I don`t deny that commercial success means a lot to me, the best reviews you can get are at the box office.

I made a decision back in 1978 that, in a trade off for money when I directed Halloween, I would have my name above the title in order to basically brand these movies my own.

In France, I`m an auteur; in Germany, a filmmaker; in Britain; a genre film director; and, in the USA, a bum.

Evil hiding among us is an ancient theme.

Another trend is a lot of women are going to see horror films. That`s a really welcome development for horror... It actually has a broadened audience. I think most studios recognize that there is a real potential in horror, if you can find something new and unique. For a while it was a lot of remaking of Japanese horror films that have a whole different way of approaching a story - some of which translates quite well in this country. It is fascinating to watch for a guy who worked in the horror trenches.

[On why he passed on Fatal Attraction (1987)] There wasn`t a grain of originality in it - it was Play Misty for Me (1971) with Michael Douglas filling in for Clint Eastwood. Also, the original version, the script I read, had Glenn Close winning in the end by killing herself and thereby getting the moral upper hand. I knew the audience was never going to buy that. The audience was always gonna want to see the wife shoot the bitch. Sure enough, they shot the original script, previewed it, got booed off screen and went back and shot the ending you see today. That was a journey I couldn`t be bothered to go on.

We`re a violent country. We always have been. We embrace our individuality and our violence.

It`s a very good time for horror. This business certainly has changed, but there`s still room for serious horror films. Look at 28 Days Later, that`s not a tongue-in-cheek picture.

Movies are pieces of film stuck together in a certain rhythm, an absolute beat, like a musical composition. The rhythm you create affects the audience.

Film buffs who don`t live in Hollywood have a fantasy about what it`s like to be a director. Movies and the people who make movies have such glamor associated with them. But the truth is, it`s not like that. It`s very different. It`s hard work. If you were suddenly catapulted into that situation -- without any training -- you would say after it was over: "Oh, God! You`re kidding! You mean, this is what it`s like? This is what they put you through?" Yes, as a matter of fact, it is like this -- and it`s often worse. People have tried to describe the film business, but it`s impossible to describe because it`s so crazy. You must know your craft inside out and then pick up the rules as you go along.

What scares me is what scares you. We`re all afraid of the same things. That`s why horror is such a powerful genre. All you have to do is ask yourself what frightens you and you`ll know what frightens me.

To make Michael Myers frightening, I had him walk like a man, not a monster.

I have always had different aspects to my personality. I think I`m a long-term pessimist and a short-term optimist. I do feel a great darkness about humanity. But -- simultaneously and contradictorily -- I also feel that life can be pretty fabulous. I should also express some of that in my work; I don`t want to limit myself as a filmmaker. I want to be true to the parameters of all films. They should create a mood and tingle you emotionally. That is what I`m after. I want the audience to experience some feeling. I want them to know they`re alive.

Things haven`t been going great lately. For a while now people haven`t really been getting my movies. Certainly the box office hasn`t been up to speed. Sure, some of my recent stuff hasn`t been perfect, but neither has it been the shit that many have said. Critically, it`s all become a bit of a crapshoot. The critics thought I was a bum when I started out and they think I`m a bum now.

Monsters in movies are us, always us, one way or the other. They`re us with hats on. The zombies in George Romero`s movies are us. They`re hungry. Monsters are us, the dangerous parts of us. The part that wants to destroy. The part of us with the reptile brain. The part of us that`s vicious and cruel. We express these in our stories as these monsters out there.

In Halloween, I viewed the characters as simply normal teenagers. Laurie, Jamie Lee`s character, was shy and somewhat repressed. And Michael Myers, the killer, is definitely repressed. They have certain similarities.

One could make money and get a career going with a low-budget horror film about killers attacking on holidays. It is always flattering to have somebody copy you.

I`m pretty happy with who I am. I like myself and what I`m doing. I don`t need to be the world`s greatest director or the most famous -- or the richest. I don`t need to make a whole lot of great films. I can do my job and I can do it pretty well. This is the realization I`ve come to, later in life. It`s called growing up.

In England, I`m a horror movie director. In Germany, I`m a filmmaker. In the US, I`m a bum.

When somebody who makes movies for a living -- either as an actor, writer, producer or director -- lives to be a certain age, you have to admire them. It is an act of courage to make a film -- a courage for which you are not prepared in the rest of life. It is very hard and very destructive. But we do it because we love it. Regardless of how bitter I was a few years ago because of my experiences at the studios, I`m still making films.

I don`t want to be in the mainstream. I don`t want to be a part of the demographics. I want to be an individual. I wear each of my films as a badge of pride. That`s why I cherish all my bad reviews. If the critics start liking my movies, then I`m in deep trouble.

I`m flattered if someone comes to me with the idea of remaking one of my films. Remake or original, making a movie still comes down to old-fashioned hard work. If it`s based on another film, well, so be it. Remakes have been part of cinema since its earliest days - think of A Star Is Born (1937), which was remade numerous times. And they`re especially big right now because it`s become increasingly difficult to lure audiences into theaters. Advertising a remade title that may be familiar to audiences can hopefully cut through the clutter of titles and products that one sees.

Working for the studios is no piece of cake. But it`s a trade-off situation, whomever you work for. You have much less creative freedom working for big studios, but they really release your film. By comparison, you have enormous creative freedom working for independent companies like New World. But when it comes time to sell your film and show it to the public, they don`t have the same clout as big studios. The independents have to fight to get your film in theaters in which to show your film and they have to fight to keep your film in those theaters. Everybody in the business faces one truth all the time -- if your movie doesn`t perform immediately, the exhibitors want to get rid of it. The exhibitors only want product in their theaters which makes money. Quality has nothing to do with it.

[in a 1986 interview] Hollywood is a weird place. The film industry has changed. Business is bad. Directors are treated like bums now. This is a bad time for creative people. Hollywood is a mean place to work.

When you`ve been in the movie business for as long as I have your priorities change. The reasons I got into it in the beginning were very pure. I was driven by a creative urge to be a part of Hollywood and to make my mark in the movies. As I`ve gone through it practically -- in real life -- I`ve realized that ambition is immature. Luck and the randomness of fate play such a big part in whether I`m a success or a failure. After a while, I told myself, "The only thing I can do is the best I can do." That`s what being a professional is all about. It`s how I conduct myself. I try to live with dignity and honor. But I can`t ever depend on reaching my goals, because there`s too much that I can`t control in my way. I`ve learned that I either have to be happy with who I am -- or not.