Photo:Compass International Pictures/Courtesy Everett Collection; Universal Pictures/Courtesy Everett Collection
Compass International Pictures/Courtesy Everett Collection; Universal Pictures/Courtesy Everett Collection
Long before she was anOscar-winning actress,Jamie Lee Curtiswas Laurie Strode.
With Jamie Lee Curtis’Halloweendays behind her, let’s look back at her long-standing legacy in the franchise that made her a horror icon.
01of 07Halloween, 1978Mary Evans/COMPASS INTERNATIONAL PICTURES/FALCON INTERNATIONAL PRODUC/Ronald Grant/Everett CollectionCurtis first stepped into the terrified shoes of Laurie at 19 years old in 1978, playing theHalloween"final girl" with gusto.“What was amazing to me was [it was] an acting part,“Curtis told Drew Barrymore at New YorkComic Con in October 2022. “She didn’t look like me, she didn’t dress like me, she didn’t think like me. I barely got out of high school. She was like the valedictorian of her class. There was a real opportunity for me to be an actor. I hadn’t had that opportunity before. For me, that was incredible.“The movie made$47 million worldwide(against a budget north of $300,000) and earned a permanent spot in pop culture history.
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Halloween, 1978
Mary Evans/COMPASS INTERNATIONAL PICTURES/FALCON INTERNATIONAL PRODUC/Ronald Grant/Everett Collection
Curtis first stepped into the terrified shoes of Laurie at 19 years old in 1978, playing theHalloween"final girl” with gusto.
“What was amazing to me was [it was] an acting part,“Curtis told Drew Barrymore at New YorkComic Con in October 2022. “She didn’t look like me, she didn’t dress like me, she didn’t think like me. I barely got out of high school. She was like the valedictorian of her class. There was a real opportunity for me to be an actor. I hadn’t had that opportunity before. For me, that was incredible.”
The movie made$47 million worldwide(against a budget north of $300,000) and earned a permanent spot in pop culture history.
02of 07Halloween II, 1981Courtesy Everett CollectionCurtis returned to face Myers in the early ’80s sequel, which didn’t perform as well in theaters but kept the actress' star shining.“I wouldn’t have anything in my life without Laurie Strode,” Curtis told Barrymore at New York Comic Con in 2022. “Nothing. I wouldn’t have a career. I would not have a family.”
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Halloween II, 1981
Courtesy Everett Collection
Curtis returned to face Myers in the early ’80s sequel, which didn’t perform as well in theaters but kept the actress' star shining.
“I wouldn’t have anything in my life without Laurie Strode,” Curtis told Barrymore at New York Comic Con in 2022. “Nothing. I wouldn’t have a career. I would not have a family.”
03of 07Halloween H20: 20 Years Later, 1998Dimension Films/Courtesy Everett CollectionCurtis took a break from the franchise for nearly 20 years, returning for the Kevin Williamson-penned sixth film alongside then-teen idolsJosh HartnettandMichelle Williams. The movie was a hit,earning more than $55 millionat the box office.Speaking at New York Comic Con in 2022, Curtis saidshe wanted the series to end there, with Myers dying. However, studio execs disagreed. “I said, ‘I’m not going to do it. I’m not going to tease the audience again,’ ” she said. “I came up with an idea to end it.”
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Halloween H20: 20 Years Later, 1998
Dimension Films/Courtesy Everett Collection
Curtis took a break from the franchise for nearly 20 years, returning for the Kevin Williamson-penned sixth film alongside then-teen idolsJosh HartnettandMichelle Williams. The movie was a hit,earning more than $55 millionat the box office.
Speaking at New York Comic Con in 2022, Curtis saidshe wanted the series to end there, with Myers dying. However, studio execs disagreed. “I said, ‘I’m not going to do it. I’m not going to tease the audience again,’ ” she said. “I came up with an idea to end it.”
04of 07Halloween: Resurrection, 2002Miramax/Courtesy Everett CollectionThat idea played out in 2002’sHalloween: Resurrection, afterH20ended with Laurie killing an innocent man andResurrectionbegan with her being institutionalized.“I said … ‘You have to kill me in the first 10 minutes of the movie because I’ve now killed an innocent man and I can’t live with that,’ " Curtis said at New York Comic Con in 2022. So the filmmakers did.
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Halloween: Resurrection, 2002
Miramax/Courtesy Everett Collection
That idea played out in 2002’sHalloween: Resurrection, afterH20ended with Laurie killing an innocent man andResurrectionbegan with her being institutionalized.
“I said … ‘You have to kill me in the first 10 minutes of the movie because I’ve now killed an innocent man and I can’t live with that,’ " Curtis said at New York Comic Con in 2022. So the filmmakers did.
05of 07Halloween, 2018Ryan Green/Universal Pictures/Courtesy Everett CollectionBut — much to the delight of moviegoers — Curtis couldn’t stay away. She returned in 2018 in a film that picked up where the 1978 movie left off, effectively glossing over the previous sequels and kicking off a new trilogy."[DirectorDavid Gordon Green] sent me a script and said she spent 40 years hiding behind barbed wire, emotionally and physically,” Curtis explained of the character at New York Comic Con in 2022. “At the expense of her daughter and granddaughter, she knows Michael Myers is coming back. It was this incredible film about Laurie and her trauma.“She added: “It was this beautiful movie about a woman taking control of her life and it coincided with the women around the world standing up and taking control of their lives and saying ‘Me Too, Me Too, Time Is Up and Me Too.’ "
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Halloween, 2018
Ryan Green/Universal Pictures/Courtesy Everett Collection
But — much to the delight of moviegoers — Curtis couldn’t stay away. She returned in 2018 in a film that picked up where the 1978 movie left off, effectively glossing over the previous sequels and kicking off a new trilogy.
“[DirectorDavid Gordon Green] sent me a script and said she spent 40 years hiding behind barbed wire, emotionally and physically,” Curtis explained of the character at New York Comic Con in 2022. “At the expense of her daughter and granddaughter, she knows Michael Myers is coming back. It was this incredible film about Laurie and her trauma.”
She added: “It was this beautiful movie about a woman taking control of her life and it coincided with the women around the world standing up and taking control of their lives and saying ‘Me Too, Me Too, Time Is Up and Me Too.’ "
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Halloween Kills, 2021
Universal Pictures/Courtesy Everett Collection
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Halloween Ends, 2022
Halloween Ends(2022).Ryan Green/Universal Pictures/Courtesy Everett Collection
source: people.com
