Summary
- John Carpenter watched the movie Barbie from the comfort of his home and was perplexed by it.
- Despite being perplexed by the film, Carpenter praised Margot Robbie’s performance and called her fabulous.
- Carpenter’s latest project, John Carpenter’s Suburban Screams, is a Peacock miniseries that explores true tales of terror and marks his first television project since 2005.
John Carpenter may be the mastermind at the helm of horror favorites, including The Thing and Halloween, but Greta Gerwig’s Barbie went “right over” his head. In a recent conversation with the LA Times, Carpenter shared that he watched Barbie from the comfort of his home. For those who haven’t seen it yet, Carpenter also provides an intriguing synopsis of the film:
“I don’t go out. I haven’t been to a movie in a while, but I see them at my house. I’ll see it there. I watched Barbie. I can’t believe I watched Barbie. It’s just not my generation. I had nothing to do with Barbie dolls. I didn’t know who Allan was. I mean, I can sum it up. She says, ‘I don’t have a vagina,’ and then at the end, ‘I’m going to go to a gynecologist!’ That’s the movie to me. I mean, there’s a patriarchy business in there, but I missed that whole thing. Right over my head. But I think she’s fabulous, Margot Robbie.”
While Barbie has seen huge box office success, it has also proven to be the most divisive film of the summer (and maybe the year – that remains to be seen), igniting passionate feelings of love and hate among certain audiences. Often revered for its feminist and humanistic approach, the movie has also seen its share of outspoken critics like political commentator Ben Shapiro, who even lit a Barbie on fire during a 43-minute rant in protest of the film’s messaging.
While Carpenter may have been perplexed by Barbie, his praise of Robbie aligns with many critics and viewer opinions. Just last month, Warner Bros. confirmed that it would campaign for the film in top Academy Award categories. Robbie can potentially become the second woman to be nominated for Best Film (as a producer) and Best Actress in the same year.
Related: John Carpenter Makes Surprise Appearance That Reunites Him With Original Halloween Cast Members
John Carpenter Tackles Unscripted Television with John Carpenter’s Suburban Screams
Peacock
Carpenter’s interview comes days before the launch of his latest project: John Carpenter’s Suburban Screams. The Peacock miniseries explores true tales of terror that took place in seemingly perfect American hometowns, recounted by survivors. Besides lending his name to the title, Carpenter serves as a series producer along with Sandy King, Tony DiSanto, showrunner Jordan Roberts, Patrick Smith, and Andy Portnoy. He also composed the theme music and directed an episode of the unscripted show. This marks Carpenter’s first television project since 2005’s Masters of Horror series.
As genre fans patiently await to see if this Master of Horror will ever step behind the camera to direct another feature, Carpenter offered up some hope:
“Get the right one or the right budget — yeah, I’ll do it. I don’t want to work that much, though. Compared to music, it’s so different because music is the purest art form there is. You don’t have to talk about it, you don’t have to explain it. I can play it and somebody in Indonesia can just feel it. Across time, I can listen to Bach’s ‘St. Anne’ and tears come to my eyes just like when I first heard it, it’s so profound. A human being wrote that. Wow. There’s no comparison to that in any other form. But unfortunately, I fell in love with movies, which is the craziest, silliest art form there is.”
John Carpenter’s Suburban Screams hits Peacock on Friday, October 13.
You can view the original article HERE.
