Anecdotes

Based his most famous character, the iconic Michael Myers from La Nuit des masques (1978), on a thirteen-year-old boy he saw at a mental institution on a school trip.

Praised longtime friend and frequent collaborator Kurt Russell for being a hard-working, professional actor who isn't afraid to take on roles that might hurt his image or make him look like a fool.

Said in a 1982 interview that he thought the R rating for La Nuit des masques (1978) was justifiable, but Fog (1980) should have been rated PG.

Is an avid fan of the Godzilla films. He considers the first Godzilla movie (Godzilla (1954)) to be an inspiration for him.

Named his six favorite films as Seuls les anges ont des ailes (1939), Citizen Kane (1941), Sueurs froides (1958), Rio Bravo (1959), Blow-Up (1966) and Black Christmas (1974).

Is a great fan of Sergio Leone and cast Lee Van Cleef in New-York 1997 (1981) because of his work with Leone.

In an interview, he stated that he takes much of the failure of his movies pretty hard. However, out of all the movies that he had done, he claimed that The Thing (1982) was the failure he took the hardest.

He appears in his own films under the name Rip Haight, appearing in Fog (1980), Starman (1984), Petits cauchemars avant la nuit (1993) and Le Village des damnés (1995).

Turned down the chance to direct Top Gun (1986), which went to Tony Scott.

He has directed one film that has been selected for the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically or aesthetically significant": La Nuit des masques (1978).

Turned down the chance to direct Bienvenue à Zombieland (2009), which went to Ruben Fleischer.

With the exception of Los Angeles 2013 (1996), he has rarely made a sequel to any of his films. Has said that he got forced into writing Halloween II (1981), but refused to direct it because he "didn't want to direct the same movie again".

Is a huge fan of Howard Hawks, Elvis Presley and The Beach Boys. Loves old Cadillac automobiles.

He is known to be completely comfortable with filmmakers doing sequels to or remakes of his movies, but he has also admitted that he is mostly indifferent to them, and usually gets involved in such projects for the money.

Was originally supposed to direct Firestarter (1984), and even had a screenplay written by Bill Lancaster. Both were replaced when The Thing (1982), a film on which they both collaborated, did poorly at the box office.

Considers this bad luck to wear the hat of the show he's working on. Will not wear a crew cap until the film is over.

Is a huge fan of video games. He claims that his son, Cody Carpenter got him hooked when he was a child. The two spent time playing together, with early games such as Sonic the Hedgehog (1991). To this day, he continues playing video games both with his son and independently. As of 2021, his recent favorites included: Dishonored (2012), Assassin's Creed III (2012), the God of War (2005) Collection and Halo Infinite (2021). He can frequently be seen at the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) with his son.

In the movie Les anges du faubourg (1969), Elvis Presley plays a character named John Carpenter. In 1979, Carpenter directed the television movie Le Roman d'Elvis (1979) starring his good friend Kurt Russell.

Has always claimed that the Western is his favorite genre but has never made a full-length film within the genre.

Likes to begin shots on the back of a character as they walk away from the camera, thus revealing the setting. There are examples included in Christine (1983), Prince des ténèbres (1987) and Invasion Los Angeles (1988), among others.

He directed child actress Kim Richards in his second feature film, Assaut (1976), and directed Kim's sister Kyle Richards in his next film, La Nuit des masques (1978).

Was offered a chance to direct Eddie Murphy's film Golden Child : L'Enfant sacré du Tibet (1986), which he turned down.

Close friends with actor Jeff Bridges.

Turned down the chance to direct Liaison fatale (1987), which went to Adrian Lyne.

Fans of John Carpenter's work include the directors Bertrand Bonello, Tom Tykwer, Bong Joon Ho, Jeff Nichols, Olivier Assayas, Alice Winocour, Gaspar Noé, Jeremy Saulnier and Jordan Peele, who all named him as an influence on some of their own work. The composer Hans Zimmer was an early fan and said Assaut (1976) has his favorite movie theme of all time. Another fan is Slovenian philosopher Slavoj Zizek, who is especially fond of Invasion Los Angeles (1988).

Directed one Oscar-nominated performance: Jeff Bridges in Starman (1984).

In the 5th edition of 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die (edited by Steven Jay Schneider), two of his films are listed: La Nuit des masques (1978) and The Thing (1982).

Holds a commercial pilot's license, flying rotorcraft-helicopters.

Is a huge fan of the Quartermass movies (Le Monstre (1955), Les Monstres de l'espace (1967)), wrote Prince des ténèbres (1987) under the pseudonym of Martin Quatermass, and the village in L'Antre de la folie (1994) is named after a rail station in "Quatermass and the Pit".

Has one son with Adrienne Barbeau: Cody Carpenter (born John Howard Carpenter Jr.).

He said in an interview that he almost directed Tombstone (1993).

Currently resides in West Hollywood, California.

Is a major NBA fan and has a satellite dish installed on his location trailer to keep up with the games. Always has a portable basketball hoop on location.

Was approached to score Planète terreur (2007) for Robert Rodriguez, but was busy finishing up post-production on Masters of Horror (2005).

Was offered the chance to direct L'Exorciste, la suite (1990), which went to William Peter Blatty.

He was awarded a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 7000 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, California on April 3, 2025. His Walk of Fame star is located in front of the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel.

Was offered the chance to direct Armed and Dangerous (1986), which he turned down. The job went to Mark L. Lester who also directed Firestarter (1984), which was offered to Carpenter.

Carpenter's character Snake Plissken (of New-York 1997 (1981) and Los Angeles 2013 (1996)) is about to become a comic book. Published by the CrossGen imprint Code 6 Comics, the book will be known as "John Carpenter's The Snake Plissken Chronicles" and set for publication beginning in 2003.

Was given the chance to direct Mutant Chronicles (2008).

Godfather of musician and composer Daniel A. Davies.

Director John Carpenter named some of the characters in his cult film Fog (1980) after his collaborators including Tommy Lee Wallace, Dan O'Bannon and Nick Castle.

Biography in the following: John Wakeman, editor. World Film Directors, Volume Two, 1945-1985. pp. 184-189. New York: The H.W. Wilson Company (1988).