Debra Hill

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.

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]

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]

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]

• Debra Hill at IMDb
• Overlooked No More: Debra Hill, Producer Who Parlayed ʻHalloweenʼ Into a Cult Classic retrospective obituary from The New York Times.