Friday The 13th: The Franchise

Sweet Revenge Director Discusses Upcoming Friday The 13th Feature Length Film

2025-12-09T07:25:00.000-08:00

After over 16 years since the last theatrical entry, a new installment in the iconic slasher franchise is officially in development. The project marks the first cinematic return of Jason Voorhees under the newly launched Jason Universe banner, managed by Horror, Inc. Not only is a feature length film in development, but a new video game is also in discussion, so fans have a lot to be excited about for future endeavors of the Friday The 13th property.

Director Mike P. Nelson helmed the short film Sweet Revenge that debuted online this past August, which was a tie-in promotion between Angry Orchard Hard Cider and Jason Universe and produced the first official return of Jason Voorhees in many years. Mike recently talked to Slashfilm about his new film Silent Night, Deadly Night and offered up his thoughts on the upcoming feature length film for Jason Voorhees.

They are working on it, that I can promise you, because I've heard of it and because I have that direct communication with them [Jason Universe], it's there. So that's really happening. And yes, they have reached out [to me about it]. As have other people. I can't say too much, but I will say that I have given my two cents, I have given them my take, and right now it's in their court and we'll go from there.

Mike brought a unique twist to the normal Jason Voorhees stalk and slash formula in his short film Sweet Revenge, introducing a new character that also drown in Crystal Lake and was resurrected just like Jason to also take her revenge.

I think a lot of IP loses its luster because it's way too 'holier than thou' and 'we need to be careful.' Dude, get over it, man. Get out there and try something. That's the reason why the original content worked so well is because somebody went out and did something, you know what I mean? And they did something that was different. So why not do something different?

Perhaps we will get some official news on the development of the new film in 2026, but for now we will continue to monitor the progress of the new projects on the horizon for the franchise.

What Happened To Friday The 13th 2017?

2025-12-03T12:21:00.000-08:00

The 2017 Friday the 13th film was fully developed, had a completed shooting script by Aaron Guzikowski (Prisoners), was set to be directed by Breck Eisner, and was scheduled to begin filming in early 2017 in Georgia. It was going to be a period piece set in the late 1970s/early 1980s with a stronger focus on practical effects and a more grounded tone.

However, the project was abruptly canceled by Paramount Pictures in February 2017, just weeks before production was supposed to start. Paramount had gained the rights back to distribute a new Friday The 13th film within a five-year window when they made a 2013 deal with Warner Bros. to allow the studio to co-finance Christopher Nolan's Interstellar film. Main reasons for the cancellation:

Poor performance of Rings (2017)
Paramount released the Ring horror sequel Rings in early February 2017, and it only made $13 million on its opening weekend (overall $83 million worldwide on a $25 million budget and was lauded by critics). This scared the studio away from mid-budget horror projects in general.
Ongoing rights dispute between Victor Miller and Sean Cunningham
Even though the lawsuit hadn’t fully exploded yet in early 2017, the legal clouds were already gathering in the franchise rights battle. Victor Miller (the original screenwriter) was preparing to reclaim domestic rights under U.S. copyright termination laws, while producer/director Sean Cunningham (through Horror Inc.) claimed he owned the franchise. Paramount apparently decided it didn’t want to sink $15–20 million into a movie whose ownership could be tied up in court for years.
Studio pivot away from the project
After canceling it, Paramount instead moved forward with expanding the shared universe idea that became A Quiet Place (which was a massive success in 2018). Essentially, the slot and some of the budget that had been earmarked for Friday the 13th got redirected.

This was the closest to a new Friday The 13th project that fans had experienced until the new Crystal Lake prequel series was announced and just wrapped production on season one back in October. Hopefully very soon in the near future we will see a new film in theaters once again.

Jason Returns For More Friday The 13th Carnage In Sweet Revenge

2025-08-14T04:52:00.000-07:00

The Jason Universe kicked off the new run of the franchise last night with their short vignette Sweet Revenge. The thirteen minute short film showcased everything fans of Friday The 13th could hope for, which included gory deaths, a strong nostalgic and modern score, and Jason Voorhees!

This is truly the beginning of something great for all of our readers as evident with my conversations last night with Horror Inc. and the Barsamian’s. Enjoy Sweet Revenge below and know this is just the start of what I think will be special for years to come.

Photos from the premier last night.

The new short form vignette film is directed by Mike P. Nelson (Wrong Turn and Silent Night, Deadly Night reboots) and is "sponsored" by Angry Orchard Hard Cider.

Friday The 13th Vignette Film 'Sweet Revenge' Releases New Trailer

2025-07-25T20:11:00.000-07:00

It may not be a feature length film (that is coming in the near future), but I am extremely excited to see Jason Voorhees in an officially released film for the first time in many, many years. Debuting Friday night, Jason Universe unveiled the trailer for Sweet Revenge!

The 13-minute film will debut on August 13th.

Fans will drop into a chilling weekend in the woods filled with blood-soaked surprises only Jason can deliver

This collaboration between Angry Orchard and Jason Universe is an interesting step forward for the branding, marketing, and merchandising of Jason Voorhees that Horror Inc. promised in May of 2024.

What do you think of Jason in the trailer?

New Official Friday The 13th Short Film Coming Soon From Jason Universe

2025-06-26T09:47:00.000-07:00

We are living in a whole new universe (for better or worse?) and Jason Voorhees is at the center of it. Continuing the 45th anniversary celebration, Jason Universe has tapped Variety to exclusively announce the new short film Sweet Revenge will debut the redesigned Jason Voorhees on a new adventure.

Fans will drop into a chilling weekend in the woods filled with blood-soaked surprises only Jason can deliver.

The new short form vignette film is being directed by Mike P. Nelson (Wrong Turn and Silent Night, Deadly Night reboots) and is "sponsored" by Angry Orchard Hard Cider. The new short film started production earlier this month and will debut on the Jason Universe Youtube channel as well as the Angry Orchard hosted site later this year.

Our readers may be asking what this is actually all about. Butterfinger The 13th anyone? We shall see, but this collaboration between Angry Orchard and Jason Universe is an interesting step forward for the branding, marketing, and merchandising of Jason Voorhees that Horror Inc. promised in May of 2024.

Meanwhile, the prequel series Crystal Lake is in full production and filming currently and we wait for more news on that front.

The new Friday The 13th series is run by Brad Caleb Kane and produced by Horror Inc., Marc Toberoff and Victor Miller (Friday 13th LLC). The series is filming this Summer and is being produced by A24 and distributed on the Peacock streaming service.

(Image credit Bloody Disgusting)

Sean Cunningham Discusses Hurdle To New Friday The 13th Film Post Rights Battle

2024-05-21T07:46:00.000-07:00

With the announcement of the Jason Un1v3rse by Friday The 13th rights holder Horror Inc., there is some positive buzz surrounding the franchise going into this week. Even with the promise of new merchandise, and gaming and interactive experiences, most fans still simply want to see a new film made for everyone to enjoy. This past weekend at the Texas Frightmare convention, original film director and franchise creator Sean Cunningham was a guest on a panel that included original final girl Adrienne King and makeup effects legend Tom Savini. According to the site Creepy Catalog, Sean was asked about the state of a new film being developed and had this to say:

...the major obstacle holding back a new Friday the 13th film is the reluctance of a movie studio to risk putting money into a horror project that might not see a huge return on its investment.
....in the post-pandemic world where movie-watching habits are changing, especially for movies released in theaters, studios like New Line (who own the distribution rights to the Friday the 13th movies) aren’t necessarily willing to provide a substantial budget for a horror movie. At least, not for one they’re not reasonably certain will do well in theaters.

Sean mentioned it could be at least three years before a new film would see development, which is disappointing to hear. It's surprising to learn that New Line Cinema is reluctant to order a new Friday The 13th film now as Horror is still making a ton of money at the box office, and a extremely popular IP like Friday The 13th would surely make the studio a lot of money. The questions is, how much profit is New Line Cinema looking to make from a new film?

We hope that the launch of the new Horror Inc. universe will show the studio how popular the franchise is and see the potential of a new film and the money that can be brought into New Line Cinema/Warner Bros.

Blumhouse Executive Producer Expresses Desire To Make New Friday The 13th

2023-10-01T06:56:00.001-07:00

With the writers strike now ended and the actors strike hopefully nearing and end soon, new film and television projects are beginning to pick up steam once again. This is good news for our readers as that means the Crystal Lake show can continue its progress towards filming next year and hopefully a new film will be developed soon as well.

While we wait for news of a new film, executive producer Ryan Turek was recently interviewed by Inverse about the new Blumhouse release Exorcist: Believer, and during that discussion, Ryan was asked what classic horror franchise would be considered a dream project for Blumhouse.

“Jason [Blum] and I are definitely in agreement that Friday the 13th is the thing we would love to get our hands on.

I really want to go back to the basics. You don’t need too many ingredients for a Friday the 13th film. You need a summer camp, you need campers and you need Jason Voorhees in a mask.”

Jason Blum revealed a few years ago during a Twitter AMA that he has tried several times to get the rights to produce a Friday The 13th film. Could the stars align now with numerous strikes ending and the franchise rights now settled? I hope so as I would like to see what Jason Blum and Ryan could put together.

There Is Active Development For A Friday The 13th Remake Or Direct Sequel To 1980 Film

2023-01-20T15:45:00.004-08:00

Bloody Disgusting got the scoop on what Sean Cunningham is up to recently while finding out that Sean has been collaborating with writer Jeff Locker and Director Jeremy Weiss on a number of projects. The main projects include a remake of the 1985 House as well as an original film titled The Night Driver. The big news is that the writing/directing duo has pitched their idea for a straight remake to the original 1980 film. Of course, there are still legal issues to releasing a new film theatrically, but writer Jeremy Locker has his thoughts on all of that.

“Obviously, the prequel TV series has reignited interest about a new film so we’re hoping the surrounding excitement will inspire both sides to come together and give us Jason on the big screen again for the first time in 14 years, but we also have a Plan B for a sequel to the original we think fans will absolutely love and should avoid any legal entanglements.”

Nice to see there is a separate project in the works for Friday The 13th if a reboot does not work out. Either way it is exciting to see a possible new film project in the works. There is still a very long way to go before we get any solid project green light, but this is great news indeed .

Read all about the other film project with Sean Cunningham and the more in-depth interview points at Bloody Disgusting!

Catch up on the latest television show news as well for Crystal Lake.

Friday The 13th Resurrected?: Update On Possible New Film.

2022-08-08T16:10:00.001-07:00

We have all been patiently waiting for any glimmer of hope that we can get an update about a new film. In fact, film news in general has been sparse the past several years as updates pertaining to the franchise have been dominated by the rights issues in regards to Victor Miller. Maybe, just maybe, we have movement past the rights issues and a new project could be on the horizon.

Bloody Disgusting has reported today that Vertigo Entertainment’s Roy Lee hinted that some news is upcoming regarding Friday The 13th. Speaking to The Boo Crew (part of the Bloody Disgusting podcast network), Lee said, “You may be hearing something by year’s end… on that front.”. This is a small tease, but Vertigo has a good track record in recent horror films and I am excited to see what his crew could have in store for Friday The 13th.

Vertigo once worked with Lebron James’ Springhill Entertainment in 2018 for a possible new film.

With films like Blair Witch and the ultra popular It (2017), this will be something to keep an eye on.

Sean Cunningham Suing Warner Bros. And Paramount For Lost Profits!

2021-01-29T07:04:00.004-08:00

The crazy saga of the Friday The 13th franchise continues in an interesting new twist as The Hollywood Reporter has just posted an interesting story about Sean Cunningham going after the studios that have distributed his past films. The money struggle is real, and this is on top of the current Rights Battle between Sean and Victor Miller.

According to the article,

Friday the 13th producer Sean Cunningham has launched a new lawsuit over net profits from the horror franchise. According to a complaint filed on Thursday in Los Angeles Superior Court, the studios distributing the films have "systematically misaccounted" contingent compensation.

Cunningham says audits revealed there's been improper deductions of fees and bonuses, undervalued licenses, an underreporting of merchandizing revenue and pay TV income, and on and on.

This is really something to behold as now Sean Cunningham has decided to spend even more time in the courts trying to protect and recoup earnings for the franchise he helped start. With the Rights Battle currently lingering and now this new lawsuit, we may now have to wait even longer to finally see Jason Voorhees on the big (or small) screen once again.

Images Surface For Concept Jason Voorhees And Machete For Abandoned Friday The 13th TV Show And 2016 Film!

2020-02-15T15:02:00.002-08:00

It has been a few years since Horror Inc. officially announced their plans to launch a Friday The 13th television show that would eventually be linked to the CW network. Much like the failed attempts by Paramount to release a new film, the CW network could never agree with Horror Inc. on a direction for the show. The show's journey that began in 2014 was finally laid to rest in 2016. At that same time, Paramount was developing a film while partnered with Platinum Dunes and director David Bruckner. That collaboration was also dissolved in late 2016 and left a lot of development work unused.

Sota FX was hired to create the effects for the television show and also worked on effects for the 2016 film. After both projects flamed out, their shop had in their possession numerous pieces of art, maquettes, and latex masks representing Jason Voorhees' new look. Ganon Gorder recently contacted us with some awesome photos of these items as well as the machete that was being developed.

The maquette and pencil drawing image are posted on YourProps currently. Check out the other images below, which include a letter of authenticity from Sota FX for the machete.

UPDATE: Ruben Morales shared a post about the hockey mask in a Facebook group and it is being sold for $1,999!

Five fiberglass hockey masks were made in preproduction as the final approved mask for the show. You can see the mask in the pictures below. One mask was given to Sean Cunningham.

UPDATE 2 (2/16): We have been supplied with new photos of a different concept Jason, which also looks to have an actor in the costume for makeup testing!

UPDATE 3 (2/17): We have been supplied with even more images of the Jason concept as well as new hockey mask looks. First off, you can now see the full Jason costume. Members of SOTA FX are standing with what we are being told is the “old” Jason for the show. The second added Jason image is a head shot of what the “young Jason” look is with clothing. We also have new shots of an alternative, weathered and bloody hockey mask.

With these images, we can form an idea of what the show and film would have looked like and it is a shame we will never get to see the vision for both of the productions.

When Rights Battle Ends, 'Jason Lives' Director Has Script For New Friday The 13th To Pitch To Warner Bros.

2019-07-05T11:27:00.000-07:00

The sixth film in the Friday The 13th franchise, Jason Lives: Friday The 13th Part VI, is possibly the most accessible entry to show today's modern audience. Newcomers to the series may identify a little easier to director Tom McLoughlin's essential tongue-in-cheek approach to the curse on Crystal Lake. Not only does the movie actually feature a camp, but it is an active establishment with kids in attendance for the summer. The fifth sequel is consistently featured in the top half of the franchise film rankings across the World Wide Web and adored by the majority of fans around the world.

Tom also worked on some special material for Friday The 13th: The Game a few years ago called the Pamela Tapes, so his contributions to Friday The 13th have continued into the present. That's why it is exciting to find out that he has been developing his own sequel script for the next film in the franchise, whilst he recently discussed it on the popular podcast the Pod and the Pendulum. During the interview, conducted by hosts Jerry Smith and Mike Snoonian, Tom lets on a little bit of information about what he wants to do for his new vision:

For the last thirty-three years I have been asked so many times, will I do another (FRIDAY THE 13TH movie). I kept saying for years, 'Well, if I can come up with another idea that's fresh and I can bring something else to it, I'll do it.' And lo and behold, I finally came up with the formula of what I wanted to do with things about six months ago, and wrote the screenplay. Of course, now I'm stopped dead in my tracks with the lawsuit. So it's like I can't even show it to the studios or anybody. So it's just come to a screeching halt. But that's the irony, it took that long for me to come up with something that I went, 'You know what? I would want to see this movie, as a horror fan and a Jason fan.' I didn't just want to do another one, I wanted to do something unique with it, but still staying within the structure and still staying within the parameters of what a FRIDAY THE 13TH is."

Of course, the courts will need to settle the rights battle between Victor Miller and Sean Cunningham in the interim before our readers are able to find out what Tom has up his sleeve once again for Jason Voorhees. We hope that day comes very, very soon!

New Script ‘Friday The 13th: The Beginning’ Explores Pamela Voorhees

2018-11-06T12:46:00.001-08:00

Fan films are now filling the enormous void left by the lack of franchise movies being released theatrically. The rights battle between Victor Miller and Sean Cunningham is in the next phase of appeals after Victor won the current ruling against him. This has the future of new official movies being released in the near future in serious doubt.

Recently, it was reported that Lebron James’ producing company Springhill Entertainment along with Vertigo Entertainment are actively working to get a new film into production. With Victor Miller currently holding rights to the original film’s characters and settings, it would seem like fans might get a true remake or possibly even a prequel story. That sounds like what voice actor and novelist Clint Ford has in mind with a new script that he just finished titled Friday The 13th: The Beginning.

The film serves as a prequel to the original 1980 film.

Dallas-based Ford is a former staff writer for The Walt Disney Company, as well as a published novelist and scriptwriter. His screenplay details and connects aspects of the Friday the 13th series not yet explored in previous installments.

The film will serve to showcase the teen years of Jason’s mother, Pamela, as well as his conception, birth, and childhood. New characters to the franchise, such as Jason’s father, will be introduced along with established characters from previous Friday the 13th films, some never before seen.

The script is a period film set throughout a 33-year period, beginning in 1946 and concluding years later in 1979. Ford’s writing format brings the Friday world somewhat out of its restrictive “horror box” to showcase how well the franchise also works in the psychological thriller genre.

I am always game for a prequel story, but it is yet to be seen if the overall fan base is willing to endure the journey of Mrs. Voorhees leading up to her Camp Crystal Lake killing spree over her son Jason in a hockey mask. We hope this script gets a look for a new film and perhaps we will hear more about this story in the future.

Clint Ford is repped by RAB Talent Management.

Lebron James Inquires About Producing New Friday The 13th Film

2018-10-22T09:20:00.001-07:00

This is not an April Fools joke as we are nowhere near April, so Lebron James is reportedly interested in producing a new Friday The 13th film. Bloody Disgusting is hearing that Lebron and his Springhill Entertainment is currently in talks with Vertigo Entertainment to produce a reboot of Friday the 13th.

UPDATE: Victor Miller took the project to Vertigo to push through Warner Bros. for distribution. Lebron’s production company is a partner with Vertigo and meetings are out for writers and directors now.

There is obviously a lot involved here. First of all, these are just talks and inquiries into a possible partnership to produce. Also, one of the biggest hurdles of rebooting the film is the rights battle that is still playing out in court between Victor Miller and Sean Cunningham. There is an appeal happening now in that decision. That matter must be resolved before a studio would even think of distributing a new film.

That brings us to Warner Bros. The distributor would have to agree to release the film and put money behind the marketing and distribution.

Even though Lebron may be inquiring about producing a new film, there are rights to be settled and Warner Bros. would have to be interested in parterning with Lebron’s company and Vertigo Entertainment to make the film. We shall see where this story goes, but for now everyone should not get too hyped about the news as of yet.

Horror Inc Responds To Victor Miller Court Ruling And Is Already Developing New Friday The 13th Projects

2018-10-01T08:05:00.001-07:00

This past Friday we brought our readers the news that original film writer Victor Miller won the lawsuit brought against him by rights holder Horror Inc, claiming he could not terminate the copyright on the script he wrote for Friday The 13th 1980. It was only a matter of time before we got a statement from Horror Inc on their loss in court and now Bloody Disgusting received that very response:

“We are disappointed in the court’s ruling and disagree with its conclusion. We are considering our options including an appeal.In the meantime, the court was very clear thatits ruling in favor of Mr. Miller is limited to the original screenplay in which Jason’s mother is the killer and that Mr. Miller’s termination notice did not purport to terminate the separate copyright in the iconic supernatural killer who wears a hockey mask. It also does not grant any rights to Mr. Miller that would enable him to use any element of the original screenplay outside of the United States.

“Following the guidelines set down by the Court’s ruling, we intend to aggressively explore many opportunities for new projects featuring settings and characters (including the hockey mask-wearing killer) not included in Mr. Miller’s screenplay, and in fact are currently in development on new projects that are consistent with the ruling which will be announced soon.”

This has been the expected response if the lawsuit did not turn out victorious for Horror Inc, however it is interesting that they are planning new projects now in accordance with the ruling. Realistically, they can move forward with a new film and the ever elusive television show as along as they do not include Mrs. Voorhees or possibly a specific iteration of young Jason. This would allow Horror Inc to release their projects in the United States and internationally. There is no way Horror Inc will create a project to release only in international markets.

One thing is for sure, this rights battle is in no way over. Stay tuned for an in-depth look and opinion of the ruling coming soon.

Blumhouse Has Attempted To Get Rights To Make New Friday The 13th Film Numerous Times!

2018-08-16T19:52:00.000-07:00

As fans continue to hold on for what seems like a prolonged rights battle between writer Victor Miller and Sean Cunningham, a brand new Halloween film will be hitting theaters this October. Blumhouse Productions is producing the film for Universal Pictures and with the tremendous track record of critical and box office success of the company, fans of that franchise are very excited to see Michael Myers back on the big screen.

I have always been a big believer in Blumhouse producing a Friday The 13th film and have hoped for a number of years they would get the opportunity to do so. Founder Jason Blum participated in a Twitter AMA today and was forthcoming with the fact that he has attempted to get the rights to make a Friday The 13th film numerous times.

for sure yes on friday the 13th. ive tried a bunch of times to get the rights. https://t.co/WSB06QB98J
— Jason Blum (@jason_blum) August 16, 2018

When Paramount got the rights to the franchise back for five years, Blumhouse tried to produce a new film with the company, but nothing ever materialized of a potential partnership. So what do Friday The 13th fans think of Blumhouse taking the reigns of the franchise in a new film? We know one thing, the film would be very profitable!

Platinum Dunes’ Brad Fuller Adds More To Why Paramount Axed The 2017 Film

2018-07-30T22:53:00.001-07:00

We don’t like to pick at old wounds, but the aftermath of the 2017 Paramount film that just missed going into production is still pretty fresh in fan’s minds. Even though the script for that film leaked online and has been met with low enthusiasm, there are those in the community that would have loved to just have another Friday The 13th in theaters.

Now that the rights battle between Victor Miller, Sean Cunningham, and Horror Inc have future films at a standstill, people want to know why Paramount decided to balk at a chance for a new film before the rights were officially in question. Most recently, Brad Fuller of Platinum Dunes talked to SyFy about the failed film, and although we have posted about some of the main reasons in the past, Brad does offer up some new bits of information as to why the 2017 film never materialized.

From SyFy Wire

There was a couple of things. I think there was concern about the rights looming at that point. Paramount was concerned if they made that movie and the rights were not available… if you are going to make that movie, you want to be able to ride it for more than one or two movies. That didn’t exist in this rights structure. We were going down the road to make the movie, but, at the end of the day, economically and/or creatively, they didn’t want to make it.

There’s this clause in the rights that the rights revert back to New Line. As that date became closer and closer, Paramount would have made one Friday the 13th movie and then New Line would have benefitted if the movie was great. Then, New Line could have followed it up with subsequent movies. It put Paramount in a very tough position to go ahead and actually make the movie, and then us to reap the benefits if it was successful beyond that particular film.

As to if the failure of the film Rings really had anything to do with Paramount’s decision...

Yes, I do. That was also a time when sequels were not doing as well. We’re all kind of reactionary when you are making something. You are looking for evidence that tells you that what you are making is right on the cutting edge of where society is going, and you certainly don’t want to make something that feels like the timing is wrong. I wouldn’t say the whole thing fell apart because of that. I certainly think that played into it. But, I also think the rights and now the litigation about the right for Friday the 13th,played into it in a much more substantial way than just how the Rings sequel did.

Creighton Duke Inspired Film Could Be In Our Future From Jason Goes To Hell Director

2018-06-24T09:38:00.003-07:00

I have a long lasting love for Jason Goes To Hell and any news about that film is always welcome, which is why our interest was peaked when we were contacted by the guys at the Cinema Toast Crunchcast about their conversation with Adam Marcus during their latest episode he joined. During the end of the episode, Adam dropped an interesting tidbit about a possible spinoff film inspired by Creighton Duke from the film.

From the end of the Crunchcast episode:

I have a movie… you’re the first ones I’ve talked about this to… that is a completely Creighton Duke-inspired movie. I can tell you that I’m talking with Steven Williams (Actor who portrayed Creighton Duke) about this. I’m dead serious about this movie. It’s something I’ve wanted to do for years. For me, that was the character that I gave a crap about. That’s the guy that I adore. And, I’m tellin’ ya, I have something up my sleeve that’s gonna knock people out.

I have been saying for many years that this character should have been incorporated into the franchise earlier on and he has a very interesting story arc to Jason, especially if you have read the comics or watched the work print of the film. What do you think of this latest news? I don't even think Adam or his production company will be able to use the Creighton Duke name, but more than likely have Steven Williams portray a similar actor with a different name.

We shall see what happens in the upcoming months to see if this movie will ever make it into production.

Memo From 1979 Surfaces That Could Sway Friday The 13th Rights Battle

2018-05-22T14:01:00.001-07:00

As we wrote last summer, the ongoing litigation over the Friday The 13th film rights and their use in future films is front and center in the horror community. Original writer of the 1980 film, Victor Miller, filed a termination of rights in 2017 against usage of characters and other aspects of his original script which allow him to have full control of any elements of his script for future films. That termination is supposed to take place in 2018, but when Miller filed his termination of rights, longtime production company of the Friday films, Horror Inc, as well as Manny Films (Sean Cunningham) sued Victor claiming he was a work for hire writer and not elegible to file for the termination of rights.

If Victor wins his case, he wouldn’t get everything in the franchise that fans have come to know today from within the films. As mentioned in interviews with the Hollywood Reporter last year:

Bonnie Eskenazi, representing the producers (Horror, Inc):

Miller’s purported rights could only extend to those elements of the screenplays that he actually created. Here, it is undisputed that Miller did not create either the title 'Friday the 13th' or the 'Jason' character as a living adult monster who is the villainous killer in all of the eleven (11) sequels. Instead, Cunningham created the title 'Friday the 13th' and Miller created a 'Jason' character that died as a young boy due to the negligence of his camp counselors. Accordingly, Miller cannot claim any right to the title 'Friday the 13th,' or the ongoing 'Jason' character, or Jason’s iconic look of a man in a hockey mask carrying a machete.

Marc Toberoff, the attorney representing Victor Miller:

Whereas Miller will thereby recover the U.S. copyright to his original film treatment and screenplay this does not prevent the continued exploitation by Plaintiffs or their licensees of prior derivative works, including the 1980 film and its many sequels; it solely relates to new derivative works after the effective 2018 termination date," writes the attorney. "Furthermore, as the U.S. Copyright Act has no extra-territorial application, the foreign rights to Miller’s screenplay remain with Plaintiffs or their licensees.

The fear that has been echoed by our readers for almost a year is that a decision in Victor’s favor could fracture the franchise and conceivably there could be competing Friday films, one with the Friday The 13th title and another film with something completely different (Friday 13 would be a fun one). The prevailing thought is that it will never come to that as the lawsuit against Victor is pretty air tight. That was until a new revelation came to the forefront recently.

According to IPwire, Victor’s first draft may have been circulated before he signed an agreement with Sean Cunningham:

Miller wrote and provided a first draft to producer Sean Cunningham’s company without any contract or guarantee of payment, enabling Cunningham to raise money and attract talent to proceed with the project. The parties executed a screenwriting agreement on June 4, 1979, but newly discovered evidence suggests that Miller’s first draft was already complete prior to the date of that agreement. Specifically, a memo to Cunningham from his assistant documents a conversation with Tom Savini dated May 22, 1979

—its contents are significant because the assistant mentions that Tom requested to see a script and that she will send him the “first draft.” In addition, a letter addressed to Savini dated May 23 states, “I am enclosing the first draft of FRIDAY 13 [the working title at the time], as per our conversation yesterday.” This, of course, begs the existential question of how Cunningham’s assistant could have sent Savini the requested first draft script unless it had already been written.

This is an interesting development that was introduced late in litigation. If this is true, it would prove that Victor was not a work for hire employee and did indeed conceive of the story before being employed by Sean Cunningham. In affect, it could help dismiss the suit against Victor Miller and finally brings the rights issue to a close, or at least a negotiation of rights between all parties involved.

Platinum Dunes Discusses Doomed 2017 Friday The 13th Film

2018-03-29T05:34:00.000-07:00

I know that having Platinum Dunes and doomed in any subject line is old hat to fans these days. There have been numerous attempts by the company to create a follow-up to their last franchise film, Friday The 13th 2009. Let's face it, maybe Crazy Ralph was onto something and this franchise indeed is cursed. As our readers are aware, it was a little more than a year ago that production was just about ready to commence on a brand new Friday The 13th film in the surrounding area of Atlanta, Georgia. Suddenly, with just four weeks left before principal photography was about to start, Paramount Pictures pulled the plug. Fan outrage was fierce, and many questions loomed.

There has never been an official reason why the film was shelved by either Platinum Dunes or Paramount. Recently, however, the site Rooster Teeth caught up with Brad Fuller and Andrew Form while they were out promoting their new film A Quiet Place and Eric Vespe asked the duo what the heck happened to Jason coming back to the big screen.

Brad Fuller: We never got a clear answer from Paramount as to why that movie got shut down. I think at the end of the day that administration, which is no longer there, didn't see horror as a viable part of what they were doing. Also they were coming off of Rings and that didn't help.

For studio heads who are not fans of horror there's not a tremendous amount of glory in it other than the financial. A lot of these studios want to make big movies with big movie stars and that administration could never get excited about it. I think the rights now have reverted back to New Line.

During the interview, Brad and Andrew also mention that the ongoing litigation between Victor Miller, Sean Cunningham, and Horror Inc has also put a damper on any future plans for the franchise. We all know that situation will hopefully be coming to a resolution by July or Victor's rights to the franchise would become official.

One thing that fans have also been wondering about was if Derek Mears was going to reprise the role of Jason Voorhees. Unfortunately, according to Andrew Form, he was not.

Andrew Form: No, because we were going way back. We were going to the '70s.
Brad Fuller: We would have put Derek in the movie (somewhere) anyway because we love him so much.

To read the whole interview, please visit roosterteeth.com. For us fans, it's hard for us to revisit would could have been, but hopefully by the Fall season this year we will have much more clarity on the next step for the Friday The 13th films.

Script Pages For Winter-Set Friday The 13th 2009 Sequel Reveal Fate Of Final Girl Whitney

2017-10-13T05:55:00.002-07:00

Friday the 13th 2009 faced an uphill battle because of the remake tag that had been placed upon it along with the tremendously high fan expectations. The makers of the new film had a tall task to deliver an exceptional Crystal Lake tale. After the film's release in theaters, it received some of the harshest critiques that any of the films in the franchise have ever experienced. We're not talking about those Siskel and Ebert bashings that the earlier films experienced. No, the harshest critiques came from the fans themselves.

Regardless of some of the negative comments of the film, Friday The 13th 2009 went on to gross over $60 million in the United States and a large number of the franchise followers were quite happy with the film that Platinum Dunes produced from Damian Shannon and Mark Swift's script. After the film's theatrical run ended, Warner Bros. announced that a direct sequel would be released in theaters on August 13, 2010. As we all know now, that sequel never made it to the screen and all these years later, fans still want to know what the film would have been called and what the story would have been about.

As today is Friday The 13th, Mark Swift has given the fans a treat by posting some of the never before seen script pages on Twitter from the unmade sequel titled Friday The 13th: Camp Blood The Death Of Jason Voorhees.

The pages below outline the the opening winter set scenes of the film.

The Sequel To Friday The 13th 2009 Would Have Been 'The Death Of Jason Voorhees'

2017-10-09T20:46:00.000-07:00

When rumblings of a new Friday the 13th movie were thrown out into the World Wide Web back in 2006, every single fan was excited that a new Jason Voorhees adventure was in the works. However, that excitement turned to fear as the dreaded "remake" tag was eventually associated with the new film. Fans despised the idea of a re-imagining of the character and the series.

The newest Friday the 13th film was already facing an uphill battle because of the remake tag and and the tremendously high fan expectations. The makers of the new film had a tall task to deliver an exceptional Crystal Lake tale. After the film's release in theaters, it received some of the harshest critiques that any of the films in the franchise have ever experienced. We're not talking about those Siskel and Ebert bashings that the earlier films experienced. No, the harshest critiques came from the fans themselves.

Regardless of some of the negative comments of the film, Friday The 13th 2009 went on to gross over $60 million in the United States and a large number of the franchise followers were quite happy with the film that Platinum Dunes produced from Damian Shannon and Mark Swift's script. After the film's theatrical run ended, Warner Bros. announced that a direct sequel would be released in theaters on August 13, 2010. As we all know now, that sequel never made it to the screen and all these years later, fans still want to know what the film would have been called and what the story would have been about.

With the latest Friday The 13th date upon us, writers Shannon and Swift just posted the cover of their script on their Twitter account with the title of the sequel, which hints at what would happen in the film.

Friday The 13th Camp Blood: The Death Of Jason Voorhees

It's a mouth full, but so are a few of the titles from the Paramount era. What do you think of the title? It seems as though Jason would die in the film and we wonder if there would have been plans for a third film in this iteration of the franchise?

The Friday The 13th Rights Battle: What It Means For Future Films And The Current Video Game

2017-07-13T21:41:00.000-07:00

Over the last couple of weeks we have received a slew of emails and messages on social media about the ongoing legal battle between original Friday The 13th film writer Victor Miller and current rights holder Sean Cunningham and Horror, Inc. This rights battle has created a lot of uneasiness among the fans which was further compounded by Paramount pulling the plug on the new film this past February. With uncertainty about what exactly is happening with the franchise, we thought it would be best to try and break down what is happening now and how it could affect future films and the current video game going forward.

The Hollywood Reporter had a nice write-up about the ongoing litigation last month and it helped point out some interesting facts.

Bonnie Eskenazi, representing the producers (Horror, Inc):

Miller’s purported rights could only extend to those elements of the screenplays that he actually created. Here, it is undisputed that Miller did not create either the title 'Friday the 13th' or the 'Jason' character as a living adult monster who is the villainous killer in all of the eleven (11) sequels. Instead, Cunningham created the title 'Friday the 13th' and Miller created a 'Jason' character that died as a young boy due to the negligence of his camp counselors. Accordingly, Miller cannot claim any right to the title 'Friday the 13th,' or the ongoing 'Jason' character, or Jason’s iconic look of a man in a hockey mask carrying a machete.

Marc Toberoff, the attorney representing Victor Miller:

Whereas Miller will thereby recover the U.S. copyright to his original film treatment and screenplay this does not prevent the continued exploitation by Plaintiffs or their licensees of prior derivative works, including the 1980 film and its many sequels; it solely relates to new derivative works after the effective 2018 termination date," writes the attorney. "Furthermore, as the U.S. Copyright Act has no extra-territorial application, the foreign rights to Miller’s screenplay remain with Plaintiffs or their licensees.

What this all means is that if Victor Miller wins his case, any future films in the franchise made for distribution in the United States would be controlled by Miller. The films he would legally be able to produce would be limited, however, as stated previously by Bonnie Eskenazi, in that the character of Jason Voorhees could not be represented with the iconic hockey mask and it seems as though the title 'Friday The 13th' may not be used either.

Although fans may not like these revelations, it would represent a unique opportunity to truly reboot the franchise, and possibly, re-tune the concept. We would still have Camp Crystal Lake, and characters such as Pamela and Jason Voorhees, Crazy Ralph, Mr. Christie, Alice, and others seen in the original film that a new story could be formed around. I have been saying it for years, but a new film title like 'Camp Blood' or 'Camp Crystal Lake' could really work in a Victor Miller controlled franchise reboot.

With that being said, the other side of Victor possibly winning his litigation leaves the door open for Horror, Inc. and Sean Cunningham to create more films to be distributed in foreign markets outside of the United States. It's hard to imagine, but you could have franchise films being produced separately, both domestically and internationally by two different companies with completely different storylines and neither film would be available to view in the other markets. This part makes my head spin and I really hope this scenario never happens.

Besides the films, there has been a lot of concern over the future of the Friday The 13th video game that was released by Gun Media in May. Gun has been saying it for months now, but we wanted to put everyone's mind at ease, nothing is going to happen to the game.

As stated by Robert Wyman, the lawyer for Horror, Inc, in an interview with GamerRevolution this week:

We can absolutely confirm that the Victor Miller claim does not impact the current game being distributed by Gun Media now or in the future," Wyman told GameRevolution. "Even if he won his action, Mr. Miller would not own the Jason character as he has come to be known and loved and feared. He did not create the title and so would not have the right to control its use.

The game will not be pulled from consoles and future updates and DLC content will not cease to exist because of the possible judgement in Victor Miller's favor.

Right now all the fans can do is wait to see what happens with the court proceedings. We will know way more about the state of the Friday The 13th franchise when July 2018 rolls around and the rights could conceivably be awarded to Victor Miller. At the point, everything we have lived and experienced with Camp Crystal Lake in the past forty years could be turned upside down on Jason's deformed head.

Sean Cunningham Questioned In Legal Battle Over Friday The 13th Franchise

2017-05-19T05:24:00.001-07:00

Back in August 2016, we brought you the full explanation of why Victor Miller is filing to attain the rights to the Friday The 13th franchise. That information came on the heals of Horror Inc. and Manny Company (successor to Georgetown Productions) filing a lawsuit against original Friday The 13th writer Victor Miller in response to the notice of termination Victor sent the producers in an attempt to gain the rights to the franchise. We had not heard anything about the progress of the litigation until yesterday and now we have more details.

Last Friday, original Friday The 13th director and current rights holder Sean Cunningham was deposed under oath by Victor Miller's attorney Marc Toberoff. According to iHorror, Cunningham was questioned about the claim that Victor was hired as an independent contractor for which Sean has denied and still holds his stance that it was a work for hire arrangement. Also mentioned during the deposition was the fact that, according to Cunningham, a screenplay nor a treatment was even completed three months before filming commenced on the 1980 film.

Cunningham also testified that Victor's name never appeared in the original Variety advertisement used to gain financing for production of the original film and that the title of the draft that Miller eventually did turn in was titled Long Night At Camp Blood and not Friday The 13th. Victor has countered that claim stating the original shooting script was titled Friday 13 and not Friday The 13th as well. Cunningham also mentioned while being questioned that he does not believe he is the creator of the Jason character as the fans know him because the character was dead in all of the drafts created by Miller.

Miller's attorney, Marc Toberoff, is now currently seeking out an old secretary for Sean Cunningham to corroborate Victor's claims and dispute Sean's testimony under oath. According to iHorror, another hurdle in the litigation is if Victor can gain rights to both North American and International markets so future films can be distributed without extra legal hurdles. The most interesting revelation from the deposition is that Victor claims he does not want to control the entire franchise, but wants the power to negotiate a new deal and have some leverage as an author over the existing franchise. On June 9th, Victor looks to file for summary judgement and if that fails, this dispute will be going to trial.

It seems like Victor wants a controlling stake in the direction of the franchise going forward, and wants to be paid accordingly. Stay tuned as this looks to be heading to trial and things will get interesting.

Read Nick Antosca's Friday The 13th: 3-D Script Now!

2017-02-20T17:48:00.002-08:00

The past few weeks have been a heavy downer for Friday The 13th fans with the cancellation of the new film by Paramount Pictures. The script for that film, titled Friday The 13th: Part 13, was written by Aaron Guzikowski and has been talked about by other sites this past week (We opted to not do so with it so close to the film being cancelled). Before Platinum Dunes settled on Aaron's script for production, they had originally opted to film Nick Antosca's script for Friday The 13th: 3-D back in 2015. The script was set in Crystal Lake, New Jersey in August 1988 and took place at Camp Crystal Lake.

Antosca's script would have been a nice throwback to the franchise long time fans remember from the decade of the slasher film. Fans have been asking to read this script since it started floating around the web in late 2015, but we held true to our word that we would not post it until the time was right. That time looks to be now as Nick Antosca actually forwarded a link on his Twitter account today of his full script.

This is bitter sweet news as now fans will have a chance to see what an awesome film this could have been. There is even a bit a mythology thrown into the film to compliment the standard stalk and slash. Click the link below to download and read the script. Let us know what you think of the script after you read it and if it fits what you expect a classic Friday The 13th to be.

Friday The 13th: 3D Script