When a source shows up at the posh London hotel for our interview with Jamie Lee Curtis, we are informed that she is running behind schedule. Her publicist describes this as shocking because Jamie Lee Curtis is always on time.
She’s always on time. You can see her making jokes about observing “JLC time” on TikTok (15 minutes fast). Additionally, she consistently arrived 45 minutes early for every day of filming for the final Halloween movie, which will be released in theaters next week. We’ll find out that she has a very sharp mind and has built this reputation over her five decades in Hollywood.But just now, she’s running late and hurried. She tells an attendant, “Give us until four – my things are packed and I’m ready to go,” as we take a seat in her spacious suite. She sits at the end of a comfortable sofa wearing an elegant black jacket, black pants, a black t-shirt, and rimless aviator glasses as her agent moves around in the background. She continues, “I have to board an aircraft. “We’re going to throw you out because of that.”
We’re not outraged because some people would pay a lot of money to have Laurie Strode eject them from a room. When Curtis made her film debut as the original scream queen in John Carpenter’s unexpected 1978 slasher hit Halloween, she became an overnight celebrity. She returned for a less well-received sequel two years later (Halloween II), and once more for Steve Miner’s late ’90s/early ’00s double bill of reboots (Halloween H20; Halloween: Resurrection).
However, none of those films were able to match the chaotic thrill of Laurie’s initial confrontation with Michael Myers, the unkillable masked boogeyman with a shrouded history. Later attempts to revive the series were derided by critics, and Myers seemed to have been permanently laid to rest. Then, in 2017, Curtis’ phone rang out of the blue.
She admits today, “I never even considered making another Halloween movie. I didn’t want to, but then my godson, Jake Gyllenhaal, who I’ve known since he was a young boy, called. Jake stated that David Gordon Green, the director of the critically acclaimed play Stronger, wanted to talk with me. After telling him to share my number, the phone immediately started ringing again.
Gordon Green agreed to have a draft sent over after a brief conversation during which Curtis insisted that she wouldn’t talk about the movie until she had read the script. Fortunately for him, the more emotive style of the new Halloween movie connected with viewers. According to Curtis, “David had inserted an independent drama in the heart of a scary movie.” He created a private work that was covered with bloody tissue and detonating heads. After reading it for nearly an hour, I called him back and said, “OK, let’s go.”
It ended up being a wise choice. Gordon Green’s Halloween achieved a record-breaking opening weekend for a movie with a female lead over the age of 55. It was quickly taken up for two more installments, fulfilling its creator’s vision of a bloody trilogy. Curtis wasn’t expecting to play the part again even twice, so she was taken aback by the idea.
When we first began in 2018, “a trilogy was not mentioned,” the author claims. “I didn’t believe I would ever do it again. The three stories were Halloween, Halloween Kills, and Halloween Ends, David later remarked. Finally, here we are.
Laurie was last seen by us in a bad place. In the movie Halloween Kills, which was released a year ago, Judy Greer’s character Karen, who was her only child, died at the end. It was a bombshell to put it mildly because the couple’s connection had contributed to grounding Gordon Green’s brutal story with some emotional moments. Laurie is in a precarious position at the beginning of Halloween Ends, which has been advertised as “her last stand,” due to Karen’s absence.
Gordon Green sets the scene by stating that “Laurie has processed certain things when we catch up with her.” “Four years later, she is writing her autobiography. She has supportive friends and a devoted granddaughter. She is moving in the direction of a fresh, positive outlook. Michael Myers, though, gets in the way as usual.
The in-demand director has provided us his ideas via video because he is currently working on post-production. In the clip, Gordon Green discusses several philosophical ideas, mainly the meaning of Michael’s killings, but he also describes what happened after he offed Karen. He begins by using carefully chosen terms that are just vague enough to avoid major spoilers: “Michael’s been out of the headlines for four years.” He has become dormant and located this location as his home. The mask is mold- and mildew-covered and has degenerated. He has left to die because he is in poor condition. Then he runs across an unexpected new coworker, and the enthusiasm they share helps him rediscover his potential.
Twelve films have been made about what Michael Myers is capable of (only Halloween III: Season Of The Witch revolved around a different baddie). Therefore, it is probably fitting that the actor who plays his greatest foe likewise has a passion for longevity.
37 years ago, Curtis wed Christopher Guest from Spinal Tap. Much longer than is typical in her profession, her inner team has remained basically constant. She has, of course, intermittently portrayed the same role since 1978. She is all in as she enters.
Curtis nods in agreement and slaps the table to emphasize her point, “I am a creature of habit.” “At my core, I am a loyal person, and Laurie has my loyalty. When I reflect on my life, I’ll believe that was a positive trait. When we ask why, she pauses to consider. The silence here is the longest in the entire interview.
“In my immediate family, which includes my mother Janet Leigh, who is best known for her roles in Psycho and other films, my father Tony Curtis, and my stepfather stockbroker Robert Brandt, there have been 13 marriages. That has a result. She pauses once more and sighs. “I once saw a description of Los Angeles that said it to be a city of novelty and regrets – as well as brief touch. I usually say, “Fuck yeah dude!” when I encounter actors who have retained their original agent but have achieved major success. Your agent was retained by you. That’s incredible.
Despite her lengthy career, Curtis hasn’t always had success finding jobs. She transitioned to big studio films like Trading Places (1983) and A Fish Called Wanda shortly after making her debut in Carpenter’s Halloween and 1980’s The Fog (1988). Although the 1990s were sporadic, Curtis would occasionally appear in a big-budget movie (1994’s True Lies, for instance) to maintain her name firmly on the A-list. However, the prestige roles predictably stopped after the age of 40. Her most recent roles had been in family movies like Freaky Friday (2003) and Christmas With The Kranks when Gordon Green called (2004).
When we say that Halloween 2018 marked the beginning of a comeback, Curtis happily nods her head. “That movie impacted my life forever!” equivalent to the original? “Even so! I still have a whole career at 64. I’m a producer now. I work as a writer, director, active boss, and creative collaborator. I can work with artists in a way that I’ve only ever imagined. I never imagined that I would be producing the films that I am.
She is undoubtedly having a good run. The fabulously fascinating mystery Knives Out has given Curtis another major brand to support with his role as arch heiress Linda Drysdale. She was able to “hot dog finger Michelle Yeoh” while the surreal action film Everything Everywhere All At Once heated up the Oscar competition.
Say what?
Curtis sputters, “I didn’t mean that!” before angling her head toward NME’s dictaphone as if to address the reader directly. “I messed up! I really did say that I get to hot dog finger love Michelle Yeoh. Do not quote me regarding the preceding. She gets closer still: Please, oh please, oh please, oh please!
If you haven’t watched Everything Everywhere All At Once yet, it is a meta-spectacular, madcap Marvel film. The characters frequently defy the laws of physics and switch between many realms. She and Yeoh play romantic partners in one of those worlds, to which Curtis is alluding, where the hands are swapped out for enormous, lolloping sausages. It’s amusing and delightfully bizarre, not to mention utterly original.
And Curtis’ artistic revival is still going strong. She will soon be starring alongside Jared Leto in Disney’s rendition of the Haunted Mansion after Halloween Ends. Then there’s Borderlands, a sizable video game adaptation starring Cate Blanchett, Kevin Hart, and Jack Black, and Spychosis, a campy action drama. She tells us, “I’m looking at this as a decade of innovation, between 60 and 70, that I never expected.” “I always knew I was an amazing collaborator, but suddenly my life has erupted artistically,” the speaker said.
Exactly at this time, the assistant peers through the door. Curtis acknowledges, “You’ve got one more question, then I’ve got to go.” Best of luck. I believe I have already addressed every question. I excel at this.
Jamie Lee Curtis is an expert at directing discussions in the direction she desires. If you watch interviews with her on YouTube, you’ll see that she frequently speaks non-stop for minutes at a time, covering several subjects and giving journalists several stories at once. On sometimes, it may seem as though she is interviewing them. We inquire about her plans for the upcoming weeks.
“Well, I complete launching Halloween Ends,” she continues, mentioning a few more media appearances in Mexico and Ireland as well as a few premieres. “After that, I might make a few introductions to my husband and family. I also have a puppy, and I’ll have to make up for the month I was away on this promotional tour with her. Would now be a good time to pause and evaluate the situation? “Take inventory?” She shudders at the idea. “Take inventory? No, I have to stop talking and keep moving! We wouldn’t accept anything less.