Buzz
During the mid-1980s, John Carpenter discovered a comic book narrative depicting a world where extraterrestrials covertly dominated humanity. As a devoted science fiction enthusiast, Carpenter recognized a metaphor linking these aliens to the political climate of the Reagan era, sparking the creation of They Live. This cult classic tells the tale of an ordinary man who uncovers the truth about reality through a unique pair of sunglasses.
Collaborating with wrestler “Rowdy” Roddy Piper as the protagonist, Carpenter and his team crafted a film filled with alien creatures (many played by the same actor), repurposed props, and an epic fight sequence that felt endless. The outcome is one of the most celebrated cult films of the 1980s, renowned for delivering one of cinema’s most iconic lines. We’re here to share 10 behind-the-scenes facts about They Live… and we’re fresh out of bubble gum.
1. The concept for They Live originated from a comic book based on a short story.
They Live is based on Ray Nelson’s sci-fi short story “Eight O’Clock in the Morning,” first published in the 1960s. However, John Carpenter’s primary inspiration came from an Eclipse Comics version of Nelson’s tale, which he discovered in the mid-1980s. Fascinated by the concept of aliens subjugating humanity, Carpenter later sought out the original story.
"'Eight O’Clock in the Morning' is a narrative similar to D.O.A., where a man falls into a trance during a stage hypnosis act,” Carpenter explained to Starlog in 1988. "Upon waking, he discovers that humanity has been hypnotized and is under the control of alien beings. He has until eight o’clock the next morning to find a solution."
While Carpenter appreciated the idea of humanity being subconsciously dominated by an alien threat, he wasn’t fond of the hypnosis angle. After acquiring the rights to the story, he reworked it, replacing hypnosis with the 1980s-relevant concept of subliminal messaging controlling the American populace.
2. They Live was a reaction to the era of Ronald Reagan’s America.
Carpenter has characterized They Live as a “raw outcry against Reaganomics,” using a sci-fi framework to deliver sharp social critique on the struggles of the American middle class during the 1980s. In a 1988 Starlog interview, Carpenter mentioned that while developing the story, he watched more TV and realized “it’s all about pushing us to buy something,” which further shaped his approach to the film.
“I wanted to make a bold statement, so I portrayed the Republicans as extraterrestrial beings,” Carpenter later reflected.
Even decades later, Carpenter remains convinced of the film’s central theme—the conspiracy of the wealthy growing richer. "They’re still here, amassing more wealth than ever, and they remain among us,” he stated.
3. John Carpenter penned They Live using a pseudonym.
Carpenter has always been a versatile filmmaker, taking on roles as director, writer, producer, and composer. However, by the time They Live was in production, he felt weary of seeing his name prominently displayed everywhere. As a result, he chose to credit the screenplay under a different name.
“It was a response to seeing my name dominate these films,” Carpenter told Entertainment Weekly in 2012. "I think it peaked with Christine. It was John Carpenter’s Christine, directed by John Carpenter, music by John Carpenter … I felt like such an egomaniac!”
Carpenter adopted the alias Frank Armitage, a character from H.P. Lovecraft’s tale “The Dunwich Horror,” selected “simply because I adore Lovecraft.”
4. Roddy Piper was unfamiliar with John Carpenter.
To cast the lead role of “John Nada” in They Live, Carpenter sought an ordinary man who could represent the working-class ethos. As a longtime wrestling enthusiast, Carpenter was curious about “Rowdy” Roddy Piper and was introduced to him by Piper’s manager after Wrestlemania III. While Piper was eager to explore acting opportunities, he later confessed he had no prior knowledge of Carpenter.
“My manager at the time, Dave Wolfe, said, ‘I want you to meet this guy for dinner.’ I didn’t know who he was, but that’s on me, you know? I’d been in pro wrestling since I was 15 and was pretty busy,” Piper remembered. “He said, ‘After Wrestlemania, we’ll meet.’ So we sat down, and I’m not exaggerating much—it went something like, ‘Could you pass the butter? Want a roll? Sure. Want to star in my next movie? Sure. More champagne? Sure.’ That was pretty much it.”
Carpenter, on the other hand, believed Piper’s appearance and attitude perfectly aligned with his vision for Nada.
“His face, his scars, everything about him. He seemed completely authentic,” Carpenter remarked.
5. The most iconic line from They Live was Roddy Piper’s creation.
Even if you haven’t watched They Live, chances are you’ve heard someone say: “I have come here to chew bubble gum and kick ass, and I’m all out of bubble gum.” Since Nada uttered this line in the film, it has transcended the movie, becoming one of the most famous and frequently referenced quotes in pop culture. Carpenter revealed that the line originated from Piper, who maintained a notebook filled with such witty remarks for his wrestling promos.
“While traveling across the country for wrestling matches, these guys come up with countless lines to hype their fights during interviews. They need catchy one-liners. Roddy had a notebook packed with them that he always carried,” Carpenter explained. “He’d brainstorm these on planes. He shared the notebook with me while I was writing the script, and that line stood out as the best. I believe he used it during a match against Playboy Buddy Rose.”
According to Piper, the line wasn’t added until the day of filming, but both he and Carpenter agree that it was his creation.
6. The subliminal messaging in They Live came with a hefty price tag.
They Live was made on a modest budget, with Carpenter recalling a figure of around $4 million during a later commentary track with Piper. To depict a world secretly ruled by aliens, the filmmakers often had to improvise. For instance, when Nada uses his sunglasses to view billboards, Carpenter relied on traditional matte paintings instead of creating and filming new billboards. “It was classic, old-school filmmaking, one of the oldest techniques out there,” Carpenter noted.
The sequence where Nada discovers a supermarket filled with aliens (or ghouls, as Carpenter calls them) was more challenging. Every product label in the store had to be replaced with plain white labels exposing the subliminal messages. Initially, the crew tried filming at an actual supermarket but couldn’t conceal all the existing labels, forcing them to construct a set from scratch.
“That was our most expensive undertaking,” Carpenter said, referring to the subliminal supermarket scene.
7. Many of They Live's props were reused from other films.
In certain scenes of They Live, especially those in the alien compound toward the end, you might spot alien characters using futuristic-looking communication devices that resemble the ghost detection gadgets from Ghostbusters. This is because they are the same props. According to Carpenter, the film’s tight budget led them to rent various items from prop houses, including these devices.
This cost-cutting approach also allowed the film to reuse props from another Carpenter project. According to Piper, the sunglasses central to the story were leftovers from Big Trouble in Little China.
“When John made Big Trouble in Little China with Kurt Russell, there’s a scene with an 18-wheeler … if you notice those glasses, they had plenty left over,” Piper explained. “Those are the glasses we used in They Live. And yes, I still own a few pairs of the originals.”
8. The legendary fight scene in They Live was intentionally designed to be lengthy.
While They Live is best known for Piper’s “bubble gum” line, fans also celebrate the extended fight sequence between Nada and Frank (Keith David) as a standout moment. Lasting over five minutes, the scene evolves through multiple stages, though the core conflict remains Frank’s resistance to wearing Nada’s sunglasses. Carpenter revealed that the fight was scripted as several nearly-blank pages simply stating “The Fight Continues,” indicating its intended length from the start.
To bring the scene to life, Imada spent over a month rehearsing and choreographing the fight with Piper and David. They practiced outside Carpenter’s office, using pads to perfect each major moment, including several wrestling-inspired moves. They repeated the sequence until they could execute it convincingly while minimizing the risk of injury. The final result is what audiences see in the film.
Years later, during a DVD release interview, Carpenter was asked if he ever thought about shortening the fight during editing. His reply: “F**k no!”
9. Nearly every alien was played by one person.
The concept of the alien “ghouls” in They Live is that they could be anyone—your neighbor, a police officer, or even the President. In reality, however, most of the ghouls were portrayed by one individual: Jeff Imada, who also served as the film’s stunt coordinator. Imada explained that Carpenter initially hired actors for the roles but was dissatisfied with the male performer, leading him to ask Imada to step in as a double.
“It was amusing because I ended up doubling for many of the stuntmen in the film,” Imada recalled.
Imada portrayed “not all, but a significant number” of the ghouls in the film, including the final one seen engaging in an intimate moment with a woman when the alien signal is disrupted, revealing their true forms.
10. John Carpenter created the score on the spot.
As with many of his films, Carpenter took on the role of composer for They Live, collaborating once again with sound designer Alan Howarth in a largely improvised process. “I entered Alan’s studio with no preconceived ideas,” Carpenter said, adding that this approach was typical for many of his projects.
With Howarth handling the technical aspects (he recalled Carpenter didn’t even want a basic explanation of the synthesizers), Carpenter sat at a keyboard, watching the film on a screen, and began composing in real-time. He started with the tempo, inspired by the rhythm of Nada’s walk across the train tracks in the opening scene. From there, Carpenter improvised, and Howarth fine-tuned the music as they progressed.
“I came up with a simple bassline and built everything around it,” Carpenter explained.
Carpenter also contributed another crucial auditory element to the film: the deep alien voice uttering “sleep” is his own, recorded and altered by Howarth.
Additional Sources: “Independent Thought”: A Conversation with Writer/Director John Carpenter (Shout! Factory, 2012) “Watch, Look, Listen”: Exploring the Visuals and Audio of They Live (Shout! Factory, 2012)
