"I don't want to scare anyone, but I'm gonna give it to you straight about Jason..."
Spiderweb-like fissures creep across a plate of smudged glass. The results of an actor's face being repeatedly smashed against it with brute force. The guy's a circular peg and someone is trying to mash him into a square hole with enraged vigor. Finally, the window yields to this remorseless assault and caves inward, glass raining down onto the lens of the 35mm camera positioned below it. Said face - chiseled, handsome - grimaces in surprise and pain. Our focus hones in beyond the window frame this well-paid actor (who will remain unidentified for now) just got forced through, past his bruised mug and to his assaulter.
Jason Voorhees.
"Cut!" bellows Marcus Nispel (
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre) in his distinctive German accent. He rushes over to video village to watch this take once more. Studies it. Likes what he sees, but he commands another go at it with little hesitation,
"Do it again!" Three more takes follow of Jason smashing his victim's face through the weathered, upended vehicle he perched upon. Pound. Smash. Cut. Reset. Pound. Smash. Cut. Reset. Take one looks like it stung. By take four, we almost feel for the actor on the receiving end of Jason's fury. Almost. Because that hockey mask-covered mama's boy is undoubtedly back and we love watching him do that thing he does so well.
Nispel is the mustached captain of this fearsome U-Boat called
Friday the 13th, Platinum Dunes' reboot of the franchise created by Sean Cunningham in 1980. Nearing the end of principal photography, this vessel is still coasting through choppy waters teeming with biting, vocal opinions from a fanbase that has swelled over two decades. They've watched Jason get dragged to hell, soar into space and take the backseat in a "versus" film featuring Freddy Krueger. And they've been patient, watching Platinum's production with skeptical eyes.
Jason X marked the slasher icon's last solo outing, his second whimper without the
Friday the 13th moniker due to rights issues since the character leapt sides from Paramount to New Line. And it was rights issues that inevitably held up Platinum Dunes' film for months since producers Brad Fuller, Andrew Form and Michael Bay announced their intentions in 2006 to give the franchise an overhaul as they had done to
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. That is, until there was a break in the storm clouds looming over Crystal Lake. In late '07, Platinum, Paramount and New Line agreed to cooperate and Mark Swift and Damian Shannon - the team awarded the writing duties on
Freddy vs. Jason, another long-gestating project - sold Platinum Dunes on their idea and were ushered in to hammer out a script before the WGA strike.
"We were looking for a story - for lack of a better word - that was really fun," Fuller explains to ShockTillYouDrop.com at the outset of another night's-worth of shooting on the Austin, Texas location (substituting for New Jersey).
"We felt a lot of the horror movies, including our own, were so dreary that we wanted to take a step away from that and bring in the horror, which you have to have, and bring in some great characters and funny, amusing situations. Out of all the writers we met with [Mark and Damian] were the only ones that had a handle on that portion of the movie. But the kids you go on this journey with are so fun and are a blast to be around."
Lining up for the slaughter: Amanda Righetti (
Return to House on Haunted Hill), Danielle Panabaker (
Mr. Brooks), Travis Van Winkle (
Asylum) and Aaron Yoo (
Disturbia) amongst others. On the leading man tip,
Supernatural's Jared Padalecki (also of
House of Wax) drops the Winchester surname to play Clay, a knife-totin', motorcycle-riding fella searching for his sister who has gone missing in the Crystal Lake area.
Elsewhere, Padalecki's
Supernatural co-star, Jensen Ackles, is off breaking hearts with Harry Warden in Lionsgate's
My Bloody Valentine remake. Padalecki, sitting by our side watching video playback with the producers, recognizes he's got the better end of the deal.
"Jensen's in Pennsylvania now. I totally get the cooler bad guy [to fight]. He's doing 3-D so all of his imperfections will be hard to ignore," he laughs, joking.
"All of his imperfections, I don't want to sound like... I'm saying if I was in 3-D I'd be much more worried, but here I am on a flat screen, I get to hide easy."
Evasion is a tough thing to come by on a
Friday the 13th film, especially with a new man behind the hockey mask whose one lean mofo and familiar with body count entertainment. Much to chagrin of some fans, Jason staple Kane Hodder
is not returning, in fact, he was never considered. Instead, the astonishingly polite Derek Mears (
The Hills Have Eyes 2) is donning the Jason duds including his "bag head" visage, just one of the many nods Shannon and Swift make to
Friday installments 1 - 3.
"On this one, we're basically taking it and starting it over and integrating things," explains Fuller. Form continues,
"This one was hard, because on Texas Chainsaw Massacre it was a reboot of the original. On this one, everyone knows Jason didn't put on the mask until the third movie. I would say that most of the audience that will come see this movie doesn't know that, so most people think Jason was in the first one, most people we've talked to, the younger audience."
"We tried to take elements from all three [of the first] movies to create one reboot of Friday the 13th," he continues.
"You will see Jason put on the hockey mask for the first time, how and why. And you'll see him actually do it. Not just come out with it on."
Form and Fuller insist their
Friday is not an origin story and it was never their goal to present one.
"The goal is to put a group of kids in Crystal Lake and have them meet Jason Voorhees and along the way you get a sense of the history," says Fuller. Also imperative, that the film
look great. Assisting with that task is cinematographer Daniel Pearl (of
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre - the original and remake) lurches uphill and our way to discuss with Form and Fuller the next few set-ups covering Jason's mayhem.
Behind him, Mears - with the help of makeup FX artist Scott Stoddard - is removing his hockey mask. Big ol' devilish schoolboy grin on his face. The actor he's put through a window takes a well-deserved break. And we continue to beam in delight, like kids at a KISS concert, because we've still got so much to share from the set.
Friday the 13th opens in theaters on Friday, February 13, 2009. Keep it here for a full set report and more interviews soon.
Comments
Posted by: Scribe on June 9, 2008 at 06:58:02
Sounds intriguing... I still question the reasoning for a remake or a reboot, but can't say I'm not curious. Glad their sticking to the tradition of releasing it on a Friday the 13th.
Posted by: strangelove on June 9, 2008 at 08:14:20
Nice quote Jared. Good to see you're such a good friend. You have the better bad guy, so therefore Jensen's movie is what? Lame? And Jensen's imperfections will show? The man has been seen by fans in real life, and all the posts say he's better looking in real life. Not to mention, Jensen is the better actor. Next time, pick your words with more care. You came off gloating at your friend's expense.
Posted by: Vera on June 9, 2008 at 08:51:13
Uh, Jared, no one really wants to see YOU in 3D anyway, sorry buddy. Jensen Ackles, on the other hand ... oh yeah. He is gorgeous! And from the sound of it, My Bloody Valentine looks far more interesting than this Friday the 13th remake.
Posted by: Scarehuman on June 9, 2008 at 08:56:09
I find it somewhat disconcerting that "funny" was one of the major points of consideration for this movie. I'm really worried about having "Scream" with a skinnier Jason.
As far as Jared goes, they have a close relationship from 'Supernatural,' I think they can afford to take some subtle shots at eachother, and lets be honest, Jared does have the better bad guy, who cares what My Bloody Valentine has. Sounds like an emo band.
Posted by: knabe316 on June 9, 2008 at 09:10:48
I can't believe that people are actually commenting on what Jared said about Jenson.They probably make jokes like that about each other all the time.Hell,I would not be suprised if they got a little side bet going about which movie will make more.Both are good actors and both just seem like really good people.Anyways,its cool they are doing this re boot,cause the past few Friday were just ridiculous.He went to space,New York,possessed people all starting from a dude that ate his heart,and he fought Freddy.I'm glad to see a good ol Jason back at Crystal Lake again and from the sound of it,sounds like its going to be pretty intense.I'll be checking it out.
Posted by: Wyngarde on June 9, 2008 at 09:28:15
Um. We know why he put it on. Take time to WATCH THE ****ING MOVIE!
It's not like some great mystery or anything.
Is he going to give some speech about how this mask will be his symbol moving forward as he gets revenge on those darn teenagers and their dog?
WHO CARES? He put it on to fool the girl going after the wallet and the producers said, "HEY! this is cheaper than having to do a full head make up!" and in part four, he still had it.
They fully admit younger audiences don't remember most of this, so why not make a new movie and start something new instead of all this ****ing grave robbing?
Re-boot, re-imagining, re-do, whatever. All the crap from Bay's company has been crap. The Hitcher, anyone?
Posted by: pringles on June 9, 2008 at 09:50:16
Wow. Some people obviously can't read between the lines and can't take a joke.
Posted by: K! on June 9, 2008 at 10:28:41
Sheesh, I can't believe how touchy some people are. Jared was joking, for Christ's sake. Jared and Jensen are very close and they love to take these jabs at each other. Chill, people, and stop with these insults!
Posted by: Barry on June 9, 2008 at 10:45:09
People, Jared was joking. If you paid attention to him and Jensen on the set of Supernatural or read their interviews, you would know that they tease each other and joke around. He was joking. A blind deaf guy would know that!.
Anywho, I am getting more and more excited about this movie. The more I hear about it, the cooler it sounds. It will be interesting to see what they do with some of the "hallmarks" of the series and how he gets the mask this time. Obviously, it will be different from part 3. Wyngarde, that last part was for you.
Posted by: djblack1313 on June 9, 2008 at 11:05:50
i agree w/ Barry. if you've ever watched the behind the scenes stuff on the Supernatural DVD's, Jensen & Jared are always ripping on each other. they really are like brothers like that. Jared CLEARLY was joking about Jensen & MBV (which i'm looking forward to-BIG TIME!)
Posted by: djblack1313 on June 9, 2008 at 11:07:55
oh, i forgot. i assume they are talking about Jared (being the circular peg being squashed into a square hole?). anyone?
Posted by: francesco on June 9, 2008 at 11:28:36
oh yes!
I love u ryan!!!!!
the movie sounds so great!!!
Posted by: Shaula on June 9, 2008 at 11:41:52
ahahahaha, guys!
Some people just can't understand a simple joke!
Me, I love they teasing each other, it's so cute!
Good luck, Jared! You're just awesome! ;)
Posted by: Sal on June 9, 2008 at 12:52:55
I can't believe people are getting so defensive over a joke. A joke that is being made by one friend about another. From what we've seen, they do that all the time. Plus, you don't personally know Jensen for you to get defensive.
Anyway, I've never watched a Friday the 13th movie before but can't wait for this one!
Posted by: Robin on June 9, 2008 at 13:07:50
I'm sure Jared was only teasing Jensen; those two are as close as brothers in real life, so the nasty comments about Jared are uncalled-for. At the current convention where Jared is appearing (Jensen had to bow out because of his movie), Jared said he had spoken to Jensen for an hour just yesterday, and they had kept in constant contact since filming ended on SUPERNATURAL. So please, folks, don't ever think that Jared is making fun of or putting down Jensen. They love each other like real brothers--and like real brothers, they're forever insulting each other, too!
Posted by: buffalo on June 9, 2008 at 16:34:03
Why this post is full of retarded jensengirls comments?
I heard about these dumb jensen fangirls, but I never thought they really were this dumb.
Padalecki was joking. They're friends, that what friends do. Both of them always say things like that.
Once Ackles said that Padalecki wishes to be him. It's all in fun.
I pray everyday for Supernatural to end and free those poor actors from all these horrid crazy fangirls.
Posted by: Emily on June 9, 2008 at 17:23:02
I'm quite sure Jared was joking and I love that about Jared and Jensen's friendship but I don't understand the blog writer's comment about him "totally recognizing he got the better end of the deal"? What does the blog writers mean by that, that seems like the blog writers own opinion and not one that should be applied to Jared's opinion.
I've read a portion of the My Bloody Valentine script and in my opinion it's a pretty darn good script. It's also a movie that doesn't have nearly as much baggage, with all the previous sequels of varying quality, from great to absolutely hideous.
I don't expect it to do as well at the box office, because Friday the 13 has the Michael Bay machine behind it, but it sounds to me like MBV is going to be the better film when it comes to story. The characters sound like they will be more adult and complex.
Posted by: djblack1313 on June 9, 2008 at 18:41:44
Emily, the writer of the article, when he writes, "totally recognizing he got the better end of the deal", is referring to what Jared says, "I totally get the cooler bad guy [to fight]". so it's not the writer slamming on Jensen. it's a reference to Jared's comments.
Posted by: Emily on June 9, 2008 at 20:44:05
Hmmm...I don't know how I missed that line first time around. Thanks for pointing that out. None the less I do think it's slam on, not Jensen, but Jensen's movie by phrasing it the way he did. "Jared recognizes" implies that it's just a fact, of course Jason's the better bad guy and Jared's quote shows he "recognizes" that fact. But really I'm not sure why a reanimated corpse is a better bad guy than a guy who is out for revenge against the town and the people who ruined his life(or someone using the original murders for his own purposes).
Posted by: Madi on June 9, 2008 at 21:15:14
By "cooler bad guy" they mean more iconic. Jason is kind of as iconic as horror badguys get.
Jeez, I have never met anyone so good at twisting words at Jensengirls.
By looking at the ferocity of his fangirls, you'd think that Jensen hated Jared. But Jensen likes Jared. Jensen is good friends with Jared. If y'all love Jensen so much, maybe you should trust his judgment.
Ya idjits.
Posted by: Ryan Rotten on June 9, 2008 at 22:03:06
When did I become a blogger?
Posted by: Michelle on June 9, 2008 at 22:33:09
What's with all the Jared bashing? Friday the 13th is a franchise. No matter how crappy the movies might be, they're still guaranteed money makers. They bring in the hardcore fans.
And comparing what he's doing to what Jensen's doing is ludicrous. Last I checked, Jared's worked with Oscar winner Peter O'Toole. Crappy Christmas movie or not, that's a hell of a lot better than most people get, and you don't work with someone like that without gaining knowledge.
My Bloody Valentine (the original) was garbage, and for Jensen's sake, I hope they revamp the entire thing. And no, I don't mean by having it made in cheesy 1980's 3-D.
Jared and Jensen are friends - they can make little snarky comments to each other. If you're not here for information about this movie, then you're simply a fangirl here to boost Jensen over Jared - and that's a sad thing. GTFO.
Jason is a better bad guy. Most people haven't ever even heard of My Bloody Valentine, whereas I don't know many people who don't know about Friday the 13th. Those are facts. Do a survey or something. It's not a competition - and if it was, well...this movie would win.
Posted by: Kim on June 9, 2008 at 22:38:49
Crazy Jensen fans. How shocking.
It was a joke. Get over it.
Anyways, I already happen to know who gets their head smashed through a window *shudders* It's gonna be so hard to watch this movie.
Yet for some reason, I'm oddly excited.
Posted by: Michelle on June 9, 2008 at 22:42:32
@ Kim -
I KNOW TOO! And I very much do not wanna see. But I do. But I don't. But CLOSE UPS.
Posted by: djblack1313 on June 9, 2008 at 23:17:04
come on you guys (michelle & kim) can you tell us?! i'm dying to know! i think it's Jared's character but i'm not sure (obviously! LOL).
1 2 3
Add a comment