Usually, when I’m writing about Halloween, I’m salivating over the tense atmosphere, terrifying kills and badass John Carpenter synth music. But this story is a little more sentimental.
Anthony Woodle was a 29-year-old aspiring director and horror superfan with a particular love for the Halloween franchise who was diagnosed with esophageal cancer in 2019. He was battling the condition, but things took a turn for the worse and he realized his time was short.
As such, he decided to marry his long-term girlfriend Emilee – but with an awesome twist. Woodle got in touch with Rough House Productions, the company responsible for the rebooted Halloween movies and explained his situation. They then put him in contact with Jamie Lee Curtis, who agreed to officiate the ceremony by phone on September 13th.
On the day of the wedding, however, Woodle’s health began to decline, but Curtis still went ahead with things at around 10:30 PM, saying:
“Anthony and Emilee, all anyone is promised is this moment. We live and we love in this moment. May the blessings of God rest upon you, may his peace abide with you, may her spirit illuminate your heart now, in this moment. With the power vested in me by the internet, it is my great pleasure to tell you that you are now married people.”
Shortly after, at 11:17 PM, Woodle died. There’s another silver lining to this sad story, though. Halloween Kills has been delayed a year due to the pandemic, but has been in the can since the summer. And knowing that Woodle wouldn’t live to see the release, director David Gordon Green set up a private screening for him. According to his widow, “that was the most I’ve seen him smile — during and after the movie.”
Throughout the production of Halloween, Rough House Productions have demonstrated an admirable commitment to the fan community with constant social media updates, interviews and behind the scenes images. But this is going above and beyond the call of duty and I particularly applaud Jamie Lee Curtis for stepping into such an emotionally fraught situation to conduct what sounds like a very moving ceremony.
