John Carpenter had such a miserable time making Memoirs of an Invisible Man that he refused to put his name on it. This 1992 sci-fi drama was an effort by star Chevy Chase to move away from straight comedy into more dramatic roles. After clashing with original director Ivan Reitman (Ghostbusters), it became a John Carpenter movie instead.
Carpenter is best known for horror, but he had experience with sci-fi and comedy thanks to movies like Big Trouble in Little China. Sadly, Memoirs of an Invisible Man was neither fish nor fowl. It featured incredible effects, but it wasn’t funny enough to be a comedy or serious enough to be a satisfying look at the loneliness of invisibility.
It’s one of Carpenter’s worst movies, though it still has plenty of interesting sequences and ideas. The Chevy Chase movie was a total bomb too, grossing less than $15 million on an estimated $40 million budget (via Box Office Mojo).
The film was the beginning of the end for Chase as a star, while Carpenter has been honest in recent years about how much of a chore the film was to make. Fans of the filmmaker might have noticed he doesn’t put his name on Memoirs of an Invisible Man, unlike all of his other movies, (e.g., John Carpenter’s Halloween).
John Carpenter Hated Making Memoirs Of An Invisible Man So Much He Took His Name Off The Title
Removing his name represents John Carpenter’s lack of authorship on the movie
Carpenter is known for wearing many hats on his productions, including writing, composing music and producing. Even on projects where he didn’t have final cut, Carpenter’s stamp is undeniably on all his films. Memoirs of an Invisible Man is an exception for a few reasons, including the fact he didn’t compose the score and its generally confused tone.
Memoirs of an Invisible Man was a pet project for Chase, who took a heavy creative hand in its development and production. Between Carpenter’s issues working with his leading man, the demands of the effects work and Warner Bros’ insistence the film be family friendly, Carpenter didn’t feel much authorship over the final product.
The studio insisted John Carpenter cut Memoirs of an Invisible Man’s original ending, where Chase and Daryl Hannah’s characters had an invisible child together; WB was concerned audiences would view this baby as a “freak.”
That’s why he refused to put the “John Carpenter’s…” title on Memoirs of an Invisible Man, since he didn’t feel it was truly his. Carpenter would return to comedy to much greater effect with his follow-up project Body Bags, a TV movie horror anthology in the tradition of Tales from the Crypt.
John Carpenter Clashed With Chevy Chase Throughout Memoirs Of An Invisible Man
It wouldn’t be the first or last time Chase clashed with collaborators
Despite being one of the biggest comedy stars in the world for about 20 years, Chevy Chase has a reputation for being tough to work with. A quick Google will uncover a laundry list of directors and actors he’s clashed with, including fighting with most of his Community co-stars to feuding with Bill Murray.
Chevy Chase would often grow impatient with the slow process of making Memoirs of an Invisible Man, prematurely ripping his makeup off before the day’s work was complete…
Carpenter spoke of his time with Chevy Chase on Memoirs of an Invisible Man (via Charles Band’s Full Moon Freakshow), labeling it his “worst experience“ with an actor. He claims the key problem was that the studio wanted Invisible Vacation, while Chase wanted to “be a serious actor” instead. During a chat with Variety, Carpenter held nothing back:
God, I don’t want to talk about why, but let’s just say there were personalities on that film. He shall not be named who needs to be killed. No, no, no, that’s terrible. He needs to be set on fire. No, no, no. Anyway, it’s all fine. I survived it.
It appears Chase wasn’t fully prepared for the reality of filming a movie where his character is mostly invisible, which sometimes involved heavy makeup or special outfits. Chase would often grow impatient with the slow process of working this way, prematurely ripping his makeup off before the day’s work was complete.
What’s ironic is that throughout much of his career, Carpenter had wanted to work with a true movie star, like Clint Eastwood or Jack Nicholson. He got his wish since Chase was a major A-lister when he made Memoirs of an Invisible Man, but since he wielded so much power, Carpenter had no real control over his lead’s behavior.
Carpenter reportedly had a difficult time working with Chase’s co-star Daryl Hannah, too. If nothing else, Memoirs of an Invisible Man led to Carpenter’s friendship with Sam Neill, who played the movie’s sleazy villain. Neill would reunite with Carpenter for the director’s next movie.
John Carpenter Considered Quitting Movies After Memoirs Of An Invisible Man
Carpenter finally made good on his threat following Ghosts of Mars
From Halloween to his Apocalypse Trilogy, Carpenter has an almost embarrassing number of classics under his belt. Still, many of Carpenter’s films bombed upon release, and his clashes with studios and frustrations with his career often led him to become disillusioned with his career.
He threatened to quit directing more than once, but following Memoirs of an Invisible Man, Carpenter meant it. He told Variety that after the film, he “… really wanted to quit the business.” It appears Carpenter’s work ethic during this era – where he would often jump right into his next project – pushed this notion from his mind.
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Carpenter’s issue with studios and budgets continued, however, impacting his work on Escape from L.A. and Ghosts of Mars. Following the box office failure of the latter, Carpenter semi-retired. He returned to helm two Masters of Horror episodes and 2010’s The Ward, which marks, to date, his final movie.
There’s always a chance (or hope) that Carpenter will dust off his viewfinder and helm a new film, but he appears to be having too much fun as a composer or playing video games. Thinking back on productions like Memoirs of an Invisible Man probably aren’t encouraging him to mount a comeback either.
Carpenter Made One Of His Best Movies Following Memoirs Of An Invisible Man
The final part of Carpenter’s Apocalypse Trilogy is his last great movie
For someone who must have felt burned out on moviemaking and dealing with studios, Carpenter certainly attacked his next project In the Mouth of Madness, with vigor. This cast Sam Neill as an insurance investigator who finds out the H.P. Lovecraft/Stephen King-style author he’s seeking is writing about real monsters.
Perhaps the biggest irony is that In the Mouth of Madness is way funnier than Memoirs of an Invisible Man…
In the Mouth of Madness is blacky funny and deeply eerie, featuring some incredible sequences, including the haunting finale. While Carpenter would make five more films, In the Mouth of Madness is Carpenter’s last true genre classic. Perhaps the biggest irony of that the film is also way funnier than Memoirs of an Invisible Man.
Source: Box Office Mojo, Variety, Charles Band’s Full Moon Freakshow
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- Birthname
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Cornelius Crane “Chevy” Chase
- Birthdate
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October 8, 1943
- Birthplace
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Woodstock, New York, USA
- Notable Projects
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National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, Caddyshack
