Director. Writer. Musician. John Carpenter has worn many hats over the decades. That having been said, films like Halloween and Escape From New York don't become genre-defining cult classics without a lot of help. It takes talent from top to bottom, and it's impossible to discuss Carpenter's legacy in the horror genre without including the production talents of Debra Hill.
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In a recent episode of Mick Garris’ podcast Post Mortem with Mick Garris, the veteran horror filmmaker interviewed actress Jamie Lee Curtis, director David Gordon Green, and producer Jason Blum to discuss the release of Halloween Kills. During the interview, Curtis brought up the subject of Garris' friendship with Debra Hill, which he looked back upon fondly in a follow-up AMA episode.
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Hill passed away in 2005, but her contributions to the film industry are still seen everywhere you look, and they don't stop at her characters or writing credits. In the same year of Hill's passing, the Producer's Guild of America established the Debra Hill Fellowship in her honor to further the causes of creative rights, women in film, environmental preservation, and the education of aspiring producers. Hill's fingerprints on horror in particular are far-reaching, due in part to her willingness to fill roles wherever they were needed. The most visible part of these efforts is seen early on in Halloween, when a young Michael Myers (Will Sandin) stabs his sister Judith (Sandy Johnson) to death - that's Hill's hand holding the knife in the first-person POV sequence. Her versatility carried over to the cast and crew of the budding horror classic, who were inexperienced and working on a $300,000 budget. What resulted was one of the most profitable independent films of its time, grossing over $70 million at the box office. Carpenter had insisted on Hill to be his co-writer and producer, and his faith in her was anything but misplaced. Jamie Lee Curtis has been especially thankful for Hill casting her in the film, praising Hill’s well-written relatability of Laurie Strode which she believes is still being felt today.
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Carpenter and Hill were attached, both romantically and professionally, for quite some time. During a trip to Stonehenge while promoting Assault on Precinct 13, the two filmmakers were inspired to write another script together which would eventually result in The Fog (1980). Spearheaded by Hill’s own production company, Curtis returned to play a major supporting character after her breakout film role in Halloween. (She even had the opportunity to work alongside her mother, Janet Leigh!) Hill’s skills are showcased again in many facets. She opened the film with its Edgar Allen Poe quote, filmed the establishing shots of Antonio Bay, and worked to create the titular fog. She even had a quick cameo in the background of a dockside scene with Leigh in the foreground, though you’ll likely miss her if you blink.
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1981 proved to be a busy year for both Carpenter and Hill, releasing both Halloween II and Escape From New York that year. Although the pair hadn’t planned on releasing a sequel to Halloween, they agreed to co-write the screenplay with Hill returning to produce the film. Carpenter didn’t favor returning to direct, and Rick Rosenthal took his place. The film didn’t capture the essence of its predecessor in quite the same way, but compared to many of the schlocky sequels that came after, Halloween II has succeeded well enough in retrospect. If Hill’s production expertise hadn't been present on-set, the film arguably may have faded completely into obscurity.
Not so with Escape From New York, which hit the ground running and was quickly a commercial and critical success. But it was not an easy film to shoot, requiring a significant amount of light setup for the nighttime atmosphere as well as a large amount of special effects work. Logistically, the film had many more moving parts than Hill and Carpenter's previous outings, but they were not deterred.
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New York chewed through its $5 million production budget quickly, but Hill and Carpenter's well-honed improvisation skills kicked in again. To capture the film's post-apocalyptic setting, shooting would take place on the waterfront of St. Louis, Missouri, which was still rebuilding after a large fire that had broken out and spread for blocks. The final on-screen product proved that the choice paid off, as Carpenter and Hill managed to create a dystopian Manhattan Island with only one true shot filmed in New York City (Liberty Island to be specific).
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Hill later recalled that she and Carpenter had started what she considered a family both in front of and behind the camera. For all their struggles, it’s difficult to argue with that opinion in any way. Through peaks like Halloween and Escape From New York to valleys in the form of Escape From L.A. (1996) and Halloween III: Season of the Witch (1982), the productive partners of Carpenter and Hill had very much created a family that endured the good and the bad. Casts and crew came and went, but fans of the two can always look back to the duo’s works and see familiar faces. When Jamie Lee Curtis and Nick Castle returned for a modern-day Halloween trilogy several decades later, Curtis heaped praise on Hill for giving these new films an incredible base to work from, as the human elements of Laurie and her friends in Halloween have carried on to the Strode Family itself in Halloween (2018).
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It’s likely no wonder then that Curtis felt it was right to ask Mick Garris about his own friendship with Hill, as so many in Carpenter’s filmmaking orbit showed their reverence and respect for her. At the end of the day, her improvisational production skills and her wise business acuity pale in comparison to the warm and welcoming environment she created with so many members of her filmmaking family. Hill is remembered for her intelligence and many talents in writing and producing, but her legacy is one of bringing people together from all walks of life to make something special.
In a speech she gave in 2003 after receiving an award from the Women in Film organization, she implored the industry to not ignore the generations of women filmmakers that would come after she was gone. Hill said, “I want every producer, studio executive, and agent in this room to include me in their directors list. Along with the women who have come before me, and the women directors who will come after me. If you need me, you’ll find me — I’ll be sitting by my pool, reading scripts and waiting for your numerous offers.” And while the film industry unfortunately still has a lot of work to do to honor her request, we can start by making sure to recognize visionaries like Hill while they're still around.
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KEEP READING: 'Halloween': Why Michael Myers' Mask Never Looked Scary Again After John Carpenter's Original