Jamie Lee Curtis: Scream Queen

by David Grove

Jamie Lee Curtis launched her film career with the immortal 1978 horror classic Halloween, creating a heroine in Laurie Strode who would become the prototype for the ultimate scream queen. Subsequent roles in horror films like The Fog, Prom Night, Terror Train, Roadgames and Halloween II - all of which are genre classics - would cement Curtis' status as cinema's undisputed scream queen, a title she holds to this day. Jamie Lee Scream Queen details Curtis' career and life during her scream queen era and includes detailed and never-before-seen production histories - as well as running commentary - of the horror films that made Jamie Lee Curtis a genre icon. Featuring hundreds of interviews with Curtis' friends and colleagues - including John Carpenter, Richard Franklin, Debra Hill, Paul Lynch, Rick Rosenthal, Roger Spottiswoode - and years of intense research, Jamie Lee Scream Queen is a comprehensive biography, an invaluable film reference, and a painstaking document of horror film history. David Grove is the author of Fantastic 4: The Making of the Movie (Titan Books) and Making Friday the 13th (FAB Press). He has written for such publications as Dreamwatch, Fangoria, Film Review, Film Threat, Hot Dog, MovieMaker, Rue Morgue, Sci-Fi Magazine, Shivers and Total Film. He lives in British Columbia, Canada.

"The author has a lot of admiration towards Jamie Lee and it comes out on every page.  The book is a fantastic guide towards the production of the movies she was in and definitely fits really well into any fan's library..."  -  ohmb.net  (the official Halloween message board)

"...Jamie Lee Scream Queen   is a must read." - Retro Slashers (retroslashers.net)

"..comprehensive and compelling biography...(  A)" - Sci-Fi Magazine (Feb. 2011)

"Jamie Lee Scream Queen is a must-own if you have even a passing interest in any of Curtis' early films." - chud.com

"...terrific biography." - horrorbid.com

"...a joy to read." - joblo.com

"There's a wealth of goodies in here." - Rue Morgue

Genres: Nonfiction, Horror

508 pages, Paperback

First published September 20, 2010

About the author

David Grove is an author, film journalist, and produced screenwriter from Vancouver. A film historian, he’s the author of the books Jamie Lee Curtis: Scream Queen, Making Friday the 13th, and On Location in Blairstown: The Making of Friday the 13th. His book Jan-Michael Vincent: Edge of Greatness, a biography on the career and life of actor Jan-Michael Vincent, will be published in 2017. The Yearbook, his first novel, will be published by Black Opal Books in the fall of 2016.

Reviews

[Ryan · Rating 3 out of 5]

There’s some good info and interviews in this book about films that, aside from the Halloween movies, don’t really get written about all that much. I loved that aspect of the book. The author even interviewed Curtis, which is great. Unfortunately the writing leaves a lot to be desired. With some good editing, this book probably could have been cut down by about half just by removing all instances where the author repeats himself. That made this a very frustrating read for me. While I’m glad there’s a book about Jamie Lee Curtis’ horror films, l wish more care had been taken with the writing.

[Joshua Wiles · Rating 5 out of 5]

You will never read a more definitive book on the great Jamie Lee Curtis. From the highs to the lows, it's all here.