This surprised me...

Im not 100% sure where I learned that. It was either in a film commentary or a documentary about McQueen. He turned down a LOT of big roles. Steve got to the point where he didnt want to act anymore. I think I remember them having to basically beg him to do "The Getaway" which is basically my favorite film from both McQueen and Peckinpah. I cant really support it with a reason why other than I just like it the most for whatever reason and I basically like all McQueen's films. Basically a film about a troubled relationship in an impossible situation more than anything else but for whatever reason it works. Who knew Peckinpah could make that concept work so well? It still has on of my top 5 endings of all time when McQueen and Ali Macgraw drive of into Mexico in an old beat up truck after giving the driver a stack of cash. That entire scene is magic on film.

Close encounters was his role though. I want to say he turned down the role of Chief Brody in Jaws as well. Spielberg liked McQueen quite a bit. Dreyfus is great in Close Encounters but McQueen would have been golden.

Yeah not bad for director who was basically never given any real support (outside The Thing of course) and basically had films that always bombed at the theatre. I even think Memoirs of an Invisible Man is a good film. Carpenter absolutely hates it. I think hes crazy. People point to Village of the Damned as his weakest film sometimes other than Ghosts of Mars but I challenge people to go watch the original Village of the Damned. I think Carpenter improved on it with his version.

People always make the mistake of forgetting hes a low budget filmmaker. They also forget the pace at which he made films from the mid 70s to the late 80s. Basically one film a year and most became classics and are still beloved and mimicked today. Its a shame we never got to see his remake of Creature From the Black Lagoon because the script was very interesting. From what I can recall he created an entirely new mythos to the gill man.

I like that he inspired so many because I like Carpenters preference to keep things mood oriented. It Follows, I trapped The Devil, Starry Eyes, Dredd, Planet Terror, Doomsday... all fun to watch. Carpenter could also nail any genre. Starman is a Love Story basically.. Nailed it. Comedy.. Big Trouble in Little China Nailed it. Biographical.. Elvis nailed it. Horror, Action, Adventure... Carpenters range was amazing. Then theres the music.. sheesh. Some of the best scores from the 70s and 80s are Carpenter. I didnt just spend so much effort learning about him just because I liked his films. I was also impressed how he could do so much with so little to work with at the pace he did. Some of his films are very in depth in the research and writing department while seeming very basic and even silly to the casual onlooker.

Maverick filmmaker. I think Howard Hawkes would be proud. I have said it for years I dont think we will ever get another John Carpenter. I dont know of anyone before him that could match his skillset either.