A few years ago when Rob Zombie was going to reboot "Halloween" he reached out to O.G. director John Carpenter to get his blessing. To hear the way Zombie tells it, he probably should not have met his hero. Essentially Carpenter dismissively "blessed" Zombie and told him to "make it his own."
A lot of people now know Carpenter as a curmudgeonly director of classics that have been re-made and rebooted. And his answer "they pay me a check." Not really hippie-ish for a staunch Lefty. Zombie obviously felt slighted by him. To me, he offered the simplest answer to someone who felt something doesn't need to be remade. OR, that when remade, the population worships Zombie for making the classic better (this didn't happen, in fact...he fucked it up royally). I think Carpenter didn't want his legacy tarnished by a remake (done twice, by the way). This after Carpenter remade a few movies himself.
Anyway, it occurred to me why Carpenter has turned to a miserable shit.
There is a guy I recently mentored that pretty much praises me for the simplest things I do. He is a very talented guy, and I got him a gig at my company. Now I'm seen as somewhat of an inspiration. I like that he is grateful and wants to do what I do...but there does have a sense of "Single White Female" creep in.
Young people are okay to be this excited about things. I was, myself. So I get where it comes from. But now I understand how it could annoy people. For Carpenter, it's amazing all the films that have become iconic. I think to Carpenter, a lot of it has been appreciated decades later, instead of its time. This is also VERY annoying to someone who could've had a A-List career, rather than a cult status hero. It's hard to determine which I would like more. Considering the point of Hollywood is to keep working in Hollywood. I think Carpenter fights his digust for Republican yuppies to his love of free money.
I get annoyed myself nowadays over the same thing. If I get praised incessantly for my crusade to save celluloid. This appeals only to a small population. But a rabid one.
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