Movie review site Letterboxd has a pretty strong celebrity following, and for a brief moment this week, users thought John Carpenter was among them. But unfortunately, the account, in which the famous horror director also reviewed his own films (among others), unfortunately turned out to be fake.
Screenshots of what purported to be Carpenter's account surfaced on social media on Thursday. The 76-year-old allegedly wrote a review of Stephen King's 1990 miniseries in a viral post. ITHe claims that he was approached to direct but did not enjoy working with King, whom he previously described as “fucking crazy”.
I really hope this is John Carpenter on Letterboxd pic.twitter.com/8s9zCZqo5O
β Dr_Mafoony (@dr_mafoony) September 26, 2024
In another fake review, the fake Carpenter left a scathing review of his 1981 film Halloween II“They paid me more money than I've ever seen to write a sequel to a movie that didn't need it,” he writes. He added: “I took the money and spent it on beer to get drunk enough to get through this nonsense. I looked at the final script, which took me two days to write, and I was like 'wow, what nonsense…' T.'”
The Virgin Francis Ford Coppola
Chad John Carpenter https://t.co/LIir7UnkUr pic.twitter.com/UV20taJqqn
β Cuttleboss (2000sWatcher) (@2000sWatcher) September 26, 2024
Those were just two of many musings from the fake Carpenter that spread on social media Thursday, including a rave review of the 1996 live-action animated comedy. Space Jam.
I really hope this is John Carpenter's real Letterboxd account. π pic.twitter.com/AhuhOpTlP2
β Jeremy (@JeremyElliott_) September 26, 2024
John Carpenter. The most grounded man alive. https://t.co/64INE0DMaj pic.twitter.com/xwmzdRseDv
β Mr. Welbig (@DWelbig) September 26, 2024
John Carpenter also gets SPACE JAM right pic.twitter.com/ozNbhHRTlK
β Quotes from Crypt (@NoPartyNoDisco) September 26, 2024
I was obsessed with how John Carpenter rated Barbie higher than Oppenheimer @letterboxd pic.twitter.com/ByQHjhQeJ1
β oliviabaldacci (@oliviabaldacci1) September 26, 2024
Unfortunately, the rug was pulled under fans when Carpenter, who is active on social media, took to the platform and asked: “What the hell is Letterboxd!??” Around the same time, the account sadly disappeared along with its prolific reviews.
What the hell is Letterboxd!?
β John Carpenter (@TheHorrorMaster) September 26, 2024
Carpenter's publicist also confirmed the fraud in a statement. Entertainment Weeklyhe clearly states: “It was a fake account.”
At this point, a few users had perhaps sensed that something was wrong. “John Carpenter definitely wouldn't watch it Reagan's,β surprised one user, who added: βSome of you are so naive.β
John Carpenter definitely wouldn't watch Reagan. Some of you are very naive. pic.twitter.com/4r9Hzyy2dN
β Patrick Pryor (@Patrick_Pryor) September 26, 2024
Oh good. It was fun while it lasted.