When you have an expansive franchise like Halloween, it’s natural to have a favorite – or at least one that you gravitate to in times when genre comfort is needed. But with three recent installments, there’s obviously a lot of new Halloween content to add to the debate. Now, the creator of the horror classic is sharing which film he prefers from the new trilogy, and as expected, he’s proven to have incredible taste.
BY TATIANA HULLENDER
Screen Rant has the pleasure of presenting an exclusive first look at the trailer for the upcoming film The Class, which will premiere in select theaters as well as on digital September 9. The Brainstorm Media production, written and directed by Nicholas Celozzi, is an ensemble comedy that pays homage to the mother of all teen films: The Breakfast Club.
The Class centers on a group of a high school students who are forced to spend their Saturday retaking the final exam, which they previously either failed or missed entirely. As the day wears on, they begin to learn about one another and themselves amidst the rivalries and betrayals that tend to define the high school experience. Adding to the nostalgia, ’80s entertainers who helped define the era will be playing the adults responsible for unruly teens: Debbie Gibson as the high school drama teacher who hopes to help the students love themselves, and Anthony Michael Hall (also serving as executive producer) as the assistant principal who’s not so sure it can be done.
Screen Rant’s exclusive first look at The Class trailer showcases the talented young cast coming together, each embodying a modern archetype of high school life. Among the bring stars are Charlie Gillespie (Julie and the Phantoms), Lyric Ross (This Is Us), Hannah Kepple (Cobra Kai), and Colin McCalla (Tyler Perry’s Ruthless)—as well as exciting newcomers Juliette Celozzi and Michael Sebastian. Catch the trailer below:
Star and EP Anthony Michael Hall also took the time to answer a few of Screen Rant’s questions about his role in The Class and what he hoped audiences would take away from it. Read his responses below, and prepare to meet his favorite students next month.
Screen Rant: How hands-on are you as a producer and what did you hope to bring to The Class?
Anthony Michael Hall: I would say that I am hands-on as a producer. Considering that I have many years of experience on sets working in film and television for decades, one thing that is important to me, is to factor all of my work experience and growth into my work as a producer. Whether it’s consulting the writer/director or my other my fellow producing partners, or in communicating with the actors, I always want to put my best foot forward based upon what I’ve learned and benefited from in my time in the business.
One of the things that I thought would be important on this film, was that our cast spent at least a week together, rehearsing. This is something I learned from John Hughes many years ago on the films that I made with him. By utilizing that rehearsal time to the fullest, the actors can develop their performances and work on the material, the writer/director can hear his dialogue and preplan the scenes and how he wants to approach the work. People can openly ask questions and discuss their creative ideas and concerns.
And the general idea is, as a producer, to create a healthy environment where everyone who is involved in the film (in this case the cast) can cultivate good camaraderie and chemistry as a team. We were very fortunate because we were able to carve out a week of rehearsal and our young cast not only hit it off, but they all really quickly became friends; supporting and encouraging each other and developing new friendships as coworkers.
So, it was very encouraging and positive to see that happen in a very organic way while we were making The Class.
What was it like collaborating with director Nicholas Celozzi?
Anthony Michael Hall: Initially, Nicki and I met and had many good creative discussions by phone. I read his screenplay for The Class, and I was very impressed with his writing. I felt he had a good handle on creating solid, interesting characters who are all forced to address their complexities, conflicts and humanity in our story.
As our working relationship developed and we were on location in Chicago last year, my friendship and respect for Nicki grew. We get along very well and have great mutual respect for each other’s abilities, and for what we can both bring to the table. We have a solid working relationship; we also spend time together as friends, and have had numerous dinners together with our wives (who also get along very well together.) Nicki is a good man.
How does it feel to be watching the next generation of stars grow before your eyes, especially working alongside so many young up-and-comers on a film like this?
Anthony Michael Hall: I have to say, I was thoroughly impressed by all of the young actors in our cast (and our Chicago production crew). They all — came prepared, hungry and genuinely excited to do the work, and to make the film the best it could be.
As a producer, and as a fellow actor, I am very proud of them all, and I’m pleased with all of their performances. They all really delivered with good, heartfelt work.
What was the experience of working with Debbie Gibson like? What impact do you as the teachers have on the lives of these students?
Anthony Michael Hall: I had a great time working with Debbie Gibson . She is a class act and a very talented lady. She works very hard and she cares a lot about people.
As an actor, I was pleasantly surprised by her. She was a total pro, prepared, completely natural, believable and also very likable in the film. Debbie does a great job in The Class. Debbie’s fans will be very proud of the work that she does in the film, and I believe she will also gain new fans who see her in our film. She’s fantastic.
What do you think it is about The Breakfast Club that has given it such a lasting legacy?
Anthony Michael Hall: I have had a long time to think about this one. My honest answer is: I think the film has a strange therapeutic effect on audiences. In a good way.
I feel it’s also about the deconstruction of stereotypes in life. When people watch The Breakfast Club, they often share with me how they relate to one character or another. I think the reason that the movie resonates with people for decades is that it touched people, and it also touched on some very deep, universal ideas which we can all relate to: of belonging, family, friendships, becoming individuals, becoming adults etc.
I believe it’s also a testament to John Hughes’ great writing, he was a truly wonderful writer who gave life, humor and real meaning and purpose to all of his characters. And in turn, he gave those things to us, as young actors who had the privilege of working with him.
What have you learned from your time in the industry that you are able to utilize in your current projects and pass on to those following in your footsteps?
Anthony Michael Hall: I’ve learned many lessons in my career. But certainly the ideas of being prepared, coming to work with a good spirit towards others, and making the most out of the opportunities that you are given to you are all hugely important. To truly appreciate the people, and the work you are given as well as the actual ‘doing’ of it.
Determination, commitment and gratitude are also key ingredients. It is important to remember that it is a true honor to be able to entertain other people as a career. Time and hard work have taught me; to cherish these things, to respect others and their contributions.
And last but not least, like life itself, it is vitally important to cherish the experiences, and the people that you get to share with on your journey.
19 October 2021 by Ryan Scott Slash Film
Anthony Michael Hall has had one heck of a career, and is one of those child stars that managed to navigate the tumultuous business that is Hollywood, coming out on the other side, still working to this day. The star, known for his work with John Hughes in “The Breakfast Club” among many other things, is getting a chance to chew the scenery in a big way in “Halloween Kills,” which recently hit theaters as well as Peacock. And it managed to do gangbusters business at the box office on its opening weekend.
For Hall, this represents his biggest role in a major franchise to date. While he did have a small part in the acclaimed “The Dark Knight,” he is getting to play Tommy Doyle in the sequel to 2018’s “Halloween.” As many fans surely know, Tommy was one of the kids Jamie Lee Curtis’ Laurie Strode was babysitting on that famed night in 1978 when Michael Myers came back to Haddonfield, Illinois. Now, we get to see Tommy all grown up, and he’s had enough of Michael’s s**t. As has the rest of the town, which brings mob mentality to the city and sets the events of director David Gordon Green’s sequel in motion.
I recently had the good fortune of speaking with Hall all about his big role in the horror flick. We discuss how he put himself in Tommy’s shoes, how this compares to his work in the “Batman” franchise, and much more.
“I think this idea of people wanting to be shocked, and why is that?”
So we’re here to talk about “Halloween Kills,” but I’ve been an enormous fan since the first time my mom sat me down and made me watch the original. My mom was that kind of mom. It was pretty cool. I’m just curious, man. What was your relationship to the franchise like before signing on to do the flick?
So when I saw it, the film came out in ’78, so I didn’t see it in the theaters. I saw it on cable when cable was new, like streaming. It had to be ’79 or ’80. That’s a distinct memory for me because my parents had left and gone out for the night. I grew up in New York City, where I’m calling you from now. So it was exciting on two levels. My parents went out for the night, I had it on cable. To be very honest, I always had a crush on Jamie Lee [Curtis]. Even then, when I saw her in that film and then years later in “Trading Places” and stuff.
So I remember those images of her walking down through the streets of Haddonfield, those big wide-angle images. She was crossing the street and getting ready for Halloween. Then that John Carpenter, such a good filmmaker, but also that soundtrack left an indelible mark, right? It really is this kind of classic franchise, 43 years and running. I do remember it because I was home alone that night and I was freaked out. I was like, this movie is incredible. It’s very intense. So I was probably 11 or 12 years old at that time.
Oh man, that is the perfect time for that movie, too. You’re just old enough to know a little better, but you’re also still young enough to be very scared by that sort of thing.
That’s a great point you just made. Absolutely, man. Absolutely. Over all of these years up in the industry — I’m not a huge horror fan. I don’t really follow the genre so much. But this franchise I have. That first viewing of it, as you said, for all of the reasons we discussed, it was fun. It was interesting.
Well, I guess that’s why I asked. Because what’s interesting, is you talk to so many people. I love horror, but you talk to so many actors and people, and Jamie’s this way, where they don’t like horror really, outside of being involved in it.
Yeah, No, it is interesting. You know what I think? I thought about this in the weeks leading up to this press tour, but there’s something… First of all, the stakes of good versus evil. Whether it’s in literature or going back to the Western turn in the movies, 50, 75 years ago. Or the Marvel films. This cost of good versus evil is great. But I think this idea of people wanting to be shocked, and why is that? Whether it’s the Day of the Dead festival in Mexico or horror films. Why is it that people unconsciously or subconsciously want that? I think it’s for just the thrill of it. It also might be some way of processing this, to be honest. Not to be too heady. Do you know what I mean?
No, totally.
The audiences love the thrill. They love that shock. So I think that you make a good point because I think it’s, especially being a part of this franchise now, I see that. Audiences really love it. Again, back to the fan base. They can tell you about every minute, every timeline, every secret. It’s such a diehard audience of followers of this franchise. It just added to it all for me. Especially with the delay. I had all this last year to kind of… I was on YouTube like a lot of people every day, and they were looking for stuff and looking for inspiration. I would track all these kind of reaction videos and people with their own YouTube shows and fans of the franchise. That got me even more pumped up, this last year waiting for the film.
So ultimately, I think it’s a good thing. The anticipation is what makes it exciting. This added wait of another year, hopefully will pay off at the box office, because there’s a real hunger and appetite for people to see it. So I’m just so pumped about that. That’s a great feeling in itself. But you’re right. The idea of why do people love scary stuff? I think it’s as important as drama or comedy, to be very honest, because it’s a ride that people want to go on and experience. David really made an audience-friendly film. Even though it sounds ironic because it’s a slasher horror film, but it really is, man. It’s an hour and 46 minutes of just a freight train coming. It’s just terrible. So I’m just so excited, those two things. We know we have a good movie that we’re all very proud of, and there’s such a great and hungry audience anticipating it. It makes it great.
“We’re not all frowning making a horror film.”
Well, you mentioned David. I remember, because I had been waiting for a while for a new one, and I remember when they said David and Danny [McBride] were doing it. I just thought they were such interesting choices. You wouldn’t have thought of them. But as someone who’s worked with them now obviously, or at least David. I don’t know if you worked with Danny too much. What was it like working with them, and what do you think they bring to it? Or specifically David, I guess.
Non-Horror Fan Anthony Michael Hall Shares What Drew Him To Halloween Kills [Interview]
Universal Pictures
BY RYAN SCOTT/OCT. 19, 2021 1:51 PM EDT
Anthony Michael Hall has had one heck of a career, and is one of those child stars that managed to navigate the tumultuous business that is Hollywood, coming out on the other side, still working to this day. The star, known for his work with John Hughes in “The Breakfast Club” among many other things, is getting a chance to chew the scenery in a big way in “Halloween Kills,” which recently hit theaters as well as Peacock. And it managed to do gangbusters business at the box office on its opening weekend.
For Hall, this represents his biggest role in a major franchise to date. While he did have a small part in the acclaimed “The Dark Knight,” he is getting to play Tommy Doyle in the sequel to 2018’s “Halloween.” As many fans surely know, Tommy was one of the kids Jamie Lee Curtis’ Laurie Strode was babysitting on that famed night in 1978 when Michael Myers came back to Haddonfield, Illinois. Now, we get to see Tommy all grown up, and he’s had enough of Michael’s s**t. As has the rest of the town, which brings mob mentality to the city and sets the events of director David Gordon Green’s sequel in motion.
I recently had the good fortune of speaking with Hall all about his big role in the horror flick. We discuss how he put himself in Tommy’s shoes, how this compares to his work in the “Batman” franchise, and much more.
“I think this idea of people wanting to be shocked, and why is that?”
Universal Pictures
So we’re here to talk about “Halloween Kills,” but I’ve been an enormous fan since the first time my mom sat me down and made me watch the original. My mom was that kind of mom. It was pretty cool. I’m just curious, man. What was your relationship to the franchise like before signing on to do the flick?
So when I saw it, the film came out in ’78, so I didn’t see it in the theaters. I saw it on cable when cable was new, like streaming. It had to be ’79 or ’80. That’s a distinct memory for me because my parents had left and gone out for the night. I grew up in New York City, where I’m calling you from now. So it was exciting on two levels. My parents went out for the night, I had it on cable. To be very honest, I always had a crush on Jamie Lee [Curtis]. Even then, when I saw her in that film and then years later in “Trading Places” and stuff.
So I remember those images of her walking down through the streets of Haddonfield, those big wide-angle images. She was crossing the street and getting ready for Halloween. Then that John Carpenter, such a good filmmaker, but also that soundtrack left an indelible mark, right? It really is this kind of classic franchise, 43 years and running. I do remember it because I was home alone that night and I was freaked out. I was like, this movie is incredible. It’s very intense. So I was probably 11 or 12 years old at that time.
Oh man, that is the perfect time for that movie, too. You’re just old enough to know a little better, but you’re also still young enough to be very scared by that sort of thing.
That’s a great point you just made. Absolutely, man. Absolutely. Over all of these years up in the industry — I’m not a huge horror fan. I don’t really follow the genre so much. But this franchise I have. That first viewing of it, as you said, for all of the reasons we discussed, it was fun. It was interesting.
Well, I guess that’s why I asked. Because what’s interesting, is you talk to so many people. I love horror, but you talk to so many actors and people, and Jamie’s this way, where they don’t like horror really, outside of being involved in it.
Yeah, No, it is interesting. You know what I think? I thought about this in the weeks leading up to this press tour, but there’s something… First of all, the stakes of good versus evil. Whether it’s in literature or going back to the Western turn in the movies, 50, 75 years ago. Or the Marvel films. This cost of good versus evil is great. But I think this idea of people wanting to be shocked, and why is that? Whether it’s the Day of the Dead festival in Mexico or horror films. Why is it that people unconsciously or subconsciously want that? I think it’s for just the thrill of it. It also might be some way of processing this, to be honest. Not to be too heady. Do you know what I mean?
No, totally.
The audiences love the thrill. They love that shock. So I think that you make a good point because I think it’s, especially being a part of this franchise now, I see that. Audiences really love it. Again, back to the fan base. They can tell you about every minute, every timeline, every secret. It’s such a diehard audience of followers of this franchise. It just added to it all for me. Especially with the delay. I had all this last year to kind of… I was on YouTube like a lot of people every day, and they were looking for stuff and looking for inspiration. I would track all these kind of reaction videos and people with their own YouTube shows and fans of the franchise. That got me even more pumped up, this last year waiting for the film.
So ultimately, I think it’s a good thing. The anticipation is what makes it exciting. This added wait of another year, hopefully will pay off at the box office, because there’s a real hunger and appetite for people to see it. So I’m just so pumped about that. That’s a great feeling in itself. But you’re right. The idea of why do people love scary stuff? I think it’s as important as drama or comedy, to be very honest, because it’s a ride that people want to go on and experience. David really made an audience-friendly film. Even though it sounds ironic because it’s a slasher horror film, but it really is, man. It’s an hour and 46 minutes of just a freight train coming. It’s just terrible. So I’m just so excited, those two things. We know we have a good movie that we’re all very proud of, and there’s such a great and hungry audience anticipating it. It makes it great.
“We’re not all frowning making a horror film.”
Universal Pictures
Well, you mentioned David. I remember, because I had been waiting for a while for a new one, and I remember when they said David and Danny [McBride] were doing it. I just thought they were such interesting choices. You wouldn’t have thought of them. But as someone who’s worked with them now obviously, or at least David. I don’t know if you worked with Danny too much. What was it like working with them, and what do you think they bring to it? Or specifically David, I guess.
Well, let me say a couple of things about that. That’s a great question. I saw a real interesting similarity in a few different ways between David Gordon Green and John Hughes, and I’ll get back to that in a second. Let me just tell you about working with both of them. I was thrilled. I was a big fan of his. I actually went looking for some of their previous HBO series. I’ve always been a huge fan of Danny’s, as well. I love Danny as a comedian. I just think he’s awesome. To me, he’s like a modern-day Bill Murray. I just love the guy.
He’s incredible.
So, you’re right. Yeah, he really is. He’s such a funny guy, such a good talent, such a humble, nice, down-to-earth kind of guy. You were correct. We didn’t have too much work time [together] but he was there the first week. And here’s why, because they’re producing “Righteous Gemstones” in South Carolina. So he was kind of going upstate, going north to oversee and run that. But that was one of the things when I first met with David back in August of 2019, Ryan, that was interesting. Was that, first of all, he shows up at the lobby bar. We’re sitting there having a beer and he was just cool. He was wearing a Bob Seger T-shirt. He was on a first-name basis with the bartender. He was just so chill and relaxed, man.
Non-Horror Fan Anthony Michael Hall Shares What Drew Him To Halloween Kills [Interview]
Universal Pictures
BY RYAN SCOTT/OCT. 19, 2021 1:51 PM EDT
Anthony Michael Hall has had one heck of a career, and is one of those child stars that managed to navigate the tumultuous business that is Hollywood, coming out on the other side, still working to this day. The star, known for his work with John Hughes in “The Breakfast Club” among many other things, is getting a chance to chew the scenery in a big way in “Halloween Kills,” which recently hit theaters as well as Peacock. And it managed to do gangbusters business at the box office on its opening weekend.
For Hall, this represents his biggest role in a major franchise to date. While he did have a small part in the acclaimed “The Dark Knight,” he is getting to play Tommy Doyle in the sequel to 2018’s “Halloween.” As many fans surely know, Tommy was one of the kids Jamie Lee Curtis’ Laurie Strode was babysitting on that famed night in 1978 when Michael Myers came back to Haddonfield, Illinois. Now, we get to see Tommy all grown up, and he’s had enough of Michael’s s**t. As has the rest of the town, which brings mob mentality to the city and sets the events of director David Gordon Green’s sequel in motion.
I recently had the good fortune of speaking with Hall all about his big role in the horror flick. We discuss how he put himself in Tommy’s shoes, how this compares to his work in the “Batman” franchise, and much more.
“I think this idea of people wanting to be shocked, and why is that?”
Universal Pictures
So we’re here to talk about “Halloween Kills,” but I’ve been an enormous fan since the first time my mom sat me down and made me watch the original. My mom was that kind of mom. It was pretty cool. I’m just curious, man. What was your relationship to the franchise like before signing on to do the flick?
So when I saw it, the film came out in ’78, so I didn’t see it in the theaters. I saw it on cable when cable was new, like streaming. It had to be ’79 or ’80. That’s a distinct memory for me because my parents had left and gone out for the night. I grew up in New York City, where I’m calling you from now. So it was exciting on two levels. My parents went out for the night, I had it on cable. To be very honest, I always had a crush on Jamie Lee [Curtis]. Even then, when I saw her in that film and then years later in “Trading Places” and stuff.
So I remember those images of her walking down through the streets of Haddonfield, those big wide-angle images. She was crossing the street and getting ready for Halloween. Then that John Carpenter, such a good filmmaker, but also that soundtrack left an indelible mark, right? It really is this kind of classic franchise, 43 years and running. I do remember it because I was home alone that night and I was freaked out. I was like, this movie is incredible. It’s very intense. So I was probably 11 or 12 years old at that time.
Oh man, that is the perfect time for that movie, too. You’re just old enough to know a little better, but you’re also still young enough to be very scared by that sort of thing.
That’s a great point you just made. Absolutely, man. Absolutely. Over all of these years up in the industry — I’m not a huge horror fan. I don’t really follow the genre so much. But this franchise I have. That first viewing of it, as you said, for all of the reasons we discussed, it was fun. It was interesting.
Well, I guess that’s why I asked. Because what’s interesting, is you talk to so many people. I love horror, but you talk to so many actors and people, and Jamie’s this way, where they don’t like horror really, outside of being involved in it.
Yeah, No, it is interesting. You know what I think? I thought about this in the weeks leading up to this press tour, but there’s something… First of all, the stakes of good versus evil. Whether it’s in literature or going back to the Western turn in the movies, 50, 75 years ago. Or the Marvel films. This cost of good versus evil is great. But I think this idea of people wanting to be shocked, and why is that? Whether it’s the Day of the Dead festival in Mexico or horror films. Why is it that people unconsciously or subconsciously want that? I think it’s for just the thrill of it. It also might be some way of processing this, to be honest. Not to be too heady. Do you know what I mean?
No, totally.
The audiences love the thrill. They love that shock. So I think that you make a good point because I think it’s, especially being a part of this franchise now, I see that. Audiences really love it. Again, back to the fan base. They can tell you about every minute, every timeline, every secret. It’s such a diehard audience of followers of this franchise. It just added to it all for me. Especially with the delay. I had all this last year to kind of… I was on YouTube like a lot of people every day, and they were looking for stuff and looking for inspiration. I would track all these kind of reaction videos and people with their own YouTube shows and fans of the franchise. That got me even more pumped up, this last year waiting for the film.
So ultimately, I think it’s a good thing. The anticipation is what makes it exciting. This added wait of another year, hopefully will pay off at the box office, because there’s a real hunger and appetite for people to see it. So I’m just so pumped about that. That’s a great feeling in itself. But you’re right. The idea of why do people love scary stuff? I think it’s as important as drama or comedy, to be very honest, because it’s a ride that people want to go on and experience. David really made an audience-friendly film. Even though it sounds ironic because it’s a slasher horror film, but it really is, man. It’s an hour and 46 minutes of just a freight train coming. It’s just terrible. So I’m just so excited, those two things. We know we have a good movie that we’re all very proud of, and there’s such a great and hungry audience anticipating it. It makes it great.
“We’re not all frowning making a horror film.”
Universal Pictures
Well, you mentioned David. I remember, because I had been waiting for a while for a new one, and I remember when they said David and Danny [McBride] were doing it. I just thought they were such interesting choices. You wouldn’t have thought of them. But as someone who’s worked with them now obviously, or at least David. I don’t know if you worked with Danny too much. What was it like working with them, and what do you think they bring to it? Or specifically David, I guess.
Well, let me say a couple of things about that. That’s a great question. I saw a real interesting similarity in a few different ways between David Gordon Green and John Hughes, and I’ll get back to that in a second. Let me just tell you about working with both of them. I was thrilled. I was a big fan of his. I actually went looking for some of their previous HBO series. I’ve always been a huge fan of Danny’s, as well. I love Danny as a comedian. I just think he’s awesome. To me, he’s like a modern-day Bill Murray. I just love the guy.
He’s incredible.
So, you’re right. Yeah, he really is. He’s such a funny guy, such a good talent, such a humble, nice, down-to-earth kind of guy. You were correct. We didn’t have too much work time [together] but he was there the first week. And here’s why, because they’re producing “Righteous Gemstones” in South Carolina. So he was kind of going upstate, going north to oversee and run that. But that was one of the things when I first met with David back in August of 2019, Ryan, that was interesting. Was that, first of all, he shows up at the lobby bar. We’re sitting there having a beer and he was just cool. He was wearing a Bob Seger T-shirt. He was on a first-name basis with the bartender. He was just so chill and relaxed, man.
So we talked about their process. He went from comedy to this franchise. But again, it goes back to the script, where he did a great job. Because I think what’s so cool is they thread all the characters as you know them now with all the kids from ’78 to 2018 to the present. They just did a phenomenal job. Danny, David and then Scott Teems, their writing partner.
So it was very cool on all those levels. Back to my thing about David and John Hughes. Their issues are paramount because they’re just such nice, affable guys. David Grew up in Dallas. He’s a humble, nice guy. So easy to talk to, so fun, and very inclusive in his process and collaborative. So when we were on set, he’s in constant conversation with not just the cinematographer, [but] the guys on the crew [as well]. They also have a very loyal crew of men and women that have worked for them for 15 years doing all these shows and stuff. That was very interesting to me and it reminded me, shot me right back to the early ’80s as a kid working with John. Because again, the parallels are this, more specifically. Great writer/director, really talented filmmaker. A writer/director people expect to see his films.
Totally.
But then again, just that niceness, that genuine goodness. He’s a great guy, man. He was really fun to work with. Also, wants to laugh, too. So it wasn’t all seriousness. We’re not all frowning making a horror film. We were laughing our asses off, too, sometimes. But then also these distinct departments. Christopher Nelson with the special effects and created the mask. Michael Simmons, our cinematographer. Great crew. Then all these powerhouse women. Jamie Lee, Judy Greer, or Andi [Matichak]. Even Kyle [Richards] was fantastic in the film. Nancy Stephens. Just a real privilege.
Non-Horror Fan Anthony Michael Hall Shares What Drew Him To Halloween Kills [Interview]
Universal Pictures
BY RYAN SCOTT/OCT. 19, 2021 1:51 PM EDT
Anthony Michael Hall has had one heck of a career, and is one of those child stars that managed to navigate the tumultuous business that is Hollywood, coming out on the other side, still working to this day. The star, known for his work with John Hughes in “The Breakfast Club” among many other things, is getting a chance to chew the scenery in a big way in “Halloween Kills,” which recently hit theaters as well as Peacock. And it managed to do gangbusters business at the box office on its opening weekend.
For Hall, this represents his biggest role in a major franchise to date. While he did have a small part in the acclaimed “The Dark Knight,” he is getting to play Tommy Doyle in the sequel to 2018’s “Halloween.” As many fans surely know, Tommy was one of the kids Jamie Lee Curtis’ Laurie Strode was babysitting on that famed night in 1978 when Michael Myers came back to Haddonfield, Illinois. Now, we get to see Tommy all grown up, and he’s had enough of Michael’s s**t. As has the rest of the town, which brings mob mentality to the city and sets the events of director David Gordon Green’s sequel in motion.
I recently had the good fortune of speaking with Hall all about his big role in the horror flick. We discuss how he put himself in Tommy’s shoes, how this compares to his work in the “Batman” franchise, and much more.
“I think this idea of people wanting to be shocked, and why is that?”
Universal Pictures
So we’re here to talk about “Halloween Kills,” but I’ve been an enormous fan since the first time my mom sat me down and made me watch the original. My mom was that kind of mom. It was pretty cool. I’m just curious, man. What was your relationship to the franchise like before signing on to do the flick?
So when I saw it, the film came out in ’78, so I didn’t see it in the theaters. I saw it on cable when cable was new, like streaming. It had to be ’79 or ’80. That’s a distinct memory for me because my parents had left and gone out for the night. I grew up in New York City, where I’m calling you from now. So it was exciting on two levels. My parents went out for the night, I had it on cable. To be very honest, I always had a crush on Jamie Lee [Curtis]. Even then, when I saw her in that film and then years later in “Trading Places” and stuff.
So I remember those images of her walking down through the streets of Haddonfield, those big wide-angle images. She was crossing the street and getting ready for Halloween. Then that John Carpenter, such a good filmmaker, but also that soundtrack left an indelible mark, right? It really is this kind of classic franchise, 43 years and running. I do remember it because I was home alone that night and I was freaked out. I was like, this movie is incredible. It’s very intense. So I was probably 11 or 12 years old at that time.
Oh man, that is the perfect time for that movie, too. You’re just old enough to know a little better, but you’re also still young enough to be very scared by that sort of thing.
That’s a great point you just made. Absolutely, man. Absolutely. Over all of these years up in the industry — I’m not a huge horror fan. I don’t really follow the genre so much. But this franchise I have. That first viewing of it, as you said, for all of the reasons we discussed, it was fun. It was interesting.
Well, I guess that’s why I asked. Because what’s interesting, is you talk to so many people. I love horror, but you talk to so many actors and people, and Jamie’s this way, where they don’t like horror really, outside of being involved in it.
Yeah, No, it is interesting. You know what I think? I thought about this in the weeks leading up to this press tour, but there’s something… First of all, the stakes of good versus evil. Whether it’s in literature or going back to the Western turn in the movies, 50, 75 years ago. Or the Marvel films. This cost of good versus evil is great. But I think this idea of people wanting to be shocked, and why is that? Whether it’s the Day of the Dead festival in Mexico or horror films. Why is it that people unconsciously or subconsciously want that? I think it’s for just the thrill of it. It also might be some way of processing this, to be honest. Not to be too heady. Do you know what I mean?
No, totally.
The audiences love the thrill. They love that shock. So I think that you make a good point because I think it’s, especially being a part of this franchise now, I see that. Audiences really love it. Again, back to the fan base. They can tell you about every minute, every timeline, every secret. It’s such a diehard audience of followers of this franchise. It just added to it all for me. Especially with the delay. I had all this last year to kind of… I was on YouTube like a lot of people every day, and they were looking for stuff and looking for inspiration. I would track all these kind of reaction videos and people with their own YouTube shows and fans of the franchise. That got me even more pumped up, this last year waiting for the film.
So ultimately, I think it’s a good thing. The anticipation is what makes it exciting. This added wait of another year, hopefully will pay off at the box office, because there’s a real hunger and appetite for people to see it. So I’m just so pumped about that. That’s a great feeling in itself. But you’re right. The idea of why do people love scary stuff? I think it’s as important as drama or comedy, to be very honest, because it’s a ride that people want to go on and experience. David really made an audience-friendly film. Even though it sounds ironic because it’s a slasher horror film, but it really is, man. It’s an hour and 46 minutes of just a freight train coming. It’s just terrible. So I’m just so excited, those two things. We know we have a good movie that we’re all very proud of, and there’s such a great and hungry audience anticipating it. It makes it great.
“We’re not all frowning making a horror film.”
Universal Pictures
Well, you mentioned David. I remember, because I had been waiting for a while for a new one, and I remember when they said David and Danny [McBride] were doing it. I just thought they were such interesting choices. You wouldn’t have thought of them. But as someone who’s worked with them now obviously, or at least David. I don’t know if you worked with Danny too much. What was it like working with them, and what do you think they bring to it? Or specifically David, I guess.
Well, let me say a couple of things about that. That’s a great question. I saw a real interesting similarity in a few different ways between David Gordon Green and John Hughes, and I’ll get back to that in a second. Let me just tell you about working with both of them. I was thrilled. I was a big fan of his. I actually went looking for some of their previous HBO series. I’ve always been a huge fan of Danny’s, as well. I love Danny as a comedian. I just think he’s awesome. To me, he’s like a modern-day Bill Murray. I just love the guy.
He’s incredible.
So, you’re right. Yeah, he really is. He’s such a funny guy, such a good talent, such a humble, nice, down-to-earth kind of guy. You were correct. We didn’t have too much work time [together] but he was there the first week. And here’s why, because they’re producing “Righteous Gemstones” in South Carolina. So he was kind of going upstate, going north to oversee and run that. But that was one of the things when I first met with David back in August of 2019, Ryan, that was interesting. Was that, first of all, he shows up at the lobby bar. We’re sitting there having a beer and he was just cool. He was wearing a Bob Seger T-shirt. He was on a first-name basis with the bartender. He was just so chill and relaxed, man.
So we talked about their process. He went from comedy to this franchise. But again, it goes back to the script, where he did a great job. Because I think what’s so cool is they thread all the characters as you know them now with all the kids from ’78 to 2018 to the present. They just did a phenomenal job. Danny, David and then Scott Teems, their writing partner.
So it was very cool on all those levels. Back to my thing about David and John Hughes. Their issues are paramount because they’re just such nice, affable guys. David Grew up in Dallas. He’s a humble, nice guy. So easy to talk to, so fun, and very inclusive in his process and collaborative. So when we were on set, he’s in constant conversation with not just the cinematographer, [but] the guys on the crew [as well]. They also have a very loyal crew of men and women that have worked for them for 15 years doing all these shows and stuff. That was very interesting to me and it reminded me, shot me right back to the early ’80s as a kid working with John. Because again, the parallels are this, more specifically. Great writer/director, really talented filmmaker. A writer/director people expect to see his films.
Totally.
But then again, just that niceness, that genuine goodness. He’s a great guy, man. He was really fun to work with. Also, wants to laugh, too. So it wasn’t all seriousness. We’re not all frowning making a horror film. We were laughing our asses off, too, sometimes. But then also these distinct departments. Christopher Nelson with the special effects and created the mask. Michael Simmons, our cinematographer. Great crew. Then all these powerhouse women. Jamie Lee, Judy Greer, or Andi [Matichak]. Even Kyle [Richards] was fantastic in the film. Nancy Stephens. Just a real privilege.
It was one of those unique experiences in my career, Ryan, where everything was coming together, all the elements are there. It’s so cool when you work with talented people that are really impressive as people. They’re humble and down-to-earth and fun-loving, too. So it was a great experience for all these reasons.
“They transcend just being victims or survivors and it goes to this other place.”
You’re playing Tommy Doyle, who was a kid from the original as fans will surely know. The big thing is this is sort of examining the trauma of that town and these people. If I may, how did you put yourself in the shoes of that traumatized kid, and then come back and have to play him as an adult?
I’ll try to make it as spoiler-free as possible. Here’s what’s interesting about the arc of Tommy. As a kid that you know, he and Kyle Richard’s character, which is Lindsey Wallace, are kids that Jamie Lee’s character babysits, and then their other babysitter gets murdered.
Yes.
So what’s interesting, is he goes through being bullied by Lonnie [Elam]. So he’s a kid who’s bullied, and at the same time, is experiencing, and Jamie Lee’s character, Laurie, is experiencing the threat of my history through his eyes as well. As well as Kyle’s, right? Lindsey Wallace’s character. So for me, that arc was very interesting to go from and see who had that experience, who also was the first one who introduced that line of the charter of the Boogeyman, that comes from Tommy Wallace in the original. What I did is I set all that aside, because my discussions with David led me early on to believe that Tommy was really going to be the hero of the show.
Basically, everybody decides to rise up. They decide to fight. They decide to unify. So they transcend just being victims or survivors and it goes to this other place. In fairness to my other actors and the other co-workers on the film, that’s honestly the arc that he gave to all of us. So everybody decides the buck stops here and we’re going to put an end to this. We’re going to rise up, we’re going to unify and create a united front and seek this guy out. So you have this really interesting convention in the context of good versus evil, where the whole town says, all right, that’s it. Now, it’s so funny because in some of the recent interviews, Jamie Lee, she references this classic movie from the seventies called “Network” with Peter Finch.
Yeah, I love “Network.”
Right? Great film. So it is that classic thing of everybody, remember, “I’m sick and tired, I’m not going to take it anymore.”
Yeah. Totally.
That’s really what the town of Haddonfield does. So, there are echoes and shades of “Network” there as well. But back to the action. It just takes off. You’ll see it when you see it tonight. I think you’ll approve and enjoy. It’s an hour and 46 minutes, and it’s just a thrill ride, honest to God it is. It’s a freight train because it just keeps coming at you, this movie.
Obviously, doing what I do for a living, movies are a big part of my life. When this was the one that got delayed [last year], it was the one that I was the most bummed about because I love the 2018 one so much where I was just like, damn it.
Oh cool. Right. Wait another year.
Yeah.
Also what’s funny, too, Ryan, is that contributes. It adds to the build-up. The fact that there’s such a nice anticipation for it, it’s so cool to be part of a franchise when you know people are waiting to see it. That’s new for me because other than “The Dark Knight,” I haven’t been a part of a huge franchise like this. So it’s very exciting and new for me, too. As I was joking with you, what’s been fun this last year is just going on YouTube and finding all these fan sites and YouTube shows, and these citizen journalists who do these reaction videos.
Totally.
It’s given me an opportunity to go to “Halloween” University. But I’m learning about all the 11 other films. They have different actors and characters. Man, these fans are so diehard. It’s very exciting to unleash it on them. At home a couple of weeks ago, I texted David to see how he was doing. He happened to be in Venice, Italy right before the premiere. He was too cool and warm and usual, and he said, “Oh, I’m here with Jamie Lee.” I just sent them love, and he goes, “I can’t wait to unleash this movie on the world.” I would quote David there. He said that. I can’t wait for it to be unleashed this Friday.
“I would do it again in a second.”
That’s awesome. Well, I don’t want to take too much of your time, man, but you did touch on something I did want to ask you about. You were in “The Dark Knight.” Now you’re in “Halloween.” These are two legendary franchises. Your role in this movie appears to be more prominent compared to your role in “The Dark Knight.” How would you compare those two experiences? Being associated with two of these touchstones of pop culture in such wildly different ways?
Honestly, it’s humbling. It really is. I’m very grateful for it because I had a very auspicious start back in the early ’80s, just a kid with John Hughes, and the fact that those films have found an audience. He became such a great director and of comedy. That part of my career was a great entry point. It was an incredible way to start. As you said, with these two franchises, I was over the moon.
I was finishing up my sixth season of “The Dead Zone” when “The Dark Knight” came up, and I had auditioned months before that. So when I got the call to play that part, I was really excited. I remember going over to Europe, I had an artist friend of mine had been commissioned to do a painting of “The Dark Knight.” I mean, the “Batman Begins” poster, where he’s sitting there, standing in silhouette with all the bats flying around.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
I had a buddy of mine paint that, so I gave that as a gift to Chris Nolan. I flew to London and I gave that to him and his wife as a gift as a thank you. Then we started production. That was actually day one shot on “The Dark Knight” all those years [ago in] 2007. So to your question, yeah. I had the same level of excitement, because again, as a kid I wasn’t really into comic books. Batman I loved since the early ’70s. I used to watch the TV show, which was really kind of fun and funny. But I always loved Batman. So I say very privileged, very honored, and very humbled to be a part of it. It goes back to that human level, just working with such cool people. They really were down to earth. There really was great synergy.
Oftentimes, people they say these things when they’re introduced, but you don’t know if it’s legit. But it really was. On “The Dark Knight,” a great experience as well. I got to shoot in London and Chicago, and I got to meet actors that I admired growing up, like Gary Oldman, and I’ve always respected Christian Bale a great deal. He’s a very talented guy. Heath [Ledger] was just in the zone. He was phenomenal, as we all know. He was great at that part. So another great experience. But this one is like times ten. I’m even more amped.
In theory, because horror franchises are what they are, “Halloween Ends” is coming up. Should the opportunity arise, would you come back as Tommy in the next one?
In a split second, I would say yes. Absolutely. It would be a privilege. I would do it again in a second. What I explained to you today about working with David, and just being fans of him and Danny. I love those guys. It was a really good work experience. Interesting, too, not a long shoot. It was only about a six-week shoot. It went pretty quick. We had nights, too. It was mostly nights. so I enjoyed all that.
Zack Sharf
Oct 20, 2021 10:55 am
@zsharf
“I recognized it as the death mask they had made for me,” Shatner said of the first time he saw the Michael Myers mask. “They made a mask of my face on ‘Star Trek’ out of clay so I would not have to be available for the prosthetics they would have to put on my face to look old or evil or whatever it was they were making me look like. So somewhere along the line, someone got that mask and made a mask of it for [the holiday] Halloween.”
Michael Myers recently returned in David Gordon Green’s “Halloween Kills,” which opened to a strong $50 million at the box office despite Universal also streaming the title on Peacock. The big bad will return in Green’s “Halloween Ends,” which will conclude the most recent trilogy of “Halloween” movies. Reviews for “Halloween Kills” were not favorable, with IndieWire calling the sequel “bad fan service” in a C+ review.
IndieWire’s review reads: “‘Halloween Kills’ inadvertently opens a window into its own screenwriting challenge, forcing you to ask: How do you make characters pop just enough to liven up a scene or two, but not too much that the viewer will feel torn about seeing them impaled on a halogen light bar? How do you weave a tapestry with one hand while tearing it apart with another? The answer would be: somewhat awkwardly.”
“Halloween Kills” is now playing in theaters and streaming in Peacock.
Veteran actor Anthony Michael Hall joins Vespe and Wampler to talk about the iconic Halloween series, how Stephen King is similar to John Hughes, his wild child years with Robert Downey Jr, his hatred of hats and even some good talk about working with Harold Ramis, Chevy Chase and the late, great John Candy.
The final Halloween Kills guest graces the Kingcast stage this week to take a close look at The Dead Zone book, David Cronenberg film and the long-running early aughts TV series adaptation.
BY GIL MACIAS/OCT. 20, 2021 8:00 AM EDT/UPDATED: OCT. 20, 2021 2:49 PM EDT
What do you get when you cross a jock, a nerd, a rebel, a princess, and a socially awkward outcast? You get “The Breakfast Club,” of course — the seminal, high school drama of the 1980s from the late writer-director John Hughes. The film helped give birth to the Brat Pack, a group of influential young actors who received top billing in a variety of cherished teen movies of the same era such as “Sixteen Candles” and “St. Elmo’s Fire.” One of the core members of the Brat Pack is Breakfast Clubber Anthony Michael Hall, who went on to star in other John Hughes-written-and-helmed classics such as “Weird Science.”
But did you know there was once talk of a sequel to “The Breakfast Club”? Hall is currently duking it out with Michael Myers in “Halloween Kills,” but during an exclusive interview with Looper, we also picked his brain about the success of “Cobra Kai” and asked how he felt about the idea of reviving of one of his many John Hughes classics in the same vein.
“Well, out of deference and respect for John Hughes, I don’t know if that will ever happen because he’s no longer with us,” Hall told Looper. “But I can tell you this — the last time I had the privilege of speaking to John Hughes was in 1987 or 1988, I think. I had just finished ‘Johnny Be Good.’ And what happened was he called me with John Candy on the phone, which was really cool. The three of us wound up hanging out for about two hours on the phone. And I’ll tell you at that point John did mention the idea of doing a sequel to ‘The Breakfast Club.'”
He added, “I think what was interesting to him was to see where we would be if we did come back together as so-called adults. How would we deal with each other? Or how would they progress into their professional lives and with families and the whole thing? So that was something that John Hughes was entertaining.”
Sadly, “The Lunch Club” — or whatever it might’ve been called — never went beyond small talk. Maybe that’s a good thing. However, Hall went on to tease something he has in the pipeline, and it sounds like the closest we’re going to get to a “Breakfast Club” follow-up. Coincidentally, there’s some connective tissue with “Cobra Kai.”
“I produced a film this past summer called ‘The Class’ and it’s not a remake of ‘The Breakfast Club,’ but it’s sort of a reimagining,” said Hall. “It’s a writer-director named Nick Celozzi. He wrote a really great script. And so, in this new version we have, it’s funny you mentioned ‘Cobra Kai.’ We have Hannah Kepple from ‘Cobra Kai’ in it and Charlie Gillespie, who has a show called ‘Julie and the Phantoms’ on Netflix and then Lyric Ross from ‘This Is Us.’ So this time it’s six kids instead of five and Debbie Gibson and I are the two teachers. So I play the assistant principal but there’s shades of Paul Gleason there from the original and then Debbie plays their drama teacher.”
It may not be the sequel some are hoping for, but most of the core ingredients are there: an original Brat Pack star playing a role? Check. High school setting? Check. Angsty teen characters? Check. Hall went on to explain the show’s setup, and while there’s no sign of a Saturday detention hall as the key backdrop, it sounds like these six teens are all facing a common dilemma together.
“The last thing I’ll give you is that it opens with her giving them a test — they’ve all failed her class previously,” Hall teased. “So they have to do an improv and basically come into class and present a character to the rest of the students, and so it unfolds from there. And I have to tell you, the script is so good because the stakes for all the kids individually are much sharper. They’re very keeping with modern day situations and stresses and things that people deal with. So it was a really interesting project. So okay, it’s not a remake but it’s an updated sort of ‘Breakfast Club’ for a new generation.”
“Halloween Kills” is currently playing in theaters and streaming on Peacock with a premium subscription.
By Brian Truitt, USA TODAY
Anthony Michael Hall may have starred in a bunch of seminal pop-culture classics, from the original “Vacation” to John Hughes’ most beloved works, but he missed out on the rise of the slasher movie in the late 1970s and ‘80s.
Four decades later, Hall’s making up for lost time picking up a baseball bat and facing off with iconic villain Michael Myers in “Halloween Kills” (in theaters and streaming on Peacock now). A year-long pandemic delay in the film’s release gave the 53-year-old “Brat Pack” star extra time to go to “Halloween school” and deep dive on the horror franchise’s die-hard fan base via Google and YouTube.
Hall first saw the original “Halloween” on cable when he was about 11 or 12, at a time when the young actor already had quite a few commercials and stage work on his growing resume. “I remember the night distinctly because my parents went out and when you’re that young, it’s a big deal,” says Hall, who loved the “very simplistic, very primal aspects that (director John) Carpenter created.”
After the 2018 hit “Halloween” caught up with heroine Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis) 40 years after her fateful night of babysitting turned bloody in Carpenter’s original “Halloween,” the new “Halloween Kills” sequel reintroduces more personalities including Tommy Doyle (Hall). The role was played by Brian Andrews in the first film and Paul Rudd in 1995’s “Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers,” but Hall takes on Tommy as a grownup community leader in Haddonfield.
Hall describes him as “full throttle”: “He’s a fighter and he’s scrappy and I love that he’s kind of in the eye of the storm.”
In the beginning of “Halloween Kills,” which picks up where the 2018 film ends, Tommy leads an annual toast at a local bar to Laurie and the survivors as well as the victims of the 1978 slaughter that forever altered their lives. It’s a “meaningful and important” moment that “gives the audience a refresher on the mythology of Myers,” Hall says. But when they hear the iconic villain has returned, the townsfolk “make this very simple and powerful choice to fight and to unify and to take (Michael) head on.”
Anthony Michael Hall
Anthony Michael Hall
USA TODAY
Anthony Michael Hall didn’t get a horror boost after ’80s stardom. But it’s here now in ‘Halloween Kills’
Brian Truitt, USA TODAY
Sun, October 17, 2021, 1:06 PM
In this article:
Anthony Michael Hall
Anthony Michael Hall
American actor, producer and director
Anthony Michael Hall may have starred in a bunch of seminal pop-culture classics, from the original “Vacation” to John Hughes’ most beloved works, but he missed out on the rise of the slasher movie in the late 1970s and ‘80s.
Four decades later, Hall’s making up for lost time picking up a baseball bat and facing off with iconic villain Michael Myers in “Halloween Kills” (in theaters and streaming on Peacock now). A year-long pandemic delay in the film’s release gave the 53-year-old “Brat Pack” star extra time to go to “Halloween school” and deep dive on the horror franchise’s die-hard fan base via Google and YouTube.
Hall first saw the original “Halloween” on cable when he was about 11 or 12, at a time when the young actor already had quite a few commercials and stage work on his growing resume. “I remember the night distinctly because my parents went out and when you’re that young, it’s a big deal,” says Hall, who loved the “very simplistic, very primal aspects that (director John) Carpenter created.”
Review: ‘Halloween Kills’ is a step back for Jamie Lee Curtis’ stab-happy horror franchise
Tommy Doyle (Anthony Michael Hall) leads the hunt for masked killer Michael Myers in "Halloween Kills."
Tommy Doyle (Anthony Michael Hall) leads the hunt for masked killer Michael Myers in “Halloween Kills.”
After the 2018 hit “Halloween” caught up with heroine Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis) 40 years after her fateful night of babysitting turned bloody in Carpenter’s original “Halloween,” the new “Halloween Kills” sequel reintroduces more personalities including Tommy Doyle (Hall). The role was played by Brian Andrews in the first film and Paul Rudd in 1995’s “Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers,” but Hall takes on Tommy as a grownup community leader in Haddonfield.
Hall describes him as “full throttle”: “He’s a fighter and he’s scrappy and I love that he’s kind of in the eye of the storm.”
In the beginning of “Halloween Kills,” which picks up where the 2018 film ends, Tommy leads an annual toast at a local bar to Laurie and the survivors as well as the victims of the 1978 slaughter that forever altered their lives. It’s a “meaningful and important” moment that “gives the audience a refresher on the mythology of Myers,” Hall says. But when they hear the iconic villain has returned, the townsfolk “make this very simple and powerful choice to fight and to unify and to take (Michael) head on.”
‘I’ll say goodbye when I’m dead’: Jamie Lee Curtis talks a hospitalized Laurie in ‘Halloween Kills’
Anthony Michael Hall (far left) poses with Judy Greer, director David Gordon Green and Jamie Lee Curtis at the Hollywood costume party premiere of "Halloween Kills."
Anthony Michael Hall (far left) poses with Judy Greer, director David Gordon Green and Jamie Lee Curtis at the Hollywood costume party premiere of “Halloween Kills.”
Tommy’s also the one who has to deliver the grim news to a hospitalized Laurie, who is suffering from a bloody stab wound courtesy of Michael, that her plan to trap him and send him to a fiery grave didn’t work.
“When he says to her, ‘You protected me when I was a little boy and I’m going to protect you,’ that was very emotional and powerful,” Curtis recalls about Hall’s “beautifully done” performance.
He was “the right choice” to play Tommy, says co-star Judy Greer, a “giant, enormous fan” of Hall’s early movies. “If you can’t get the people who originated the roles, then it’s really great to cast people who should have or could have.”
Curtis and other rising stars of the time, including Kevin Bacon (“Friday the 13th”) and Johnny Depp (“A Nightmare on Elm Street”), had early breakthrough parts in horror films, but for Hall, scary movies “really just didn’t come my way, to be honest” after his run of hit comedies like “Sixteen Candles” and “The Breakfast Club.” But “I would’ve certainly entertained it,” says Hall, who sampled the genre in a 2000s USA Network sci-fi show based on Stephen King’s “The Dead Zone.”
Hall’s next project is another throwback: He produces and stars in the coming-of-age film “The Class,” a reimagining of “The Breakfast Club”with Hall coming full circle as the assistant principal and Debbie Gibson as the drama teacher of six students forced to come to school on a Saturday and do presentations to pass her class. “I think John Hughes would be very proud,” says Hall, who threw “a couple of little things” into his character inspired by late friend Paul Gleason, the original hard-case assistant principal in “Breakfast Club.”
Not unlike his “Halloween Kills” character, from a young age Hall had “determination and that kind of fighting spirit,” says the actor, who also stars in the upcoming Netflix action movie “Trigger Warning” with Jessica Alba. But it wasn’t until he started working with Hughes as a teenager when he was inspired to entertain “thoughts about my own future and just thinking, OK, I’m gonna just really go for it and really make it my career and my craft.”
He can relate to Tommy, but looking back on his famous early roles, his “Breakfast Club” geek Brian Johnson was the biggest acting stretch for Hall: “I wasn’t a nerd. I wasn’t a shy kid. I wasn’t a great student.”
He veered closer to Farmer Ted, who wooed Molly Ringwald in “Sixteen Candles,” and Gary Wallace, who Frankenstein’d dream woman Kelly LeBrock into existence in “Weird Science.” Hall’s wavy “Weird Science” locks were Hughes’ idea, by the way. “I’ll see young kids today, like skater kids, and a lot of them are rocking that haircut. Right on, man.”
BY PAMELA MCCLINTOCK
David Gordon Green’s Halloween Kills is doing killer business at the box office, where it is headed for the biggest debut of the pandemic era for a horror film or a movie opening simultaneously on the big screen and a streaming service.
Filmmaker David Gordon Green’s R-rated slasher pic earned $22.9 million on Friday from 3,705 theaters in North America for a projected $50 million weekend. Halloween Kills also launched Friday on Universal’s sister streaming service Peacock.
Day-and-date releases, a controversial practice, have become commonplace during the pandemic as media conglomerates race to grow their streaming services and collapse the theatrical window. To date, Godzilla vs. Kong boasts the biggest domestic box office opening for a dual release ($31.6 million).
Saturday AM Update: Refresh for more analysis and chart There’s something interesting here with the overperformance of Universal/Blumhouse/Miramax’s Halloween Kills: the pic, while well ahead of its mid $30Ms-$40M projection, is arguably the highest opening we’ve seen during the pandemic for a theatrical-day-and-date, non-transactional title with $50.16M, the 10th highest for October. This doesn’t include Disney+ Premier fare whereby those subscribers have to fork over an additional $29.99 to watch a title. And all of this bodes well for Warner Bros. and Legendary’s domestic launch of Dune next weekend, also on HBO Max, as a great opening could raise that pic’s profile heading into Oscar season. The big opening here is also a testament to Universal’s big marketing machine to open this film. The pic was blasted through the media conglom’s Symphony program, meaning it’s blitzed throughout all the Comcast NBCUniversal ancillaries, thus creating a situation where tracking was extremely hot well before the move was made to go date and date with this Blumhouse/Miramax sequel.
BY SAM STONE
In the small town of Haddonfield, evil will rise again for the eagerly anticipated slasher sequel Halloween Kills. Young Tommy Doyle is no longer sitting on the sidelines when Michael Myers carves a new rampage through his hometown. Portrayed by fan-favorite actor Anthony Michael Hall, Tommy organizes the people of Haddonfield to track down and kill The Shape for good as the holiday carnage quickly and gruesomely escalates. For Hall, the opportunity to join a major franchise in such a prominent role was a genuine thrill, and he praised filmmaker David Gordon Green and the rest of the cast and crew for creating such a creatively rewarding environment.
In an exclusive interview with CBR, Hall opened up about joining the Halloween franchise as Tommy and reflected on some of his biggest projects from his extensive career, including working with Christopher Nolan on The Dark Knight, Tim Burton on Edward Scissorhands and John Hughes on a number of classic films. He also teased his role in the upcoming Netflix original film Trigger Warning, where he appears opposite Jessica Alba.
CBR: If Halloween was about confronting and overcoming trauma, Halloween Kills is about trauma affecting an entire community, and your character is right at the heart of that. How was it getting the role of Tommy Doyle for this?
Anthony Michael Hall: Honestly, I was over the moon! The way that it happened was I have a great management company called Untitled Entertainment, and Mitch Mason and Jason Weinberg are my reps… They set this up and I requested to meet David [Gordon Green] from the outset of this. The reason why is I wanted to get a sense of his objectives and to get to know the guy and he was a great guy. I really enjoyed the meeting. That happened back in August 2019 and I was really happy to make that introduction and had a great time speaking with him, and I did my screen test after that.
We talked for about an hour and I got a good sense of how he worked and he couldn’t have been cooler, showing up in a Bob Seger t-shirt and knowing the bartender in hotel lobby bar on a first name basis; he’s just such a nice, affable guy, really easygoing and fun. We had a great talk for about an hour together, I thanked him and went about my way and did my screen test within a week after that and was just so excited when I got this part.
I had never been a part of a franchise, with the exception of The Dark Knight, where I had a really solid role but a small one. To be plugged into this universe is an amazing thing and I’m really pumped about it. What’s funny is, with the delay because of the pandemic, is that it gave me an extra year and I’m YouTube looking for inspiration and researching things and I’ve been plugging into all these reaction videos. Whether it was the test screenings from last year or people getting to see the trailers, I was avidly scouring the internet looking for input to see what people thought of the film. [laughs]
It’s a really unique and wonderful thing and huge to be a part of this. It means the world to me. I’ve never been a part of such a big film and one that is so highly anticipated by international audiences. The fact that there’s a real appetite and anticipation for the film makes it that much more fun because we all know what David did here. He did a phenomenal job and this film is really a thrill ride and I’m just over the moon about it because I know that we made a great film that is really audience-friendly in this context. [laughs]
This is a juicy part, Tommy is the exposed, raw nerve of the film and a lot of what happens in the movie is informed by what he does. How did you approach the role with that in mind?
Hall: Even if you’re playing the villain, you can’t villainize him in your mind. So one of the things I got from David immediately, though he didn’t use this word, was that Tommy was a hero fighting for good. I want to say this to put this in context, for all my fellow actors, he gives us the same arc. What this screenplay does from Scott Teems, Danny McBride and David is they effortlessly thread those characters from the original film to the 2018 version and [Halloween Kills] picks up whether the other one left off. I think that’s a really remarkable thing about David, particularly as a filmmaker because he does that so effortlessly. He reintroduces these characters and we all love them but, to be fair to my fellow actors, we all share that arc.
We go from being victims to being survivors, unifying and becoming fighters and we’re all countering this dark force, fighting for good. I never looked at it like we were trying to be some mindless mob — just the opposite: I think everyone is clear-cut in what they’re doing, unifying as friends and neighbors saying they’re not going to take this anymore. I think Haddonfield really embodies what Peter Finch said in Network about being sick and tired and not going to take it anymore and rise up and fight for good.
The pedigree behind Halloween Kills is impressive, with both John Carpenter as an executive producer along with Jamie Lee Curtis, who is front and center. How was it having that on set?
Hall: It was amazing! I never got to meet Mr. Carpenter and will hopefully meet him at the premiere, but our brilliant team leaders Jason Blum, Jamie Lee, David and Danny were able to join forces with Mr. Carpenter. He’s done this incredible, new soundtrack that also harkens back to the original. All the departments on the films, like cinematographer Michael Simmonds or Christopher Nelson, who created the mask, there’s a real sense of community on set. David and Danny have this core group of great men and women on their crew and many have worked with them for fifteen years on all their shows, so they have a real nice shorthand.
That’s what I plugged into immediately, enjoying that in those quiet moments, all these great, creative talents were with us: David, Danny, the cinematographer, camera and VFX and all these great actors I got to work with. Jamie Lee is awesome and has a great spirit about her, really caring for people, and it shines through when you work with her. Andi Matichak and Judy Greer are just natural, great actresses but also have a lot of charm interpersonally as was Kyle Richards. We had a great experience and it was a relatively short shoot at only about six weeks, shot back in September through October of 2019.
Since you invoked Batman, I have to ask: Your character in The Dark Knight gets to share screen time with both Batman and the Joker and how was it being on set with Heath Ledger while he was in his full getup as the Joker?
Hall: He was in the zone, he really was; he was brilliant. When I delve back into that in my memories, I asked Chris Nolan some questions — I’ve gotten to work with some great writer-directors like Tim Burton and John, and Chris Nolan is up there, as is David — one things Chris said was that right away he knew Christian Bale was the right guy for Batman. I’m a huge Christian Bale fan and I was a fan of Heath’s before going into this film.
I was very impressed to see his level of focus and concentration. Two points of inspiration for Heath as the Joker were Sid Vicious from the Sex Pistols and Malcolm McDowell’s performance in A Clockwork Orange. In the film, when the Joker is in jail, the way Nolan shoots and positions it, with his head down and tilted with that thousand-mile stare, these details became something I was aware of even on days when I wasn’t on set.
I found it incredible to work with Nolan. He’s brilliant and there’d always be a small group of people following him around like he was the Pied Piper in between setups because he had such a grasp, technically, in his filmmaking, and such a great director with actors that he really carves out time to have those one-on-one conversations to really cultivate the character together. He was great to work with.
Watching Heath was inspiring, he was in the zone when we made this film and when I think back, Gary Oldman is one of my favorite actors and I got to hang out with him along with Aaron Eckhart and Maggie Gyllenhaal. We were all swept up in the fun of that. I felt that to greater extent with Halloween Kills because you’re a part of something that audiences love and adds a real energy to the crew and the work.
In talking about John Hughes, you got to work with him at the height of his ubiquity so early in your own career and on multiple projects. What were some of the biggest lessons you got from him with your career?
Hall: One of the things I’ve told almost everyone when I talk about John is the sense of collaboration and joy. He was laughing all the time and David does as well; I really have to draw parallels, not just because I’m promoting [Halloween Kills], but he really did remind me of Hughes in a lot of ways. The way John was, we were always conspiring together and we would shoot scenes as they were written for three or four takes and then digress and we would play and come up with stuff where I’d improv and we’d come up with plenty. He created an environment where that was okay and he did it for the other actors as well.
The joy that he would work with, always laughing and conspiring and in conversation with one of us behind-the-scenes between takes, figuring out ways to improve upon a scene, embellish and make it better and funnier. That would be my first takeaway with John. That’s a great thing that I learned, that idea that no matter how talented you think you are, it’s always a collaboration when you’re a film or TV show. It literally takes a village to make any good project, so I think that sense of working humility, where he was able to take ideas from everybody.
To draw that same line with David Gordon Green, he’s a natural writer and director and auteur and John had all those natural qualities that David had as well, that ability to be collaborative, genuinely care and be in discussion, not just with your crew but that it’s an ongoing relationship you’re cultivating with him.
You also just wrapped a really prominent part in the upcoming film Trigger Warning. Is there anything you can share about that?
Hall: I’ve worked with some female directors but not enough yet, to be honest. There’s a wonderful woman named Mouly Surya from Indonesia and she made a great film a couple years ago called Marlina the Murderer in Four Acts, which is just an incredible film and very much inspired by [Clint] Eastwood and [Sergio] Leone, shot like a Western in the classic way.
This woman undergoes a harrowing experience and, like Kill Bill, she just starts kicking ass. [laughs] She’s a very talented filmmaker. It was great meeting her and she was kind enough to cast me in this film. The other great thing is we had Zoe White, who shot The Handmaid’s Tale, a really brilliant cinematographer and coupled with Thunder Road Pictures, which did the John Wick films. They have access to a stunt team called the 87eleven who are just phenomenal, they do all the stunts, fight work and planning.
I’ve never worked with a team that was so prepared and I’m excited about that film. Jessica [Alba] is amazing and I kind of play a villain, but Jessica is the hero and this a great opportunity and could be a franchise for her. I was really impressed by her. She was really nice and easygoing to work with and can go from effortlessly mothering her kids on set to taking care of stuff with her huge company and then flies right into direct these action sequences. She knows her stuff when it comes to kicking ass and wears multiple hats on set. We just finished filming that in Santa Fe and that was a lot of fun too.
When you’re taking on these more antagonistic roles and playing in horror, what is the appeal in getting to paint with the darker colors in the canvas of your performance?
Hall: When I was a kid, I loved Jack Nicholson, Christopher Walken and all these great, iconic actors. Those guys were a big influence on me in particular because I noticed they seemed to have more fun playing villains. There’s something to be said about that, that it’s really a lot of fun when you’re playing a villain because you can extend yourself more and maybe take more chances.
That’s always something I’ve kept in the back of my mind when I’m playing a villain, because another thing that’s very important is remembering to show the humor, that’s also something I learned watching Nicholson and Walken. Sometimes that guy can be even better in a bad movie when he’s playing a villain because he can eat up the scenery. [laughs] You have to have a certain pleasure in playing a villain and want to see the villain have fun. Watching Heath, he was brilliant in that role in a darker performance.
With that in mind, how was it developing your more antagonistic character with Tim Burton for Edward Scissorhands, especially at a time when that was against type for you at that point in your career?
Hall: When I think back to that, I’ve worked with some great auteurs and he’s one of them, like Chris Nolan and David Gordon Green. When I met with Tim Burton for that film, I recall having a conversation with him in an office in Midtown in New York where I was from and he was really cool. The way he looked at me and sat in a chair, with one leg up, looking at me sideways because I had just come off those Hughes films where I was all kinds of scrawny. [laughs] But by then I was a bigger guy, over six feet tall and had worked out a bit and gained some natural weight and it was a very simple and easy transition.
He saw it as a funny thing that I was a sort of bully character in the film. I never asked him but I think he thought it was funny I could do a 180 from those John Hughes films, which I was happy to do! [laughs] Winona Ryder and Johnny Depp are also smaller in stature so I could tower over them a bit and I think that all contributed.
Just to close out, now that Halloween Kills is done and finally ready to open in theaters and on Peacock, what are you most excited about getting to share it with the world?
Hall: I’d like to quote David Gordon Green because I happened to text him a couple weeks back and I hadn’t spoken with him for awhile and he was already in Venice, Italy for the film festival and he goes, “I can’t wait to unleash this movie on the world” I have the same sentiment. The thing that was cool about the delay for this film was the buildup among the fans of this franchise, which at 43 years and counting is so massive and diehard and tell you about every timeline and mask from the eleven previous films. The fact that they’re waiting makes it really exciting because we know that we all contributed to David’s vision and he did such a phenomenal job.
It’s a thrill ride, I’m not overstating that, this movie a rollercoaster that just takes off and keeps going. The convergence of those two things makes it really exciting because I know people are going to love it, especially when you know there’s a hunger for it. I’m super pumped and excited and I’m just on Cloud 9!
Directed and co-written by David Gordon Green, Halloween Kills is in theaters now and streaming on Peacock.