Jamie Lee Curtis on 'Halloween Ends,' her fans, and why Michael Myers ain't sh*t
Jamie Lee Curtis is a force of nature. Not just as Laurie Strode, but in all of her many incarnations, from the thoughtful high school Final Girl to the sober senior citizen looking back on a lifetime of, yes, trauma, however you choose to pronounce it. So when Mashable Zoomed with Jamie Lee Curtis and David Gordon Green for a brief debrief on Halloween Ends, the last in Green’s reboot trilogy, it was really more like Curtis holding court. Which we were more than fine with.
Having just seen Halloween Ends and having covered other, even more secretive projects (Scream, I’m looking at you), I was curious about how the crew kept the lid on the big secrets at the heart of their film. While Green said, “We just said 'pretty please'” to anyone privy to those big reveals, Curtis mused.
“I actually think it's also because the fans love this franchise," she said. "It is a group of people that have loved this original movie since 1978, the 2018 movie, which… opened the door for [even more] people, and I think people really do love it and don't want to be the jerk that ruins the experience for people.
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“You know, we're so used to the ‘spoilers alert,’ and you know, people are horrible. And yet the fan base for Halloween isn't and they couldn't be. They're some of the nicest people. I've been at conventions, [and] you would think the opposite... you would think just by the demographic you'd go, ‘Oh, this is a rough crowd.’ BS. They are the kindest, dedicated, most passionate fans of any genre I have ever been a part of.”
When I pointed out how desperately loyal fans are to her in particular, Curtis replied, “You know why? Because I'm you. And you're me. And he's me,” she said, meaning Green beside her. “And I'm him. Like anybody who's human, who's survived any difficulties…. What Laurie ultimately represents is you and your ability to survive, your ability to persevere. She represented something to people back then. And it's only grown and expanded. And she and I, which were separate entities in a very significant way, have become an enmeshed unit of a person. I am Laurie. Laurie is Jamie, and we are you, and that is the real emotional power of these movies as we present this final presentation to you. That's why.”
Last but never least, we discussed the reason for the season, Michael Myers. Over the years, the idea of who or what Myers is has changed. He’s been human, superhuman, and subhuman. He’s been Laurie’s long-lost brother and then merely a deranged stranger. With two of the foremost experts in Myers-ology at hand, I had to ask what they thought of Michael.
“First of all, I hope all of us disagree about it,” Green said. “I think the ambiguity is half the fun.” He added, “I've tried to plant little perspectives like the DJ [Willy the Kid, played by Keraun Harris] that's more conspiratorial, and how could some man survive this. But I do think he's a spectacularly resilient human being. In my mind, that's just what I try to create is everything — no matter how heightened —we can find a radical, on-earth, something to point to.”
Curtis was far, far more blunt.
“And I don't give a shit about Michael Myers,” she declared. “I don't think of him ever… He doesn't exist as anything except a hostile force that has decimated this woman's life. And all of the ‘Why me? Who is he, what is he?’ which gets written into the lore and the mythology of Michael Myers —” and here she quotes herself in the original Halloween — "'Costaine wrote that fate is somehow related only to religion, where Samuels felt that fate was more like a natural element or the air.’ You know, all of that. He has caused this woman tremendous pain and suffering. And I don't think [Laurie] gives a shit about him.”
Halloween Ends opens in theaters and on Peacock Oct. 14.
Jenni Miller is an NYC-based writer and editor who has managed to make a career out of being morbidly curious about people, the media we consume, and why. Along the way, she has traversed the tundra of Sundance, worked countless red carpets, and interviewed everyone from The Lizardman to Jackson Galaxy. The original Texas Chain Saw Massacre and Happy-Go-Lucky are her favorite movies right this second.
