In a sprawling profile for Variety, horror legend John Carpenter revealed that one of the stars of Memoirs of an Invisible Man made him want to stop making movies.
“It gave me a chance to make a quasi-serious movie,” Carpenter said. “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.”
So it’s either Sam Neill — with whom Carpenter made In the Mouth of Madness right afterward and crafted a lifelong bond with — or Chevy Chase — with whom he did not. You get two guesses and one of them doesn’t count.
As ever, this is the kind of story about Chase that’s become so rote that even Chase probably won’t bat an eye. Thus, let’s appreciate the story as a PSA to go check out Memoirs of an Invisible Man, a criminally underseen goofball gem that features Neill being held hostage by a floating gun (and other fantastic special effects).
Let’s also appreciate that Carpenter didn’t let that bad experience stop him from making more movies.
(via Variety)