Cynthia Payne through by standing for Parliament as a candidate for the Payne and Pleasure Party in the Kensington by-election in July 1988, followed by her standing in her own area of Streatham for the Rainbow Dream Ticket in the 1992 UK General Election. She did not gain a parliamentary seat. There are two films that are loosely based on her life, both released in 1987: "Wish You Were Here", about her adolescence, with Emily Lloyd in the lead role, and "Personal Services", about her adult life, starring Julie Walters. Both were written (and "Wish You Were Here" was directed) by David
Christine (1983 film) "Christine". Kobritz purchased the rights to "Christine" after finding himself attracted to the novel's "celebration of America's obsession with the motorcar." According to John Carpenter, "Christine" was not a film he had planned on directing, saying that he directed the film as "a job" as opposed to a "personal project." He had previously directed "The Thing" (1982), which had done poorly at the box office and led to critical backlash. In retrospect, Carpenter stated that upon reading "Christine", he felt that "It just wasn't very frightening. But it was something I needed to do at that time for my career."