The rip-off John Carpenter declined to sue for plagiarism: “I told them not to do that”
John Carpenter has always steadfastly believed in the power of the almighty dollar. Throughout his Hollywood career, the horror icon repeatedly watched as his movies made insane amounts of money that rarely made him any richer.
At the same time, he was forced to scrimp and save to make other films on extremely tight budgets. When his movies eventually spawned endless sequels and remakes, this is likely why he was always adamant he didn’t care what Hollywood did, as long as it sent him a cheque. However, there was one occasion where an easy payoff looked likely for Carpenter – but he refused to pull the trigger on a cut-and-dry plagiarism lawsuit.
Looking at Carpenter’s career, complaints about money, or lack thereof, have always been a running theme. It’s strange when you consider that the director of Halloween – the most financially lucrative independent movie ever made at the time – was only ever given a big budget a handful of times. Once he stopped directing movies and became everyone’s favourite grouchy septuagenarian video game and basketball expert, any pretence he had about his real feelings on proper remuneration evaporated.
“I love it if they are going to pay me money,” Carpenter once confessed when asked how he felt about his movies being remade. “If they pay me, it’s wonderful. If they don’t pay me, I don’t care. I think it’s unfair if they don’t pay me. I think everyone should pay me. Why not? I’m an old guy now, and I need money. Send me money.”
This amusingly deadpan, straightforward attitude to money extended to a plagiarism case Carpenter pursued against Léon: The Professional director Luc Besson in 2012. Besson produced a movie called Lockout that bore more than a passing resemblance to Carpenter’s 1981 action classic Escape From New York, so he was encouraged to sue him. In truth, Carpenter didn’t seem offended or upset that Besson had pilfered his ideas – instead, he just wanted the €3 million in damages specified by the suit.
Unfortunately for Carpenter, though, he wound up being paid a fraction of that – €20,000, which was increased on appeal to €450,000. “Any great dreams of retiring wealthy were shattered,” the wry director quipped.
Interestingly, at the same time as Canal Plus, Escape From New York’s rights holder, pushed Carpenter to sue Besson, it also encouraged him to do the same to video game creator Hideo Kojima. The main character of Kojima’s enormously successful video game series Metal Gear Solid was heavily inspired by Kurt Russell’s Snake Plissken. Hell, Kojima didn’t even change the name significantly, dubbing his hero ‘Solid Snake’.
This time, Carpenter declined the opportunity to pursue another payday. He told The Hollywood Reporter about Canal Plus’ desire to “go after” the game but stated, “I told them not to do that. I know the director of those games, and he’s a nice guy, or at least he’s nice to me.”
It turns out that Kojima had personally written to Carpenter ten years after the first Metal Gear Solid debuted, just as the series was evolving its storytelling by introducing Solid Snake’s voice and more substantial characterisation and backstory. He asked for Carpenter’s blessing, and the iconic Thing director was happy to give it, calling him “a very nice man.”
So, there you have it – Carpenter will forgo the opportunity to pursue legal action and monetary compensation if he has an affinity for someone, ensuring Kojima got away scot-free while Besson was taken to the cleaners.
