I have a weird question. I’ve kind of fallen down a rabbit hole of interviews and trivia, etc., and I swear I remember hearing somewhere that in the original script Michael was supposed to die, and it wasn’t until the film was in production/post-production that Carpenter and Hill decided to end the film with Michael disappearing.
I can’t find anything to corroborate this, but I swear I remember hearing it in an interview or reading about it somewhere. For some reason I want to say it was an interview with TLW, but I can’t be certain.
Carpenter never wanted Michael to die, just wander off and make the audience wonder what Michael might do next, and he could be anywhere. Nothing about dying.
Originally, Michael died. I have the footage for it…Tommy Lee Wallace told me it’s in the outtakes. Tommy told me Halloween was written like a book, a beginning and an ending. It wasn’t until 2 or 3 days later after filming the original ending, an idea was hatched that Michael would disappear and they went back with second unit and shot it.
Someone in an interview said the TRUE ORIGINAL script had Michael dying in the end and it wasn’t until after production had started that John and Debra decided to have The Shape disappear… they decided that it would be a much scarier ending if he were still lurking about in people’s minds.
I wish I could remember where I heard it from. GAHHHH.
Also, I wish I had $50k, Magnum, I’d give it to you in the blink of an eye. I’m not joking. If I could secure that footage for release I’d pay for the entire production of a full fledged documentary.
I still think you should think about a kickstarter or something similar. I can help get things moving if you need the help… I think your only play at this point is to raise some money, find a team to transfer the footage to 4k, and hire a production team to start putting together a demo of the documentary. Get John to do some voice work. You have to force the hand of the people who are holding this back. They will sit on their hands until you force them.
Thanks so much for proving I’m not crazy. I will find that interview.
I have about 16 minutes transferred. Makek Akkad has the rights to Halloween. I can not show anything within the making having to do with Halloween. However…anything like camera tests or the blocking of scenes, I can. Sadly it is not up to me.
I can not raise money for this project. Trancas owns the rights to license Halloween. I’ve checked out so many avenues and it’s a bunch of legal stuff.
Is any of the 16 minutes you have transferred camera tests or blocking of scenes? I know it may seem pretty pointless to share those, but would still be so cool to see those bits of footage too! Currently, there is absolutely nothing like that for any of us to even compare to, so anything new would be amazing, even if it is just a camera test.
Also, you will know more about this than anyone, but when do you think personally these bits of footage will be released? I think I understand it’s a dispute between Malek Akkad? But where does it go from here? Will these remain out of public sight forever if this dispute is never resolved? Or will there be some time later in the future when these can be published regardless? It’s so crazy that something like this can’t just be released and hasn’t already yet after all this time.
I can not take money for something I do not have the rights to distribute. I can get sued like crazy for that. I can not collect money and distribute discs with the footage on it or post it online. I’ll be in butt slammer prison for that.
For the time being, this is all I’m allowed to share. Mind you, “Movies that Created Us” just took this footage, cropped it and took my name off it and used it. But, it’s out there. https://vimeo.com/71166481
There is not dispute with Malek. Zero dispute. He thinks this is worthless. I’m not going to talk with someone who thinks that way. I’ve had this for 17 years…think about that, 17 years. I have everything…everything. But…it’s worthless according to Malek.
Wow. That is crazy. I know 100% for a fact that every single Halloween fan would purchase yet another copy of Halloween 1978 if there was never before seen footage / outtakes. How can he think they are worthless?
So sounds like nothing can be done then Will you ever be up for private viewings again? Same as that festival years ago? Seems like the only way I’ll ever be able to see these.
Can’t do that. If the venue collects money for the viewing, in any way shape or form, they are subject to legal woes. The footage is negative and can not be run thru a projector. The 14 minutes is on a DVD and for my private viewing. The footage sits in a vault…until something happens.
I suggest you get in contact with the people on TheStarWarsTrilogy.com forums. For those not familiar, this is a group of enthusiasts who have scanned, cleaned and restored 35mm prints of the Star Wars trilogy in 4K. If you’ve watched 4K77, the Silver Screen Edition, or The Grindhouse Edition of Star Wars, it was by them. They also scan and restore various other older films to preserve for the community. I don’t want to speak for any of them, but I’m confident there would be interest in scanning and releasing your footage. Shipping or transporting the footage from you to whoever would scan the film would most likely be the biggest financial hurdle. The site is very good about crowd funding shipping, scanning and restoration costs, all not for profit. None of the footage released is put up for sale. As you’ve obviously researched the money side a lot, you’ll know what’s do-able and not do-able.
If you register there, you could post a summary of what you have in the Misc. forum. Contacting the site admin williarob would be a good idea as well. Hope this can materialize into something!
Well, if I ever have something up for sale, then I will give it to you for a really cheap price and will deliver it personally myself. Perhaps when I ring the doorbell and you answer, you might just have that DVD playing on your TV which I stop and glance at whilst the door is open, if you catch my drift
Jokes aside, I hope something will be done about this and soon. I also hope you have the footage set out in a will to someone for when God gives a call. Would be devastating if that was just thrown out. You are one very lucky man to own such a rare item and can watch what you have already transferred any time that you want! Until then, I’ll hope someday I can also see too.
Take care man and thank you for taking the time to respond to everything!
I appreciate the heads up but, they work with prints…not negatives I believe and I’m sure Disney wouldn’t approve of what they are doing. This isn’t about finding a way for some people to see it. If something happens with the footage I want it done legally. I’m not just handing this footage over to someone that isn’t legally bound to it.
I have shown this to people at conventions and on visits if they care to see it. I just showed it to some people at the Fantasm show here in Florida privately. They loved it.
Will you ever be up for private viewings again? Same as that festival years ago? Seems like the only way I’ll ever be able to see these.