In a tweet honoring John Carpenter’s 70th birthday, Rotten Tomatoes accidentally killed off the legendary filmmaker — but don’t worry, he’s alive and well.
“John Carpenter would have been 70 years old today! We celebrate his birthday by looking back at his five favorite films,” Rotten Tomatoes wrote in the now-deleted tweet, captured by Bloody Disgusting writer John Squires.
“Rotten Tomatoes celebrates John Carpenter’s birthday by letting the very much alive John Carpenter know that John Carpenter is actually dead,” Squires wrote alongside the screenshot.
https://twitter.com/FreddyInSpace/status/953272743801376769
Rotten Tomatoes quickly deleted the tweet, and posted a new one with a very Carpenterian apology: “Sorry for the mix up earlier, the fog was heavy this morning. Happy 70th birthday John Carpenter!”
Sorry for the mix up earlier, the fog was heavy this morning. Happy 70th birthday John Carpenter! pic.twitter.com/k7sCznczl9
— Rotten Tomatoes (@RottenTomatoes) January 16, 2018
Carpenter was born on January 16, 1948, and although the director, producer and composer has worked on various film genres, he is best known to be associated with horror and sci-fi films.
His most well-known credits include “Halloween” (1978), “The Fog” (1980), “Escape from New York” (1981) and “Starman” (1984).
Other cult classics that Carpenter has directed include “Dark Star,” “Assault on Precinct 13,” “The Thing,” “Big Trouble in Little China” and “In the Mouth of Madness.”
Just to reiterate — Carpenter is not dead and confirmed that in a tweet Tuesday morning. The legendary horror director inked an overall deal with Universal Cable Productions last summer, where he will executive produce scripted programming with UCP for the NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment slate, as well as for external networks and streaming services.
To Rotten Tomatoes, despite how it appears, I'm actually not dead.
— John Carpenter (@TheHorrorMaster) January 16, 2018