After his first movie sci-fi comedy Dark Star came and went in cinemas, Carpenter found himself lost in Hollywood without a job. His agent convinced him writing screenplays was a good way to find work, but in the meantime, he got a job Last Foxtrot In Burbank, a low-rent parody of Last Tango In Paris. Carpenter, at least, found the experience educational, and when confronted with a boring erotic sequence he decided to get creative with it. He intercut the scene with footage of a busy street outside and gradually increased the soundtrack noise of people talking and blaring traffic until the scene reached a proper erm, climax. His experience on that film also came in handy for Assault On Precinct 13, which he had to edit himself under the pseudonym John T. Chance.
