Jamie Lee Curtis Wouldn’t Have Done Blumhouse’s Halloween Trilogy If She Knew The Real Plan

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Jamie Lee Curtis gets candid about her comeback.

Jamie Lee Curtis first became known for her role as Laurie Strode in John Carpenter’s classic 1978 horror film, Halloween. She continued playing the character in several sequels, including Halloween II (1981), Halloween H20: 20 Years Later (1998), and Halloween Resurrection (2002). After the 2002 film, it seemed like her time with the franchise was over, but she later returned to the role for a new trilogy of Halloween films starting in 2018, directed by David Gordon Green.

Jamie Lee Curtis recently explained at a SXSW panel (as reported by Variety) why she decided to reprise her role as Laurie Strode in the 2018 Halloween reboot. She stated that the sole reason she participated was due to Jason Blum, the head of Blumhouse Productions, who was responsible for bringing the Halloween franchise back.

Jamie Lee Curtis is grateful that the movie Halloween revitalized her career, but she initially expected it to be a standalone film, not a series of three. She confesses, “Had they told me upfront it would be a trilogy, I probably wouldn’t have agreed to it.”

Curtis acknowledges Blum’s success but is frank about his filmmaking approach, particularly regarding budget. She jokingly refers to Blum as ‘notoriously cheap,’ explaining that his low-budget model relies on keeping talent costs low—essentially, ‘you don’t pay people.’

Blum has often discussed how Blumhouse keeps costs down by offering filmmakers a share of the profits instead of large upfront payments. This allows them to make films inexpensively, but also rewards successful movies with bigger payouts.

Curtis explained that during the editing and mixing process, director David Gordon Green surprised her by saying he envisioned it as a trilogy. She was initially unaware of this plan. She then approached Jason Blum with some ideas, hoping to secure a first-look deal and a small development agreement. Given that she already owed Blum two ‘Halloween’ movies, he was likely to agree to her request.

Curtis has described her final agreement as a “vanity deal,” meaning she received a producer credit. Despite this, she maintained a good working relationship with Blum and eventually pitched a story from NPR to Blumhouse, which later became the Apple TV series The Lost Bus, featuring Matthew McConaughey.

Even though Jamie Lee Curtis wasn’t initially expecting a three-movie Halloween series, the films did fairly well in theaters. The 2018 movie earned a strong $255 million, and 2021’s Halloween Kills made $133 million, even though critics didn’t love it. The final film, Halloween Ends (2022), was more controversial, but still brought in $104 million. It appears Curtis’s time playing Laurie Strode has now come to an end.

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2026-03-22 23:51