In Remembrance: Debra Hill

     Debra Hill, the film producer who first rose to success as co-writer and producer of John Carpenter’s classic horror film Halloween (1978), has passed away Monday, March 7, 2005 in Los Angeles, California. She was 54.

     Hill was born in Haddonfield, New Jersey and grew up in Philadelphia.

     Hill got her start working as a production assistant on documentaries, eventually working her way up to script supervisor. She first met director John Carpenter while serving as script supervisor and assistant editor on his film Assault On Precinct 13 (1976). The two collaborated on what would become her first big break- the script for Halloween, the story of a young babysitter, played by a 20-year old Jamie Lee Curtis, who is stalked by a crazed, masked psychopath. The film was made on a budget of $300,000.00 and would eventually gross over $60 million in ticket sales, making it one of the most successful independent films of its time. In addition to her writing tasks, Hill also served as the film’s producer.

     In addition to launching a franchise stretching to eight installments, most recently 2002’s Halloween: Resurrection, Halloween was one of the films that helped to launch the slasher film craze of the 1980s. Hill returned to the series to help script Halloween II (1981) with Carpenter and received credit for creating characters that appeared in Halloween: The Curse Of Michael Myers (1995), Halloween 5 (1989) and Halloween: Resurrection.

     Hill collaborated on three more films with Carpenter. In 1980 she served as producer and co-writer on The Fog. She produced Carpenter’s futuristic action picture Escape From New York (1981) and its 1996 sequel Escape From L.A. Hill also produced the horror film The Dead Zone (1983) for director David Cronenberg, and the comedies Clue and Head Office (both 1985).

     In 1986, Hill joined with Lynda Obst to form an independent production company and produced Adventures In Babysitting (1987), Heartbreak Hotel (1988) and Terry Gilliam’s The Fisher King (1991). In 1988, Hill entered into a contract with Walt Disney Pictures during which she produced the comedy Gross Anatomy (1989) and several short films for the Walt Disney theme parks. She also produced several made-for-TV movies in the 1990s.

     Her last completed picture produced was 1999’s comedy Crazy In Alabama starring Melanie Griffiths. A remake of The Fog, on which Hill was serving as producer, is currently in pre-production.