Jamie Lee Curtis, Michael Myers, and a jack-o-lantern all come to mind when thinking of the "Halloween" franchise.
However, you probably rarely consider the man who came up with the idea for the horror classic.
We read autobiography The Man Who Created Halloween, and learned Irwin Yablans may have never went into film production if it weren't for the interference of his younger brother, Frank.
See what you may not know about the horror movie >
Before creating "Halloween," Yablans worked primarily as a salesman and distributor at major motion picture studios Paramount and Warner Bros.
While at Paramount, he turned down a huge opportunity to oust and take over his boss' position as vp manager of sales in L.A. The man who eventually took over was his younger brother Frank, a longtime Disney employee.
With his brother soon in control of Paramount, Irwin became known simply as the "president's brother."
Frank soon forced his brother from his sales position, asking him to work instead as a production assistant. The adjustment, though difficult at first, was probably the best thing that ever happened to him.
"This invitation was probably encouraged by my brother, for it would conveniently resolve the issue of how to get me out of Paramount as a sales executive," said Yablans. "I would like to believe that Frank really thought that I would be happier making movies than selling them, and truth be told, it's what I really wanted to do. The reality is that it was a combination of the two that Frank cleverly used to rationalize moving me out of distribution."
After ending his contract at Paramount, Yablan left the major studios to run independent studio Compass International Pictures (originally Turtle Releasing Company), which led to his eventual meeting with the real-life Michael Myers and the creation of international success, "Halloween."
Yablans came up with the idea for the film on a first-class flight back to Los Angeles.
Before "Halloween," Yablan's Indie film company Compass put out failed film, "High Velocity" before turning to new director John Carpenter with "Assault on Precinct 13."
After the success of Carpenter's first film, Yablans knew he wanted him on board to work on a follow-up film.
"The idea came to me that a movie about babysitters in jeopardy could be interesting," said Yablans. "I reasoned that everyone had either been a babysitter, hired one, or at the very least, been a baby."
(The Man Who Created Halloween)
The character, Michael Myers, is a real person.
At the time, he was the owner of a small independent film distributing company in London, Miracle Pictures.
Yablans met with Myers to discuss the entry of Carpenter's "The Assault on Precinct 13" in the London Film Festival.
(The Man Who Created Halloween)
Director John Carpenter had two requests for the film.
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