The Movie That Had Director John Carpenter Wanting To Quit Hollywood
John Carpenter's 1992 film "Memoirs of an Invisible Man" was a departure for the director. Throughout the 1980s, Carpenter directed many notable genre films that affected a direct and guileless style that roped in many fans and critics. His 1980s "hot streak" included "Escape from New York," "The Thing," "Christine," "Starman," and "Big Trouble in Little China." Although his 1987 film "Prince of Darkness" was nonsensical, it has many defenders, and his 1988 film "They Live" is now considered a seminal anti-establishment punk-rock text of the Reagan era.
That streak seems to have ended with "Memoirs," however. Although the film is slick, entertaining, and boasts some excellent special effects, many Carpenter fans felt a little off-put by the director's attempts to helm a comedic Chevy Chase vehicle. In "Memoirs," Chase plays a stock market guy who is accidentally exposed to an invisibility experiment. The film follows his travails as he adjusts to his lack of opacity, addressing some of the more practical concerns one might face being invisible. For one, he can't pick up a knife and form because he can't see his hands, and then, when eating, he can see his food after he swallows it. He can't sleep because he can see through his eyelids. That sort of thing.
It seems that shooting "Memoirs" was a nightmare for Carpenter. One can tell from his work that Carpenter is a very efficient director, knowing instinctively where to put a camera, how to light a scene, and how to straightforwardly direct an actor. It was rare that Carpenter worked with "movie stars" like Chevy Chase and the film's leading actress Daryl Hannah. In a 2023 interview with Variety, Carpenter revealed that he nearly quit movies altogether after working with certain "personalities."
Setting Chevy Chase on fire
For Variety, Carpenter wouldn't give Chase's name directly, but it was pretty clear who he was talking about. He said:
"['Memoirs'] gave me a chance to make a quasi-serious movie. But Chevy Chase, Sam Neill — who I love and had a longtime friendship with — and Warner Bros. ... I worked for them, and it was pleasant ... No, it wasn't pleasant at all. I'm lying to you. It was a horror show. I really wanted to quit the business after that movie. God, I don't want to talk about why, but let's just say there were personalities on that film — he shall not be named — who needs to be killed. No, no, no, that's terrible. He needs to be set on fire. No, no, no. Anyway, it's all fine. I survived it."
After "Memoirs," Carpenter would reteam with Sam Neill to make "In the Mouth of Madness," a brilliant, psychedelic horror movie about a Stephen King-like author and a book that is driving the world insane with fear, so the director got back on his feet somewhat quickly, but golly it sounds like "Memoirs" was a bad time for him.
The story goes that Chase was "impossible to direct" and that he and Hannah were "the stuff of nightmares," although I haven't been able to locate a source on that beyond unsubstantiated references on websites like TV Tropes. It's easy to believe that Chase was difficult to work with, though, given reports of his caustic, mean, sarcastic behavior on set. He hasn't committed any crimes, but he has garnered a reputation for storming off sets in a rage and generally saying broadly offensive things.
Being diplomatic
Carpenter's words with Variety marked a slight change of tune from the early 1990s, when Carpenter was a little more diplomatic about "Memoirs." In a 1994 interview with the Guardian, following a screening of "Madness," Carpenter only said the following about Chase:
"The studio wanted 'National Lampoon's Vacation.' 'Invisible Vacation.' Chevy wanted to move someplace else. He did a couple of really good scenes, and he really pulled 'em off. He's a guy who's come from television, he's a comedian, and he needed a lot of support. He needed a lot of boosting and saying 'You can do it!' And I believed in him. I believed he could do a film in which he balances. We could have some humor in it, but I had him play the dark side because it's a darker film."
No word of Chase's ego, or any stories about how nightmarish it was working with the man.
"Memoirs of an Invisible Man" was a massive flop when it was released in 1992, opening only a week after Penelope Spheeris' "Wayne's World," a comedy film based on characters from "SNL," Chase's old stomping grounds. Audiences, coming fresh from "World" and perhaps expecting a broad comedy from a Chevy Chase vehicle, were put off by Carpenter's more serious sci-fi/crime film. "Memoirs" ultimately made only $14.4 million on a $30 million to $40 million budget. Carpenter continued to make movies until 2010's "The Ward," his last movie to date.
These days, Carpenter spends more time playing video games and composing film scores than directing. At 75, he's earned the right to do whatever he wants.