| We were like these little kids who they were coming to with $300,000, and we really wanted to put everything on the screen," said Debra Hill. The film went on to become one of the highest grossing independent films of all time. A key success factor was John Carpenter's score, consisting of a haunting piano melody, a 5-4 time rhythm Carpenter learned from his father. Carpenter stated in an interview, "I can play just about any keyboard, but I can't read or write a note." Carpenter used the name "The Bowling Green Orchestra" and created the horrific soundtrack. He and a few pals on the crew got together and created a group called "The Coupe Devilles" - their song can be heard in the background as Laurie gets into Annie's car. Also helping was composer/orchestrator Dan Wyman, in his arrangement and "electronic realization" of the Halloween themes. Wyman is currently a professor at San Jose State University in California, in the electronic music department. He has an extensive background in creating soundtracks for major motion pictures including another one of John Carpenter's greats, THE FOG.HALLOWEEN opened up slowly, with a platform release. But word of mouth grew, and soon it was a hit. "Right after HALLOWEEN, I started ELVIS, and I wasn't paying attention to how HALLOWEEN was doing. Then, around Christmas, people started treating me nice. All my friends were looking at me like I was keeping some secret, and studio people wanted to meet with me," said Carpenter. Slowly the critics came around, too. HALLOWEEN went on to gross $55 million theatrically. Unfortunately, most of the creative players involved didn't have very good deals. Nick Castle, who played the Shape, was payed only $25 dollars a day. Curtis only received $8,000 for her participation, while Pleasence took a flat $20,000 fee. "After it took off, I did see some of it, though. I can't remember exactly how much money I made off the film. I do remember getting one check for over a million dollars - that wasn't bad," Carpenter recalled. "Over the years, we've seen a lot of money from all the HALLOWEEN movies," said Hill. "But if I knew then what I know now, I'd be rolling in it. I really resented it when Irwin Yablans drove up in a yellow Rolls-Royce and bought a yacht.""Everyone had something to prove with HALLOWEEN," said cinematographer Dean Cundey. "We were all struggling because it was a very hard time to break into mainstream Hollywood." HALLOWEEN more or less created the slasher film. Many films since have duplicated the "kill point-of-view" camera perspective. The film stock used on the film conveyed the colors of fall perfectly, and filming the movie in Panavision scope format added to it's horrific feeling. Many critics of the film have brought up the fact that Laurie (the virginal character) was the only female to survive. Lynda, Annie, and Judith, who are up to no good with their boyfriends, all fall prey to The Shape. Debra Hill and John Carpenter both deny any preconceived notion on this theme appearing in the film. Overall, they wanted to convey the idea that evil can appear in even the smallest of towns. Although it has been duplicated by many films, the legacy of HALLOWEEN continues, and it remains a very distinctive classic. |