‘Halloween’ Director Opens up About John Carpenter’s Contributions

Original 1978 Halloween co-writer and director John Carpenter‘s contributions to the upcoming new sequel as executive producer and composer was part of an “incredible collaboration,” says filmmaker David Gordon Green.

“It’s been really fun. We’ll do a lot of weekly Skype sessions and he’ll play some stuff and send tracks,” Green told EW.

“It’s cool, too. I’ll watch the movie with him, and just get notes and ideas, so that’s pretty incredible, and hilarious, as you could imagine. So, he’ll be in his studio with his keyboard and a screen [watching] the scene, and I’ll be on my computer, communicating through Skype, but watching him watch the movie, and get his ideas and commentary and musical suggestions. It’s kind of cool. It’s hard not to smile, you know.”

Carpenter returns to the iconic slasher franchise for the first time since serving as executive producer on 1982’s Halloween III: Season of the Witch, the first and last Halloween movie not to involve blank-faced serial killer Michael Myers. Here the legendary filmmaker acts as both executive producer and composer, providing an all-new score for Green’s direct sequel to Carpenter’s own Halloween.

“In many ways, this job is a dream come true,” Green said. “It’s been an incredible collaboration, with an incredible cast and group of producers, and the icing on the cake is, I get to work with one of my idols in a musical capacity, which is such an unexpected delight.”

“They were willing to pay me, which is always a good thing, so I said yes,” Carpenter told Rotten Tomatoes of returning to a series that had weathered the release of a mixed bag of sequels over the course of 40 years.

“I talked about the Halloweens for a long time, the sequels — I haven’t even seen all of them. I don’t even know what really was there — but finally it occurred to me: Well if I’m just flapping my gums here, talking about it, why don’t I try to make it as good as I can?” Carpenter said.

“I could offer advice. I could talk to the director. I like the director very much. I like the script. So, you know, stop throwing rocks from the sidelines and get in there and try to do something positive.”

Carpenter released the first snippet from his 2018 score earlier this week. 40 years after composing the score for his own Halloween, Carpenter teams with son Cody Carpenter and godson Daniel Davies for an eerie new musical heartbeat that Green said strikes a balance between iconic and fresh and inventive.

Halloween, starring Jamie Lee Curtis, Judy Greer, and Andi Matichak, opens October 19.