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Dwight Little’s legacy falls into one of three categories: horror, action, and TV. From the horror couplet that is Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers and the Robert Englund-starring Phantom of the Opera to the action trilogy of Rapid Fire, Marked for Death, and Murder at 1600, as well as his TV work (The X-Files among his most-known projects), Little has managed to reinvent himself numerous times over his 30+ years career.
It’s not an easy task to stay relevant in an ever-evolving landscape, especially in the age of streaming, but Little’s instincts have always guided his creative hand. With his new memoir, Still Rolling: Inside the Hollywood Dream Factory, the filmmaker walks the reader through various stages of his career, shares insider tips and tricks, and regales with celebrity encounters.
Little, whose TV credits also include Prison Break, The Practice, and Bones, muses on the struggles any filmmaker must confront: how to keep your name in the conversation and make art you truly believe in. Throughout Still Rolling, the writer/director writes candidly about forging relationships, keeping his finger on the pulse of the mainstream, and his adventures around the globe.
Below, Bloody Disgusting spoke with Dwight Little about his book, lessons learned, his indie feature Natty Knocks, and more!
‘Halloween 4’
Bloody Disgusting: Time frequently changes perceptions about projects. I immediately thought of how when the new ‘Halloween’ trilogy came out, many people gained a greater appreciation for those older films, including yours.
Dwight Little: That’s another movie that was not received very well. It did well commercially, but the critic response was not great. I don’t know what the expectations were with Michael Myers. There’s an initial resistance to that movie, but later over the years, there have been several reissues on DVD and Blu-ray, and so forth. And of course, it plays every year, and I think people really love it now. Maybe you’re right, maybe the trilogy made them nostalgic for ‘Halloween 4.’
With the recent news that ‘Halloween’ might be getting a TV series, would that be something you’d be up to doing?
Oh, definitely. I know Malek [Akkad] is guiding that. But it’s really Universal’s play. I mean, I think they’re really… I would love to do it with Alan McElroy. Of course, we have to be invited, and I’m sure they have people that they’re interested in, so we’ll see how it plays out. But sure I would jump into that in a minute if we could figure out how to make that work.
Considering the greater appreciation for ‘Halloween 4,’ many fans are clamoring for more Rachel and Jamie, particularly a direct sequel to your film. If that would ever come into the conversation, would you do it?
Not only would I do it, I’ve actually pitched it. You keep [Rachel] alive and follow through with Jamie and Rachel. Ellie Cornell is alive and well, and living on the east coast. And I just worked with Daniel Harris, and she’s a doll. I think that’s a great movie. I think they should call it ‘Halloween 4: Part Two.’ Just be upfront about it and say what it is because that’s what it would be. In my own opinion, more than a TV show, I think that would get a lot of attention.
Speaking of Daniel Harris, let’s talk ‘Natty Knocks.’ The opening sets the scene for the film, and you immediately know it’s a Dwight Little film.
This movie is very interesting. It’s a Dwight Little film in a bunch of ways. I have these three horror stars, and there is an expectation of a gore fest – an Eli Roth film or ‘Terrifier 2’ kind of thing. And that’s not it. It’s sort of like ‘The Goonies’ meets ‘Disturbia.’ It does have this throwback to the ‘80s, which is what we were trying to do, which is basically a babysitter movie. We were incredibly lucky to find Charlotte Fountain-Jardim to play the babysitter, who I call the Laurie Strode character.
The response to the film has been all over the map. The people who love it, love it. The people who wanted the gore fest are really upset. They’re like, ‘What are they doing? They’re making this Disney movie.’ And they get all pissed off. With my other films, including ‘Halloween 4’ and ‘Phantom,’ there’s all this resistance. But I think ‘Natty Knocks’ will play every Halloween. They’ll drag it out every Halloween. It’s one of these things that when people let go of their expectations, they’re going to find it as a really fun throwback movie.
What was it like working with David Dolnik, the DP?
I have to say he did a wonderful job, especially since there were very limited resources. This was a movie that came together during COVID very quickly with some private equity money. So, we were kind of outside of the normal bounds and David did a very good job. The movie looks great.
I love that you connect back to Halloween 4 with the line: “Don’t try that Halloween shit with me.”
Yeah, that was an easter egg. That was Bucky’s line. I thought about Danielle Harris, who was the little Jamie Lloyd. She’s now this real estate mom, which is crazy. She’s so convincing, such a good actress. But I think the real breakout for me in that movie was Charlotte [Fountain-Jardim], who played Britt, the babysitter. She just has this natural charm, and she’s so likable.
Because of that, you care about what happens to the characters.
She definitely sells it.
It’s a throwback movie, and we took a chance to do something against the grain. If you look at the pattern, from Cobweb to Barbarian to Terrifier 2 and Talk to Me, these contemporary horror films have become very, very violent. I have to admit to being a little bit old school about this. I feel like when it goes too far, you just get into gross-out territory. I wanted Natty Knocks to be kind of a Disturbia, kind of thriller rather than a Saw movie or something like that. I think over time this movie will find its audience.
‘Natty Knocks’
You include some deep philosophical musings in your book, like talking about time and the current landscape of streaming that has changed TV. How has streaming impacted you in your work and your ability to get work?
What happens is there’s a natural progression. A lot of the business is relationship-based. So, a lot of those showrunners that I came up with – Chris Carter, David Kelly, John Wells, Hart Hansen – these were pretty big guys in their fields. What happens is as they age out and start doing other things. So, you have to make new contacts. The last network show I did was I was 9-1-1, right during COVID. It was very difficult, particularly with all the masking and testing. I found the whole process not interesting frankly because it had turned into like a medical experiment.
You couldn’t talk to people and it was a real bummer. Then of course, there’s the long strikes. We’ll see what happens after the strikes. I’m more interested now in making these little indies. I did a little indie with Robert Patrick and Heather Graham called Last Rampage. And I’m extremely proud of that movie even though it was made on a small budget. It’s got a very unique point of view, and Robert Patrick is great in it. I find myself creatively just more interested in indie filmmaking than in network television.
In the book, you talk about getting fired from Monte Walsh. What do you look back on now, and what you learned from that?
There are some things that you just can’t control. I describe in the book that Tom Selleck wanted this other director and that the studio had hired me because they had to get going. They really liked a movie I had done for TNT called Boss of Bosses with Chazz Palminteri. Then, what happened was – not to get into too much dirt – Simon Windsor became available, and he had directed Tom in Quigley Down Under. So, they had personal and tight connection. I was a little bit set up to take the fall on that, which is honestly okay because I never signed off on the script.
I never thought they had the script right. It was very episodic. Because of leaving Monte Walsh, I was able to go right into Anacondas at Sony Columbia, which I never would have been able to do. So, it worked out for the best. Nevertheless, you hate to be part of something that really is outside of you.
When writing about ‘The X-Files,’ you talk about those relationships that happen quickly and once the project is over, everyone moves on to the next thing. What relationships do you miss most?
The great John Huston wrote that directing is the loneliest job in the world because you have these very intense collaborative experiences for months, if it’s a feature, or if it’s television, for maybe three weeks. It’s very common but you do end up… like David Boreanaz and I are personal friends, and we see each other at holidays and do things together. Robert Patrick and I, we see each other. You do meet people, you get close to them, and then, in the natural order of things, you just kind of drift away. So, in that sense, John Huston is right. You find yourself very involved and then you’re off to the next thing. It’s a peculiar profession that way.
Where is your favorite place you’ve ever filmed?
There have been so many. I do like Vancouver. It’s beautiful there as long as it’s not the dead of winter. I find it easy to work there. The people are friendly, and there’s lots of things to do on the weekends. It’s just so pretty, and I’ve been up in those woods in the middle of the night – night after night on ‘Millennium’ and ‘Wolf Lake’ and all these different shows that I’ve done up there.
I like Chicago. There’s so much music and so much food and the locations are so rich. I shot a huge Rapid Fire sequence. I’ve also shot in Thailand and India and Jamaica and all these places – and Hungary and Budapest. When you’re shooting out of the country, you really get a very deep immersion into this other culture and these other people.
Is there anything else that you’d want people to take away from your book?
You really need to have point of view. I’m talking about aspiring filmmakers; you need to step outside of yourself, and you need to interview yourself. Be very critical and say, ‘What are you, the filmmaker, bringing to the party that’s not already there?’ I’ve been saying this, and Quentin Tarantino said a similar thing lately – of course he’s the master – but he said, ‘What is the movie that you’re gonna write or you’re gonna make that nobody else is gonna write? Why is someone gonna hire you?’
With your first short or your first feature, you gotta come up with a way to brand yourself, so people know how to think about you. Are you the rom-com guy? Are you the horror guy? Are you the sensitive indie-drama guy? That’s an important thing that maybe the film schools don’t teach enough. If you say I want to be a film director, that’s a very egotistical, narcissistic thing to say in the first place. You better be able to stand up and deliver. If you’re gonna say to the world, ‘I wanna be paid to manage 250 people and $30 million,’ you better have something to offer.
