John Carpenter Wants Amy Adams To Star In His BLOODY BENDERS Gothic Western

Much like Quentin Tarantino, the legendary John Carpenter has long been influenced by Westerns and just like Kill Bill is a sprawling Leone homage but set mostly in a different culture, Carpenter himself used Howard Hawks' classic Western Rio Bravo as the basis for his urban gangs vs. cops breakthrough Assault on Precinct 13 and clearly Snake Plissken from Escape from New York is his version of the Man With No Name. On the recent Once Upon A Time In The West Blu-ray, Carpenter can be heard on the audio commentary pouring his heart out about his love for the film, this is a genre he has long admired and probably one he has wanted to put his indelible mark on for decades. Surprisingly Carpenter himself has never made a full out Western, perhaps making what Tarantino calls many of his own films "half-assed Westerns" such as 1998's Vampires of the sci-fi infused Ghosts of Mars, but just like Quentin is about to finally give in to the pull of the West with Django Unchained, now too seemingly is John Carpenter. It would appear that Fangoria have been sitting on an exclusive that Carpenter informed them at a Q & A in July at the Fright Night Film Festival in Louisville, Kentucky that he wants to make a 'Gothic Western' next, and he knows exactly who he wants to star in it. Fangoria have finally uploaded the footage to their site which the eagle eyed folk at Bleeding Cool has spotted;

€œI got into this business to make Westerns, and I got tyepcast as a horror director after €˜Halloween... My dream was to have a career in directing movies so I went wherever they wanted me to go€ I€™m right now working on a little gothic Western, we€™ll see if we can get it set up. It€™s hard to sell Westerns these days, meaning it€™s hard to raise money because they€™re not real commercial.€

And the actress he wants to star?

€œAmy Adams€she€™s an unbelievable actress, what a talent... I€™d love to work with her

And Carpenter was sure to tell us he means a proper Western, not another half-assed one, and we perhaps shouldn't look too much into the use of the word 'Gothic' as it doesn't mean a horror/western;

€œThey tried it in the old days, they tried €˜Jesse James Meets Frankenstein€™ and €˜Billy the Kid Meets Dracula€™€ a Western should be a Western.€

The Playlist have done some deeper research and have uncovered the plot. It appears that whilst he was doing press for the disappointing The Ward, Carpenter told Movieline that his Gothic Western would revolve around a notorious group of early serial killers in America known as The Bloody Benders who ran a general store in Kansas;

€œThey were a family of German immigrants in the 1870s who murdered people along the road, travelers, and took all their money, their horses, their gold teeth, slit their throats, hit them over the head, kept them under the house, and buried them. It€™s just incredible,€

Clearly Adams is being setup to play;

€œ€this amazing female character who€™s the come-on, she was out there sexually luring them in there.€

Sounds like a Sweeney Todd/Burke & Hare influenced Western... But is this film actually going to happen and with Adams as part of the top-billing or is it all pie in the sky? As Carpenter has alluded too there aren't many studio execs right now who are giving the greenlight to Westerns and even the folks behind Pirates of the Caribbean franchise are having trouble getting The Lone Ranger them made. And for a director who in the 80's had considerable clout and was able to attract significant budgets for his outlandish premises and un-commercial genres, presumably he tried to get a Western made back then but couldn't get a studio to back his vision. Although the landscape is slightly brighter right now with film's like True Grit earning good box office, it's still the toughest genre for a director to get financing on. And let's be honest with ourselves here, Carpenter has shown this year he is a pale version of his former self. His long awaited return to filmmaking after almost a decade's absence with The Ward was amteurish and comical, a movie that debuted at Toronto International Film Festival but would not see the light of day in theatres for months after and even then it was sheepishly released. BUT... if Amy Adams is flattered by Carpenter's interest and isn't afraid to go against the all-American persona she has created for herself and indeed which won her the role of Lois Lane in Man of Steel (though she did play against it in The Fighter and has some meaty roles forthcoming) then perhaps a deal could be made. Though don't bank on it. More likely is someone like Isla Fisher or Amber Heard again if Carpenter does pull off the impossible and convince a studio to give him the greenlight on a Western.