Jamie Lee Curtis Returned To The ‘Halloween’ Franchise Thanks To Jake Gyllenhaal

Jamie Lee Curtis has appeared in four Halloween movies as Laurie Strode — Halloween, Halloween II, Halloween H20: 20 Years Later, and Halloween: Resurrection — but for the purposes of David Gordon Green’s Halloween, those last three films don’t matter. The 11th installment in the franchise disregards the sequels entirely, which is how Laurie, who was killed by her long-time foe Michael Myers in Resurrection, is able to return (she’s apparently spent the last 40 years pumping shotguns). As for Lee Curtis, the reason she decided to come back to the slasher franchise that solidified her as the “scream queen” is because of a recommendation from Jake Gyllenhaal.

The actor is a family friend — Curtis refers to him as her “unofficial godson” — and he tracked her down while she was on vacation in the mountains with her husband, actor Christopher Guest, to put in a plug for David Gordon Green, the reboot’s director. Gyllenhaal urged Curtis to take Green’s call. The two had worked together on 2017’s Stronger, which Gyllenhaal told Curtis was the greatest experience of his professional career. (Via)

That’s high praise from Gyllenhaal, who’s been nominated for one Academy Award (Brokeback Mountain) and should have been for another (Nightcrawler). Halloween is also another redirection from the ever-unpredictable David Gordon Green, who a decade ago was directing stoner comedies (Pineapple Express, Your Highness) and now makes tear-jerking biopics and potentially 2018’s highest-grossing horror movie. I look forward to next his pivot: Minions: The Musical.