Eyebrows were raised when it was first announced that David Gordon Green and Danny McBride were teaming up and writing a new installment to the “Halloween” franchise. But while Green has never fully dabbled in the horror genre before, his immediate choices for the new Halloween movie have suggested that he knows exactly what he’s doing.
The first and foremost of these was bringing Jamie Lee Curtis back to play Laurie Strode. Last month I had the chance to speak to Green about his impending “Halloween” film, which was clearly at the forefront of his mind, because when I merely mentioned it he remarked, “I’m proof reading the script right when we speak.”
When I asked Green why he felt it was so necessary to bring Curtis back into the “Halloween” fold, his response was both simple and priceless: “Because she is Laurie Strode (laughs). Right? I don’t know who else is going to play her?”
Green then proceeded to wax lyrical about Curtis. “She’s just really lovely, and lives and works outside the Hollywood norm. And I love her spirit. And her character is iconic.”
The “Stronger” director also admitted that he sees similarities between Curtis and his leading man in the recently released drama, Jake Gyllenhaal. Which isn’t that much of a surprise when you consider the fact that Curtis is actually Gyllenhaal’s godmother.
“She’s Jake’s godmother. It’s the same kind of thing. When I’m creating these characters sometimes I’m a movie nerd and I’ve grown up with films my entire life, and the iconic character of Laurie Strode belongs to Jamie Lee Curtis. So when I had completed a script I was confident of sharing with her I got on the phone and talked her through it, and was excited to get a call at sunrise the next day.”
“My relationship with actors is why I love my job so much. These creative collaborators that you can create characters with and then let them sink their teeth into storytelling. Artists that love their craft, and they are always learning, and absorbing and challenge.”
But it wasn’t just the opportunity to work with Jamie Lee Curtis that made Green turn to “Halloween.” It turns out that the 42-year-old filmmaker has unfinished business with the franchise that dates all the way back to the release of the original back in 1978.
“I was never allowed to see it. I was forbidden from watching ‘Halloween’ and ‘Revenge Of The Nerds.’ I snuck watching both of them, and I got such bad dreams that I confessed it. For me it is a chance for me to confront my childhood fears, and give Michael Myers a proper talking to.”
He’ll be giving Michael Myers this dressing down with the help of John Carpenter, who co-wrote, directed and composed the legendary score for “Halloween” and is closely involved in the upcoming installment.
“I sat down with him a couple weeks ago and got his script notes,” Green admitted. “It was pretty awesome.”
We’ll get to see what the duo can dream up when David Gordon Green’s “Halloween,” which is a direct sequel to 1981’s “Halloween II,” is released on October 19, 2018.
