Spare a thought for Rings and the Friday the 13th reboot currently simmering in development over at Paramount. Last month, we brought you the disheartening news that both horror films had been pushed once again, with the latter now expected to shuffle into theaters in time for October of 2017. Rest assured, a new movie involving the inimitable Jason Voorhees is coming – just very slowly.
During a chat with Collider, Platinum Dunes producers Brad Fuller and Andrew Form turned in a status report for the long-gestating project, confirming that the cameras are set to start rolling in the spring. Breck Eisner will be directing from an “amazing” script penned by Guzikowski.
Getting to this point hasn’t been smooth sailing, however, and here Fuller and Form shed some light on the “rights issue” between Paramount and Warner Bros., along with that fabled idea for a found footage version.
“In terms of fun, making [the 2009 film] was so fun. The cast was great, we were in a great setting, everyone got along. We had a lot of fun making that movie and we always wanted to go back to Crystal Lake and make another one. There were so many obstacles to surmount to get to where we are today. I’m not going to bore you with all of them but for a long time, there was a rights issue between Paramount and Warner Bros. Then there was an execution issue. At one point, the studio wanted us to make a found-footage version of that movie and that was deeply concerning to us because we didn’t think we could execute the movie in the right way if it was a found-footage movie.”
Gunning to craft a “hard R” horror revival, Friday the 13th will primarily lens in Georgia when production kicks off early next year. Unlike the more recent installments, Fuller and Form went on to confirm that the studio currently has no plans to integrate a 3D or IMAX release.
“There’s been a lot of mileage between the 1st one and the 13th one. What we don’t want to do is alienate the audience who hasn’t seen the preceding 12 Friday the 13th movies. Aaron Guzikowski’s job, as challenging as it is, is to come up with a movie where if you haven’t seen any go the other ones, you can still come and see this one and love it and not feel like you’ve missed out on anything. And if you have seen the other ones, we want this to feel fresh. That’s what took the longest amount of time: coming up with a story and then executing a script that fulfills both those mandates. We found an amazing script by Aaron Guzikowski. Breck Eisner is directing the movie. That movie is shooting in early Spring.”
The latest reshuffle has meant that Friday the 13th is now on course to hit theaters on October 13, 2017.
