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Debra Hill

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Debra Hill
Born(1950-11-10)November 10, 1950
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.[1]
DiedMarch 7, 2005(2005-03-07) (aged 54)
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Occupation(s)Film producer, screenwriter
Years active1972–2005

Debra Hill (November 10, 1950 – March 7, 2005) was an American film producer and screenwriter, best known for her professional partnership with John Carpenter.

Hill and Carpenter wrote four films together: Halloween, The Fog, Halloween II, and Escape from L.A. Independently and as part of Hill/Obst Productions, she produced works for television and film, including The Fisher King, which was nominated for five Academy Awards.

Early life

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Debra Hill was born on November 10, 1950, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania[1] to Jilda, a nurse, and Frank Hill, a salesman who had previously been an art director on the Hope/CrosbyRoad to films.[2] She was raised Catholic and moved repeatedly with her parents and younger brother, including to Detroit, Michigan, before settling in Haddonfield, New Jersey.[3][4] In an interview with the Courier-Post, Hill said she knew at an early age that she wanted to make films, using a Super 8 film camera to shoot home movies.[5] She attended Haddonfield Memorial High School, graduating in 1968.[6] Hill next graduated from Temple University with a degree in sociology and moved to New York, where she found work editing documentaries. She briefly worked as a flight attendant and did press for Evel Knievel's attempt to jump the Snake River Canyon, before moving to California.[1][5]

Career

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In 1975, Hill started as a production assistant on adventure documentaries and progressed through jobs as a script supervisor, assistant director and second unit director. Hill first worked with John Carpenter in 1975, as the script supervisor and assistant editor of Assault on Precinct 13. This led not only to further professional collaborations between Hill and Carpenter, but also marked the beginning of their personal relationship.[7]

In 1978, Hill and Carpenter co-wrote the horror movie Halloween. The movie's fictional setting of Haddonfield was named after her home town of Haddonfield, New Jersey.[4] Hill primarily wrote the plot about Laurie Strode while Carpenter wrote the Sam Loomis arc; the two storylines were then blended.[8] She also cast Jamie Lee Curtis as Laurie Strode, which became the beginning of a lifelong friendship.[4][9] During production, Hill served as producer, second unit coordinator and had a brief cameo early in the film—the first person perspective shots of a young Michael Myers’ hands are actually Hill's.[10][11][12] Halloween was a commercial and critical success, earning the duo a two-picture deal with Avco Embassy Pictures.[13]

Following Halloween's success, Hill and Carpenter co-wrote The Fog (1980), again starring Jamie Lee Curtis, as well as Janet Leigh, John Houseman, Hal Holbrook, and Carpenter's then wife, Adrienne Barbeau. Hill produced the film and did some second unit shooting while Carpenter again directed.[14] Hill and Carpenter next worked together to co-write and produce Halloween II (1981) and produced Halloween III: Season of the Witch (1982). Their other credits together include: Escape from New York (1981), its sequel, Escape from L.A. (1996), and the 1990 HBO film, El Diablo.[2]

Independently, Hill produced The Dead Zone (1983), Head Office (1985), and Clue (1985). In 1986, she formed an independent production company with her friend Lynda Obst. Together, they produced Adventures in Babysitting, Heartbreak Hotel, and The Fisher King. In 1988, she entered a contract with Walt Disney Pictures under which she produced Gross Anatomy, short films for the Walt Disney theme park, and an NBC special for Disneyland's 35th anniversary.[15]

Hill recalled the transition over the course of her career from being called "sweetheart" and "darling" in her early years as a producer to the respectful "ma'am" many years later on the DVD commentary for Escape From New York with production designer Joe Alves.[16] In 2003, she was honored by Women in Film with the Crystal Award.[17] In her acceptance speech, Hill said, “I want every producer, studio executive, and agent in this room to include me in their directors list, along with the women who have come before me and the women directors who will come after me.”[12]

Hill was noted for supporting emerging talent in the film industry, and a number of Hill's associates went on to later success in film. For example, James Cameron, the filmmaker, once worked for Hill in the visual effects department. Jeffrey Chernov was Hill's second assistant director and went on to become an executive producer of Black Panther.[1] As a producer, Hill produced the directorial debut works of Christopher Columbus, Antonio Banderas, and Jonathan Lynn. Producers Stacey Sher, Gale Anne Hurd, and KNB EFX Group have all credited Hill with helping to establish their careers.[18]

Additional contributions to the film industry included serving on the jury at the Sundance Film Festival and on the executive producer committee for the Academy of Motion Pictures, Arts and Sciences.[15] Friends and colleagues commented that Hill became frustrated with the film industry in that the industry did not welcome more women as directors.[1]

Health, death, and legacy

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Hill was diagnosed with colon cancer in February 2004.[19] Despite her diagnosis and eventual amputation of her legs, Hill continued to work on several projects.[20] She worked with John Carpenter and actor Kurt Russell on a comic adaptation of the Snake Plissken character, as well as a proposed Snake Plissken video game.[21]

In 2005, Hill reunited with Carpenter to produce the remake of The Fog and was working on the Oliver Stone film World Trade Center[22] when she died of cancer on March 7, 2005.[7] After her death, Carpenter told the Associated Press that working with Hill was "one of the greatest experiences of my life – she had a passion for not just movies about women or women's ideas but films for everybody".[23]

The Producers Guild of America established the Debra Hill Fellowship in 2005 to support emerging producers in recognition of Hill's contributions.[24] In 2023, production began on a documentary about Hill's life and career, titled Hollywood Trailblazer: The Debra Hill Story.[25]

Filmography

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Films

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Year Title Producer Writer Director Notes
1978 Halloween Yes Yes John Carpenter Cameo
1980 The Fog Yes Yes
1981 Escape from New York Yes No Voice cameo
Halloween II Yes Yes Rick Rosenthal
1982 Halloween III: Season of the Witch Yes No Tommy Lee Wallace
1983 The Dead Zone Yes No David Cronenberg
1985 Clue Yes No Jonathan Lynn
Head Office Yes No Ken Finkleman
1987 Adventures in Babysitting Yes No Chris Columbus
1988 Big Top Pee-wee Yes No Randal Kleiser
Heartbreak Hotel Yes No Chris Columbus
1989 The Lottery Yes No Garry Marshall Short film
Gross Anatomy Yes No Thom Eberhardt
1991 The Fisher King Yes No Terry Gilliam
1996 Escape from L.A. Executive Yes John Carpenter [2]
1998 Chow Bella Executive No Gavin Grazer
1999 Crazy in Alabama Yes No Antonio Banderas
2005 The Fog Yes No Rupert Wainwright Posthumous release
2006 World Trade Center Yes No Oliver Stone
Other credits
Year Title Role Notes
1976 Goodbye, Norma Jean Script supervisor, uncredited writing contributions [5]
Assault on Precinct 13 Script supervisor / assistant editor
1977 Satan's Cheerleaders Script supervisor
Bare Knuckles
Charge of the Model T's Production assistant / second assistant director
1978 Hi-Riders Script supervisor
Goodbye, Franklin High
Hanging on a Star
1998 The Replacement Killers "Special Thanks To" [2]
2002 Tales from the Mist: Inside 'The Fog' Archival material Documentary short

Television

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Year Title Director Producer Writer Notes
1989 Adventures in Babysitting No Executive No Unsold pilot
1990 The Magic World of Disney No Executive No Episode: "Disneyland's 35th Anniversary Celebration"
Monsters Yes No No Episode: "Far Below"
El Diablo No Executive No Television film for HBO[26]
1993 Dream On Yes No No Episode: "Home Sweet Homeboy"
Attack of the 50 Ft. Woman No Yes No Television film
1994 Roadracers No Yes No Television film on Showtime, part of the Rebel Highway series[27]
Confessions of a Sorority Girl No Yes Yes Television film on Showtime, part of the Rebel Highway series[28]
Motorcycle Gang No Yes No Television film on Showtime, part of the Rebel Highway series
Runaway Daughters No Yes No Television film on Showtime, part of the Rebel Highway series
Girls in Prison No Yes No Television film on Showtime, part of the Rebel Highway series
Shake, Rattle and Rock! No Yes No Television film on Showtime, part of the Rebel Highway series
Dragstrip Girl No Yes No Television film on Showtime, part of the Rebel Highway series
Jailbreakers No Yes Yes Television film on Showtime, part of the Rebel Highway series[29]
Cool and the Crazy No Yes No Television film on Showtime, part of the Rebel Highway series
Reform School Girl No Yes No Television film on Showtime, part of the Rebel Highway series
Other credits
Year Title Role Notes
1972 The Streets of San Francisco Script supervisor Unknown episodes
1977 Father Knows Best: Home for Christmas Television film
2003 'Halloween': A Cut Above the Rest Still photographer Television documentary film

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e Ryzik, Melena (May 27, 2019). "Debra Hill". The New York Times. Archived from the original on June 4, 2019.
  2. ^ a b c d "Debra Hill". Turner Classic Movies. Retrieved November 1, 2023.
  3. ^ Vadala, Nick (October 14, 2022). "'Halloween Ends' and its real-life connection to Haddonfield". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved November 1, 2023.
  4. ^ a b c Hosney, Jim. "Writer-Producer Debra Hill on Jamie Lee, Body Counts and Horror in Suburbia". Film School: Horror 101. E Online. Archived from the original on March 8, 2004. Retrieved November 1, 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  5. ^ a b c Zoren, Neal (February 3, 1980). "Debra Hill Makes a Living Scaring People". Courier Post. Retrieved November 1, 2023.
  6. ^ Flowers, Matt (April 17, 2015). "Documentary planned on Haddonfield's Debra Hill". Courier Post. Retrieved November 1, 2023.
  7. ^ a b via Associated Press. "Debra Hill, 54, Film Producer Who Helped Create 'Halloween,' Dies", The New York Times, March 8, 2005. Accessed December 18, 2007.
  8. ^ Mark Cerulli (1999). Halloween: Unmasked 2000 (video). Event occurs at 3:32. Retrieved November 1, 2023.
  9. ^ Curtis, Jamie Lee (February 18, 2015). "Sigourney Weaver". Interview Magazine. Retrieved November 1, 2023.
  10. ^ Mark Cerulli (1999). Halloween: Unmasked 2000 (video). Event occurs at 16:45. Retrieved November 1, 2023.
  11. ^ Konda, Kelly (October 25, 2017). "9 Things You May Not Know About the First Halloween Movie". We Minored in Film. Retrieved November 1, 2023.
  12. ^ a b Whitworth, Spencer (October 26, 2021). "How Debra Hill Helped Make 'Halloween' and 'Escape from New York' Genre Classics". Collider. Retrieved November 1, 2023.
  13. ^ Debra Hill, John Carpenter (2002). The Fog (1980) Audio commentary (video). Event occurs at 1:30. Retrieved November 1, 2023.
  14. ^ Debra Hill, John Carpenter (2002). The Fog (1980) Audio commentary (video). Event occurs at 7:00. Retrieved November 1, 2023.
  15. ^ a b "Women in Horror Month: Debra Hill, the Mother of "HALLOWEEN"". Archived from the original on February 5, 2015.
  16. ^ DVD feature length commentary for Escape From New York
  17. ^ "OPEN DOORS - The Legacy of Debra Hill Continues To Change The Face Of Hollywood". producersguild.org. May 2, 2016. Archived from the original on June 11, 2019. Retrieved October 12, 2018.
  18. ^ Heather Wixson (February 21, 2020). "Episode 144: Heather Wixson and Meagan Navarro Celebrate Filmmaker Debra Hill". Corpse Club (Podcast). Daily Dead. Event occurs at 13:28. Retrieved November 2, 2023.
  19. ^ "'Everyone over 50 needs their colon checked'". Today.com. NBC Universal. March 14, 2005. Retrieved August 11, 2019.
  20. ^ Eller, Claudia (July 27, 2006). "Producer of 9/11 Movie Had Her Own Tragic Story". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved August 11, 2019.
  21. ^ Lussier, Germain (October 1, 2013). "See Concept Art and Gameplay From Cancelled Snake Plissken Game and Anime Series". Slash Film. Retrieved August 11, 2019.
  22. ^ Welsh, James Michael; Whaley, Donald M. (2013). The Oliver Stone Encyclopedia. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 279. ISBN 9780810883529.
  23. ^ Presecky, Georgi (October 22, 2018). "Laurie Strode's Legacy: Remembering Halloween Screenwriter Debra Hill". The Mary Sue. Retrieved August 11, 2019.
  24. ^ "Debra Hill Fellowship". Producers Guild of America. Retrieved November 1, 2023.
  25. ^ Wiseman, Andreas; Ntim, Zac (November 10, 2023). "Debra Hill Doc Exec Produced By Jamie Lee Curtis Moves Into Production". Deadline. Retrieved December 29, 2023.
  26. ^ "El Diablo (1990)". Turner Classic Movies. Retrieved November 17, 2023.
  27. ^ Rich, Alan (August 15, 1994). "Rebel Highway Runaway Daughters". Variety. Retrieved November 17, 2023.
  28. ^ Tucker, Ken (July 29, 1993). "Rebel Highway". Entertainment. Retrieved November 17, 2023.
  29. ^ Rabin, Nathan (March 29, 2002). "Jailbreakers". The AV Club. Retrieved November 17, 2023.
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