At four years old, saw his first theatrical feature, John Huston's "The African Queen"

Interest in film ignited by a screening of Jack Arnold's black-and-white 3-D sci-fi feature, "It Came From Outer Space"

At age eight, began making his own action-oriented movies using his father's 8mm Brownie camera

Moved to Bowling Green, Kentucky

Graduated to using a Eumig 650 8mm camera

First substantial film, the 40-minute featurette, "Revenge of the Colossal Beasts"

While a teen, formed own production company, Emerald Productions, for which he purchased two projectors, still cameras, floodlights and a rear projection screen for stop-motion work

By the age of 14, had filmed three additional shorts: "Gorgo vs. Godzilla," featuring clay figures manipulated live; "Terror From Space," a science fiction Western; and "Sorceror From Outer Space," a comedy

Made his "first really promising film", a 40-minute short entitled "Warrior and the Demon"; featured Carpenter's first use of stop-motion animation

Made his last, and reportedly best short, "Gorgon the Space Monster"

Emerald Productions published the first issue of a film fanzine entitled Fantastic Films Illustrated, which ran for three mimeographed issues; Carpenter drew the covers himself, hand painting the first in water colors

Published two one-shot fanzines King Kong Journal and Phantasm Terror Thrills of the Films

Met future collaborator Dan O'Bannon while both were graduate film students at USC

Served as co-writer, editor, composer (and sometimes co-director) on the Oscar-winning short, "The Resurrection of Bronco Billy" (date approximate)

With O'Bannon, began work on their Master's thesis project, "Dark Star"

Feature directing debut (also screenwriter, producer and composer), "Dark Star," an expanded version of their Master's thesis

Wrote, directed and scored second feature, the crime thriller, "Assault on Precinct 13"

"Assault" garnered wildly positive audience and press reaction as a surprise addition to the London Film Festival

TV-movie writing debut (co-scripter), "Zuma Beach"

First mainstream Hollywood feature credit, "Eyes of Laura Mars"; co-wrote story and screenplay

Directed, scripted and composed score for his breakthrough commercial and critical success, "Halloween"

TV-movie directing debut, "Someone's Watching Me!" starring Lauren Hutton; first screen collaboration with future wife Adrienne Barbeau

Helmed the TV biopic "Elvis," starring Kurt Russell in their first collaboration

Formed own production company Hye Whitebread Productions with wife Barbeau

Screen acting debut, "The Fog" (also directed, wrote story and screenplay and composed score); marked the feature starring debut of his then-wife Adrienne Barbeau

First feature starring Kurt Russell, "Escape From New York"

Directed first feature without writing screenplay, "The Thing" (also starring Russell)

Feature debut as executive producer, "The Philadelphia Experiment"

Turned down a chance to direct the Eddie Murphy vehicle "The Golden Child" in favor of helming "Big Trouble in Little China" (date approximate)

Returned to low-budget filmmaking with "Prince of Darkness," a sci-fi-tinged supernatural outing

TV-movie producing debut, executive produced and scripted "El Diablo," a Western comedy on HBO

Executive produced, directed two segments, composed score and acted in "John Carpenter Presents Body Bags," a Showtime cable TV horror anthology

Reteamed with Kurt Russell for sequel, "John Carpenter's Escape From L.A."

Helmed the cutl film, "Vampires," starring James Woods as the leader of a band of vampire hunters

Directed Cigarette Burns, an episode of Showtime's "Masters of Horror" series

Produced the big budget remake of his film, The Fog"

Once again directed an episode of Showtime's Masters of Horror series, titled Pro-Life