It was 4am in Savannah, Georgia when Jamie Lee Curtis said goodbye to Laurie Strode. Owing to the practicalities of production, Curtis’ final scene as Strode wasn’t the conclusion of Halloween Ends, the last installment in the recent Halloween trilogy. Neither was Curtis filming the long-awaited showdown with babysitter butcher Michael Myers. Instead it was a quiet, contemplative moment featuring Laurie alone in her car by the side of the road.
Shortly after, as Curtis watched playback of the shot from basecamp over the shoulder of sequel trilogy director David Gordon Green, the magnitude of what she was looking at hit like a chef’s knife gliding between the ribs.
"I realized that would be the last time I ever saw Laurie Strode," Curtis tells Total Film in the new issue of the magazine, headlined by Halloween Ends. She's on the verge of tears – and not for the last time – while discussing a film she is adamant will be her last as Halloween’s lone survivor. "It was very powerful for me. I wept. David wept. We all recognized that moment, that it was the wrap for Laurie Strode and me. And this community of artists who made these movies. It was a big deal."
Neither Andi Matichak (who has played Laurie’s granddaughter Allyson Nelson across all three Green Halloweens), nor James Jude Courtney (the man behind Myers’ mask since 2018) were scheduled to work that day, but both made the early morning pilgrimage to the Savannah location shoot to bear witness to film history. "My heart just broke open," says Matichak. "It was incredible to know that this is it for Jamie as Laurie Strode." "It was bittersweet for all of us," adds Courtney. "She’s definitely ready to put it down. She’s carried this for 40-some-odd years."
Green recalls things a little differently. "[Jamie’s last day] was like her first day," he says, clearly a glass-half-full kind of guy. "She shows up 45 minutes early, ready to party, and kicks ass all day, and brings the coffee truck and the ice-cream truck and the taco truck, and is the cheerleader of optimism and energy. She is the greatest muse and emotional support I’ve ever had alongside a journey of filmmaking frustrations, for sure."
That's just a taster of the Halloween feature in the new issue of Total Film, which is on newsstands this Thursday – while subscribers have their copies now! Order your copy of Total Film here or subscribe to Total Film here and never miss another issue. You can currently grab three issues for just £3!
Also in the new issue: Olivia Wilde talking Don't Worry Darling, Sex Education breakout Emma Mackay discusses Emily and Barbie, and Billy Eichner reveals all about Bros. Plus, so much more! Halloween Ends reaches cinemas October 14.
