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Me

News - Comments & Introduction

Snake Plissken
Snake isn't your average movie hero. This is a dark innocent bad ironic angry son of a bitch war veteran who just wants to stay alive the next 60 seconds in a very dark and corrupted world. Unlike most Snake is so true to himself, incorruptible and individual it makes him the most honorable and likable character in EFNY and EFLA. We don't care when he destroys the tape in EFNY or shuts down the earth in EFLA. In fact, we root for him. He makes a cruel statement about humanity and there's something we can learn here. He's someone many of us would like to be, but are afraid to be. He's an intriguing and complex character really worth exploring and to admire. We somehow need him when things are looking really bad. He's been a great inspiration in my life and I hope I can do my part to keep his legacy alive and kicking.

Escape From New York
What I really enjoy about these movies is that they're inspired by true events. There's some truth in them. The first draft of Escape From New York was written in 1974 and was a reaction to the Watergate scandal and an increasing wave of criminality. It looked dark and instead of making an utopian vision of the future John Carpenter did the exact opposite. He showed us very grim and bleak future. A world gone too far. Then we also had the Iranian hostage crisis at that time that gave the movie even more relevance. Escape From New York is a dark cautionary tale mixed with a unique blend of action, sci-fi, thriller, western and satire. It can also be viewed as a dark comedy. It dares to make fun of authority and show us one of the darkest endings in cinema history etc. This is why I think this movie holds up and works so well. There's an honest and authentic quality about it. What also amazes me is John Carpenter's ability to do great things out of limited budgets. There's many reasons why this movie has become such a cult classic. It really deserves to be.

Escape From L.A.
Every time I watch Escape From L.A. I have a blast. I never tire of watching it. This is a different kind of take on Escape From New York. This one is a bigger and louder movie aimed for both a new generation and the old. This one doesn't take itself too seriously. It practically satirize and parodies everything (including itself). It has guts. This is also why I think many fans were a bit disappointed. Some got it while others wanted a more serious approach. I understand that. Escape From L.A. is very fun, but I think it's too over the top sometimes. It has some problems. They talked about doing a sequel in 1985. It would have been a great year for another escape. Apparently there was nothing happening at that time that could inspire them to come up with something of relevance. It took them another eleven years to realize that Los Angeles was a perfect place to escape from. All the earthquakes, riots, floods, fires, crime, drive-by shootings and people living in denial gave them inspiration. The timing was right for another escape. I'm really grateful for Escape From L.A. Better late than never. I hope someday more people will give it another chance. It deserves more credit than it got.

John Carpenter
My favorite director of course (among two others). What I love about his movies is that they are entirely his movies. He makes them his own way and puts his name above the title for a reason. He can write screenplays, make his own music and direct anything etc. He is a multi-gifted artist who knows his craft and he really deserves his cult status. His movies has a unique tendency to get rediscovered and appreciated on home video and such and become cult classics. There's something about them that lasts. There's more than meets the eye about his work. I also love his honesty, dry sense of humor and hatred of authority. His music too of course. Very much so. He's simply John Carpenter and in Escape From New York and Escape From L.A. he really sets his wonderful rebellious nature free.

Kurt Russell
Who'd knew a former Disney child actor could play a bad-ass character this good. That's also one of Kurt's many gifts. He can play anything and he has proven this again and again with a wide range of different characters under his belt. Unlike many he dares to take chances and he's not afraid of testing new things. There's also a wonderful wit about him that many other actors lack that just makes him very appealing to watch. He can do it all and he truly is one of the more underrated actors out there. He also seems to be a very down to earth person with a strong personality. I dig Kurt for many reasons. He's my kind of actor.  

Debra Hill
She was described by John Carpenter as "a real pioneer in this business, who opened the road for women". She was also an environmentalist being a Board Member of Women in Film and a Founding Board Member of the Earth Communications Office (ECO). She also wrote Halloween 1-2, The Fog and Escape From L.A. with John Carpenter (EFLA with Kurt Russell too). She wrote the whole Beverly Hills part in EFLA for instance. A wonderful and brilliant part. She also produced some really remarkable films like The Dead Zone, The Fisher King etc. The list goes on. She was also the driving force for the many Snake projects going on in the early 2000s. She truly was a remarkable woman and leaving us abruptly in 2005 being only 54 and knowing she had cancer came as a shock to me. I hope someday her dream will become reality. When she was honored by Women in Film in 2003, Hill said, "I hope some day there won't be a need for Women in Film. That it will be People in Film. That it will be equal pay, equal rights and equal job opportunities for everybody."     

Introduction

Is this an official web site?
This site is a pure un-official fan site.

How long has this site been online?
Since 2002. I think I started fooling around with the idea of making a web site of Escape From New York in 1997. I watched both EFNY and EFLA during this time and I found myself later vacuum cleaning the Internet for Escape material. Then I thought to myself: what the heck. I must do something. This character and movies just won't just go away. There's something about them that had affected me rather deeply. Making it took time and effort. When ready it was called: "The Escape From New York Page", but after a webhost upgrade I could continue adding Escape From L.A. stuff and other material. A new design was also made to work with most screen resolutions, and now it was called: "The Escape From New York & L.A. Page" and let us not forget "A Tribute to Snake Plissken".

My old page

Who runs this site?
A 28 year old nut from Sweden called Andreas Johansson. I do get some help from contributors from time to time. There's nothing better when someone wants to share or help me with something. If you have anything to offer, just drop me an email. I appreciate all the help I can get. It would also be very kind of you to report if there's something on this site you feel is wrong, not correct or doesn't work etc. Or if you haven't been credited for something you've done.

Can I use material on this site on my site etc?
You are free to use everything on this site with some caution and common sense except for some pictures and stuff you might have to ask the authors to use. I would however appreciate a visible credit and a link back to this site. I was granted permission from sites and authors such as: "The Official John Carpenter", Gayle Bykowicz (Author of Snake Plissken vs Solid Snake) and Kim Gottlieb-Walker (Still Photographer on EFNY/Author of www.Lenswoman.com).

Is this site up to date?
I try my best to keep it as fresh and updated as possible. I am constantly adding new material. Sometimes I need to take a break from it though. I also try my best to answer e-mail, but I can't guarantee an immediate answer all the time.

Special Thanks to
Joe Thornton
Lars "Sweden" Olsson
Gayle Bykowicz
Kim Gottlieb-Walker
The Official John Carpenter
Titania Le Fay
Kim August (Kaz)
Tone Rodriguez
Christopher Chouinard (aka: Fotog Ink)
Hector De La Rosa
Art (SD Bob)
Erik Markarian
CreedsGalBirdy
Stephen Manley (Bankok Rules)
Leca Buchan (Pack of Rats)
SnakePlissken.net and all its members

I would also like to thank former sites such as Assault on Webpage 13, A Tribute to John Carpenter, The Snake Plissken Page, From 1997 To 2013..., Escape From the Net, The un-official Snake Plissken Page for their effort, time and inspiration. I still have stuff found on these sites. Many thanks.
 
Have a good time and I hope to see you soon again.
- Andreas.


Feel free to promote me.

All content and design of this website are © 2002-2010 The Escape From New York & L.A. Page or the respective © holder