Decades after working on The Thing and They Live together, director John Carpenter and actor Keith David have finally been reunited
Legendary director John Carpenter first worked with the great character actor Keith David on his 1982 film The Thing (watch or buy it HERE), which has gone on to earn a reputation as being one of the best horror movies ever made. Six years later, they collaborated again on the cult classic sci-fi thriller They Live (watch it HERE)… and then, apparently, they went thirty-five years without seeing each other in person. Recently, they finally crossed paths again – and David marked the occasion by sharing a picture of their reunion on social media. You can check it out at the bottom of this article.
David didn’t provide any information on what brought them back together. Carpenter did recently reveal that he has directed a TV series called Suburban Screams, which filmed in Prague while he directed it from the comfort of his own home. It didn’t require much movement, but it was the first thing he has directed (other than his own music videos) since The Ward in 2010. So now that he’s back in the directing game, maybe he’s thinking of working with David again. Maybe David would have something to do with the new Thing project Carpenter is “sworn to secrecy” about. Or maybe they just happened to be in the same place at the same time. Whatever the case, it’s nice to see that they have reconnected after not seeing each other for decades.
Carpenter directed The Thing from a screenplay by Bill Lancaster, which was based on John W. Campbell Jr.’s 1938 novella Who Goes There?, which has previously been brought to the screen as the 1951 film The Thing from Another World. Carpenter’s film has the following synopsis: In remote Antarctica, a group of American research scientists are disturbed at their base camp by a helicopter shooting at a sled dog. When they take in the dog, it brutally attacks both human beings and canines in the camp and they discover that the beast can assume the shape of its victims. A resourceful helicopter pilot and the camp doctor lead the camp crew in a desperate, gory battle against the vicious creature before it picks them all off, one by one.
David was joined in the cast by Kurt Russell, Wilford Brimley, T.K. Carter, David Clennon, Richard Dysart, Charles Hallahan, Peter Maloney, Richard Masur, Donald Moffat, Joel Polis, and Thomas G. Waites.
Inspired by the 1963 short story Eight O’Clock in the Morning by Ray Nelson, They Live tells us that aliens are systematically gaining control of the Earth by masquerading as humans and lulling the public into submission. Humanity’s last chance lies with a lone drifter who stumbles upon a harrowing discovery — a unique pair of sunglasses that reveals the terrifying and deadly truth.
In addition to David, the film stars “Rowdy” Roddy Piper, Meg Foster, Raymond St. Jacques, George “Buck” Flower, and Peter Jason.
Are you glad to see that John Carpenter and Keith David have been reunited? Would you like to see them work on something together again? Let us know by leaving a comment below.