John Carpenter Net Worth
John Carpenter Net Worth is
$35 Million
John Carpenter Bio/Wiki, Net Worth, Married 2018
Although Carpenter has worked in numerous film genres, he’s mostly related to horror and science fiction films in the 1970s and 1980s. Numerous pictures in Carpenter’s profession were critical and commercial failures, with the notable exceptions of “Halloween” (1978) and “Escape from New York” (1981).
Carpenter promptly followed The Fog with all the science fiction experience Escape from New York (1981). The Thing was broadcast by Universal Pictures. Carpenter’s movie used the exact same source material as the 1951 Howard Hawks movie, The Thing from Another World, Carpenter’s version is more devoted to the John W. Campbell, Jr. novella, Who Goes There?, upon which both movies were based. In a interview, Carpenter said that E.T.’s launch could have been mainly responsible for the movie’s letdown As The Thing didn’t perform well on a commercial level, it was Carpenter’s first fiscal letdown. Soon after finishing post production on The Thing, Universal offered him the opportunity to direct Firestarter, on the basis of the novel by Stephen King. Carpenter hired Bill Lancaster to accommodate the novel into a script, that has been finished in mid-1982. Carpenter had earmarked Burt Lancaster to star as “Rainbird” and 12-year old Jennifer Connelly as “Charly” but when The Thing was a box office disappointment, Universal replaced Carpenter with Mark L Lester. Paradoxically, Carpenter’s following movie, Christine, was the 1983 version of the Stephen King novel of exactly the same name. The storyline revolves around a high school nerd named Arnie Cunningham (Keith Gordon) who purchases a junked 1958 Plymouth Fury which seems to have supernatural powers. As Cunningham restores and rebuilds the automobile, he becomes unnaturally obsessed with it, with fatal results. Christine did good company upon its launch and was received well by critics; yet, Carpenter has been quoted as saying he directed the movie as it was the sole thing offered to him at the time.
John Carpenter Net Worth $35 Million Dollars
| Net Worth | $35 Million |
| Date Of Birth | January 16, 1948 |
| Died | September 4, 1998, Torrance, California, United States |
| Place Of Birth | Carthage, New York, United States |
| Height | 6 ft (1.83 m) |
| Profession | Screenwriter, Film director, Film Score Composer, Film Producer, Voice Actor, Actor, Film Editor |
| Education | Western Kentucky University, University of Southern California, Houston, TX, USA |
| Nationality | United States of America |
| Spouse | Sandy King (m. 1990), Adrienne Barbeau (m. 1979–1984) |
| Children | Cody Carpenter |
| Parents | Tom Carpenter, Gail Carpenter |
| Nicknames | John Howard Carpenter , JC , Johnny Carpenter , James T. Chance , John T. Chance , Rip Haight , Martin Quatermass , Frank Armitage |
| Awards | Saturn Award, Bram Stoker Award for Lifetime Achievement, Houston, TX, USA |
| Nominations | Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation, Nebula Award for Best Script, Edgar Awards for Best Television Feature/Mini-Series Teleplay, Houston, TX, USA |
| Movies | The Thing, Halloween, They Live, Escape from New York |
| TV Shows | Clive Barker's A-Z of Horror |
| Star Sign | Capricorn |
| # | Trademark |
|---|---|
| 1 | Films often take place in single confined locations |
| 2 | Often references the works of Alfred Hitchcock |
| 3 | Graphic visual effects and body transformations |
| 4 | Underlying sense of paranoia in horror stories |
| 5 | Includes at least one scene inside an automobile in nearly all his films. Likes to include helicopters in his films, many times doing a cameo as a pilot. |
| 6 | Frequently makes references to classic Westerns |
| 7 | [Video Screen] His films often feature important visuals shown from a video screen (The end-of-the-world transmission from the future in Prince of Darkness (1987), the Norwegian recordings of the expedition to uncover the aliens in The Thing (1982), various TV sets and the general anti-TV motif in They Live (1988), etc.). |
| 8 | [Names] Likes to name characters after real life people: directors, etc. Also reuses character names from classic movies. For example, John T. Chance, Carpenter's pseudonym in for editing Assault on Precinct 13 (1976), is John Wayne's character in Rio Bravo (1959); Donald Pleasence's character name in Halloween (1978), Sam Loomis, is also the name of Janet Leigh's boyfriend in Psycho (1960). Frequently uses the character names "Tramer" and "Baxter" in different films as well. |
| 9 | Is known for an unofficial "Carpenter's Repertory Group" of actors who he enjoys working with, including Kurt Russell, Sam Neill, Peter Jason, George 'Buck' Flower, and various crew members. Also frequently casts musicians (Ice Cube, Isaac Hayes, Alice Cooper, Jon Bon Jovi). |
| 10 | [Cinematography] Uses minimalist cinematography and lighting. Tries to make empty spaces look full, and full spaces look empty. Shoots all of his movies in Panavision (2.35:1 ratio with anamorphic lenses). The exceptions are Dark Star (1974) and all of his TV work. |
| 11 | His lead male characters are anti-heroes (e.g., Snake Plissken in the "Escape" films and Napoleon Wilson in Assault on Precinct 13 (1976)) whereas the bad guys in his films are usually depicted as zombie-like, mindless, and lacking a personality or emotion. Though many people die in his films, with few exceptions, he usually avoids showing gore. |
| 12 | [Apocalypse] Apocalyptic overtones run throughout Carpenter's films, most prominently in his unofficial but aptly titled Apocalypse Trilogy (The Thing (1982), Prince of Darkness (1987), In the Mouth of Madness (1994)) and more subtly in films like Halloween (1978), They Live (1988) and Escape from New York (1981). |
| 13 | [Cheap Scare] Many of Carpenter's films include what he calls a "cheap scare", where something comes into view very fast and leaves just as quickly, intensified by musical cues. Carpenter makes open compositions that allow the villain/monster (or sometimes just an object) to pop into frame from the background, the immediate foreground or from either side of the frame. It has since become a horror cliché after using "cheap scares" so effectively in Halloween (1978). |
| 14 | Uses synthesizer-based soundtracks that he composes himself (Most famous for the theme song to Halloween (1978), obviously). |
| 15 | [Attribution] The words "John Carpenter's" appear before almost all of his film and TV titles (e.g., John Carpenter's Halloween (1978)). |
| 16 | [Horror] Although Carpenter has directed films in numerous other genres (dark comedy, sci-fi, romance), he is known primarily for making horror films (Halloween (1978) and the subsequent sequels not directed by him, The Fog (1980), The Thing (1982), etc.). He is also known as the "Master of Horror" or the "Prince of Darkness" (after one of his films). |
| Title | Salary |
|---|---|
| Halloween (1978) | $10,000 |
| # | Quote |
|---|---|
| 1 | I take every failure hard. The one I took the hardest was The Thing (1982). My career would have been different if that had been a big hit... The movie was hated. Even by science-fiction fans. They thought that I had betrayed some kind of trust, and the piling on was insane. Even the original movie's director, Christian Nyby, was dissing me. |
| 2 | I've never had any illusions about my musical abilities. I've got very basic musical chops, that's okay - I've proudly stretched them as far as I possibly could. |
| 3 | At the beginning, I was doing the music out of necessity, because we had no money. At some point, I realized that the scores became another voice, another way I could further what I was doing as a filmmaker. It became an extension of directing. Composing was a lot of extra work, but I kept going as long as I could stand it. Kind of like directing. |
| 4 | I got to work within the studio system, and make all those movies the way I wanted them, and I'm very proud of that. It was a fight, though, because the studios don't ever want to give control to the filmmakers. It's all changed now. A lot of directors today don't even care about the final cut to begin with. Hell, they just want a job. |
| 5 | The biggest lesson that I learned from film school was to try to get and maintain, if possible, final cut. Creative control is the essence of having the ability to make your own movie, and not someone else's. |
| 6 | Well, before I write my scripts, I know how much thy'll have to cost, so I write them to fit our small budget. Idea first, then the budget, then the script. We do it backwards. My only criteria when working a deal is that I get control of the film - creative control. For a certain amount of money, you see, at this point in my career, they will give me control if it's done cheaply enough. For a $10 million project they would't give me that control. Not now. So, it's an open-and-shut contractual thing. Will you give me cast approval and final cut and budget approval. And if you ask those questions and they say no, well, then you go elsewhere. ["Films in Review" interview, 1980] |
| 7 | The Blair Witch Project (1999) is a movie that I really don't think ever had a director. It's one of the few movies I've ever seen that didn't have one. |
| 8 | [responding to Debra Hill's remark in The Fog (1980) DVD commentary] I recycle all of Howard Hawks' films, Debra. |
| 9 | With the kinds of movies being made by studios today, there are very few low-budget films, and those are entrusted to young geniuses, not old guys like myself. |
| 10 | [on Halloween III: Season of the Witch (1982)] We found that the audience didn't want different stories. What they wanted was just the same old thing over and over again. [The producers] got mad because they thought I'd destroyed their franchise. They took it out of my hands and I was done with Halloween. |
| 11 | If I had three wishes, one of them would be "Send me back to the '40s and the studio system and let me direct movies." Because I would have been happiest there. I feel I am a little bit out of time. I have much more of a kinship for older-style films, and very few films that are made now interest me at all. I get up and walk out on them. |
| 12 | The trick with shooting a low-budget film is to shoot as little footage as possible and extend the scenes for as long as one can. |
| 13 | [on making Halloween (1978). When we needed kids walking down the street, anyone who had a family rounded up their kids. Everyone helped out - it was just the joy of making movies. |
| 14 | I arrived in L.A. the most naive human being on the face of the earth. When I got off the plane at LAX, I got a map of Los Angeles, looked up USC, and decided to walk. It only looked like it was a couple of blocks away. After about 15 blocks of carting my luggage down some endless street, I looked at the map again. It took me a while to figure out the scope of Los Angeles. If I'd continued walking that day, I would still be walking. I was a real country boy. |
| 15 | I can remember at USC in the late Sixties when everybody was making socially relevant films. Good God, they'd have given anything if you made a film about Vietnam, about American injustices. That's the kind of thing they wanted. They looked down on you and felt you were naive if you cared about Hollywood films. But I wasn't caught up in that. I went back to my roots. |
| 16 | Everyone who ever made a low-budget film was influenced by Night of the Living Dead (1968). |
| 17 | They Live (1988) was made as response to the horror of the Reagan years. |
| 18 | [on how they created the Michael Myers mask] We didn't have enough money to make it. Production designer, Tommy Lee Wallace brought a clown mask, which was one idea. Then he brought a Star Trek (1966) Captain Kirk mask, It was a really terrible likeness of William Shatner, I mean terrible looking. We cut the eye holes a little bit bigger, spray painted it.....and that was it, it looked really creepy. |
| 19 | I can play just about any keyboard but I can't read or write a note. |
| 20 | Jeff Bridges is the greatest, as an actor and a person. He's the best actor of his generation, bar none. |
| 21 | Monsters in movies are us, always us, one way or the other. They're us with hats on. The zombies in George A. Romero's movies are us. They're hungry. Monsters are us, the dangerous parts of us. The part that wants to destroy. The part of us with the reptile brain. The part of us that's vicious and cruel. We express these in our stories as these monsters out there. |
| 22 | I don't want to be in the mainstream. I don't want to be a part of the demographics. I want to be an individual. I wear each of my films as a badge of pride. That's why I cherish all my bad reviews. If the critics start liking my movies, then I'm in deep trouble. |
| 23 | Film buffs who don't live in Hollywood have a fantasy about what it's like to be a director. Movies and the people who make movies have such glamor associated with them. But the truth is, it's not like that. It's very different. It's hard work. If you were suddenly catapulted into that situation - without any training - you would say after it was over: "Oh, God! You're kidding! You mean, this is what it's like? This is what they put you through?" Yes, as a matter of fact, it is like this - and it's often worse. People have tried to describe the film business, but it's impossible to describe because it's so crazy. You must know your craft inside out and then pick up the rules as you go along. |
| 24 | When somebody who makes movies for a living -- either as an actor, writer, producer or director -- lives to be a certain age, you have to admire them. It is an act of courage to make a film -- a courage for which you are not prepared in the rest of life. It is very hard and very destructive. But we do it because we love it. Regardless of how bitter I was a few years ago because of my experiences at the studios, I'm still making films. |
| 25 | I'm pretty happy with who I am. I like myself and what I'm doing. I don't need to be the world's greatest director or the most famous -- or the richest. I don't need to make a whole lot of great films. I can do my job and I can do it pretty well. This is the realization I've come to, later in life. It's called growing up. |
| 26 | When you've been in the movie business for as long as I have your priorities change. The reasons I got into it in the beginning were very pure. I was driven by a creative urge to be a part of Hollywood and to make my mark in the movies. As I've gone through it practically -- in real life -- I've realized that ambition is immature. Luck and the randomness of fate play such a big part in whether I'm a success or a failure. After a while, I told myself, "The only thing I can do is the best I can do." That's what being a professional is all about. It's how I conduct myself. I try to live with dignity and honor. But I can't ever depend on reaching my goals, because there's too much that I can't control in my way. I've learned that I either have to be happy with who I am -- or not. |
| 27 | I'm flattered if someone comes to me with the idea of remaking one of my films. Remake or original, making a movie still comes down to old-fashioned hard work. If it's based on another film, well, so be it. Remakes have been part of cinema since its earliest days - think of A Star Is Born (1937), which was remade numerous times. And they're especially big right now because it's become increasingly difficult to lure audiences into theaters. Advertising a remade title that may be familiar to audiences can hopefully cut through the clutter of titles and products that one sees. |
| 28 | Working for the studios is no piece of cake. But it's a trade-off situation, whomever you work for. You have much less creative freedom working for big studios, but they really release your film. By comparison, you have enormous creative freedom working for independent companies like New World. But when it comes time to sell your film and show it to the public, they don't have the same clout as big studios. The independents have to fight to get your film in theaters in which to show your film and they have to fight to keep your film in those theaters. Everybody in the business faces one truth all the time -- if your movie doesn't perform immediately, the exhibitors want to get rid of it. The exhibitors only want product in their theaters which makes money. Quality has nothing to do with it. |
| 29 | Hollywood is a weird place. The film industry has changed. Business is bad. Directors are treated like bums now. This is a bad time for creative people. Hollywood is a mean place to work. [1986] |
| 30 | I have always had different aspects to my personality. I think I'm a long-term pessimist and a short-term optimist. I do feel a great darkness about humanity. But - simultaneously and contradictorily - I also feel that life can be pretty fabulous. I should also express some of that in my work; I don't want to limit myself as a filmmaker. I want to be true to the parameters of all films. They should create a mood and tingle you emotionally. That is what I'm after. I want the audience to experience some feeling. I want them to know they're alive. |
| 31 | Movies are pieces of film stuck together in a certain rhythm, an absolute beat, like a musical composition. The rhythm you create affects the audience. |
| 32 | Another trend is a lot of women are going to see horror films. That's a really welcome development for horror... It actually has a broadened audience. I think most studios recognize that there is a real potential in horror, if you can find something new and unique. For a while it was a lot of remaking of Japanese horror films that have a whole different way of approaching a story - some of which translates quite well in this country. It is fascinating to watch for a guy who worked in the horror trenches. |
| 33 | I don't deny that commercial success means a lot to me, the best reviews you can get are at the box office. |
| 34 | [on why he passed on Fatal Attraction (1987)] There wasn't a grain of originality in it - it was Play Misty for Me (1971) with Michael Douglas filling in for Clint Eastwood. Also, the original version, the script I read, had Glenn Close winning in the end by killing herself and thereby getting the moral upper hand. I knew the audience was never going to buy that. The audience was always gonna want to see the wife shoot the bitch. Sure enough, they shot the original script, previewed it, got booed off screen and went back and shot the ending you see today. That was a journey I couldn't be bothered to go on. |
| 35 | Things haven't been going great lately. For a while now people haven't really been getting my movies. Certainly the box office hasn't been up to speed. Sure, some of my recent stuff hasn't been perfect, but neither has it been the shit that many have said. Critically, it's all become a bit of a crapshoot. The critics thought I was a bum when I started out and they think I'm a bum now. |
| 36 | We're a violent country. We always have been. We embrace our individuality and our violence. |
| 37 | In France, I'm an auteur; in Germany, a filmmaker; in Britain; a genre film director; and, in the USA, a bum. |
| # | Fact |
|---|---|
| 1 | Fans of John Carpenter's work include for example the directors Bertrand Bonello, Tom Tykwer, Joon-ho Bong, Jeff Nichols, Olivier Assayas, Alice Winocour, Gaspar Noé and Jeremy Saulnier, who all named him as an influence on some of their own work. The composer Hans Zimmer was an early fan and said Assault on Precinct 13 (1976) has his favorite movie theme of all time. Another fan is Slovenian philosopher Slavoj Zizek, who is especially fond of They Live (1988). |
| 2 | He was offered the chance to direct The Exorcist III (1990). |
| 3 | He said in an interview that he almost directed Tombstone (1993). |
| 4 | Based his most famous character, the iconic Michael Myers from Halloween (1978), on a thirteen year old boy he saw at a mental institution on a school trip. |
| 5 | Claims that his son, Cody Carpenter got him hooked on playing video games. When Cody was growing up, the two spent time playing together, with early games such as Sonic the Hedgehog (1991). As an avid gamer, he continues playing video games both with his son and independently. As of 2013, his recent favorites included: Dishonored (2012), Assassin's Creed III (2012), and the God of War (2005) Collection. He can frequently be seen at the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) with his son. (Source: Magazine: gameinformer (Volume XXIII, Number 6, Issue 242)). |
| 6 | He has always claimed that the Western is his favorite genre but he's never made a full-length film within the genre. |
| 7 | Named his six favorite films as Only Angels Have Wings (1939), Rio Bravo (1959), Citizen Kane (1941), Vertigo (1958), Black Christmas (1974), Blow-Up (1966). Black Christmas is the film that inspired Halloween (1978). |
| 8 | He directed child actress Kim Richards in his second feature film, Assault on Precinct 13 (1976), and directed Kim's sister Kyle Richards in his next film, Halloween (1978). |
| 9 | Shares the low score of 3 in Empire's 'My Movie Mastermind' with Michael Keaton and Steve Guttenberg. |
| 10 | Lives in West Hollywood, California. |
| 11 | In an interview, he stated that he takes much of the failure of his movies pretty hard. However, out of all the movies that he had done, he claimed that The Thing (1982) was the failure he took the hardest. |
| 12 | In the 5th edition of 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die (edited by Steven Jay Schneider), 2 of his films are listed: Halloween (1978) and The Thing (1982). |
| 13 | Turned down the chance to direct Zombieland (2009). |
| 14 | Close friend of actor Jeff Bridges. |
| 15 | Was approached to score Planet Terror (2007) for Robert Rodriguez, but was busy finishing up post-production on Masters of Horror (2005). |
| 16 | Is an avid fan of the Godzilla films. He considers the first Godzilla movie (Gojira (1954)) to be an inspiration for him. |
| 17 | Was offered the chance to direct Armed and Dangerous (1986) but turned it down. The job went to Mark L. Lester who also directed Firestarter (1984), which was offered to Carpenter. |
| 18 | Turned down the chance to direct Fatal Attraction (1987). |
| 19 | Turned down the chance to direct Top Gun (1986). |
| 20 | Was offered a chance to direct the Eddie Murphy film The Golden Child (1986), but turned it down. |
| 21 | Was given the chance to direct Mutant Chronicles (2008). |
| 22 | Said in a 1982 interview that he thought the R rating for Halloween (1978) was justifiable, but The Fog (1980) should've been rated PG. |
| 23 | Was originally supposed to direct Firestarter (1984), and even had a screenplay written by Bill Lancaster. Both were replaced when The Thing (1982), a film on which they both collaborated, did poorly at the box office. |
| 24 | He is a big fan of The Beach Boys and Howard Hawks. |
| 25 | Praised longtime friend and frequent collaborator Kurt Russell for being a hard-working, professional actor who isn't afraid to take on roles that might hurt his image or make him look like a fool. |
| 26 | Biography in the following: John Wakeman, editor. World Film Directors, Volume Two, 1945- 1985. pp. 184-189. New York: The H.W. Wilson Company, 1988. |
| 27 | With the exception of Escape from L.A. (1996), he has rarely made a sequel to any of his films. Has said that he got forced into writing Halloween II (1981), but refused to direct it because he "didn't want to direct the same movie again". |
| 28 | Carpenter's character Snake Plissken (of Escape from New York (1981) and Escape from L.A. (1996)) is about to become a comic book. Published by theCrossGen imprint Code 6 Comics, the book will be known as "John Carpenter's The Snake Plissken Chronicles". It is set for publication beginning in 2003. |
| 29 | Is a great fan of Sergio Leone and cast Lee Van Cleef in Escape from New York (1981) because of his work with Leone. |
| 30 | He has a son, Cody Carpenter, with Adrienne Barbeau. |
| 31 | Is a major NBA fan and has a satellite dish installed on his location trailer to keep up with the games. Always has a portable basketball hoop on location. |
| 32 | Loves Elvis Presley and old Cadillacs. |
| 33 | Considers it bad luck to wear the hat of the show he's working on. Will not wear a crew cap until the film is over. |
| 34 | Appears in his own films under the name Rip Haight, appearing in in The Fog (1980), Starman (1984), Body Bags (1993), and Village of the Damned (1995). |
| 35 | Is a fan of the Quartermass movies (The Quatermass Xperiment (1955), Five Million Years to Earth (1967)), wrote Prince of Darkness (1987) under the pseudonym of Martin Quatermass, and the village in In the Mouth of Madness (1994) is named after a rail station in "Quatermass and the Pit". |
| 36 | In the movie Change of Habit (1969) Elvis Presley plays a character named John Carpenter. In 1979 Carpenter directed the TV movie Elvis (1979) starring his good friend Kurt Russell. |
Soundtrack
| Title | Year | Status | Character |
|---|---|---|---|
| The X Factor | TV Series performer - 1 episode, 2016 writer - 1 episode, 2016 | ||
| John Carpenter: Utopian Facade | 2016 | Video short performer: "Utopian Facade" / writer: "Utopian Facade" | |
| John Carpenter: Distant Dream | 2016 | Video short performer: "Distant Dream" / writer: "Distant Dream" | |
| Limitless | 2016 | TV Series performer - 1 episode | |
| The Simpsons | 2013-2015 | TV Series writer - 2 episodes | |
| HALLOWEEN: The Rebirth of Michael Myers | 2015 | Short performer: "The Shape" / writer: "The Shape" | |
| Jason Voorhees vs. Michael Myers | 2015 | Short writer: "Michael Myers Theme Song" | |
| Love | 2015/II | performer: "Night" / writer: "Main Title", "Night" | |
| John Carpenter: Night | 2015 | Video short writer: "Night" | |
| Halloween on Dartmoor | 2014 | Video short writer: "Halloween Theme", "Happy Halloween - Silver shamrock" | |
| Punk 'n' Spice | 2014 | Short performer: "Halloween" theme song / writer: "Halloween" theme song | |
| The Babysitter | 2014/I | Short performer: "The Shape" / writer: "The Shape" | |
| Daily Ukulele | 2013 | TV Series short writer - 1 episode | |
| The Comix Scrutinizer | 2013 | TV Series 1 episode | |
| Yu-Gi-Oh! The Abridged Series: Season Zero | TV Series writer - 3 episodes, 2010 - 2013 performer - 2 episodes, 2012 - 2013 | ||
| Monkey Pudding Face | 2012 | TV Series short writer - 1 episode | |
| ParaNorman | 2012 | writer: "Halloween Theme" - as John H. Carpenter | |
| Solyanka po-Piterski | 2011 | Short writer: "Halloween Theme" - uncredited | |
| Let There Be Light: The Odyssey of Dark Star | 2010 | Video documentary music: "Benson Arizona" | |
| Red Nose, Black Heart | 2010 | Short writer: "The Fog" excerpt from the soundtrack, "Big Trouble in Little China" excerpt from the soundtrack - uncredited | |
| Monsters vs Aliens: Mutant Pumpkins from Outer Space | 2009 | TV Short writer: "Theme from 'Halloween'" | |
| Halloween II | 2009 | writer: "Halloween Theme" | |
| The Angry Video Game Nerd | 2007 | TV Series writer - 1 episode | |
| Planet Terror | 2007 | performer: "Back To The Pod / The Crazies Come Out" / writer: "Back To The Pod / The Crazies Come Out" | |
| Grindhouse | 2007 | performer: "Back to the Pod/The Crazies Come Out" / writer: "Back to the Pod/The Crazies Come Out" | |
| Halloween: 25 Years of Terror | 2006 | Video documentary "Halloween Theme" | |
| My Name Is Earl | TV Series performer - 1 episode, 2006 writer - 1 episode, 2006 | ||
| Undercover | TV Series performer - 1 episode, 2005 writer - 1 episode, 2005 | ||
| Super Secret Movie Rules | 2004 | TV Series documentary writer - 1 episode | |
| The Power of Nightmares: The Rise of the Politics of Fear | 2004 | TV Mini-Series documentary writer - 3 episodes | |
| The Life of David Gale | 2003 | writer: "Halloween Theme" 1978 | |
| Haider lebt - 1. April 2021 | 2002 | performer: "Halloween Theme" / writer: "Halloween Theme" | |
| Halloween 4: Final Cut | 2001 | Video documentary short performer: "Halloween Theme" - uncredited / writer: "Halloween Theme" - uncredited | |
| Chick'n Swell | 2001 | TV Series writer - 1 episode | |
| Dernier moment | 1998 | Short "Prince Of Darkness" | |
| Escape from L.A. | 1996 | "Escape From New York - Main Title" | |
| Bassie en Adriaan en de reis vol verrassingen | 1994 | TV Mini-Series writer - 13 episodes | |
| SMW: Blood, Brawls and Grudges | 1994 | Video writer: "Halloween Theme Main Title" | |
| Heads or Tails? | 1993 | Video performer: "Michael Kills Judith" - uncredited | |
| Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers | 1988 | "Halloween Theme" | |
| Big Trouble in Little China | 1986 | writer: "Big Trouble in Little China" | |
| Huang jia shi jie | 1985 | writer: "Halloween" excerpts from the soundtrack - uncredited | |
| Halloween | 1978 | writer: "Halloween Theme Main Title" | |
| Assault on Precinct 13 | 1976 | performer: "Assault On Precinct 13 Main Title" / writer: "Assault On Precinct 13 Main Title" | |
| Dark Star | 1974 | music: "Benson Arizona" |
Writer
| Title | Year | Status | Character |
|---|---|---|---|
| Halloween | 2018/I | characters announced | |
| HALLOWEEN: The Rebirth of Michael Myers | 2015 | Short character | |
| Halloween: Harvest of Souls 1985 | 2013 | story | |
| The Escape Agenda | 2012 | Short characters | |
| Halloween Awakening: The Legacy of Michael Myers | 2012 | character | |
| Halloween: Resurgence | 2012 | based upon characters created by | |
| Halloween Existence | 2012 | Short based on the film "Halloween" by | |
| Myers | 2012 | Short characters | |
| Halloween | 2011 | Short characters | |
| F.E.A.R. 3 | 2011 | Video Game storyline consultant | |
| October 31st | 2010 | Short original screenplay | |
| Halloween Autumn Blood | 2010 | Short characters | |
| Halloween Black Eyes | 2010 | Short characters | |
| Halloween Fall Stalking | 2009 | Short characters | |
| Halloween | 2007 | 1978 screenplay | |
| The Fog | 2005 | 1980 screenplay | |
| Assault on Precinct 13 | 2005 | earlier film | |
| Michael Vs. Jason | 2004 | Short characters | |
| Jason Vs. Leatherface | 2003 | Short characters | |
| Halloween: Resurrection - WebCam Special | 2002 | Video short characters | |
| Halloween: Resurrection | 2002 | characters | |
| Ghosts of Mars | 2001 | written by | |
| Silent Predators | 1999 | TV Movie teleplay | |
| Halloween H20: 20 Years Later | 1998 | characters | |
| Escape from L.A. | 1996 | characters / written by | |
| Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers | 1995 | characters | |
| Blood River | 1991 | TV Movie written by | |
| El Diablo | 1990 | TV Movie written by | |
| Halloween 5 | 1989 | characters | |
| They Live | 1988 | screenplay - as Frank Armitage | |
| Prince of Darkness | 1987 | written by - as Martin Quatermass | |
| Black Moon Rising | 1986 | screenplay / story | |
| Halloween III: Season of the Witch | 1982 | uncredited | |
| Halloween II | 1981 | written by | |
| Escape from New York | 1981 | written by | |
| The Fog | 1980 | written by | |
| Better Late Than Never | 1979 | TV Movie | |
| Someone's Watching Me! | 1978 | TV Movie written by | |
| Halloween | 1978 | screenplay | |
| Zuma Beach | 1978 | TV Movie teleplay | |
| Eyes of Laura Mars | 1978 | screenplay / story | |
| Assault on Precinct 13 | 1976 | written by | |
| Dark Star | 1974 | original story and screenplay | |
| The Resurrection of Broncho Billy | 1970 | Short story | |
| Captain Voyeur | 1969 | Short |
Director
| Title | Year | Status | Character |
|---|---|---|---|
| John Carpenter: Escape from New York | 2016 | Video short | |
| John Carpenter: Distant Dream | 2016 | Video short | |
| The Ward | 2010 | ||
| Masters of Horror | 2005-2006 | TV Series 2 episodes | |
| Ghosts of Mars | 2001 | ||
| Vampires | 1998 | ||
| Escape from L.A. | 1996 | ||
| Village of the Damned | 1995 | ||
| In the Mouth of Madness | 1994 | ||
| Body Bags | 1993 | TV Movie segments "Gas Station, The", "Hair" | |
| Memoirs of an Invisible Man | 1992 | ||
| They Live | 1988 | ||
| Prince of Darkness | 1987 | ||
| Big Trouble in Little China | 1986 | ||
| Starman | 1984 | ||
| Christine | 1983 | ||
| The Thing | 1982 | ||
| Escape from New York | 1981 | ||
| The Fog | 1980 | ||
| Elvis | 1979/I | TV Movie | |
| Someone's Watching Me! | 1978 | TV Movie | |
| Halloween | 1978 | ||
| Assault on Precinct 13 | 1976 | ||
| Dark Star | 1974 | ||
| Gorgon, the Space Monster | 1969 | Short | |
| Gorgo Versus Godzilla | 1969 | Short | |
| Sorceror from Outer Space | 1969 | Short | |
| Warrior and the Demon | 1969 | Short as Johnny Carpenter | |
| Captain Voyeur | 1969 | Short | |
| Terror from Space | 1963 | Short | |
| Revenge of the Colossal Beasts | 1962 | Short |
Music Department
| Title | Year | Status | Character |
|---|---|---|---|
| John Carpenter: Distant Dream | 2016 | Video short musician: synthesizer | |
| Zoo | 2015 | TV Series writer - 9 episodes | |
| Bishop Under Siege with Austin Stoker | 2013 | Video short composer: stock music | |
| The Sassy One with Nancy Loomis | 2013 | Video short composer: stock music | |
| Alice at the Apocalypse: An Interview with Alice Cooper | 2013 | Video documentary short composer: stock music | |
| Hell on Earth with Alan Howarth | 2013 | Video short composer: stock music | |
| Sympathy for the Devil: An Interview with John Carpenter | 2013 | Video documentary short composer: stock music | |
| The Messenger with Robert Grasmere | 2013 | Video short composer: stock music | |
| My Time with Terror with Jamie Lee Curtis | 2013 | Video short composer: stock music | |
| Halloween II | 2009 | composer: theme music | |
| Halloween | 2007 | composer: theme music | |
| Halloween: Resurrection | 2002 | composer: theme "Halloween" | |
| Ghosts of Mars | 2001 | musician / orchestrator | |
| Halloween H20: 20 Years Later | 1998 | composer: theme music | |
| Vampires | 1998 | musician: rhythm guitar and synthesizers | |
| Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers | 1995 | composer: theme "Halloween" | |
| Ling mo da jue dou | 1990 | composer: stock music - uncredited | |
| Halloween 5 | 1989 | composer: theme "Halloween" | |
| Meng guo jie | 1988 | stock music - international version | |
| Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers | 1988 | composer: theme "Halloween" | |
| The Thing | 1982 | composer: additional music - uncredited |
Composer
| Title | Year | Status | Character |
|---|---|---|---|
| Halloween | 2018/I | announced | |
| John Carpenter: Utopian Facade | 2016 | Video short | |
| John Carpenter: Escape from New York | 2016 | Video short | |
| John Carpenter: Distant Dream | 2016 | Video short | |
| The Puppet Man | 2016 | Short music by | |
| HALLOWEEN: The Rebirth of Michael Myers | 2015 | Short | |
| John Carpenter: Night | 2015 | Video short | |
| The Noise | 2013/I | Short | |
| The Escape Agenda | 2012 | Short | |
| Stand Alone: The Making of Halloween III | 2012 | Video | |
| The Nightmare Isn't Over: The Making of Halloween II | 2012 | music by | |
| Ghosts of Mars | 2001 | ||
| Vampires | 1998 | ||
| Escape from L.A. | 1996 | ||
| Village of the Damned | 1995 | ||
| In the Mouth of Madness | 1994 | ||
| Body Bags | 1993 | TV Movie | |
| They Live | 1988 | ||
| Prince of Darkness | 1987 | ||
| Big Trouble in Little China | 1986 | ||
| Christine | 1983 | ||
| Halloween III: Season of the Witch | 1982 | ||
| Halloween II | 1981 | ||
| Escape from New York | 1981 | ||
| The Fog | 1980 | ||
| Halloween | 1978 | ||
| Assault on Precinct 13 | 1976 | ||
| Dark Star | 1974 | ||
| The Resurrection of Broncho Billy | 1970 | Short |
Actor
| Title | Year | Status | Character |
|---|---|---|---|
| John Carpenter: Utopian Facade | 2016 | Video short | Virtual Reality User / Himself |
| The Puppet Man | 2016 | Short | The Taxi Driver |
| GUNSHIP: Tech Noir | 2015 | Video short | The Narrator (voice) |
| John Carpenter: Night | 2015 | Video short | Virtual Reality User / Himself |
| The Thing | 2002 | Video Game | Dr. Faraday (uncredited) |
| Village of the Damned | 1995 | Man at Gas Station Phone (as Rip Haight) | |
| The Silence of the Hams | 1994 | Trenchcoat Man / Gimp | |
| Body Bags | 1993 | TV Movie | The Coroner (segment "The Morgue") |
| Memoirs of an Invisible Man | 1992 | Helicopter Pilot (as Rip Haight) | |
| They Live | 1988 | Voice that says 'sleep' (voice, uncredited) | |
| The Boy Who Could Fly | 1986 | The Coupe de Villes | |
| Big Trouble in Little China | 1986 | Worker in Chinatown (uncredited) | |
| Starman | 1984 | Man in Helicopter (uncredited) | |
| The Thing | 1982 | Norwegian (video footage) (uncredited) | |
| Escape from New York | 1981 | Secret Service #2 / Helicopter Pilot / Violin Player (voice, uncredited) | |
| The Fog | 1980 | Bennett (uncredited) | |
| Halloween | 1978 | Paul, Annie's Boyfriend (voice, uncredited) | |
| Assault on Precinct 13 | 1976 | Gang Member (uncredited) | |
| Dark Star | 1974 | Talby voice (uncredited) |
Producer
| Title | Year | Status | Character |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dark Star | 1974 | producer | |
| Halloween | 2018/I | executive producer announced | |
| John Carpenter: Escape from New York | 2016 | Video short executive producer | |
| John Carpenter: Distant Dream | 2016 | Video short executive producer | |
| John Carpenter: Night | 2015 | Video short executive producer | |
| The Fog | 2005 | producer | |
| Vampires: Los Muertos | 2002 | executive producer | |
| Body Bags | 1993 | TV Movie executive producer | |
| Black Moon Rising | 1986 | executive producer | |
| The Philadelphia Experiment | 1984 | executive producer | |
| Halloween III: Season of the Witch | 1982 | producer | |
| Halloween II | 1981 | producer | |
| Halloween | 1978 | producer - uncredited |
Editor
| Title | Year | Status | Character |
|---|---|---|---|
| Assault on Precinct 13 | 1976 | as John T. Chance | |
| Last Foxtrot in Burbank | 1973 | ||
| The Resurrection of Broncho Billy | 1970 | Short |
Assistant Director
| Title | Year | Status | Character |
|---|---|---|---|
| Halloween II | 1981 | director: additional scenes - uncredited |
Camera Department
| Title | Year | Status | Character |
|---|---|---|---|
| 'Halloween': A Cut Above the Rest | 2003 | TV Movie documentary still photographer |
Miscellaneous
| Title | Year | Status | Character |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tales from the Mist: Inside 'The Fog' | 2002 | Video documentary short archival material |
Thanks
| Title | Year | Status | Character |
|---|---|---|---|
| Legend of Dark Rider | 2018 | dedicatee filming | |
| The Unreinable Compulsion | 2013 | dedicatee completed | |
| Dark Creek | special thanks announced | ||
| The Blockbuster Buster | 2016 | TV Series dedicatee - 1 episode | |
| Intruder | 2016/I | Short special thanks | |
| Love | 2015/II | the director thanks | |
| Lazarus: Apocalypse | 2014 | original inspiration | |
| The Last Halloween | 2014/I | Short special thanks | |
| Nosferatu vs. Father Pipecock & Sister Funk | 2014 | special thanks | |
| That Guy Dick Miller | 2014 | Documentary special thanks | |
| Hotel Inferno | 2013 | special thanks | |
| Evil Easter III: The Final Easter | 2013 | Short dedicatee | |
| Faraday | 2013 | thanks | |
| Hellview | 2013 | TV Series very special thanks - 1 episode | |
| Sympathy for the Devil: An Interview with John Carpenter | 2013 | Video documentary short special thanks | |
| The Body | 2013/I | Short special thanks | |
| From the Darkness Theatre | 2013 | Short special thanks | |
| The Last Job | 2013/III | Short thanks | |
| Skatha | 2012 | Short the producers wish to thank | |
| Supernatural Activity | 2012 | the producers would like to thank | |
| ParaNorman | 2012 | with thanks to | |
| Acid Head: The Buzzard Nuts County Slaughter | 2011 | special thanks | |
| The Pain of Creation | 2011 | Short special thanks for inspiration | |
| Myers (Rise of the Boogeyman) | 2011 | Short special thanks | |
| Emerging Past | 2011 | Video acknowledgment | |
| The Infected | 2010 | Video short grateful thanks | |
| Tartarus | 2010 | special thanks | |
| Escape from New Jersey | 2010 | special thanks | |
| Blood Moon Rising | 2009 | special thanks | |
| The Joneses | 2009 | the producers wish to thank | |
| Face Eater | 2008 | dedicatee | |
| Creature Story | 2008 | Short special thanks | |
| Val Lewton: The Man in the Shadows | 2007 | TV Movie documentary special thanks | |
| Planet Terror | 2007 | special thanks | |
| Wingrave | 2007 | Video this film is dedicated to | |
| Black Santa's Revenge | 2007 | Short special thanks | |
| Grindhouse | 2007 | thanks - segment "Planet Terror" | |
| Delivery | 2006 | Video acknowledgment | |
| Feeling the Effects of 'The Fog' | 2006 | Video documentary short special thanks | |
| Seeing Through 'The Fog' | 2006 | Video documentary short special thanks | |
| Whiteout Conditions: The Remaking of a Horror Classic | 2006 | Video documentary short special thanks | |
| Fear of Clowns | 2004 | Video thanks | |
| The Nightmare Ends on Halloween | 2004 | Short special thanks | |
| Return to 'Escape from New York' | 2003 | Video documentary short special thanks | |
| Scoring Resident Evil | 2002 | Video short special thanks | |
| The Thing | 2002 | Video Game special thanks | |
| Torre | 2000 | Short thanks | |
| The Quiet Room | 1996 | special thanks | |
| Waxwork | 1988 | dedicated to - as Carpenter | |
| Tag: The Assassination Game | 1982 | thanks |
Self
| Title | Year | Status | Character |
|---|---|---|---|
| Henchman: The Al Leong Story | 2017 | Documentary post-production | Himself |
| Requiem for a Shapeshifter | 2016 | Video documentary short | Himself |
| John Carpenter: Escape from New York | 2016 | Video short | Himself - Synthesizer |
| It Takes a Village: The Making of Village of the Damned | 2016 | Video documentary | Himself |
| John Carpenter: Distant Dream | 2016 | Video short | Himself - Synthesizer |
| Jean-Michel Jarre: A Journey Into Sound | 2015 | TV Movie documentary | Himself |
| Carpenter on Quatermass | 2014 | Video documentary short | Himself |
| Why Horror? | 2014 | Documentary | Himself |
| The Director's Chair | 2014 | TV Series | Himself |
| The Real History of Science Fiction | 2014 | TV Mini-Series documentary | Himself |
| Top 40 Ultimate Action Movies | 2014 | TV Movie documentary | Himself - Director |
| Dread Central Live | 2014 | TV Series | Himself |
| Unzipping Body Bags | 2013 | Video short | Himself |
| He Lives: Interview with John Carpenter | 2013 | Short | Himself |
| Sympathy for the Devil: An Interview with John Carpenter | 2013 | Video documentary short | Himself |
| They Live: Independent Thoughts with John Carpenter | 2012 | Video short | Himself |
| They Live: Watch, Look, Listen - The Sights & Sounds of They Live | 2012 | Video short | Himself |
| The Future of Fear | 2011 | TV Movie documentary | Himself |
| Charlie Brown: Blockhead's Revenge | 2011 | Short | Himself - Host |
| John Carpenter Presents Funny or Die's Halloween | 2011 | Short | Himself |
| Horror Masters: Cat Thrower | 2011 | Short | Himself |
| The Original Monster Mash | 2011 | Short | Himself |
| Nightmare Factory | 2011 | TV Movie documentary | Himself |
| Scary Girl | 2011 | Short | Himself - Host |
| That Is All | 2011 | Short | Himself |
| Twilight: Breaking Dawn Spoof | 2011 | Short | Himself |
| What Have You Done to Me? | 2011 | Short | Himself |
| Post Mortem with Mick Garris | 2011 | TV Series | Himself |
| Let There Be Light: The Odyssey of Dark Star | 2010 | Video documentary | Himself (voice) |
| A History of Horror with Mark Gatiss | 2010 | TV Mini-Series documentary | Himself |
| Halloween: The Inside Story | 2010 | TV Movie documentary | Himself |
| More Tales from the Script | 2010 | Video documentary | Himself |
| Fasten Your Seatbelt: The Thrilling Art of Alfred Hitchcock | 2009 | Video documentary short | Himself |
| The Master's Touch: Hitchcock's Signature Style | 2009 | Video documentary | Himself |
| Nightmares in Red, White and Blue: The Evolution of the American Horror Film | 2009 | Documentary | Himself |
| Monsterland | 2009 | TV Movie documentary | Himself |
| Tales from the Script | 2009 | Documentary | Himself |
| Bernard Herrmann: Hitchcock's Maestro | 2008 | Video short | Himself |
| In the Master's Shadow: Hitchcock's Legacy | 2008 | Video documentary | Himself |
| Pure Cinema: Through the Eyes of the Master | 2008 | Video documentary | Himself |
| Starz Inside: Fantastic Flesh | 2008 | TV Movie documentary | Himself |
| Dead On: The Life and Cinema of George A. Romero | 2008 | Documentary | Himself |
| Lovecraft: Fear of the Unknown | 2008 | Documentary | Himself |
| Science of Horror | 2008 | Documentary | Himself |
| The Secret World of Superfans | 2008 | Documentary | Himself |
| Halloween: Faces of Fear | 2007 | Documentary short | Himself |
| Bloodsucking Cinema | 2007 | TV Movie documentary | Himself |
| John Woo: A Life in Pictures | 2007 | Video short | Himself |
| The Fearmakers Collection | 2007 | Video documentary | Himself |
| Final Delivery: The Making of 'Pro Life' | 2007 | Video documentary short | Himself |
| Big John | 2006 | TV Movie documentary | Himself |
| Amazing! Exploring the Far Reaches of Forbidden Planet | 2006 | Video documentary short | Himself |
| Robby the Robot: Engineering a Sci-Fi Icon | 2006 | Video documentary short | Himself |
| Going to Pieces: The Rise and Fall of the Slasher Film | 2006 | Documentary | Himself |
| Celluloid Apocalypse: An Interview with John Carpenter | 2006 | Video documentary short | Himself |
| Born to Controversy: The Roddy Piper Story | 2006 | Video documentary | Himself |
| Film '72 | 2006 | TV Series | Himself |
| Feeling the Effects of 'The Fog' | 2006 | Video documentary short | Himself - Producer |
| Seeing Through 'The Fog' | 2006 | Video documentary short | Himself - Producer |
| Whiteout Conditions: The Remaking of a Horror Classic | 2006 | Video documentary short | Himself - Producer |
| Hollywood's Greatest Villains | 2005 | TV Movie documentary | Himself |
| The Perfect Scary Movie | 2005 | TV Movie documentary | Himself |
| THS Investigates: Inside the Mind of a Serial Killer | 2005 | TV Movie documentary | Himself |
| Animal Icons | 2005 | TV Series documentary | Himself |
| Snake Plissken: Man of Honor | 2005 | Video documentary short | Himself |
| 05 Spaceys | 2005 | TV Special | Himself |
| Cinemaker | 2004 | Video documentary | Himself |
| Hollywood's Creepiest Creatures | 2004 | TV Movie | Himself |
| Christine: Fast and Furious | 2004 | Video documentary short | Himself |
| Christine: Finish Line | 2004 | Video documentary short | Himself |
| Christine: Ignition | 2004 | Video documentary short | Himself |
| John Carpenter: Fear Is Just the Beginning... The Man and His Movies | 2004 | Video documentary | Himself |
| Super Secret Movie Rules | 2004 | TV Series documentary | Himself - Director |
| Tales from the Crypt: From Comic Books to Television | 2004 | TV Movie documentary | Himself |
| The 100 Scariest Movie Moments | 2004 | TV Mini-Series documentary | Himself |
| Return to 'Escape from New York' | 2003 | Video documentary short | Himself |
| The 100 Greatest Scary Moments | 2003 | TV Movie documentary | Himself |
| An Opera of Violence | 2003 | Video documentary short | Himself |
| Something to Do with Death | 2003 | Video documentary short | Himself |
| The Wages of Sin | 2003 | Video documentary short | Himself |
| Durch die Nacht mit... | 2003 | TV Series documentary | Himself |
| 'Halloween': A Cut Above the Rest | 2003 | TV Movie documentary | Himself |
| SexTV | 2003 | TV Series documentary | Himself |
| Do You Remember Laurie Zimmer? | 2003 | Documentary | Himself (voice) |
| Tales from the Mist: Inside 'The Fog' | 2002 | Video documentary short | Himself |
| Masters of Horror | 2002 | TV Movie documentary | Himself |
| Icons | 2002 | TV Series documentary | Himself |
| Red Desert Nights: Making 'Ghosts of Mars' | 2001 | Video documentary short | Himself |
| Scoring Ghosts of Mars | 2001 | Video documentary short | Himself |
| E! True Hollywood Story | 2001 | TV Series documentary | Himself |
| + de cinéma | 2001 | TV Series documentary short | Himself |
| Hidden Values: The Movies of the Fifties | 2001 | TV Movie documentary | Himself - interviewee |
| The Daily Show | 2001 | TV Series | Himself |
| HBO First Look | 2001 | TV Series documentary short | Himself |
| AFI's 100 Years... 100 Thrills: America's Most Heart-Pounding Movies | 2001 | TV Special documentary | Himself |
| 'Ghosts of Mars': Special Effects Deconstruction | 2001 | Video documentary short | Himself |
| Dario Argento: An Eye for Horror | 2000 | TV Movie documentary | Himself |
| Mario Bava: Maestro of the Macabre | 2000 | TV Movie documentary | Himself |
| Scream and Scream Again: A History of the Slasher Film | 2000 | TV Special documentary | Himself |
| The American Nightmare | 2000 | Documentary | Himself |
| Guns for Hire: The Making of 'The Magnificent Seven' | 2000 | TV Movie documentary | Himself |
| Faces of Evil | 2000 | TV Movie documentary | Himself |
| Late Show with David Letterman | 1999 | TV Series | Himself |
| 'Halloween' Unmasked 2000 | 1999 | Video documentary | Himself |
| Unmasking the Horror | 1998 | Video | Himself |
| Le cercle du cinéma | 1998 | TV Series | Himself |
| The Thing: Terror Takes Shape | 1998 | Video documentary | Himself |
| A-Z of Horror | 1997 | TV Mini-Series documentary | Himself |
| The Reality Trip | 1997 | TV Movie documentary | Himself |
| 100 Years of Horror: Witchcraft and Demons | 1996 | Video documentary | Himself |
| Charlie Rose | 1996 | TV Series | Himself - Guest |
| 100 Years of Horror | 1996 | TV Series documentary | Himself - Writer & Director / Himself - Director / Himself - Director, 'The Thing' / ... |
| Movie Magic | 1996 | TV Series documentary | Himself |
| After Sunset: The Life & Times of the Drive-In Theater | 1995 | Video documentary | Himself |
| Carrie on Hollywood | 1995 | TV Series documentary | Himself |
| Masters of Illusion: The Wizards of Special Effects | 1994 | TV Special documentary | Himself |
| Fear in the Dark | 1991 | TV Movie documentary | Himself |
| Signals | 1990 | TV Series documentary | Himself |
| First Works | 1989 | TV Movie documentary | Himself |
| The Media Show | 1988-1989 | TV Series documentary | Himself |
| The Making of 'They Live' | 1988 | TV Short | Himself |
| Cinema 3 | 1986 | TV Series | Himself |
| Late Night with David Letterman | 1982 | TV Series | Himself |
| Take One: Fear on Film | 1982 | TV Movie | Himself |
| The Making of 'The Thing' | 1982 | TV Movie documentary | Narrator |
| The Making of a Chilling Tale | 1982 | TV Movie documentary | Narrator |
| Fear on Film: Inside 'The Fog' | 1980 | TV Movie documentary | Himself |
| Texas Frightmare Weekend 2010 | TV Movie documentary |
Archive Footage
| Title | Year | Status | Character |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cinemassacre's Monster Madness | 2007-2011 | TV Series documentary | Paul, Annie's Boyfriend |
| Halloween: 25 Years of Terror | 2006 | Video documentary | Himself |
| Scoring Resident Evil | 2002 | Video short | Himself |
Won Awards
| Year | Award | Ceremony | Nomination | Movie |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Festival Prize | Louisville Fright Night Film Fest | Lifetime Achievement Award | |
| 2008 | Lifetime Achievement Award | Bram Stoker Awards | ||
| 2008 | Time-Machine Honorary Award | Sitges - Catalonian International Film Festival | ||
| 2006 | Carnet Jove - Special Mention | Sitges - Catalonian International Film Festival | Masters of Horror (2005) | |
| 1999 | Saturn Award | Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films, USA | Best Music | Vampires (1998) |
| 1996 | George Pal Memorial Award | Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films, USA | ||
| 1995 | Critics' Award | Fantasporto | In the Mouth of Madness (1994) | |
| 1991 | ACE | CableACE Awards | Writing a Movie or Miniseries | El Diablo (1990) |
| 1988 | Critics Award | Avoriaz Fantastic Film Festival | Prince of Darkness (1987) | |
| 1980 | Critics Award | Avoriaz Fantastic Film Festival | The Fog (1980) | |
| 1979 | Critics Award | Avoriaz Fantastic Film Festival | Halloween (1978) | |
| 1979 | New Generation Award | Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards | Halloween (1978) | |
| 1976 | Golden Scroll | Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films, USA | Best Special Effects | Dark Star (1974) |
Nominated Awards
| Year | Award | Ceremony | Nomination | Movie |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Best Film | Sitges - Catalonian International Film Festival | Masters of Horror (2005) | |
| 2001 | Best Film | Sitges - Catalonian International Film Festival | Ghosts of Mars (2001) | |
| 1999 | Bram Stoker Award | Bram Stoker Awards | Other Media | Vampires (1998) |
| 1995 | International Fantasy Film Award | Fantasporto | Best Film | In the Mouth of Madness (1994) |
| 1995 | Best Film | Sitges - Catalonian International Film Festival | Village of the Damned (1995) | |
| 1994 | International Fantasy Film Award | Fantasporto | Best Film | Body Bags (1993) |
| 1993 | International Fantasy Film Award | Fantasporto | Best Film | Memoirs of an Invisible Man (1992) |
| 1990 | Saturn Award | Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films, USA | Best Music | They Live (1988) |
| 1989 | International Fantasy Film Award | Fantasporto | Best Film | They Live (1988) |
| 1988 | Saturn Award | Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films, USA | Best Music | Prince of Darkness (1987) |
| 1987 | Saturn Award | Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films, USA | Best Music | Big Trouble in Little China (1986) |
| 1984 | Grand Prize | Avoriaz Fantastic Film Festival | Christine (1983) | |
| 1982 | Saturn Award | Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films, USA | Best Director | Escape from New York (1981) |
| 1979 | Edgar | Edgar Allan Poe Awards | Best Television Feature or Miniseries | Someone's Watching Me! (1978) |
| 1978 | Gold Hugo | Chicago International Film Festival | Best Feature | Halloween (1978) |
| 1978 | Gold Hugo | Chicago International Film Festival | Best Feature | Assault on Precinct 13 (1976) |
| 1976 | Hugo | Hugo Awards | Best Dramatic Presentation | Dark Star (1974) |
| 1976 | Nebula Award | Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America | Best Dramatic Writing | Dark Star (1974) |
Known for movies
Halloween (1978)
as Writer
Escape from L.A. (1996)
as Writer
Escape from New York (1981)
as Writer
They Live (1988)
as Writer