carpenter originally wrote the screenplay for escape from new york in  in the aftermath of the watergate scandal carpenter said "the whole feeling of the nation was one of real cynicism about the president i wrote the screenplay and no studio wanted to make it" because according to carpenter "it was too violent too scary too weird" he had been inspired by the film death wish which was very popular at the time he did not agree with this films philosophy but liked how it conveyed "the sense of new york as a kind of jungle and i wanted to make a science fiction film along these lines"