Debra Hill

Producer

About

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Also Known As

Debrah Hill

Birth Place

Haddonfield, New Jersey, USA

Died

March 07, 2005

Cause of Death

Cancer

Biography

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Her father had worked as an art director on many of the Hope/Crosby "Road" pictures and Debra Hill certainly paid her dues, first as a script supervisor on more than a dozen features before edging into editing and 2nd unit work. Her big break came when John Carpenter gave her the opportunity to produce "Halloween" (1978), a screenplay they had written together. She responded amazingly, m...

Filmography

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Halloween (2018)

Characters As Source Material

Halloween (2007)

Characters As Source Material

Halloween (2007)

Source Material

Source Material

Halloween: Resurrection (2002)

Characters As Source Material

Halloween: H2O (1998)

Characters As Source Material

Photos & Videos

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Fog, The (1980) -- (Movie Clip) Open, Their Dark And Icy Death

Fog, The (1980) -- (Movie Clip) Weird And Unlucky

Family & Companions

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John Carpenter

Companion

Director, screenwriter, composer. Together in the late 1970s; Hill produced and co-scripted Carpenter's "Halloween" (1978) and "The Fog" (1980) and collaborated on five subsequent projects.

Biography

Her father had worked as an art director on many of the Hope/Crosby "Road" pictures and Debra Hill certainly paid her dues, first as a script supervisor on more than a dozen features before edging into editing and 2nd unit work. Her big break came when John Carpenter gave her the opportunity to produce "Halloween" (1978), a screenplay they had written together. She responded amazingly, managing to achieve a handsome look for under $400,000. Her next four producing projects were all with Carpenter ("The Fog" 1980, which she also co-wrote with him; "Escape from New York" 1981; "Halloween II" 1981, which she again co-scripted; and "Halloween III: Season of the Witch" 1982).

Hill earned her first producing credit beyond the Carpenter sphere for David Cronenberg's "The Dead Zone" (1983) and followed with "Head Office" and "Clue" (both 1985) before joining forces with longtime friend and colleague Lynda Obst to form the independent production company Hill/Obst Productions. Hill/Obst produced Chris Columbus' "Adventures in Babysitting" (1987), the CBS pilot based on that film (1989), "Heartbreak Hotel" (1988), also directed by Columbus, and Terry Gilliam's "The Fisher King" (1991) before finally dissolving their partnership.

In 1988, Hill signed an exclusive development and production deal at Walt Disney Pictures for her new company, Debra Hill Productions. She produced many short films for the Disney/MGM Studio Tour theme park in Orlando, FL, as well as the feature "Gross Anatomy" (1989) for Touchstone and "The Disneyland 35th Anniversary Special" for NBC. In 1994, Hill, along with Lou Arkoff, Willie Kutner and David Giler produced 10 remakes of 50s movies for Showtime's "Rebel Highway" series (i.e., "Girls in Prison," "Shake, Rattle and Rock"). The 90s also reunited her twice with Carpenter as executive producer for the sequel "John Carpenter's Escape from L.A." (1996) and the HBO Western "El Diablo" (1990).

Filmography

Writer (Feature Film)

Halloween (2018)

Characters As Source Material

Halloween (2007)

Characters As Source Material

Halloween (2007)

Source Material

Source Material

Halloween: Resurrection (2002)

Characters As Source Material

Halloween: H2O (1998)

Characters As Source Material

John Carpenter's Escape from L.A. (1996)

Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers (1995)

Characters As Source Material

Confessions of a Sorority Girl (1994)

Jailbreakers (1994)

Halloween II (1981)

Halloween (1978)

Producer (Feature Film)

World Trade Center (2006)

Crazy in Alabama (1999)

Chow Bella (1998)

John Carpenter's Escape from L.A. (1996)

Girls in Prison (1994)

Confessions of a Sorority Girl (1994)

Motorcycle Gang (1994)

Jailbreakers (1994)

Roadracers (1994)

Reform School Girl (1994)

Cool and the Crazy (1994)

Shake, Rattle and Rock (1994)

Runaway Daughters (1994)

Dragstrip Girl (1994)

Attack of the 50 Ft. Woman (1993)

The Fisher King (1991)

El Diablo (1990)

Executive Producer

Gross Anatomy (1989)

Heartbreak Hotel (1988)

Big Top Pee-Wee (1988)

Adventures in Babysitting (1987)

Head Office (1986)

The Dead Zone (1983)

Halloween III: Season of the Witch (1982)

Halloween II (1981)

Escape From New York (1981)

Halloween (1978)

Special Thanks (Feature Film)

The Replacement Killers (1998)

Special Thanks To

Cast (Special)

What Is a Producer? (2001)

Masters of Fantasy: John Carpenter (1998)

Producer (Special)

Disneyland's 35th Anniversary Celebration (1990)

Executive Producer

Adventures in Babysitting (1989)

Executive Producer

Life Events

1978

Received first big break producing "Halloween" for John Carpenter; co-wrote script with him

1983

First producing credit outside Carpenter orbit, David Cronenberg's "The Dead Zone"

1985

Formed Hill/Obst Productions with friend Lynda Obst

1988

Signed exclusive development and production deal at Walt Disney pictures for new company, Debra Hill Productions

1991

Dissolved producing partnership with Lynda Obst

1991

Reteamed with Obst to produce "The Fisher King"

1993

Directed "Home Sweet, Home Boy" episode of HBO's "Dream On"

1996

Reunited with Carpenter as executive producer of "John Carpenter's Escape from L.A."

Videos

Fog, The (1980) -- (Movie Clip) Open, Their Dark And Icy Death From producer and director and co-writers Debra Hill and John Carpenter, nice chilling ghost-story opening, with all of John Houseman’s performance, Ty Mitchell as young Andy listening, from The Fog, 1980, starring Adrienne Barbeau (then Mrs. Carpenter), Jamie Lee Curtis, Janet Leigh and Hal Holbrook.

Fog, The (1980) -- (Movie Clip) Weird And Unlucky End of director John Carpenter’s credits, Adrienne Barbeau’s voice DJ Stevie from a small coastal-California town where weird electrical events have begun, Tom Atkins as Nick is happy to pick up hitcher Elizabeth (Jamie Lee Curtis), in The Fog, 1980.

Fisher King, The (1991) -- (Movie Clip) Thank God I'm Me The opening from director Terry Gilliam and from Richard LaGravanese’s original screenplay, Jeff Bridges as New York shock-jock Jack Lucas, his caller Edwin (Christian Clemenson) providing a critical plot point, in The Fisher King, 1991, with Robin Williams and Mercedes Ruehl.

Fisher King, The (1991) -- (Movie Clip) Forgive Me! Egotistical New York radio shock jock Jack (Jeff Bridges) in his apartment preparing for his TV sitcom audition when he learns, from a TV reporter (Frazer Smith) that his caller “Edwin,” whom he’s encouraged to hate “yuppies,” has become a mass murderer, in Terry Gilliam’s The Fisher King, 1991.

Fisher King, The (1991) -- (Movie Clip) I Do Believe In Fairies Depressed former radio shock jock Jack (Jeff Bridges), thinking about throwing himself from the Manhattan Bridge, is attacked by thugs (Jayce Bartok, Dan Futterman), then rescued by profane Parry (Robin Williams, his first scene) and his homeless band, in Terry Gilliam’s The Fisher King, 1991.

Fisher King, The (1991) -- (Movie Clip) Jesus' Juice Glass A feature scene for Mercedes Ruehl in her Academy Award-nominated role, as Anne, employer and girlfriend of former radio star Jack (Jeff Bridges), who’s wondering about the Holy Grail after meeting a visionary vagrant (Robin Williams, not seen), in Terry Gilliam’s The Fisher King, 1991.

Fisher King, The (1991) -- (Movie Clip) She Loves Dumplings Ex-radio shock jock Jack (Jeff Bridges), having learned that his rants led to the murder of the wife of homeless Parry (Robin Williams), finds him around Park Ave. and East 24th in Manhattan, where he turns out to be observing Lydia (Amanda Plummer), in Terry Gilliam’s The Fisher King, 1991.

Escape From New York (1981) -- (Movie Clip) David 14 Having established the year 1997 and Manhattan as a prison, top cop Hauk (Lee Van Cleef) is introduced, Nancy Stephens the lone hijacker, Donald Pleasence the president, in John Carpenter's Escape From New York, 1981.

Escape From New York (1981) -- (Movie Clip) Call Me Snake In 1997, chief cop Hauk (Lee Van Cleef) takes a call from the veep about the president held hostage on Manhattan, the prison, then consults with just-arrived inmate Plisskin (Kurt Russell), in John Carpenter's Escape From New York, 1981.

Escape From New York (1981) -- (Movie Clip) I've Got His Pulse tbd

Companions

John Carpenter

Companion

Director, screenwriter, composer. Together in the late 1970s; Hill produced and co-scripted Carpenter's "Halloween" (1978) and "The Fog" (1980) and collaborated on five subsequent projects.

Bibliography

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