The last time we heard from Robert Pattinson was back in December when he dropped by The Late Late Show to promote Pattinson. He was there to promote his new movie, which was just released in theaters. The film is called Pattinson and it’s based on the best-selling novel of the same name by David Farrier. The story revolves around Quentin Tarantulin (Pattinson), who after getting out of prison, reconnects with his childhood sweetheart (played by Emilia Clarke) only to find out that she’s since married. He then sets off on a road trip across America, with the help of his loyal best friend, Louisa (played by Rosie Perez).
At The Late Late Show, the actor gave a charming performance that got the audience and the host (James Corden) laughing. He spoke about his upcoming projects and his role in the upcoming horror movie, which is based on the video game, Call of Cthulhu. However, what many people don’t know is that while in Ireland, he was approached by a film crew and asked if he would consider playing Captain Beefheart for a Halloween movie. The character, who is a parody of the 1960s band, the Beefheart (named after the album of the same name), was created by legendary filmmaker, John Carpenter. The Beethoven (named after the composer Ludwig Van Beethoven) of Captain Beefheart is said to be Herman’s Hermits. The role definitely has its perks, as it entitles Pattinson to don a mask, dye his hair orange and black, and eat a scary amount of food during the filming. So, is this the next step for the actor? Will he become the next Captain Beefheart?
Carpenter is famous for his iconic Halloween movies, namely Halloween (1978), Halloween II (1981), and Hocus Pocus (1993). While filming the last installment of the trilogy, he encountered some trouble getting the cast and crew to eat their vegetables. To this day, the director jokes that he still hasn’t gotten over those pesky vegetables. The crew was instructed not to eat any foods with vegetables in them, especially mushrooms and tomatoes, for fear of causing problems during the shoot. So, in a scene where a character is eating mushrooms, Carpenter actually gave the fruit a prosthetic nose so it wouldn’t look too much like a vegetable.
It’s no secret that Carpenter is a bit of a racist, especially towards blacks. This was brought to light in an interview he gave in 1994, where he said, “…[I don’t like] black people, I don’t like them… They are very funny to watch because they are always trying to act like white people. That’s the most trouble I have with them: they want to be white… It is a bizarre fantasy.”
This might explain why the character of Captain Beefheart was created: to poke fun at racist tendencies of the time, specifically those of blues musician, Freddie King. The character was reportedly inspired by a combination of both King and Iggy Pop, who was also inspired by a combination of King and The Beatles’ John Lennon. One of the things that makes this character so memorable is his distinctive laugh, which is a parody of the black experience. Here’s a clip from the 1979 documentary, Hard To Handle, where director, John Carpenter, explains the origins of the laugh:
“When I first started working on Hocus Pocus, the very first scene we did was the funniest scene we ever did because that was the first time I had used a laugh track. So, for that scene, I just stood there and laughed and laughed and laughed. We couldn’t figure out why it was funny, but once we got past that scene, it didn’t seem so funny anymore. I realized that that was the whole point of it. As a matter of fact, in that scene, we used a lot of Negro dialect and he really reacted to it. We worked with a dialect coach to perfect that laugh. He said it was the best he’d ever heard.”
Carpenter was also inspired by another character he played, a southern gentleman, named Gaffney. While filming, the director fell in love with a girl, named Barbara, who was an extra on set. Their romance was kept secret until the end of production so as not to interfere with the filming of the movie. However, it wasn’t until years later that the director confessed his love for Barbara and they were married in 1981.
Will Robert Pattinson Be The Next Captain Beefheart?
There’s no denying that Carpenter is one of the greatest film directors of all time and it would be a crime to not mention his work in the horror genre. Will Robert Pattinson follow in his footsteps and become the next Captain Beefheart? Well, it’s impossible to say for sure. But if the idea sounds fun and the perks that come with the role sound good, why not?
The biggest question is: will Robert Pattinson actually say yes to this role? We’ll have to wait and see. The movie, Pattinson, is currently playing in theaters now and it will be available on home video soon.