Halloween producer says directors were 'daunted' by idea of resurrecting Michael Myers

The horror sequel Halloween (out Oct. 19) is shaping up to be one of the hits of the season. But producer Jason Blum reveals that filmmakers were wary of signing on to make the eleventh in the entry in the horror franchise.

“It was actually very hard to find someone for the movie,” says the Blumhouse Productions founder. “It was not easy. People were daunted by it.”

Blum finally located a man willing to take a stab at resurrecting masked killer Michael Myers when he approached David Gordon Green.

“I’ve really admired his filmmaking since (2000’s) George Washington,” says the producer. “I think Hollywood has this tendency to not give bigger horror movies to directors who have not done horror before. I’m a big believer that if you can make a good movie of any genre, you can make a good horror movie, and so I pursued him. Actually, I sent him an email, I said, ‘Interested in talking about Halloween?,’ or something like that, and he said, ‘Definitely.’ And that was kind of the beginning of it. He knew we were talking to other people. But a lot of people didn’t want to do it, so I felt very pleased that he [responded] with enthusiasm. He didn’t need any arm-twisting. He was like, ‘This sounds awesome, I’ve just got to think of an idea.'”

The new Halloween stars Jamie Lee Curtis, Judy Greer, and Andi Matichak. Watch the film’s trailer, above.

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