I’m sure the cover isn’t the final design but this news is great 
I better dust off the ole reading glasses soon 
Ok, this has me excited. I never knew I could be excited for anything H3, if I’m being honest. I’m really looking forward to reading Tommy’s perspective. Thanks, Kaizu.
Well this really put some pep in my step this evening! I’m a sponge for all things H3. So excited!
You’re welcome. I helped provide the title, the first script version by Nigel and about 100 images. The book will be loaded with information .
Lol.
Billy, you’re such an enigma, dude. Just so much knowledge and cool history floating around inside your head that randomly lands in a thread from time to time. 
Thanks for the part you played in helping the book come to fruition. I wonder how much of it will include TLW’s thoughts and perspectives not just as an older man looking back, but as a young director sort of working in the shadow of John and the most successful low budget horror film of all time. I hope it gives us some insight into the thought processes that lead to some of the choices he made while making the film.
Either way, that baby is going in my library. Such a cool concept for a book. Can’t wait!
Yup, this is a must have.
Right?!
I’m so pumped about this.
I LOVE the title! that’s the perfect way of summing up what the fans thought, I actually have grown to love the film!
Oh, you’re way too kind. I just have stuff. Tommy told me this will be very informative. I asked him to provide a chapter on what happened with Halloween II; him leaving that project and hurting his friendship with John and Debra. Tommy told me he was VERY surprised when they reached out to him about Halloween III because they had zero contact after he left Halloween II and moved to New York. I know Tommy worked closely with the Still Photographer about getting some images from the set and a few other surprises.
The title came from my friend seeing Halloween III in the theater in 1982 and some guy sitting in from of him. About 15 minutes into Halloween III the guy sitting in front of my friend started shaking his head and yelled “Where the hell is Michael Myers?!”
So Tommy had a falling out with John & Debra? I never knew this. Learn something new everyday.
Very cool!
Tommy was the perfect choice to direct the sequel. Tommy told me he was attached to it for a while. So much so, Universal put him as the Director in the Universal Brochure for the fall movies being released in 1981. When Tommy saw the script, he was displeased and did something that he thought he’d never do…withdraw from the project. That was a blow to Debra and John and they had to quickly had to find a new Director. I don’t want to get into too much of because I’m hoping he put it in the book but it’s an eye opener.
So, so cool!
I NEED to know what TLW saw in the script that turned him off to the project. The brother/sister connection? Jamie being stuck in a sedated non-role the entire film? Michael being indestructible? Man, I hope he dedicates some pages to this subject. I really want to know. This is going to bother me.
Tommy says blood, gore and the story…but, I own JLC’s actual script and what was written, by John, is basically Halloween all over again but, no gore…everyone just dissappears and no gore/blood. The script is actually not bad…it’s just Halloween in a hospital with good character development. But, in 1981, teens didn’t want that…they wanted blood…then conflicts happened, rewrites happened, reshoots happened and a total re-edit took place.
That makes a lot of sense. So, in essence, Tommy protested the strong-arming that the studio/producers used in order to force changes into John’s script (presumably against John’s better instincts), but in doing so put John and Brenda in a tight spot by leaving them without a dependable skipper to helm the ship. That’s a weird dynamic, boy. Holy.
Awkward position for everyone.
As much as I enjoy H2 it’s kind of a shame we didn’t get John’s original concept. I think it was Irwin who used the term “a theater of the mind” to describe H1 and it’s use of psychological horror. That concept is why I LOVE H1 and LIKE H2.
Anyway, thanks for scratching that itch for me, Billy! I can’t wait for this book, dude. I haven’t been this jacked about something Halloween in a LONG time. It makes me wish John would write a book, too, but that’s just me being greedy. Lol.
Also read from someone involved that Universal have nearly 1000 never before released photos on camera negative. It would be incredible to see those but the cost to transfer them is high, unfortunately.
Gah!
Why is it always money…
So stupid, yet so necessary.
Let’s look at the facts:
UNIVERSAL is the oldest production house in America, founded in 1912.
UNIVERSAL is the second richest production house in America with a net worth of 6 BILLION, second only to the monolithic and ridiculously wealthy Disney.
UNIVERSAL has made $44 BILLION throughout it’s existence.
THEY OWN AND OPERATE A FRIKIN THEME PARK, DUDE.
You’re telling me they can’t afford to, EH HEM, transfer some photos?
I get it, I get it. The cost of the process has to be justified by a projection of profit. Supply/demand bottom-line stuff. Ok, so let’s look at some more facts:
Horror is the 3rd most profitable film genre in the world. THIRD because horror is censored in China. If the massive Chinese market were to be excluded from the poll, Horror would jump to #1.
But why?
Because the horror genre has the largest profit margin of any film category. Horror is a low-budget affair. These films are usually made on shoe-string budgets and make TEN to TWENTY times their budget. That’s an INSANE return on investment.
Speaking of which, let’s look at return on investment (ROI).
The top 10 most profitable movies of all time based on ROI include FOUR HORROR FILMS. Think about that. 40% of that list comes from A SINGLE GENRE. There are 8 in the top 20 and 12 in the top 35. Horror films are the most surefire money makers in the business. They consistently generate the most money from the smallest initial investment.
WHY IN THE FUCK IS UNIVERSAL CONCERNED WITH THE COST OF … eh hem … transferring pictures … WHEN THEY KNOW BEYOND A SHADOW OF A DOUBT THAT THEY ARE DEALING WITH THE MOST PROFITABLE FILM GENRE OF ALL TIME, ONE OF THE MOST PROFITABLE FILMS OF ALL TIME, AND THE MOST RABID FAN BASE OF ANY FILM FRANCHISE IN EXISTENCE? THE AMOUNT OF MONEY WE SPEND ON ANCILLARY SHIT RELATED TO THIS FRANCHISE IS RIDICULOUS, MAN. NOT TO MENTION THE PROFITS BEING GENERATED BY CONVENTIONS AND SUCH.
Universal needs to take a long hard look at the profit potential of a stand-alone documentary. Not a blue-ray extra… or a youtube special… a documentary featuring Billy’s reels, the photos that are collecting dust at Universal, and interviews with the cast and crew before they’re all gone.
I have a whole concept of a traveling UNIVERSAL THEMED Horror Convention that I won’t get into right now, but talk about a perfect way to screen the film and charge a high ticket price.
At the end of it all there is money for them to make while making fans happy.
Gah. It’s too early for this kind of vigor. I need coffee.
With my transparency scanner, I can scan 40 images an hour. In 8 hours, 320 images can get transferred. If someone works in Archives at Universal, they get paid hourly to do things like this. They could have it all transferred in 4 days. It’s not about cost, it’s about getting in touch with the right people.
Absolutely. However, at the end of it all, you and I both know the final question UNIVERSAL would ask is “why”?
Why do it in the first place? What’s in it for us?
Until there’s a clear plan on how to attract the market, and then deliver the material to that market all while maintaining a healthy profit, the material and the public will never converge.
I just don’t see a way to make UNIVERSAL care enough for them to even bother. Unless, of course, you can tie these materials to, let’s say, a tried-and-true method of gathering horror fans in one place for exorbitant prices… $$$ … that might get their attention.