Nicolas Cage Wants John Carpenter To Make More Movies, But John Carpenter's Not Having It
It's been 12 years since John Carpenter made a film. He was last seen assuming the role of director in his 2010 psychological horror, "The Ward," and Carpenter has not made any films since. This obviously does not mean that the man hasn't been busy: he has passionately devoted himself to making music, having co-composed the soundtrack for the recent "Firestarter" and David Gordon Green's "Halloween" movies. In his spare time, Carpenter is an avid gamer, and he recently expressed his love for "Fallout 76" and action-role-playing games like "Borderlands" and "Horizon: Forbidden West." Carpenter is clearly having the time of his life doing what he loves, and not even Nicolas Cage can convince him to return to the world of hardcore filmmaking.
In a conversation with Carpenter for Document, Cage gently nudged the director to make more films, saying "it would be fantastic to see more of [his] films." However, Carpenter bluntly declared that making music is his passion now, which prompted Cage to ask Carpenter to embrace the title of "Total Filmmaker:" someone who writes their own music, acts, and also directs. Cage told Carpenter:
"I think more directors should learn from what you're doing. Jerry Lewis used to say to me— 'I want you to be the Total Filmmaker.' And to be the Total Filmmaker, you have to write your own music, you have to act, you have to direct. What you're doing is closer to the Total Filmmaker than most, you know? But you gotta star in it now."
Despite Cage's best efforts, Carpenter remained unfazed, and instead proposed a tongue-in-cheek idea about opening a "Nicolas Cage University" and being a "grifter" with him. One has to respect the man's dedication to his passion, and his blunt refusal to engage in anything doesn't want to do.
John Carpenter just wants to have fun (and that's valid)
It goes without saying that John Carpenter is legendary in terms of his filmmaking, having redefined the horror genre with his "Apocalypse Trilogy," along with his 1978 original, "Halloween." Carpenter's "Halloween" still has a solid grip on the horror/slasher genre, having spawned numerous sequels and Green's reboot trilogy, which recently marked a definitive (?) end to Michael Myers' legacy. Apart from this, Carpenter's love for electronic music has trickled into movie soundtracks that are moody, atmospheric, and synth-heavy, accentuating the subject matters of the respective films it adorns.
Cage speaks for all of us when he asks Carpenter to make more films, but the director is simply not having it. In a recent interview with AV Club, Carpenter said the following when asked how he fits gaming into his packed, everyday schedule:
"It's [gaming] a big part of my life. I enjoy it. It's a lot more fun than directing movies. That's hard work. That's stressful. This is relaxing. I'll play any time I can."
As much as we would love to see another John Carpenter film grace our screens, the director seems to be okay with directing his attention to other passions, which include making music and playing video games. In his conversation with Cage, he mentions that he enjoys "staying in [his] box" as it is a welcome departure from constantly "living on the edge of this performance stuff." The man is happy doing what he does, it is just as simple as that.
On the other hand, the idea of an actual "Nicolas Cage University" sounds perfectly hilarious, if you know what I mean.