Hey, everyone. "Moriarty" here with some Rumblings From The Lab.

Not long after this report went up, I got a quick note from the folks over at HalloweenMovies.com stating emphatically that Jamie Lee hasn't started shooting her role yet. In fact, there's a chance they may have some stills from her first day of work later this week. Thanks for the prompt response, and stick this one in the "why the hell would you say that?" file.

I got the following letter on Friday, and started poking around to see what I could turn up. Right now, I'd treat what "The Woodsman" has to say as rumor. I will say this... his description of Laurie Strode's role in the film is correct as of the latest drafts, so take that for what it's worth. I have a feeling that we'll have trouble getting any official word on this one, but we'll see...

Recently, I've been hearing a lot about the HALLOWEEN 8 casting of Jamie Lee Curtis. Here is the real deal, and be warned, there are slight spoilers ahead...

Although a press release went out this week announcing the "recent" signing of Curtis to the project, her small contribution to the film has long been in the can. When producer/series rights controller Moustafa Akkad approached Curtis about HALLOWEEN H20, the actress agreed to make the film with the condition that she get to kill Michael Myers in the film. In short, Curtis wanted this to be the final HALLOWEEN - a bookend to the first two films in the series. However, Akkad would not agree to this as the HALLOWEEN films are his basic source of income. So screenwriter Kevin Williamson, who wanted very badly to work with Curtis on the project, conceived a way to allow her character to "kill" Myers that pleased both Akkad and Curtis. In this idea, Myers would be allowed to return in the eighth installment of the film and Curtis would finally have her out from the HALLOWEEN series...

Although the details of the story are a bit sketchy - I knew this two years ago - the film picks up right where H20 left off. Curtis has somehow cut the head off of the wrong guy (!) and Myers is actually driving the ambulance. Within the first two minutes of the film, Curtis' character is killed by Michael. This was intended to shock audiences in much the same way PSYCHO did when Janet Leigh - Jamie Lee Curtis' mother - died early in the film. In fact, Steve Miner directed the opening scenes of HALLOWEEN 8 after wrapping H20. So, in short, Jamie Lee Curtis is not do any new scenes; her scenes have been completed for a long, long time. Although Miner and Williamson's contributions will not be credited, the opening scenes were written by Williamson and helmed by Miner. After those opening scenes, it will apparently be business as usual for Michael Myers.

Yours truly,

The Woodsman