While has become synonymous with fictional horror storytelling, the 75-year-old director and composer is dipping his toe into true life terrors with his new show, B次元官网网址淛ohn CarpenterB次元官网网址檚 Suburban Screams.B次元官网网址�

The legendary director, known for genre-defining classics including B次元官网网址淗alloweenB次元官网网址� and B次元官网网址淭he Thing,B次元官网网址� sat down with The Associated Press for a wide-ranging interview ahead of the release of the unscripted anthology series, which fittingly hits Peacock on Friday, Oct. 13. The interview has been edited for clarity and brevity.

AP: I know youB次元官网网址檝e talked about how film school helped you understand the plumbing of making movies. But itB次元官网网址檚 interesting because now with education we have so much more access to information thanks to the internet.

CARPENTER: Tell me about it. ItB次元官网网址檚 all different now. Oh, everything is different. The technology of the business is different. The business is different. I would be starting over completely green if I had to right now. I learned everything about the camera and editing and sound and all that stuff. All that stuff has changed. ItB次元官网网址檚 all different. The sound now is like, B次元官网网址榃hat the hell is that? WhereB次元官网网址檚 the NAGRA?B次元官网网址� At USC, we had a lab where you could do processing. We donB次元官网网址檛 process any more. ItB次元官网网址檚 all digital.

AP: IB次元官网网址檓 curious if you had any reluctance at the time about dropping out or if it was like full steam ahead.

JC: No, I knew what I was doing. I just wanted to get out of there, get on with my career.

AP: I have noticed that a lot of recent academic literature has been written about horror movies, even outside of film studies. For so long it was thought of as kind of low brow. Now, scholars are writing about it. And weB次元官网网址檙e seeing this interest in elevated horror, directors like Jordan Peele.

CARPENTER: His movies are pretty damn good. The is great. I loved it. I see horror as a genre that gets reinvented by every generation to fit their generation. You know, I did it with mine. Tobe Hooper and George Romero reinvented it for theirs. It always happens.

AP: But some people still turn their nose up at it.

CARPENTER: They still look down on it, donB次元官网网址檛 they? WeB次元官网网址檝e always been looked down on. WeB次元官网网址檙e close to being pornographers. Just a little above, you know? Just a bit.

AP: Have you been playing any good video games lately?

CARPENTER: IB次元官网网址檝e been playing one for a long time, the B次元官网网址淔alloutB次元官网网址� game. IB次元官网网址檓 looking forward to the new B次元官网网址淎ssassinB次元官网网址檚 CreedB次元官网网址� game. I donB次元官网网址檛 know if itB次元官网网址檚 going to be any good, but IB次元官网网址檒l check it out.

AP: I think video games are having a similar kind of moment. They were written off for a long time, and now theyB次元官网网址檙e having a kind of renaissance.

CARPENTER: Roger Ebert said video games will never be art. And I thought, B次元官网网址淲ait a minute now. It is.B次元官网网址� In its own way, itB次元官网网址檚 art.

AP: So now you are pivoting to real scary stories B次元官网网址� things that actually happened. Can you talk a little bit about what prompted you to make this sort of shift in your storytelling?

CARPENTER: Well, IB次元官网网址檝e never done this before B次元官网网址� true stories that involve frightening things. True stories of killers are a staple of television. But what weB次元官网网址檙e concentrating on in this series are the survivors. You know, we donB次元官网网址檛 care so much about the perpetrators. The thing about B次元官网网址淒ahmer,B次元官网网址� the character that I remember the most is B次元官网网址� the character from the survivorB次元官网网址檚 point of view. And thatB次元官网网址檚 something I havenB次元官网网址檛 done. I also havenB次元官网网址檛 done a true-life deal, except for Elvis, which B次元官网网址� that doesnB次元官网网址檛 count. But I also remote directed this series and thatB次元官网网址檚 fantastic. The cast and crew were in Prague, and IB次元官网网址檓 sitting in my living room. I have a full cup of coffee in my hand saying, B次元官网网址淒o this, do that.B次元官网网址� ThatB次元官网网址檚 fabulous. I cannot wait to do it again that way.

AP: And how did the stories come to you? Were they pitched to you and then you vetted them?

CARPENTER: Yeah, thatB次元官网网址檚 it. We have researchers who find the stories out there and we pick the ones that are the most interesting. I picked the phone stalker because I couldnB次元官网网址檛 believe that this woman was being stalked for six years and they couldnB次元官网网址檛 catch this guy. What the hell is that? ItB次元官网网址檚 crazy.

AP: ItB次元官网网址檚 been a tumultuous time in Hollywood with the writers and actors strikes this summer. IB次元官网网址檓 curious what your thinking is on the state of the industry.

CARPENTER: Oh, wow. Well parts of it , parts arenB次元官网网址檛. I mean, look, B次元官网网址淏arbieB次元官网网址� is the biggest movie of the year and it worldwide, made by a woman. ThatB次元官网网址檚 incredible. ThatB次元官网网址檚 progress. I canB次元官网网址檛 promise you that I understood the damn movie or cared about it that much. ItB次元官网网址檚 just so, you know, itB次元官网网址檚 just different. However, I appreciate what she did. Appreciate everybody involved in that film.

So, I mean, come on. The movie business has always been cooking along. We all love to go to movies. We still love to go to movies. WeB次元官网网址檙e watching a lot on our TVs, though. And I guess on our computers too. IB次元官网网址檓 not sure about that. That doesnB次元官网网址檛 make sense to me. Why that? I gotta see it big. Anyway, what do I think of the business? Well, I love cinema. I love movies. The art of motion pictures. So, wherever the business goes, IB次元官网网址檒l follow along and still love it. But I fell in love when I was really young. And it hasnB次元官网网址檛 gone away.