Known best for her iconic roles in hit films like Halloween, A Fish Called Wanda, and Everything Everywhere All at Once, Jamie Lee Curtis expands her unparalleled creativity by unveiling her new graphic novel Mother Nature, soon to be a major motion picture from Blumhouse. Although the SAG-AFTRA strike stopped actors from promoting performances during this year’s SDCC, Curtis actually appeared in her capacity as a comic book writer, something that’s a new endeavor for her, but one that she relishes with all of the enthusiasm and excitement fans have come to expect from the enigmatic Oscar winner.
Co-written by Russell Goldman with art from Karl Stevens, Mother Nature started as a script currently in production with Comet Pictures and the aforementioned horror powerhouse Blumhouse. Speaking of powerhouses, the graphic novel is published by Titan Comics, and is just one of several exciting projects they’ve presented throughout this year’s convention.
Set in New Mexico, Jamie Lee Curtis introduces Mother Nature like this: “I first thought about this story when I was 19 years old. I've always been aware of the very unbalanced relationship between humans and nature, and even though I was young, I always knew that, inevitably, nature would win.” At Comic-Con, Curtis elaborated by noting, “I had an idea of every gruesome way that Mother Nature could kill people. You know, black ice, storms, tornadoes, burning them up with extreme heat. Hailstones to the head. What a way to go.”
Here’s a summary of the story: After witnessing her father die in mysterious circumstances on one of the Cobalt Corporation’s experimental oil extraction projects, Nova Terrell has grown up to despise the seemingly benevolent company relied upon by the town of Catch Creek, New Mexico. The rebellious Nova wages a campaign of sabotage against the oil giant, until one night she accidentally makes a terrifying discovery about the true nature of the “Mother Nature” project and a threat that could destroy the entire town.
During a Friday afternoon panel, Jamie Lee Curtis was joined by Russell Goldman and Karl Stevens to give a packed hall an exclusive behind-the-scenes look at how they put the graphic novel together, and offered some details on the upcoming feature film. Somewhat strangely given Curtis’ comments, the movie doesn’t appear to be a completely done deal. Regarding the cinematic adaption said to be in the works, Curtis mused, “Maybe I’ll direct it. Maybe I’ll co-direct. Maybe I’ll be in it. Maybe I’ll do all of it,” implying production might be a ways off, but teasing she may be deeply involved in every aspect of it. She added, “I’m 65 years old this November, and I have no time to waste. None.”
Prior to the panel, Jamie Lee Curtis shared more on Mother Nature’s origins and its climate crisis influence in an NPR interview where she cited classic disaster movies like The Towering Inferno and The Poseidon Adventure as somewhat similar stories. "The inspiration is terror. The inspiration is fear that we are heading into a very, very dangerous place … I was aware of the raping of the land. I was aware of the drilling and the blasting and the and the stealing of these natural resources. And I just had this idea in my head. I said, ‘I'm going to write a movie about how we're blowing it with Mother Nature.’ I just knew it … It stuck with me so that in 2018, when I made the Halloween movie and got reinvigorated to the process of making movies, I decided to write a screenplay."
Titan Comics will release Mother Nature in comic shops, book stores, and digital devices on August 8th. Pre-orders are available at the following links, and you can get a look at the graphic novel’s first few pages with an extended art preview below.
At least the movie only runs 70 minutes, though I suppose that extra 10 technically disqualifies it from being a literal amateur hour.