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The Academy may ignore John Carpenter's phenomenal body of work, but the French Directors' Guild does not. They're honoring him in 2019 with the Carrosse d’Or Award (Golden Coach).
In 1979, John Carpenter received the New Generation Award from the Los Angeles Film Critics Association for masterpiece Halloween. Since then, he has directed and written some of the most memorable science fiction and horror movies of all time, such as The Fog, Escape from New York (my personal favorite), The Thing (my favorite runner-up), Starman, and They Live. John Carpenter may not have an Academy Award or even a nomination for his work behind the camera, but the French Directors’ Guild doesn’t care – they’re honoring John Carpenter with the Carrosse d’Or Award at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival.
The Carrosse d’Or Award is given to directors who have innovative qualities, courage, and independent-mindedness in their work, and there’s no denying John Carpenter ticks each of those boxes. And with the huge success of the “sequel” to Halloween in 2018, John Carpenter has left a lasting impression on audiences (and he is not done yet).
John Carpenter will receive the honor of the Carrosse d’Or during the Cannes Film Festival’s sidebar opening ceremony on May 15, 2019. It is part of the Directors’ Fortnight section.
Twenty-nineteen marks the 51st Directors’ Fortnight at the Cannes Film Festival, and since 2002, the French Directors’ Guild has given out the Carrosse d’Or Award. In 2018, Martin Scorsese received the award, and in 2017, Werner Herzog, which makes the fact that both directors have moved into teaching filmmaking online all the more exciting.