Acclaimed Director John Carpenter recently gave us an interview about his time making The Thing (1982). We tried to talk to Carpenter about his upcoming album, Lost Themes and whether or not the director would ever hop back behind the camera but the filmmaker continued to fume over an incident on the set of his remake of the Howard Hawks/Christian Nyby film, The Thing From Another World.
The incident involved Carpenter and the film's famed make-up effects maestro/wizard Rob Bottin, whose credits include The Thing, Legend and Seven.
JC: The Thing from Another World, or Rob Bottin as some have called him, was a pest. A nuisance to work with. I like peppy, but he was always smiling... It was scary, like the part of the brain that feels shame or regret was gone or was never even there. Even the dogs on set felt more shame than Rob. If he had a tail, it was never between his legs: it would always be wagging.
AD: Did you know he was so zestful when you hired him?
JC: No. I had seen some of this kid's work and decided to hire him. He's a beautiful artist. He was talented, a real marvel with his craft.
AD: Then what happened between you two? Why are you coming forward with this now?
JC: Well, I just saw David Fincher's Gone Girl this past weekend, great film, have you seen it?
AD: Not yet.
JC: Well, for my money, Fincher's best film is Seven. It's one of my favorites of his. So a friend I saw GG with was telling me he liked it more than Seven and while I love GG, I still hold Seven in high regard. But that got me thinking about ol' Rob Bottin again. He had worked on Seven, he did the effects--the amazing effects. Again, Rob Bottin is a talented man.
AD: That he is.
JC: He's really good at being a fucking peeve, too.
AD: Is he?
JC: You didn't have to live in an ice-desert with that man. Have you SEEN him? Have you seen his cheeks?!
AD: While we know this has more to do with the man's actions than his face, what do his cheeks have to do with anything? And what prompted you to restore the tracks that can be heard on Lost Themes?
JC: I got skin-cancer working on The Thing.
AD: I remember that. It was from the constant sun-exposure.
JC: I was in a ton of pain, man. Everyday. I looked like a goddamn lizard, I shed like a goddamn lizard. Barbeau wouldn't touch me because she got tired of my snow. So while I'm walking around, Mr. Fucking Dandruff, Rob Bottin has these full cheeks. Full, luscious, fleshy, flakeless pornstar-ass cheeks.
AD: Is this going to go beyond his cheeks?
JC: Do you want to talk about my upcoming album, Lost Themes, which comes out February 2015?
AD: I would love to, that's the point of this interview.
JC: Rob Bottin is good at his craft. Too good. You could be him and I wouldn't know. You/he did work on Legend. You/he turned Tim Curry into the devil. Your assistant could be him. Anyone in this room could be Rob Bottin, but I won't let it effect this interview. Go on.
AD: But you are letting it effect this interview.
JC: Damn right it is, sport. And like my skin in Antarctica, make-up peels off. You will eventually, given time, you will eventually 'flake' and reveal who you really are.
AD: Wha--
JC: --We're talking about Rob Bottin first. I need to tell someone about this. He/You nearly burned me alive. That's number one. Number two: you/he gave Hallahan an actual goddamn heart-attack, we had to roll him up in carpet until the medic got there. Number three: Keith David...oh, it smelled so bad, Keith David was stricken with stress-diarrhea.
AD: Well, considering number one and how it is apparently the cause of two and three: when did fire get involved?
JC: Have you even seen The Thing? Flamethrowers aplenty, my friend. And Rob was in charge of effects, as you well remember, Bottin. Rook to Knight six. Your move.
part 2 coming soon
Bizarre
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