earlier film, Assault on Precinct 13. Thats what I suspect. And to all of you MORONS that think John has "lost his edge" I LOVED "In the Mouth of Madness" and thought maybe that film would mark a return to form after "Memoirs of an Invisible Man", "Escape from LA" and "Village of the Damned" were dumped on unsuspecting audiences everywhere. I also LOVED "Vampires", it wasnt the greatest film ever made, but after witnessing "Village of the Damned" and "Escape from LA" it was GOOD old fasion Carpenter/ James Woods kicking vampire butt... (and NO...I HAVENT read the book yet!!) ---McK
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Read the Book. The movie was better than people would have you think (although they could'a lost the fat Baldwin character whole). Still the book was MUCH better.
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No, I guess he wasn't. I used to love John Carpenter's movies, with "The Thing" being the best movie the "X-Files" ever ripped off. What I liked about them was the percussive scores that John always wrote for EVERY movie. "Prince of Darkness" is one of those movies that I tell people to rent and recommended through good faith (not by a plot synopsis). The movie defies explanation. After all, ALICE COOPER can be neither quantified or qualified. The devil IS lime jello! Carpenter's movies were always b-movies (pardon the term) but they were the best possible b-movies. Smirky, sexy, smart, silly, and SCARY. That is, until lately. It started to go south with "In The Mouth of Madness" and with each film got worse... "Village of the Damned"?(Christopher Reeves' horse didn't fall! It was pushed! By the ghost of George Sanders!) And "John Carpenter's Vampires" was a cinematic abortion in the adaptation of a far superior novel. (Sure, who doesn't want to slap Laura Palmer around and call her a hour for an hour of screen time?!) So what I am saying is I understand Harry's enthusiasm for John's work. HOWEVER, when you got it, you go it. When you don't... you've got a bad movie with a score that sounds like a digital metronome. This "Ghosts of Mars" sounds like an amalgam of earlier projects, ASSAULT ON PRECINCT 13 meets IN THE MOUTH OF MADNESS. So a different group of poorly defined characters? So more it's violent? SO what?! I would go see it if someone ties up Courtney Love and calls her a whore for an hour of screen time and then chops off her goddamned head. Put it in the Jello!
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Saying if you can only like EFLA if you didn't see Escape from New York is like saying you can only like Evil Dead 2 if you didn't see the original. EFLA is very much to it predecessor as Evil Dead 2 is to the first Evil Dead - essentially an elaborate, comic remake/sequel that almost requires that you have seen and appreciated the original beforehand. And while EFNY was a classic and may have the edge (nostalgia-wise, at least), in the light of day it is an action movie with almost no action (due to budget restrictions, more than anything) in which the hero does little more than simply walk around, then walk some more. I love the fact that in EFLA, Plissken is shown full-out as this legendary bad-ass who really can do anything in any given situation (love the basketball scene). It's not a "perfect" movie but then neither was the original. Both are great, though.
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I DO like most of Carpenter's stuff - Halloween, The Thing, Big Trouble in Little China, Escape from New York, and even They Live and In the Mouth of Madness were decent, but Vampires and Escape from LA both were utter crap! I went into both of them with an open mind, and hoping just to enjoy them on a very basic level. They both failed. Miserably. EfLA was just TOO similar to its predecessor, and there's no excuse for that when it's a sequel! Blecch! Awful! Vampires was eaily just as bad, and I really enjoy gory horror flicks. I couldn't have walked away more diappointed, and I got in the movie for FREE! Suckity suck suck suck! Being someone of open mind, though, the premise of Ghosts sounds like a lot of fun, and I'll probably go see it in the first run theaters. Please let this one put Carpenter back in form!! Please!!!
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I DO like most of Carpenter's stuff - Halloween, The Thing, Big Trouble in Little China, Escape from New York, and even They Live and In the Mouth of Madness were decent, but Vampires and Escape from LA both were utter crap! I went into both of them with an open mind, and hoping just to enjoy them on a very basic level. They both failed. Miserably. EfLA was just TOO similar to its predecessor, and there's no excuse for that when it's a sequel! Blecch! Awful! Vampires was eaily just as bad, and I really enjoy gory horror flicks. I couldn't have walked away more diappointed, and I got in the movie for FREE! Suckity suck suck suck! Being someone of open mind, though, the premise of Ghosts sounds like a lot of fun, and I'll probably go see it in the first run theaters. Please let this one put Carpenter back in form!! Please!!!
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I DO like most of Carpenter's stuff - Halloween, The Thing, Big Trouble in Little China, Escape from New York, and even They Live and In the Mouth of Madness were decent, but Vampires and Escape from LA both were utter crap! I went into both of them with an open mind, and hoping just to enjoy them on a very basic level. They both failed. Miserably. EfLA was just TOO similar to its predecessor, and there's no excuse for that when it's a sequel! Blecch! Awful! Vampires was eaily just as bad, and I really enjoy gory horror flicks. I couldn't have walked away more diappointed, and I got in the movie for FREE! Suckity suck suck suck! Being someone of open mind, though, the premise of Ghosts sounds like a lot of fun, and I'll probably go see it in the first run theaters. Please let this one put Carpenter back in form!! Please!!!
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This whole server error thing got me - I did not intend on sending my message three times. Sorry, folks!
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or at least all the fanboys thinks he is. Sorry to break it to you, but his time is past. Yeah, he scored gold with THE THING, but it was a different time and a different place. Carp has lost it and no "horror mars" movie is going to rescue him. Hell give him Jason X, i'm sure he would screw that up as well.
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That movie and Big Trouble in Little China are solid 80's movies. It's just that Carpenter sucked in the 90's and, yes, 'In the Mouth of Madness' sucked because it was neither scary nor maddening. It was thoroughly mediocre as was 'Vampires' BUT 'Escape From LA' sucked on all levels save one--The Surgeon General part with Bruce Campbell. That was the only sign of originality or inspiration in the whole flick. As for the ending, what are you on crack on something? Watch the ending of NY and then LA. You tell me which one is more cynical and nihlistic?
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I know this is off-topic, but someone brought it up. Hendrix is overrated? Give me a break. Clapton might be a great guitarist, but when was the last time he wrote a great song, let alone record a great album? And as for Hendrix not being able to read music, that's a weak point to make. Many popular musicans don't read or write music, but like Hendrix, they instinctively have an ear for it and can "write" great music anyway. As for Hendrix not being able to play a wide variety of music, that's firstly unfair, because he died fairly young, and incorrect anyway. Have you ever heard his posthumous "Blues" or "Jazz" discs? That guy was the Orson Welles of guitar playing. He took everything that came before him and spit it out in a totally fresh and inventive way. Bob Dylan was impressed with Hendrix's awesome take on "All Along the Watchtower", I don't remember him appreciating Clapton's butchering of "I Shot the Sheriff". Taking potshots at The Beatles or Hendrix because they are considered the best is pretty sad...at least have better evidence to back up your case.
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Come on man. The Beatles sucked. You can remaster their shit a hundred times, package it in a better cover, blah blah blah, but it will still be shit.
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Yes its basically exactly the same as EFNY but so what? The first was such a cool film why not copy it? So many sequels suck so hard because they try so hard to outdo the original that they just sucked. And saying that if you liked EFLA then you couldn't have seen EFNY is just stupid.
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As for Jimmy Page I am a really big Zeppelin fan, but in truth, many of the the guitar work on Led Zeppelin's albums (all produced by Page) were overdubbed so many times it's hard to give him credit for much innovation. You layer something that much and of course it's going to sound good. I also feel really stupid having to defend the Beatles. Does anything really need to be said here? If you think they only recorded happy pop tunes you haven't listened very closely. They were the first artists to actually show a deep drug influence, which enhanced them greatly. John Lennon was using samples in "I Am the Walrus", only about, what, 26 years before they came into vogue? I'm not going to bother listing the endless innovations on Beatles albums. The Velvet Underground may have started "alternative" music in the late 60's, but without the Beatles' studio experimentation music would not be the same today. One listen to Revolver's "Tomorrow Never Knows", or the White Album's "Revolution #9" is enough proof that the Beatles were much more subversive than the general public perceived, and a couple decades ahead of their time to boot.
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I love John Carpenter, every since i was small and my father told me about "Escape From New York" and we watched it together. Now I have seen most of the work he has done and respect him the same as any other director. Film like "Escape from New York", "The Thing", "They Live", "Big Trouble in Little China", "Halloween", even "Vampires are pretty damm good movies if not great movies. His other films like "Starman", Prince of Darkness", "In the mouth of Madness", and Escape from L.A." are decent movies they just don't have that Carpenter flare the previous list had. "Ghosts of Mars" sounds like the Carpenter flare will be taken to the next level. Hopefully they will bring back Kurt, the Kurt we know and love not this "Soldier" horse shit they had him playing where he was a dick and never spoke a line. Lastly Snake riding the tsunami was pretty cool.
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The most worrying aspect of this production is that KNB are doing the FX work. These guys are good, no argument, but their work on the last few Carpenter movies has been piss poor. Look at In The Mouth Of Madness and that whole "wall of monsters thing"
When Carpenter works with a Bottin, Baker or Winston, the FX are dynamite, when he works with these guys it seems like neither are giving it 100%
For all that, any Carpenter movie is an absolute must-see. However much you may feel his career has faultered over the past 15 years or so, you have to admit that when he gets it right, he's unbeatable, and I'm looking forward to Ghosts Of Mars. -
To add to the guitarist debate, I think one of the finest players on the planet is rock/fusion guitarist Greg Howe. He smokes! Great melody, tone and phrasing, and awesome technique and songwriting skills. Now on to GOM: I'm really looking forward to this! And if it does have some paralells to ASSAULT, then GREAT! As long as it doesn't make a carbon copy of it, like EFLA was to EFNY....and EFNY was a far superior film on every level except for action- and action alone does not a movie make; mood, tone, character are all vital to genre films like ESCAPE.
I just hope that JC has a solid script and casts well (and he usually does). My nightmare is if he cast the film with WB/MTV teenies instead of great character actors like he usually does. I'd love to see Mark Hamill is this! By the way, if you have the time, check out the website that I co-run called THE FILMS OF JOHN CARPENTER- it has quite a bit of actual text on it including DVD reviews, film reviews, essays and fanfiction: http://welcome.to/johncarpenter .....Thanks for looking! Kirk Hazen
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