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Current Status Of The Friday The 13th (2015) Production

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Let's be honest, our readers were pretty bummed when there was no updated news about Friday The 13th (2015) this past December 13th. It seemed like a perfect time for Platinum Dunes or Paramount to announce any little bit of information about production of the film. However, it didn't happen, and there is good reason for sure as Platinum Dunes is prepping to release their Sci-Fi found footage flick Welcome To Yesterday (Just recently re-titled from Almanac) this February as well as put the finishing touches on their version of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.


So where does that leave Friday The 13th in terms of the where Paramount is in production? Right now, we know that there is no finished script, no Director under contract, or even a cast announced yet. What we do have is a release date of Friday March 13, 2015 and what looks like a push to get a new film made. The found footage approach for this film is still sinking in with me to this day and I am a little worried about what this means for the franchise. With that being said, Paramount is looking to make the newest film at a ridiculously low cost, perhaps even as low as the films from the early 1980's, which averaged around $1 Million in budget. Knowing that, I can see why Paramount is seriously eyeing found footage as it has had a ton of success with that financial model with the Paranormal Activity franchise.

I have been following and writing about the franchise on the World Wide Web for over 15 years and have never witnessed the amount of negative responses from the fans to Paramount's plan for the new film. Yes, this even supersedes the hate thrown at Platinum Dunes for their 2009 film, which was dubbed a remake a full year or more before that film even went into production. We all hope Paramount has someone reading the online responses to know how fans feel, but that probably will not dissuade they from making the film they want to make.

What's interesting is Paramount and Platinum Dunes have not really said anything officially outside of setting a release date. Could Paramount be second guessing their idea of found footage? Perhaps, but we know that sometime in the beginning months of 2014, a script will be settled upon and a flurry of announcements will be forthcoming. Platinum Dunes will have more time to focus on Friday The 13th once again after the new year begins as production would have to start by Spring 2014 in order to have a realistic shot of the new film opening  in March of 2015.

Rare 'Jason Goes To Hell', 'Friday The 13th: The Final Chapter' Props On Display This February

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Fans of Jason Goes To Hell and Friday The 13th: The Final Chapter are in for a real treat this coming February as some truly rare and exciting props from those films are going to be on display as part of Kirk Von Hammett's FEAR FESTEviL. The event takes place the weekend of February 6-8, 2014 and will feature not only celebrity guests from Horror films and musical groups, but the show will also be displaying some one of a kind screen-used Friday The 13th props.

Below are images of some of the props that were just posted on the Facebook Event Page for the show and include Jason Goes To Hell props such as Jason Voorhees' head (from the F.B.I. ambush in the opening of the film) as well as the little Hell demon that escapes Randy's body near the film's conclusion. From Friday The 13th: The Final Chapter an upper body torso was revealed, which looks to be the Jason stunt prop for when Trish stabs Jason in the chest with the machete near that film's conclusion.

If you live in the San Francisco area and want to get an up-close look at these props and much more, make sure to visit www.fearfestevil.com for more information.



Advertising: 'Jason Lives' Home Video Promotional Mobile Assortment

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Advanced promotions of films being released into theaters is a great way to create awareness and anticipation among potential viewers. This is usually accomplished with film trailers, lobby standees and posters. Lobby cards were also utilized in the U.S. through the 1980's, however, marketing a film for home video release in rental stores was just as critical to the overall success of profits for a film.

Paramount Pictures was especially clever in their promotion of the Friday the 13th films when they were being released to Beta, VHS and Laserdisc in the 1980's. Occasionally, we will take a look at certain items that were sent to video rental stores to promote the release of the Friday the 13th films. Today our focus will be on the home video release of Jason Lives: Friday The 13th Part 6.

A very cool little mobile was created for video store promotion for Jason's resurrection that immediately made store visitors aware that the Crystal Lake slasher was on his way back to their living rooms. The mobile consisted of a cardboard axe with blood on the blade and the title of the film on the wooden handle. Hanging below the axe was a hockey mask. Surprisingly, the mask is a blank slate of sorts, with no chevrons and really a different mask altogether than what is seen in the films.

The Jason Lives mobile is a blast from the past and something that hearkens back to a time of the home video store explosion that is fading away quite quickly nowadays. More items like this one will be featured on the website in the future, so keep an eye out for more Friday the 13th goodies!




When Quentin Tarantino Was To Direct 'The Ultimate Jason Voorhees Movie'

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It's been close to nine years since the news first broke that controversial filmmaker Quentin Tarantino was being sought after to direct an all new Friday The 13th film. The franchise had not really had a straight, formulaic sequel set in Crystal Lake since Friday The 13th Part 7: The New Blood, and the ultra-violent filmmaker seemed like a great choice to resurrect Jason Voorhees and bring him back to his scary roots. Of course, there were many fans that could not understand the choice of Tarantino. Realistically, it was not only a move that Warner Bros and Paramount were making to get a quality filmmaker that could bring a hard edge to the franchise, but also a nice built-in marketing mechanism that would ensure a big opening weekend.


It's really simple, Quentin has a loyal fanbase to begin with and adding him to the Friday The 13th universe would have created a nice media whirlwind to help promote the film. If you have doubts that this marriage would have worked, look no further than what Malek Akaad did by hiring Rob Zombie to remake the immortal classic Halloween! Many people in the film industry were shocked that not only was John Carpenter's classic being remade at all, but by a director that only had two films under his belt at the time and came from the music industry. The controversial move paid off, however, with a huge box office opening weekend and also a film that brought the Michael Myers character back to someone who was scary again and quite frankly someone to definitely run away from.

Below is the first report of Quentin in talks to helm the new Friday The 13th film, dated March 7, 2005 from ign.com.

IGN FilmForce has learned that none other than Oscar-winner Quentin Tarantino is in final negotiations to write and direct the Ultimate Jason Voorhees Movie, an all new Friday the 13th for New Line.

While the rumor mill had long suggested that the next movie might be Freddy vs. Jason vs. Ash, that project never came together for a number of reasons.

Fans will instead be treated to the Ultimate Jason Voorhees Movie. The project will be a co-venture between New Line and Paramount Pictures. It is expected to be a "quickie" that could get underway as early as this year!

Tarantino's production company, A Band Apart, referred us to the William Morris Agency. A rep at WMA would only advise us that Tarantino has "not yet" been offered the job while refusing to elaborate any further.

So what ever happened to this dream project and why did Quentin never seal the deal? There are many speculations, but after a week of online reports about his involvement with Friday The 13th, Tarantino had this to say via contactmusic.com on March 15, 2005.

"What's happening with Friday The 13th? Nothing at all. It's a complete lie. I like Jason and everything, but I've no intention of directing a movie. New Line talked to me about it, but it was a complete fabrication, that article. I would love to do a horror film. I'm just saying it's not going to be Friday The 13th."

It would have been a very exciting and interesting film to watch, and there is a part of a lot of fans that really wish it had happened. We all know the story afterwards, legal battles between Paramount and Warner Bros. eventually subsided and Platinum Dunes was brought in to reboot the franchise with the 2009 film. So what would you think of a Quentin Tarantino directed Friday The 13th? Could it still happen?

Japanese Friday The 13th Chirashi Posters Give Unique Film Perspective

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We have featured numerous Japanese posters and memorabilia for the Friday The 13th film franchise throughout the years and every single one of them are great collectible items for fans of the series. Each item features either unique artwork or styling of imagery from the respective movies that really set them apart from other marketing materials from the franchise. Another Japanese collectible that is a great little marketing item is the Chirashi posters that were used to promote the movies.

These mini posters are 18 cm x 26 cm in size and truly are “mini” size versions of the original sized posters. The unique thing about these Chirashi posters are the description and images from the movie on the back side of the advertisement. There are some classic images laid out on the backside of each poster and each Chirashi makes for a great collectible to add to your Friday The 13th memorabilia collection.

Check out some of the Chirashi flyers below and see which one you like the most!








Behold The Friday The 13th Hockey Mask Video Game Controller

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Fans of video game consoles have always wanted to customize the shells of those consoles to have their personality show through when gaming. In fact, people have been known to travel with their customized consoles to use as a sign of winning tournaments. It's like a badge of honor to many. Outside of the consoles themselves, there have been many gamers that customize their controllers, not only for performance, but for visual appearance as well. That is what one ambitious gamer has done and it's an ode to Jason Voorhees himself!

User valentino42 at imgur.com decided to give a step by step tutorial on creating his ultimate PS4 hockey mask controller and it looks awesome! Below are just a few of the photos of the controller that were taken. What do you think of this project? Could you dominate your competition by intimidation at the sight of the hockey mask controller?




CONTEST WINNER: Friday The 13th Holiday Gift Basket

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Last week, we started a contest that gave our readers a chance to win a Friday The 13th Holiday Gift Basket. The basket consists of a wide variety of rare promotional items as well as a new Jason Voorhees figure. The contest asked fans to let us know which film was their favorite and why they liked it the best.

One of our readers was chosen at random out of over a hundred entries and we are now ready to announce the winner!

Congratulations Rick Pilcher! You are the winner of our Holiday Gift Basket. Rick will be receiving an email from us shortly for shipping information. Again, congratulations and a great big thank you to all of our readers that participated in the contest! We really enjoyed reading all of your reasons for liking the films.


Film Props: 'Friday The 13th: A New Beginning' Machete

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Machete props have littered the Friday the 13th film landscape over the past 30 years and every single prop is different in size and unique to its purpose in a film. Today we are going to take a look at a prop machete for Friday the 13th: A New Beginning!


This machete is rumored to have been used first at the beginning of the film when Tommy Jarvis is experiencing another blood soaked encounter with Jason (Played by John Hock) while he is dreaming. The machete is then mentioned to have been converted to an F/X machete for stuntman Tom Morga to use while playing Pseudo Jason "Roy", and used to kill the Pete character as Roy's second victim.

The machete was cut to fit the actor's neck and then fit with a tube to pump blood to simulate blood from cutting the neck. This is another highly sought after prop from the Friday the 13th film franchise and its current owner is thrilled, we are sure, to have a piece of franchise history!

More Info Can Be Found At www.yourprops.com

Merry Christmas 2013 Friday The 13th Fans!

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We have had our busiest year for the website and we thank everyone of our readers and supporters for continuing to spread the word about our articles and news posts. Without the dedicated Friday The 13th fans, this website would not exist. I am a long time fan of the franchise and it has been an extreme pleasure to help bring so much news and information to the fans. Although the World Wide Web is vast in size, we have become one of the central hubs for Friday The 13th news and hope to grow even more in the coming years.

This time of year is a great one for people to reminisce about good times and bad, and movies always seem to bring people together. Although the Friday The 13th franchise is indeed about a killer in a hockey mask and projects bleak and disturbing circumstances, the films are entertainment and a stress release for many people in the world. They have helped form a huge community of fans and have connected many people around the world. I think of everyone that I have met over the years while writing for this website and it has been a truly amazing experience.

From myself and my family, I wish everyone a joyous Christmas and Holiday season and hope everyone stays safe and enjoys time with family and friends.

Courtesy Slasher Bob

Franchise Comic Review: Jason Goes To Hell

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Jason Goes To Hell: The Final Friday had the most extensive cross promotion and merchandising campaign out of any of the Friday The 13th films until Freddy vs Jason came along, and as such, there were numerous print media items created to celebrate the release of the films. One of the great ideas for Jason Goes To Hell was to release a three issue comic adaptation based on the final script. Topps Inc. produced the comic series in hopes of not only making a nice profit on the well known property and the character known as Jason Voorhees, but to create more awareness for the film and cater to the comic crowd. A crowd that now dominates the viewership of movies in cinemas.

Synopsis
Anyone reading this website has no doubt seen the movie at least once and is aware of the story, but for the sake of being complete, here we go. Jason Voorhees, the living, breathing essence of evil, is back for one fierce, final fling. Tracked down and blown to bits by a FBI task force, everyone now assumes that he's finally dead. But everybody assumes wrong. Jason has been reborn with the bone-chilling ability to assume the identity of anyone he touches. The terrifying truth is he could be anywhere. Or anybody.

Review
The greatest value of these comics are the inclusion of the scenes that never made the final cut for the theatrical or Unrated Director's Cut released on home video. Such cut scenes involved Duke being arrested for the attempt to steal Diana's body from the morgue and Vicki's boyfriend being killed by Jason. At the time the comics were released, these were valuable resources for cut material. Now, everyone is aware of these scenes whereas they can be found on the DVD released in 2002. Outside of the cut scenes in the comics, the illustrations are not the best compilations compared to other work from that time and the violence is depicted in an almost overtly cartoonish manner, considering the source material. As comics go, the quality here is not the peak of the industry, but as collectibles for the film franchise, it doesn't get much better!

Topps 1993 3 Issue Series
Written by Andy Mangels
Based on the screenplay by Dean Lorey and Jay Huguely
Pencilled by Cynthia Martin (Issues 1 & 3) and Bobby Rubio (Issue 2)
Inked by Allen Nunis
Colored by Evelyn Stein
Lettered by Lois Buhalis (Issues 1 & 3) and Jean Simek (Issue 2)



Top Ten Most Popular Friday The 13th Stories Of 2013

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Most entertainment websites have created their "Best Of " stories for the end of the year utilizing a wide array of news and editorial pieces written for all films in many different genres. It's a fun exercise to show readers what took place within the current year as it comes to a close and reminds everyone of how rapid news in the movie business is reported. Since our website is specific to one film franchise, it can be challenging to find stories and news to write about in a given year, but 2013 was dominated by news on a new Friday The 13th documentary, a brand new Blu-Ray box set, and later on in the year, news of a brand new film in the works!

Knowing there is a lot of news we have posted and reported on in 2013, we have compiled our Top 10 Most Popular Stories of the year and have listed them below starting with number ten. We hope you enjoy the list and look forward to even more Friday The 13th news in 2014!

10.NECA Reveals Friday The 13th Part 3 Mego Jason Packaging 

The toy and collectible company was up to their old tricks once again as they released a retro Part 3 Jason Voorhees 8 inch figure that was styled after the action figures of old from the 1970's. It was a big hit with fans and was a very popular story heading into the Fall Season



9.Paramount Sets Release Date For New Friday The 13th Sequel!

There was some sequel news that we reported in early to mid Summer, but the juicy tidbits didn't start making the World Wide Web rounds until later in the year, which is why a lot of the news for the new Friday The 13th starts lower on our list. Never fear, though, as a new film is coming in 2015!


8.New 'Friday The 13th' Confirmed To Be Found Footage And Another Reboot

Shortly after a release date was announced for a new film, rumors swirled that Paramount was planning on a Found Footage film and possibly being another reboot. Those topics were confirmed by Drew McWeeny at Hitfix.


7.Platinum Dunes To Work On Friday The 13th Sequel 

Long before a release date was set and news about Found Footage surfaced, Platinum Dunes producer Brad Fuller confirmed, himself, that the company was again involved in working on the next Friday The 13th film. The question everyone wants to know is can they improve upon the 2009 effort?


6. Sean Cunningham: Sequel For 2015, Television Series And A Video Game! 

While we knew Platinum Dunes was involved in the newest Friday the 13th film, we had yet to receive a solid release date from Paramount Pictures. We got a closer to a date when Sean Cunningham was interviewed by Fear Net in September and he dropped the mother load of information about the sequel release, a possible television series and maybe even a video game.



5.Paramount Gets Rights Back To Friday The 13th Films!

This was the news that really kick-started the current sequel news for the franchise and made it possible for the fans to have high hopes of a new film happening very soon. This was a blockbuster announcement as Warner Bros. traded the rights to release Friday The 13th films in theaters to Paramount for an opportunity to co-produce Chris Nolan's Interstellar with Warner Bros.


4. Friday The 13th Blu-Ray Box Set: Full List Of Features And Extras 

After it was learned that Warner Bros. was releasing a full twelve film Blu-Ray box set, fans wanted to know what would all be included. We set out to ask Warner Bros. home video department and so we produced a list of what they had of which versions of the films would be included as well as extras. Our list was controversial and in the end, almost everything was factual, with the exception that Friday The 13th 1980 was indeed Unrated.

3.Friday The 13th Blu-Ray Box Set Coming 9/13! 

We had found out late in 2012 that Warner Bros. had entered into a deal with Paramount to distribute a certain number of their titles on home video and the Friday The 13th films were included in that bunch. The only question left was which films they were going to release and when. Those questions were answered in June!


2. Sad News: Jason Actor Richard Brooker Passes

The Horror and Friday The 13th community was rocked this past April by the sudden passing of Jason Voorhees actor Richard Brooker. He was adored by thousands of fans as he got to know so many people by his numerous convention appearances over the years. His portrayal as the Jason in Friday The 13th Part 3 is considered by many to the best and he will always have a special place in the hearts of Friday The 13th fans.

1. EXCLUSIVE: Friday The 13th Documentary Release Info And Website Launch!

The most popular story on our website in 2013 was our exclusive announcement of the Crystal Lake Memories documentary release information and website launch. the anticipation of the release had been building since the Summer of 2012 and this announcement solidified the excitement of the release of the definite documentary.

Presenting Raiders Of Crystal Lake And The 13th Crusade

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Everybody loves a great adventure movie and there is none better than the Indiana Jones series. The original Indy romp, Raiders Of The Lost Ark, was a smash hit in theaters back in 1981 and is still as entertaining and thrilling as it was 30 years ago. Well, what if more thrills were added to the ending of Raiders, altering the history of the Ark to include Jason Voorhees from Friday the 13th?

Well, a very talented fan of both film series as well as Legos has put together an awesome fan film a few years ago incorporating Legos, Raiders Of The Lost Ark and Jason Voorhees himself. Instead of God's wrath laying waste to Nazis at the end of Raiders, why not let Jason have a little fun cleansing the Earth of one of the most evil organizations to ever exist? Watch the fun video below and enjoy the inventive and creative ways that Jason dispatches of his evil Lego counterparts! Oh, and save Indy and Marion too.


History And Sale Of Original Friday The 13th Part 3 Anaglyphic 3D Poster!

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Even if Friday The 13th Part 3 is not your favorite film in the franchise, the film tends to be held in high regard because of the ambitious use of 3D effects employed during its production. If fans have ever viewed Part 3 in theaters with the original technology created for the three dimensional effects, then you have witnessed quite possibly the best theatrical representation of the technology ever created. Along with the marketing of the film, 3D Video Corporation decided to create a full 3D poster for Friday The 13th Part 3 for which the company licensed from Paramount to sell.

The full size 24" x 36" poster was edited by Susan Pinsky, of Reel 3-D Enterprises, who was hired by Jim Butterfield, the president of 3D Video Corporation. Susan then hired artist Barry Jackson, 3-D art conversion artist Tony Alderson, and worked with technical consultant John Rupkalvis to create one of the most iconic marketing items from the film ever produced. Some of our readers are even aware that a special pair of 3D glasses were produced to go with the poster and those glasses pop up on eBay from time to time for sale.

Above is an image of the 3D poster created by 3D Video Corporation and below is as an image taken during the original shoot where the 3D effects for the poster were being created.

So here is the exciting news for fans. Reel 3-D Enterprises is selling originally produced posters with glasses from 1982 in their original wrapping! The cost is $49.95, but if you are a collector and a bit of a historian of the franchise, here is an excellent opportunity to own an authentic original printing of this iconic poster from 1982. For details on the sale, visit the eBay sale.



Portuguese VHS Home Video Covers Offer Another New Look At Friday The 13th

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Part of the fun of being a fan of a particular film franchise is being able to dig up old information and advertising about the films from decades past that can sometimes rekindle enthusiasm of one's fandom. One of the great hobbies within the Friday community is locating old home video formats from around the world to see how different countries represented the film franchise.

One of our long time readers "TheCollector" recently sent us some great photos of the Portuguese home video releases of the first eight Friday The 13th films!

All of the VHS covers have the main title listed as "Sexta-Feira 13", which translated to English is "Friday 13". For Friday The 13th: A New Beginning, the subtitle on the box cover reads "Um Novo Começo", for which the English translation goes perfectly to "A New Beginning". Finally, the subtitle for Friday The 13th Part 7: The New Blood reads "A Matança Continua" which translates in English to "The Killing Continues". That is a little bit different than 'The New Blood".

We hope everyone enjoys seeing these Portuguese video releases from decades past.





Scarewear Productions Offers Great Jason Voorhees Replica Masks And Busts

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Friday The 13th fans love to collect items from the franchise and what could be better than replicas of the hockey masks Jason wears in the films or of the likeness of the slasher himself? Well, our attention was recently pointed towards a company called Scarewear Productions that not only creates wearable masks of Jason Voorhees, but resin display busts as well.

Some of Scarewear's work is truly remarkable and if you can afford to throw some of your disposable income their way, you can own some of the nicest looking Jason Voorhees busts in the community today. Below are just a few of the busts created by the company, which feature the looks of Mr. Voorhees from various films, such as Jason Lives: Friday The 13th Part 6 and Freddy Vs Jason. However, the coolest looking bust so far from Scarewear for Jason is the "What If Winston" that shows off what the unmasked Jason Voorhees would have looked like at the end of Friday The 13th Part 3 if Stan Winston's make-up had been kept for the film.

If you like the work you see then please visit the Scarewear Productions' Facebook Page and get in contact with them to find out more about their Jason Voorhees and other Horror projects!





Buy Limited 'G.I. Jason' Print From Artist Jason Edmiston's Collection Today

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Artist Jason Edmiston has been creating genre designs of our favorite Horror and Science Fiction characters for years now and his creations have graced the shirts of Fright-Rags and posters produced by Mondo. Almost two years ago, Fright-Rags unleashed the 'G.I. Jason" T-shirt for which the old G.I. Joe action figure card backs were parodied with Jason Voorhees. Fans who purchased the shirts even received replica card backs with the different versions of Jason Voorhees to collect. Pretty cool stuff if you're a fan.

Well, now our readers can purchase a limited edition print of this infamous illustration from Jason Edmiston for $35. Visit his Big Cartel page today to get Jason Voorhees striking an 80's military pose!




The Other Jason Voorhees Actor In Friday The 13th Part 3

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Over 30 years later, Friday The 13th fans are still learning new information about the films. Of course, some people find out behind the scenes tidbits faster than others, but we live in an information and digital age, and as such we all get our franchise knowledge sooner rather than later. Such is the case with the matter of the Jason Voorhees character in Friday The 13th Part 3.


There has been many instances of stand-in and stunt performers taking over a Jason Voorhees role in the franchise and it's usually for the purposes of filming a major stunt scene. Our article on John Hock and Tom Morga for Friday The 13th: A New Beginning is a prime example of such a situation, and even though John Hock did not receive recognition for his short time behind the mask until the last few years, he is still appreciative of the fan response now. Knowing these facts, how about an interesting little tidbit for Friday The 13th Part 3? The late and great Richard Brooker did not play Jason Voorhees for every scene in the film!

It has been disputed and discussed that one of three stunt performers on the set of Part 3 portrayed Jason for the climactic scene when Chris Higgins pushes the killer from the loft of the barn with a rope around his neck to fall to his death and be hung. The gentlemen who performed stunts on the set and who may have been in line to play Jason for the iconic hanging scene were Mike De Luna, Tom Elliott and Jimmy Medearis. In actuality, Mike De Luna and Jimmy Medearis seem to be the two men who are always brought to the attention of others who could have possibly portrayed Jason Voorhees for the scene. In the end, however, a number of crew members have pointed out that it was indeed Mike De Luna who played Jason during the hanging scene!

It might be time for our readers who were not aware of this fact to go back and watch the scene again and see if you can notice the difference between Richard Booker and De Luna. And why didn't Richard play Jason for this scene, our readers might wonder? Well, it seems as though the producers of Part 3 did not want any physical harm to come to their lead psychopath and wanted a stand-in to take the brunt of the hanging. 

Behind The Scenes: Rotted Mr. Shepard From Friday The 13th Part 7: The New Blood

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According to Director John Carl Buechler, Producer Barbara Sachs and the MPAA forced him to change his originally intended ending for Friday The 13th Part 7: The New Blood for which a rotted Mr. Shepard (John Otrin) would emerge from the lake to drag Jason Voorhees to his watery grave. He instead added a more visually appealing version of the character with only bits of mud applied to his body and face. Although footage of the cut scene with the makeup was not seen until recently on the 2004 and 2009 DVD releases, some photos have been circulating around the World Wide Web for a few years now.

Below are some truly awesome behind the scenes pics of Mr. Otrin enduring his makeup sessions as well as hanging out with Jason himself, Kane Hodder.

Some of these images are used for fan signings at conventions so those people that attend such events may have seen these photos before. For everyone else who has not viewed these photos, enjoy and let us know your thoughts on one of the heaviest cut films in the series.




Characters you HATED to see die!!: Episode 1, Alice Hardy [Spoiler Heavy]

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Episode 1:  Alice Hardy



Ok, it’s no secret that the majority of Friday fans watch each chapter hoping to be shocked and awed by the extravagant and often explicit ways that each would be victim will be dispensed in.  It could even be argued that some characters are set up just for the payoff of rooting for and enjoying their bloody ends -  we’re looking at you Bad News Crews…


Having said that, every so often one of the films would present a demise that not only caught fans off guard, but we were actually sad to see them meet their maker.


Such a discussion could not be started without the most glaringly obvious example – our original heroine and final girl – Alice Hardy!


Alice, played of course by the iconic Adrienne King , fought her way through the original Friday the 13th and not only was the first heroine of the series – she personally  beheaded Jason’s beloved Momma Mrs. Pamela Voorhees, played to nasty perfection by Betsy Palmer.


When Alice shows up prior to the main titles following the lengthy reprieve in the opening sequence of Friday the 13th: Part II, seasoned genre aficionados can guess how things will go for her as opening sequence typically means opening kill.  First time viewers who tripped on the original flick will have their stomachs dropped at the idea of what will inevitably come – the death of our warrior.


While Alice displays the post-traumatic struggles of having survived the original bloodbath and clearly has not been able to move on, she also earns the cinematic medal of becoming Jason’s first official on-screen victim!  While not sure if just being haunted by the ghosts of her past, Alice’s reality comes crashing home as she discovers the decapitated fruits of her labour in her own refrigerator and backs into a now rapidly grown Jason who greets her with a friendly ice pick through the temple – cue white out, Alice fans’ tears welling, and kick-ass opening titles and theme.

Now most fans have heard Adrienne discuss how her character’s demise came to be behind the scenes; after a very serious and frightening encounter with an unbalanced fan, King requested to have minimal involvement in order to recover.  While it would have been a blast to see Alice battle Jason full tilt, fans were not let down by follow up heroine Ginny, portrayed to perfection by Amy Steel.  However, an even more intriguing notion is King’s own theory that the entire sequence is in fact all a dream of Alice’s, plagued by her Camp Blood memories!  This thought given water would postulate what those who hated seeing her offed would long to hear….maybe Alice is still after all this time a survivor!!  Who knows, maybe she is living the good life in a remote area, working on her own artwork and making wine and preparing herself to take down the offspring of her original nemesis once and for all…



For a recent and thoroughly entertaining interview with the enthusiastic Adrienne King herself, check out Idle Chatter podcast which can be downloaded through ITunes or from the website http://idlechatterpodcast.com/



For all things happening in King’s world, visit her official page where you can purchase her Friday related artwork and Crystal Lake wine!  http://adrienneking.com/


For more on Friday the 13th Part 2, stop by the website’s page devoted to it here http://www.fridaythe13thfranchise.com/2011/06/friday-13th-part-2.html

A Look Back At The 'Friday The 13th' Video Game For The Nintendo Entertainment System (NES)

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By Carlo Carrasco
 
Way back in 1980, Friday the 13th made its cinematic debut around the nation and literally scared some moviegoers out of the theater. Made for less than $1,000,000, it went on to gross almost $40,000,000 and the success eventually led to the buildup of what is now lengthy slasher film franchise. Along the way, the franchise made its way into literature and more intriguingly video games. This led to the creation of a 1988 Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) video game simply titled Friday the 13th. For starters, it is still shocking to even think that someone would make a video game adaptation (for a console that was popular with kids) of a film genre that has been defined by gruesome killings, stalking, psychopathic killers, shock moments and the usual “promiscuous people are doomed while virgins have one small chance to survive” concept. Aside from that, Jason Vorhees has already been established as a major cinematic villain and as a killer that nobody wants to see exist. Publisher LJN proved to be both daring and shocking to deliver a game for the NES. About the game itself, players get to play a summer camp counselor who is burdened to do the following: go around summer camp, collect items, avoid creatures, save the life of a fellow counselor or a child, and fight Jason all within a 3-day and 3-night period. The game is a side-scroller with branching paths and the location has places that can be entered such as cabins, the forest and caves. By going around, players are required to check the map to find a specific place to go and this can be quite tricky to do since side-scrolling while taking note of the map’s indicator can be confusing sometimes – for example: moving the map indicator is east involves side-scrolling leftward. While moving around, an alarm happens and that means someone is in danger of losing his or her life to Jason. Getting to the place with a limited amount of time can be hard sometimes as there will be encounters with wolves, crows and, unbelievably, zombies (there were no zombies in the Friday the 13th movies). I guess the game designers inserted those monsters to emphasize the bad luck that comes with the general perception of Friday the 13th.


Entering a cabin brings out a 3D-like exploration effect and players can look around by changing directions and moving closer to places until they find the person to save. And then all of sudden, a shocking moment happens when Jason himself is encountered. Immediately, a fight with him happens (which resembles Punch-Out!!! somewhat) and if the player manages to beat him, things will calm down but it is clear that Jason would be back. In fact, encounters with Jason become more frequent (even during the side-scrolling). After beating Jason in a cabin, lighting the fireplaces will serve as a weird form of preventing Jason from coming back and this means more protection for the kid or counselor saved. Once done, the exploration and search for items resumes. Eventually, the players will go through many other places like the forest and the caves and sadly the experience of this game becomes even more frustrating. The controls are not that responsive, the map changes direction, changing characters is always disadvantages (note: you lose your items), the monsters are plenty and are tough to beat, and throwing rocks has that arching effect that cause overshooting (note: get the in-game knife). By the time players get to fight Jason’s mother (not a good idea for a console popular with kids) or have that final encounter with Jason, tons of frustration would have taken their toll.


Friday the 13th is ultimately a terrible and frustrating game to play. It clearly is a big waste of time for most players and I would not recommend it event to the most diehard (or most nostalgic) Jason/Friday the 13th fan. With the exception of the first encounter with Jason, the game is not really scary. This brings me to my next point. Considering the technology and talented game designers available today, it is possible to make a good, respectful and relevant video game about Friday the 13th. In my view, a 3rd-person shooter-type (over-the-shoulder angle) video game done much in the style of 2010's Alan Wake (developed by Remedy Games) is the way to go. It can be a shooter-type of game that's not too heavy on shooting yet laced with a good amount of horror and suspense. Of course, Jason should be the villain not the protagonist.

Until such a game gets made, we Friday fans can enjoy watching the old movies on DVD.
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