John Carpenter and Blumhouse Are Making a New Halloween Movie!

We couldn’t possibly be more excited… about anything. John Carpenter, the man for whom we owe the existence of the slasher subgenre, is going to return to the Halloween franchise to produce, oversee and hopefully (talks are still in motion) score a brand new Halloween film that Jason Blum and his genre powerhouse brand Blumhouse will release in 2017.

Who hasn’t been waiting a lifetime to hear that kind of news?

At this point there are a lot more questions than answers, but we do know that Carpenter is heavily involved, and Blum is as ecstatic as he should be.

Carpenter met with Blum, Halloween producer Malek Akkad and a few select businessmen and media to make the news known, and Carpenter shared a few words that really, really leave us with a lot of hope: “The biggest challenge is to be true to the original spirit of the movie. Don’t get carried away. Tell a simple story. Tell it right. The original Halloween was made for very little money and it was a little, scary tale. That’s what we should be doing.”

Make it terrifying, John. Make it terrifying!

From the Press Release:

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.

The Academy Award®-winning John Carpenter has written, directed, composed, and/or edited over 20 films over the course of his career. An international household name, he is probably best known for his iconic features Halloween, The Thing, The Fog, and Big Trouble in Little China, to name a few. As a musician, Carpenter kicked off his world tour in Los Angeles this month, featuring songs from his Lost Themes and Lost Themes II albums – which he recorded with his son, Cody Carpenter. The 30+-city tour ends in Paris late November. He is repped by APA and Stankevich Law.

Source: Dreadcentral