Legendary director and composer John Carpenter during an exclusive interview at MegaCon Orlando 2026, discussing his new album Cathedral and his legacy in horror and music.
John Carpenter is completely, unapologetically relaxed. At 78, the legendary harbinger of horror has traded the"crushing" anxiety of film sets for a life of synthesizers, video games, basketball, and pure creative control.
When we sat down in his hotel room during MegaCon Orlando 2026, where Screen Rant was running at full throttle hosting seven different panels, the contrast was immediate. While the rest of the team was managing the stage crowds, I was in the eye of the storm with the Master of Horror himself. I brought my usual fast-paced, highly caffeinated energy—the kind that gets it's cardio from anxiety attacks—and Carpenter met it with the calm, unshakable chill of a man who has absolutely nothing left to prove. I opened by telling him he was a legend and that I was a"mini-legend" too; he took it in stride, though he did warn me to slow down because"New Yorkers are not easy to understand." With a deep breath, I slowed the F down—for the Master had spoken. It’s a level of honesty he’s maintained since the last time he spoke to Screen Rant. Cathedral: A Dream Fully Scored Carpenter’s latest endeavor, Cathedral, is not a movie . It’s an album that soundtracks a vision he had while he was asleep."I have very vivid dreams," Carpenter explains."One night I dreamt Cathedral, the story of it. In the old days, I would write a script and make a movie. But this movie is way too expensive to be made. I thought, 'Well, we can do music to it.'" In the old days, I would write a script and make a movie. But this movie is way too expensive to be made. To bring the nightmare to life, he teamed up with his son, Cody Carpenter, and his godson, Daniel Davies. If that last name rings a bell for the classic rock loyalists, it should—Daniel is the son of The Kinks' legendary guitarist, Dave Davies. In a fascinating, full-circle loop, Carpenter revealed he actually uses his synthesizer to"temp" lead guitar parts for Daniel."I have a guitar setting on my synthesizer," he notes."If I want to do a heavy metal track, I can do a temporary track and say to Daniel, 'Could you do this on the guitar?'" Escaping the Hollywood Machine There is a distinct relief when Carpenter talks about making music instead of movies. In the studio, there are no studio heads and no compromises."I fought for , and sometimes I won, and sometimes I didn't," he admits. But with music?"Pure. You always win complete control." Regarding the modern horror landscape, he remains famously blunt. When we discussed The Substance—a film that left us both remarkably uncomfortable—he critiqued the execution, noting it was shot in Paris while doubling for LA. To Carpenter, it’s simple:What does the Master of Horror do with his downtime? He watches basketball and plays a massive amount of video games. He’s currently lending his name to Toxic Commando, an upcoming co-op shooter. When developers told him they could get"millions of zombies" attacking at once, his reaction was a resounding,"Hell yeah." When he isn't gunning down the undead, he’s wandering the Appalachian wasteland. Carpenter has been playing Fallout 76 for five straight years. And if he were ever forced to live inside a video game himself?"Sonic the Hedgehog." The Ultimate Legacy: Beatles, Zeppelin & The Void Of Joan Rivers Before we wrapped, the conversation turned to the icons we lost and the ones we still look up to. His influences remain the pillars: The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, and The Doors. The vibe got hilariously tense when I mentioned I was wearing a Pink Floyd shirt, which earned me a look of mock-annoyance—a"joke-pissed" moment where he looked at me like, “I hate her,” for bringing up the competition. I quickly pivoted to my love for Led Zeppelin, which smoothed things over instantly. I told him my ultimate goal was to fill the void left by Joan Rivers, to which he called her a"piece of work" with a knowing grin. But when I pressed him for the insider details or a bit of"Page Six" gossip on the late comedy queen, the Master of Horror remained uncharacteristically tight-lipped. He’s happy to discuss the horrors on screen, but some Hollywood secrets, it seems, stay in the vault. John Carpenter has built empires of terror, but today, his world is remarkably peaceful. He is doing exactly what he wants, with the people he loves, and leaving the nightmares exactly where they belong: in the cathedral, which is a recording studio.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
The Vampire Lestat Rolls Out Raw Footage of Daniel's Band InterviewCheck out the official lyric video for 'All Fall Down', the latest hit from The Vampire Lestat. TheVampireLestat premieres June 7 on AMC and AMC+. AMCPlus » Subscribe for More: https://bit.ly/3tz1yp9 AMCs Anne Rice: X: https://x.com/AMCsAnneRice Instagram: https://instagram.com/AMCsAnneRice Facebook: https://www.facebook.
Read more »
Shaking It Up: The Life & Times of Liz CarpenterStream now with KPBS Passport on KPBS+ / Watch Wednesday, March 25, 2026 at 11 p.m. on KPBS TV. Get an intimate look at the trailblazing career and influential life of journalist, author, humorist, political activist, and proud Texan.
Read more »
EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW: Knicks Legend John Starks Says New York Is ‘Best Team in the East’Knicks legend John Starks believes New York can make a deep playoff run despite tough Eastern Conference competition.
Read more »
Shaquille O'Neal Addresses Claim He DM'ed Sabrina CarpenterLegendary basketball player Shaquille O'Neal denied sending sexy messages to pop star Sabrina Carpenter
Read more »
Shaq shoots down salacious rumors surrounding alleged Sabrina Carpenter messagesFox News Channel offers its audiences in-depth news reporting, along with opinion and analysis encompassing the principles of free people, free markets and diversity of thought, as an alternative to the left-of-center offerings of the news marketplace.
Read more »
Shaq denies sending Sabrina Carpenter 'horny' messages: I've got 'way more game than that'Taylor Frankie Paul is under investigation for a third alleged domestic violence incident involving her ex, Dakota Mortensen. Savannah Guthrie breaks down in tears during her first interview since her mother Nancy’s disappearance, describing the ordeal as “unbearable.
Read more »