Jason Blum Comments on “Reinventing” the ‘Halloween’ Franchise
It has been about a month since the stunning announcement that John Carpenter will return to executive produce the next Halloween movie, and there has been little more news for us sink our teeth into since then, but now producer Jason Blum, head of Michael Myers’ new home at Blumhouse Productions, has put a few comments on the project out there via a recent interview explaining his plan to “reinvent” the franchise.
In a new interview with iHorror, Blum reveals exactly how he got John Carpenter, writer/director/composer of the original Halloween, to agree to come back to the franchise as executive producer overseeing the new movie.
“I sat in John’s living room, and I told him that I wanted to reinvent the Halloween film series, and I needed him to be a part of this,” says Blum. “I told him, ‘I’m not excited about doing this without you. I need you, and the fans need you.’”
The prolific producer went on to explain his desire to take on such an iconic genre franchise, stating, “I was excited by the challenge of reinventing a great horror title like Halloween. I want to go back to the basics, to what made the 1978 film so effective and scary.”
Also, while it has been reported that Mike Flanagan (Hush, Oculus, Ouija: Origin of Evil) was in negotiations to direct the next Halloween film, Blum says the search for a director continues.
“That’s still a rumor,” says Blum, referring to Flanagan’s involvement. “We don’t have a director yet. That is the next step.”
The targeted release date for the new Halloween movie is October 2017.
Read on for the full official press release, and then click here to read John Carpenter’s comments on returning to Halloween and Michael Myers!
John Carpenter, the multiple award-winning and legendary filmmaker and creator of the original Halloween films, will return to the franchise as executive producer on a new production of the iconic horror movie, it was jointly announced today by MIRAMAX® and Trancas International Films — MIRAMAX® and Blumhouse Productions will co-finance development and production, with Malek Akkad serving as producer under his Trancas banner and Jason Blum producing for Blumhouse. MIRAMAX®, which holds worldwide distribution rights, will determine its theatrical distribution partner at a future date.
The HALLOWEEN film franchise that was started in part by Carpenter and Moustapha Akkad in 1978 has spawned ten films generating a total of nearly $400 million in worldwide box office.
John Carpenter said: “38 years after the original Halloween I’m going to help to try to make the 10th sequel the scariest of them all.”
Malek Akkad said: “Trancas International is thrilled to be teaming up with Miramax on Halloween, one of the most enduring horror franchises in film. We are also very excited to be working with Jason Blum and the whole team at Blumhouse. Together, along with the return of legendary filmmaker John Carpenter, we are eager to make a film that will be a milestone in the franchise’s legacy and that will excite the fans, young and old.”
Zanne Devine, MIRAMAX’s EVP Film & Television, said: “Malek Akkad’s legacy with the Halloween franchise accompanied by Blumhouse’s unprecedented talent in the horror genre lays the foundation of a formidable team to create the next chapter of this iconic fan favorite. Having John Carpenter godfather the reboot of the iconic franchise he helped create brings it full circle. We couldn’t be in better company bringing Halloween back to the big screen.”
Jason Blum said: “Halloween is one of those milestone films that inspired everyone at our company to get into the world of scary movies. The great Malek Akkad and John Carpenter have a special place in the hearts of all genre fans and we are so excited that Miramax brought us together. We cannot wait to find and collaborate with the right filmmaker to give Halloween fans the movie they deserve.”
David Thwaites will oversee the reboot for MIRAMAX® with Carpenter and the companies planning to immediately go out to filmmakers and fast-track the project.
For more Halloween news, follow @HalloweenDaily.
