(08/01/07)

Source: Variety.com
"No horror story for studio genre labels" by Anne Thompson

"New Line Cinema built itself on the backs of Freddy and Jason; another Friday the 13th sequel, as yet untitled, is scheduled for 2009."

(01/08/07)

Source: Fangoria
"Dunes DAY Scenarios" by Ryan Rotten

"...Transcending the initial bitterness toward their CHAINSAW remake via a mostly positive reception to the final product may have been the pair’s greatest achievement to date, but an equally large—if not larger—horror heavy lumbering on the horizon has drawn much criticism and is in dire need of attention. Dunes’ announcement of a FRIDAY THE 13TH remake early last year sent web journalists scrambling for scoops eager to feed the chirping, hungry mouths of Jason Voorhees’ apostles with whatever morsel of info they could find. But as the originally announced October 13, 2006 release date came and went, a resounding “Wha’ happened?” was heard. Then came the rumors of money woes and hasty, overly ambitious planning.

“With FRIDAY THE 13TH, it was a rights issue,” Form clarifies. “Paramount owned certain rights and New Line certain rights; New Line owns the sequels and Paramount has the original. When [first screenwriter] Mark Wheaton did the script, we were all trying to figure out what that movie should be. Is it a prequel? Is it a remake? Is it a combination of PART 2 and PART III put together, because we know Jason doesn’t put the mask on until the third film? But we didn’t want to make another movie about Jason’s mother killing kids again, so we had to figure out what rights we could use and which movie to make. It looks like now Paramount and New Line will come together, which will allow us to pretty much do anything we want.”

“But it’s more than that,” Fuller notes. “It’s MTV, Paramount and New Line, so we’re kind of waiting for that to happen. I can’t imagine what the fans are going to say about that combination. At the end of the day, though, you have an iconic killer who murders in such an aggressive way that it sometimes verges on humor, so we have to be careful about how we’re going to take that.”

Form continues, “The machete chops people into pieces, and with all the stuff that’s going on in horror movies today, you start to get laughs. It’s not like the ’70s, where people were seeing it for the first time and going, ‘Oh my God!’ There’s a fine line between what’s campy and what’s not, and how do you play it real with the Jason character?”

“We don’t want FRIDAY THE 13TH to be campy,” Fuller asserts, “but there will be laughs in it. There’ll be girls in it running around scantily clad, I hope. There’s going to be fun and chases. The reaction in FINAL DESTINATION—those kills were so clever and smart. You laughed, but you weren’t laughing because it was stupid, you laughed because it was out-there and crazy. That’s as close as I can tell you to what we want. We don’t want to continue making movies that are dreary. SAW and HOSTEL are excellent at that, and those aren’t places we want to be competing.”

And the two maintain that the film will still get done with BEGINNING’s Jonathan Liebesman at the helm, if his schedule allows. “If the script is great, the movie goes right now,” says Form. “We’re talking to writers. When Wheaton wrote it, he wasn’t given the right direction. It was before all these rights were put together, so we were boxed into a corner where we couldn’t use certain things. Now I believe we can use everything, so that really opens things up for us. We’re going to bring in a writer and say, ‘We can use this, this and this. Put Jason in here and go to Crystal Lake.’ We just want to have fun with it.”"

(01/08/07)

Source: CHUD
"EXCLUSIVE: PAGING TOMMY JARVIS?" by Devin Faraci

"This weekend was the junket for The Hitcher, the latest remake from Platinum Dunes. At the junket press conference producers Andrew Form and Bradley Fuller confirmed that they were moving ahead with their remake of Friday the 13th at some point in 2008. But when I talked to them in an exclusive interview – which stretched from a scheduled 15 minutes to almost 50 – they went into much more detail about how they’re approaching the movie, as well as the history of the long road they had to take to get the film to where it is today. And about how we may very well see fan-favorite Tommy Jarvis appear in the new film.

Fuller and Form were approached by New Line to do a remake of Friday the 13th, and they couldn’t have been more excited. “I said, ‘I love Jason Voorhees,’” Form told me. “Those are movies I lived on when I was younger.”

There was one obstacle – New Line only owned the sequels, and not the first film. Plus, Paramount retained the rights to the title Friday the 13th. “So we were put in a box – we couldn’t use anything from the first one,” said Form. “So we started going down the road of making a Friday the 13th movie that didn’t include anything from part one.”

Says Fuller: “We had to create our own backstory.” That would mean no Mrs. Voorhees or drowned Jason - although the truth of the matter is that most people don’t have any idea that the first Friday had Jason’s MOM doing all the killings, Fuller and Form feel that the original history is important to keep in some way.

All of that seemed moot until Paramount came knocking and said that they wanted to play. MTV Films came on board as well, and suddenly everything was changed – they had the rights to the title and to the first film.

“The box is completely open – we can use 1, 2 or 3,” Form says. “The title will be Friday the 13th. So we’re now going to bring in a new writer, [Jonathan] Liebesman [director of the Texas Chainsaw prequel] is going to direct, and we’re going to pull from the first three movies.”

Fuller says that the film won’t be The Best of Jason Voorhees, but they’re free to pick and choose elements that they like the best. And their Jason will wear the hockey mask, even though he first got it in the third film. Form told me, “I think there are moments we want to address, like how does the hockey mask happen. It’ll happen differently in our movie than in the third one. Where is Jason from, why do these killings happen, and what is Crystal Lake?”

And then Bradley Fuller dropped the bomb on me: “And how does Tommy Jarvis fit in?”

“You’re going to have Tommy Jarvis?” I just about shouted.

Fuller laughed. “You got all excited.”

How could I not? Tommy Jarvis is the seminal survivor figure in the F13 series. Introduced in Part IV, the Final Chapter, he’s played by a young Corey Feldman as a horror movie nerd who deals Jason his best death ever – a machete to the side of the face that our favorite hard to kill backwoods retard slowly slides down. In Part V, The New Beginning, Tommy is in a mental institution dealing with his Crystal Lake experiences when someone tries to convince him that Jason is back from the dead. This film was the worst of the series until Part VIII, Jason Takes Manhattan, which the Bible would call an abomination. Finally, Tommy shows up in VI, Jason Lives, where he and Arnold Horschack open Jason’s grave to prove he’s still dead. Tommy sticks a metal spike in Jason’s heart and the spike acts as a lightning rod. In true Frankenstein fashion, Jason rises from his grave and promptly bends Horschack in half!

Fuller warned me that nothing is certain yet, including Tommy Jarvis, but it’s one of the many things they’re talking about. Says Form: “[Y]ou want the movie to feel real. When the killing gets over the top, it can feel campy, and we don’t want that. And with a machete and the way Jason kills, there’s a fine line. We want it to feel real, and he is a brutal killer. We’re dancing with that; we’ll put all of these elements together.”

One of the other main elements they’re still wrestling with is Jason’s origin. In the original Friday, young, retarded Jason Voorhees is drowned due to camp counselor negligence, prompting his mom to go on a murder spree. In one of the most famous images in the series, a dead Jason leaps out of Crystal Lake and claims a victim – but it’s all a Carrie rip-off dream. Yet somehow Jason shows up in Part II as a big, grown and ostensibly living man (if a guy who can take a hatchet to the face and not be slowed down can be considered to be living, that is. Still, he’s fleshy and pink).

Fuller says that Jason’s origin is the big sticking point for them right now. “We talk about that for hours on end. How do you do that and not make it seem cheesy? If you don’t do that well, they’re not along for the ride of the movie. In some ways, you’re better off not addressing it – which I don’t think we’re going to do – or you come up with a writer and a group of people who sit in a room and come up with an idea so brilliant that it works, and that’s what we’re striving to do. Every discussion about this movie – you talk about the kills, you talk about the hot chicks, you talk about the nudity, you talk about Crystal Lake – but at the end of the day, the question is, ‘Is there a supernatural element to this movie?’ Is Jason a demon? I think you can’t figure out any of the other things until you figure that out.”

That’s one of the most heartening things to hear from these guys – that they’re going to wait to make the movie until they have it all figured out. We live in a world where scripts sometimes seem like the last element in a movie’s development."

(01/07/07)

Source: ComingSoon
"Platinum Dunes on Its Upcoming Slate" by Heather Newgen

"For the Untitled Friday the 13th Origin Film, Form said that they are "working on a script right now. And I think that next year, it's not in the first two quarters for us, that movie, maybe at the end of the year next year. But right now we are still working on the screenplay." He said that no director is confirmed yet. "I mean, Jonathan Liebesman is attached to the movie right now, the director of 'Chainsaw.'" But Fuller said it depends on Liebesman's schedule. "He's got a lot of things rolling around right now. So, if he's available when we have a script, we'd love to work with him again. We had a great experience with him.""

(01/05/07)

Source: Fangoria.com
"FRIDAY THE 13TH remake update'' by Ryan Rotten

"A new year is upon us, and that means renewed rumors regarding the return of Jason Voorhees (which we last reported on here). But before that happens, allow Fango to give you a solid update from Platinum Dunes' Brad Fuller and Andrew Form, the producers behind Leatherface's recent exploits as well the new HITCHER hitting screens January 19 from Rogue. While attending a screening of that particular update, Fango spoke to Fuller, who's gearing up for a busy year ahead with a number of projects. "We were actually just talking about FRIDAY THE 13th today," he says. So the project isn't adrift somewhere in Crystal Lake? Not according to the more vocal one of Dunes' busy team. In fact, it sounds like the who-owns-what debate surrounding the next chapter is being smoothed out: "We'll be doing it with Paramount and New Line." Look for more on this as well as their other upcoming films Monday, when Fango sits down for an in-depth discussion with the Dunes duo. —Ryan Rotten"

(08/09/06)

Source: Fangoria.com
''New FRIDAY THE 13TH update'' by Ryan Rotten

"The FRIDAY THE 13th remake/sequel/whatever project—which has seen its share of legal ups and downs ever since being announced earlier this year—ain’t so dead after all, it seems. When last we heard, things were at a standstill as production outfit Platinum Dunes decided to slow down on its approach to a possible early-2007 release via New Line (remember, it was initially supposed to hit Friday, October 13 of this year), and survey the specifics of who owned the rights.

In a recent chat with Jonathan Liebesman (pictured above at right), who helmed the upcoming TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE: THE BEGINNING for Platinum Dunes and New Line, Fango has learned the future FRIDAY director is heading back to the studio in the coming days to pitch his take on a film that is geared to reignite and overhaul the franchise. While he’d like to give us the specifics of his vision, Liebesman has politely asked us to keep mum. “I’m afraid that things will change between the time you run the story and what the outcome of my meeting will be,” he laughs. “I don’t want to get the fans all excited and then see them pissed off that they got excited over nothing!”

Fair enough; this bodes well for Voorhees fans nonetheless. Stay tuned for more details as they come in."

(5/12/06)

Source: Bloody-Disgusting.com
"Platinum Dunes' 'Friday the 13th' Still in the Cards?", interview by Elaine Lamkin

Producer Brad Fuller tells Bloody-Disgusting exclusively during an upcoming interview, "We have been trying to get “Friday the 13th” made for a long time. The rights continue to be a problem, but we are optimistic that those issues will be resolved sometime in the next six months."

(5/12/06)

Source: Fangoria.com
"New FRIDAY THE 13TH stalls; producer talks" by Ryan Rotten

"The unlucky nature associated with the number 13 may be spelling bad news for the upcoming FRIDAY THE 13TH film, which began drawing lots of buzz in February and has been the hub of misguided rumors ever since. The last few weeks have ushered a new slice of web-originated gossip which apparently rings very true: the FRIDAY project has been put on indefinite hold.

Set up at Michael Bay’s Platinum Dunes, where THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE revved up for a new generation, FRIDAY THE 13TH had attracted scribe Mark (THE MESSENGERS) Wheaton and director John (DARKNESS FALLS) Liebesman. Together they were ready to breathe new life into the franchise, based on a proposal that set out to not necessarily remake the original 1980 film, but not give fans a direct sequel either (see this item for a little clarification).

Now, Fango has received a number of specifics from various sources as to why FRIDAY has stalled out, and all share the common claim that the issue lies with who owns the rights and whether those parties are getting their fare share of the money being made from the new project. “If that’s the case, then you certainly know more than we do here,” Platinum Dunes’ Brad Fuller tells Fango. “I mean, that kind of talk doesn’t even filter in this far to us. But I will say that, yes, FRIDAY THE 13TH has been put on hold until that’s all figured out.”

Oh well, it’s not like Platinum Dunes is hard up for projects at the moment. One in particular is keeping Fuller and his producing partner Andrew Form very busy. “We’re refocusing all of our efforts on the HITCHER remake right now,” says Fuller. “So that’s going to take all of our time. We start shooting this summer, we’ve cast Sophia Bush [as the heroine] and now we’re on the lookout for our Hitcher.” Do they have anyone on their wish list? “No, we usually don’t work that way. We’ll bring people in to the office [to read for the part], and if they’re striking, then great.” Dave Meyers helms the new HITCHER from a Jake Wade (WHEN A STRANGER CALLS) Wall script; Rogue Pictures will release."

(2/21/06)

Source: Variety.com
"Helmer makes plans for 'Friday' - Liebesman to direct next '13th' installment" by Dave McNary

"New Line has tapped horror helmer Jonathan Liebesman to direct the latest incarnation of the "Friday the 13th" franchise, set up at Michael Bay's Platinum Dunes.

Liebesman, who's in final negotiations, has already worked with the studio and Platinum Dunes on "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning," due out in October. His debut feature was 2003's "Darkness Falls" for Revolution.

Bay is producing with Platinum Dunes partners Brad Fuller and Andrew Form. Studio prexy Toby Emmerich is overseeing along with execs Cale Boyter and Jeff Katz.

The yet-to-be-titled pic will be the 11th outing in the "Friday the 13th" franchise, launched in 1980. Mark Wheaton ("Son of the Morning Star") is penning the project, centered on the origins of the Jason Voorhees character as portrayed in the first four pics in the series."

(02/16/06)

Source: Fangoria.com
"Producer talks new FRIDAY THE 13TH" by Ryan Rotten

"Suffice to say, rumors have run rampant; for some answers, Fango turned to Plantinum Dunes’ Brad Fuller, who’s co-producing the film with partners Andrew Form and Michael Bay.

"We don’t know exactly what it’s going to be yet; it’s definitely not going to be set after FREDDY VS. JASON or JASON X,” Fuller tells Fango, addressing their film’s place in the FRIDAY universe. “This was such a juicy title, we couldn’t pass it up. So we’ve been talking to Wheaton, and we’re figuring it out. Jason didn’t really start killing until FRIDAY THE 13TH PART 2, so this isn’t a remake of the first one—Jason’s definitely going to be killing people in our movie. He didn’t wear the hockey mask until the third film, and our Jason is definitely going to wear the mask—so this is how we’re going about it right now.

“It feels to me like it’s going to be a re-imagining of…” Fuller pauses, trying to find the right word. “I don’t know if there is a term for it…it’s going to be like what we did with THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE, that’s the best analogy I have. There are going to be things you recognize, but we will make it a distinctively different story. We’re going to keep all of the things that are expected [of a FRIDAY THE 13TH film] in there.”

Early reports stated that New Line was eyeing a release date of Friday, October 13th of this year. As far as this is concerned, Fuller is remaining realistic. Sticking to that deadline would involve nothing less than meticulous yet swift preparation. “We’re not planning on meeting that October date,” he reveals. “It was something that was originally discussed, but we don’t think we should write a script, find a director, cast a movie, and then make a film [that fast]. It deserves time, and we don’t want to rush this. The October date doesn’t feel like something we will be doing; plus we have a movie [TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE: THE ORIGIN] coming out a week before. We’re not going let a release date dictate the film’s quality.”

And who will play the man behind the mask? It’s still too early to tell, but contrary to the recent gossip, it’s not going to be CHAINSAW’s hulking Andrew Bryniarski. “In our mind, he is Leatherface,” says Fuller. “With those two icons, you can’t mix them. I don’t see Andrew Bryniarski playing Jason.”

(02/13/06)

Source: Your friendly, neighborhood webmaster

A representative of SSC Films/Crystal Lake Entertainment clarified that the film is being developed in-house by New Line Cinema and not as an independently produced "negative pickup" (as Jason Goes to Hell and Jason X were). He reiterated, as Cunningham mentioned to Fangoria, that New Line is planning a remake.

(02/13/06)

Source: Variety.com
"Bay boards next 'Friday' - Jason returns for New Line" by Dave McNary:

"Michael Bay's Platinum Dunes shingle is coming aboard to produce the 11th outing in the sturdy "Friday the 13th" franchise for New Line.

Studio's hoping to fast-track the project -- centered on the origins of the Jason Voorhees character -- so that the pic can be released three weeks before Halloween on Friday, Oct. 13. Bay will produce with Platinum Dunes partners Brad Fuller and Andrew Form.

New Line's hired Mark Wheaton ("Son of the Morning Star") to pen the script. Studio [president] Toby Emmerich is overseeing along with execs Cale Boyter and Jeff Katz."

Note: The online version of Variety is less reliable than the print edition. Information about the print version of this article would be appreciated.

(02/10/06)

Source: Fangoria.com
"Sean S. Cunningham talks new FRIDAY THE 13TH" by Sean Decker:

"New Line Cinema is moving forward with their FRIDAY THE 13TH remake (not a prequel or sequel, as reported elsewhere), with an eye to release their return to Camp Crystal Lake on Friday, October 13, 2006. Speaking exclusively to Fango, series creator and director of the original FRIDAY THE 13TH Sean S. Cunningham confirms, “New Line is aggressively pursuing a new film.” As for who is slated to take the directorial reins, Cunningham says, “I’m flattered that [New Line] is interested, but I’m not really involved, at least not at this point.”

...Of course, Jason only had a bit part in the 1980 FRIDAY, leaving the carnage up to dear old Mom (Betsy Palmer). The redux will substantially expand on his character and backstory."

(01/29/06)

Source: WesReviews

A source at New Line asked Wes to "make it clear that the "origin story" they are talking about isn't really accurate. You are getting a classic Jason story. The idea is to return to the classic Jason of 2, 3 and 4."

(01/30/06-02/05/06)

Source: Variety Weekly PAGE 5.
"Horror Pics Score A Couple of Hot Dates" by Dave McNary:

"...And Fox isn't the only studio with a hot date. New Line is hoping to release its 12th film in the "Friday the 13th" franchise on -- surprise -- Friday, Oct. 13. Studio has hired a writer to pen a another version of the Voorhees saga."