‘Halloween H20: 20 Years Later’: Why Jamie Lee Curtis Almost Quit the Movie
Halloween H20: 20 Years Later has divided fans since its release. Some Halloween fans consider it to be the greatest sequel in the franchise, while others consider it to be one of the worst. Iconic scream queen actor Jamie Lee Curtis was so upset regarding the film’s original direction that she nearly quit the project entirely. She once explained how a contract was the root of it.
Jamie Lee Curtis had an idea for Laurie Strode’s journey
Comic Book Resources reported that Curtis had an idea for where Laurie’s story should go. She sees the journey as being about trauma. Slasher Michael Myers had taken everything from her and she’s now an empty person. Laurie has been running for all of this time, but now it’s time for her to face the evil in her life.
“But she stops running, and turns around, and faces him head-on,” Curtis said. “Mano a mano. To the death. She may die, physically, but she gets her soul back.”
Curtis continued that the content may seem long-winded, but that it has a point. It honors Laurie’s journey since the 1978 original movie and places focus on the character’s struggles. Curtis further mentioned that she pitched the concept repeatedly.
Jamie Lee Curtis almost quit ‘Halloween H20: 20 Years Later’
The real issue arose when Curtis discovered a specific clause in the contract. The Halloween movie rights contain a specific piece of wording that states that Michael Myers can never be killed. Additionally, she wasn’t very thrilled with the original ending that vaguely insinuated that the slasher is left in a fire. However, Curtis wanted Laurie to have the chance to kill the slasher.
“So I go to the office really pissed and I walk in and I’m like, ‘What the f*** is happening here?,'” CBR reports Curtis said. “They looked at me and said: Jamie, there’s a clause in the contract with Moustapha Akkad that says you can’t kill him [Michael].”
Curtis was furious and threatened to quit Halloween H20: 20 Years Later on the spot. However, she remained on the project after it was established that Laurie would behead a man in the Michael Myers mask and that there wouldn’t be more footage to suggest that he survived. Curtis then agreed to stay on board.
Laurie Strode returned once more after ‘Halloween H20: 20 Years Later’
Halloween H20: 20 Years Later would end up not being the final movie in this iteration. 2002’s Halloween: Resurrection confirmed that the slasher would actually be returning. At that point, Curtis wanted to come back one final time to conclude Strode’s story.
Curtis concluded: “So what I said to them was, if this is in fact how we are going to conclude the movie, without the audience knowing, then I have to come back for one more movie; for a very short moment to conclude Laurie’s story.”
Curtis would end up returning in David Gordon Green’s new 2018 trilogy. Halloween Kills is now currently playing in theaters and streaming on Peacock.
