Article: 'Little China' kicks out gloom // John Carpenter finds new joys on film and in life

NEW YORK Not to get sappy or anything - we will, after all, be discussing fists of kung-fu fury momentarily - but what a difference a baby can make.

By his own admission, John Carpenter wasn't a beacon of optimism before his 2-year-old son was born. "The films I was making were very slow, moody explorations of a cynical, nihilistic point of view, which is what I had for a long time," says the director of "Halloween," "Escape from New York" and the new adventure-comedy "Big Trouble in Little China," now playing in Chicago.

"I think it culminated for me in `The Thing,' which is as dark as I can do it. It's about the fact that you cannot trust your friends - they're no longer human."

The ...

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