The universe can sometimes be a fairly shabby place, so it is important to seek each last nugget of joy or, in the absence of something so extravagant, just a smile here and there to ward off total despair. You might say that we do not even deserve the latter in extraordinarily shabby moments like these, and maybe it’s true, but I like to get out of bed in the morning, so I allow myself the privilege of Hope, but it materializes. Did the Cleveland riders won last night? It is a foot on the ground. Have I sent a text with friends from outside the city that I have not personally seen for months or years? There is another. Made John Carpenter You just have to win a life success price From the Los Angeles Film Critics Association? Oh baby, we are standing and we are heading for this first cup.
The new Hollywood era produced more successful filmmakers acclaimed by the criticism that the man who gave us “Halloween”, “The Thing”, And “Big troubles in the little China”, “ But there is not a single director among their ranks with a more ardent fans base. Although it was never nominated for an Oscars, many artists who won at least one The Venère absolutely (for example, Quentin Tarantino, Guillermo del Toro, James Cameron, Bong Joon-Ho and Danny Boyle).
Since he seems to have completed his cinematographic career to focus on his music, placing him off the game for a competitive Oscar, Carpenter should be on the Academy’s radar each year for a governor’s prize. Perhaps the honor of Lafca will grease the skates, and, hey, perhaps these oscarior acolytes can put pressure on his behalf. A major obstacle, however, will be the fact that some of the most famous works of Carpenter, especially “the thing” And “Big Disorder in Little China”, were not only burnt down in a critical way at the time of their theatrical release, but also massive Box office flops. It should be a remarkable art and influence, right? Alas, the box office is important at the academy, and if they are determined to be petty, they could turn to the third third of Carpenter’s career for a bomb with Jason Statham – that which even the most fans ardent of the director have trouble defending.
Jason Statham was not a star enough in 2001 to save ghosts in March
“Ghosts of Mars” by John Carpenter opened its doors on the weekend of August 24, 2001, in the middle of a rush paid at the end of summer which included “Jay and Silent Bob Stike of Kevin Smith”, “The Curse of The Jade Scorpion “by Woody Allen,” Michael “, Woody Allen” Summer Catch “by Tollin and a pre-” Donnie Darko “Jake Gyllenhaal in” Bubble Boy “. There were reasons to be optimistic about its box office potential, but not Because he featured Jason Statham. 24 years ago, Statham was probably better known to American moviegoers at the time for his appearances in “Lock, Stock, Stock, Stock and Two Smoking Barls” by Guy Ritchie. He was also fourth-com in “The One” by James Wong behind Jet Li, Delroy Lindo and Carla Gugino. He was going up, but few people rushed to the multiplex for the new Statham while the world rushed without knowing it around September 11.
The carpenter’s sci-fi / horror / western hybrid about (deep breath) a perilous transport of prisoner on a colonized March where the ghosts of the indigenous people of the planet transformed with revenge its human inhabitants recently arrived into zombies (exhale) did Star Ice Cube and Natasha Henstridge. The first, playing a badass criminal sporting the hardcore nickname of Desolation Williams, was the main sale of sale on the strength of his hip-hop career and his “Friday” franchise. Unfortunately, Screen Gems could not understand what element of the siguish genre of carpenter on the market, so he threw everything on the wall and hoped that people would present themselves.
A few years later, a Deux-Hander Cube-et-Statham would have been enough to guarantee a huge opening weekend. But “Ghosts of Mars” was never going to be more than a wonderful wonder because it is carpenter who works the same side of the street with high content the phase to take the career of Carpenter (even if she n ‘gave no classic), but “Ghosts of Mars” always looks like a half -imagined mixture. At any time, you want him to look stronger about science fiction or horror or, above all, his Western elements, but he refuses to engage in anything. It takes place at a decent rate, but the film finally has the impression that it is simply in a hurry to finish.
The failure of the Mars ghosts injured John Carpenter much more than Jason Statham
Despite disastrous criticism (He has a metascore of 35) and confused marketing, John Carpenters fans went for “Ghosts of Mars” (Perhaps hoping for a snake cameo). Unfortunately, no one else has done so. The film opened its doors in ninth place for the weekend with a crude 3.8 million dollars on 2,048 screens. He obtained a C-Cinemascore and, after 130 days of exit, concluded his theatrical race with a global crude of $ 14 million with a budget of $ 28 million.
The damage caused to the career in Carpenter’s cinema was considerable, although he said several times that he was too exhausted after having carried out after “Ghosts of Mars” to continue a new project. After a four-year interruption, he made two very good episodes for the anthology series “Masters of Horror” by Showtime (“Cigarette Burns” and “Pro-Life”), but would not do another functionality before “The Ward “of 2010. The psychological horror film produced independently brought Carpenter to its disjointed roots, and, if nothing else, it is much more coherent than “Ghosts of Mars”. It is possible that the old master can surprise us with another film, but he currently pours all the ounces of his creative passion in his music, and it’s excellent tips!
Regarding cinema, all that must be done is that the Academy honors one of the most gifted and influential directors of the second half of the 20th century. I cannot imagine movies without John Carpenter, and I could certainly use the big big smile that will propagate on my cup when he accepts his honorary prize from the Academy. Let’s do this, ampas.
