They Live Screenplay

John Carpenter used the pseudonym "Frank Armitage" for his screenplay credit on the 1988 film, adapting the 1963 short story "Eight O'Clock in the Morning" by Ray Nelson. Carpenter also directed the film, which stars professional wrestler Roddy Piper as a drifter who discovers sunglasses that reveal alien capitalists controlling society. The pseudonym was a deliberate choice to separate his writing credit from his directing duties.

The iconic line "I have come here to chew bubblegum and kick ass... and I'm all out of bubblegum" is delivered by Roddy Piper's character Nada. The line became one of the most quoted in Carpenter's filmography and has been referenced across pop culture, including in the video game Duke Nukem 3D. Piper reportedly improvised the line on set, though it stems from the screenplay's satirical tone.

The screenplay was adapted from Ray Nelson's 1963 short story "Eight O'Clock in the Morning," which was originally published in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction. Nelson's story also inspired elements from "Nada," a comic strip adaptation that appeared in the anthology magazine Alien Encounters. Carpenter combined elements from both sources to create the film's narrative about hidden alien control of society.

The screenplay is a satirical critique of Reagan-era consumerism and capitalism, depicting aliens who use subliminal messaging in advertising and media to keep humans docile and compliant. The famous sunglasses reveal messages like "Obey," "Consume," and "Marry and Reproduce" hidden in billboards and magazines. Carpenter has been open about the film's political subtext, calling it a reaction to the materialism of 1980s America.