Friday The 13th Blog

In an interview premiering soon at www.moviepulp.be, Steve De Roover asked Daniel Farrands (producer of the special features for the new Friday the 13th Deluxe Editions) about his passion for horror, the friday the 13th series and what it took to bring the fans the the current deluxe editions as well as what is in store for the new editions of The New Blood and Jason Takes Manhattan. Daniel answers very candidly, his thoughts on how Paramount assisted in the process of creating the special features and also what he thinks about the fan reactions of conspiracy theories to keep cut scenes away from the fans.

I would like to thank Steve De Roover for bringing us this interview as well as www.dvdinfo.be for helping make this interview possible. Enjoy!

1) Next year Friday The 13th will celebrate its 30th anniversary. The franchise is still going strong and the new DVD’s and Blu-rays are selling like hotcakes. What is the enduring appeal of this little horror film and the following franchise and how did you get involved in the new Deluxe DVD’s and Blu-rays?

I think “Friday the 13th” is timeless because it can constantly be reinvented for the next generation. There will never be a shortage of teenagers who want to go to the movies for a safe thrill ride, and Jason seems to fulfill that need. He has become iconic in the way Dracula and Frankenstein and the Wolf Man did in the 1930s and 40s. I just think horror movies have always been a rite of passage for young people, and of course there are those of us who grew up with the original series in the 1980s that love the films for more nostalgic reasons. Either way, Jason is here to stay!

Shortly after “His Name Was Jason,” I was approached by Executive Producer Tim King, who had just delivered the Deluxe Editions of Parts 1, 2 and 3 to Paramount. Tim felt he needed a producer with a strong handle on the “Friday” films to create the bonus features for the next three films in the series and my name was suggested to him by Geoff Garrett, who is now a producer on the TV series “Psych” but who also used to work for Sean Cunningham at Crystal Lake Entertainment. Geoff was also our third partner (and largely unsung hero) on Peter Bracke’s book “Crystal Lake Memories” which we published as a trimverate. Peter wrote, I edited and Geoff handled all of the marketing aspects of the book. Ironically, Geoff’s production offices for “Psych” are right down the hall from King Media … so the stars really kind of aligned. As they say, in Hollywood it’s always who you know!

2) Why weren’t you involved in the first three? Because a lot of fans will agree that the first three are lacking in the extra features department.

At the time Tim’s company was creating the extras for Parts 1, 2 and 3 I was deep in the trenches on the documentary “His Name Was Jason.” I had been in touch with Tim during that period as he was looking for contact info for some of the people we’d interviewed for the book (and “HNWJ”). I was happy to help him out, which is what I think led to him contacting me when it came time to produce the features for Parts 4-8.

3) Apparently you have a lot of affection for the genre, because you were also involved in documentaries about Halloween and of course His Name Was Jason. How did these projects come about?

I absolutely love the genre and feel tremendously touched and honored that I’ve gotten to leave my mark on these classic franchises. It really is a childhood dream come true for me, especially since the very first acknowledgment I ever received from Hollywood was when I was 14 years old and I had written a letter to Frank Mancuso, Jr. Frank responded in a way that not many busy young Hollywood producers do — not only did he tell me that I was “special and ambitious” but that my letter impressed him because it seemed to be written by someone “20 years my senior.” I still keep Frank’s letter framed in my office — it’s a daily reminder to me of how I started in this business and the fact that it is really important to “pay it forward” whenever possible. A few simple words of acknowledgement just might inspire the next generation of filmmakers to follow their dreams. I’m eternally grateful to Frank for that letter.

“His Name Was Jason” simply started out as a love letter to the series and the timing couldn’t be more perfect as the torch was being passed from the old franchise to the new. It was an amazing experience editing the book, but getting to actually sit down and interview so many of the stars and filmmakers from the entire “Friday” series was just an incredible thrill. The documentary was a natural next step after the book, and it was great that so many of the people from the franchise who had already given us their time were willing to come back and do it again.

4) Some films in the Friday The 13th franchise are almost cut to shreds by the MPAA. Everybody at Paramount claims the footage is lost or destroyed for the most parts, but after the release of the first box set you did find some new footage for parts IV, VI, VII and VIII for the new DVD’s. Do you think it’s true that all the footage is gone or is it always a way to promote the new DVD’s? As you understand some of the fans are sceptical! Please tell all you know about the cut scenes.

I can tell you without a moment’s reservation that we were given complete access to everything “Friday the 13th” contained in Paramount’s archives. No stone went unturned in our search. There was even a specially-appointed representative brought on by Paramount to specifically supervise the search for this material. No one wanted to find this lost footage more than me and Andrew Kasch, who edited the bonus features. Everything that existed in the archives was shipped to us and we went through all of it painstakingly and totally by hand. We were extremely lucky to find all of the negative from Part 4 — it is purely dumb luck that those boxes survived where some of the other films (especially Parts 5, 6 and 7) did not fare so well. In our search we uncovered a memo dating back to 1991 and signed by a former Paramount executive ordering the destruction of the “trims and outs” (that means the cut footage) from Part 7. Andrew and I almost fell to the floor crying when we got that information (and I’m pretty sure John Buechler actually did!). What you have to realize is that no one saw the advent of DVD or the day that scraps from the editing room floor would someday have a whole new life of their own. It just didn’t exist, so when studio storage rooms became full they would randomly toss boxes of old “trims” to make room for new ones. There was no rhyme or reason behind which films were chosen over others. As I said, it’s just dumb luck that we were able to find everything (other than the sound elements) from Part 4. Who knows? In a couple more years, those boxes may have been destroyed as well. Parts 5 and 6 had some boxes but there was nothing in terms of trims or excised scenes. All that was left from Part 5 was a single box containing some promotional materials and questionnaires given out to the very first test audience. Part 6 had even less. We did searches not only under “Friday the 13th” but under the code names that the films were produced under (”Birthday Bash,” “Aladdin Sane,” “Ashes to Ashes,” etc.) Everything that was logged under those titles or “Friday the 13th” was sent to us, no questions asked. Paramount did not withhold anything and I personally inspected every log sheet from their inventory database. One box did survive the Part 7 “holocaust” and we included those trims on the new DVD (to be released in September). Fortunately, Tom McLoughlin gave us his VHS transfer from an early cut of Part 6 and we pulled all of the scenes that did not make it into the finished film. And on Part 7, John Buechler gave us his VHS dub of his director’s workprint and composer Fred Mollin graciously provided us with his scoring masters, which had a few clips and scenes that fans haven’t seen before. Part 8 was well-preserved and we included tons of lost scenes, alternate takes and an entire “gag reel” that I think fans are really going to love. As I said, everything that could be found was included in these Deluxe Editions. Paramount is well aware of the fans’ interest in “Friday the 13th” and gave us access to everything and anything that still exists in their vaults.

5) I understand that you weren’t involved for part 2 and Part 3, but I find it uncanny that you can find online contact sheets of cut scenes of Part III, crystal clear photo’s of the famous impaling in Part 2 and cut gore scenes of Part VII and VIII. You can even see in the featurette on the Blu-ray of Part 2 that somebody is checking out a box of Part 2 and shows slides of cut out scenes of the first sequel. How is that possible then?

There’s really nothing uncanny about photos of famous scenes. Photos are entirely different elements from actual film. Photos are stored in a completely different area, by a completely different department, and have nothing to do with film archives. Photos are taken by and archived by the studio publicity department. Film stock is usually boxed up from editorial when a show is wrapped and sent to studio film archives. Two totally different worlds. So just because there are still photos of a particular scene in publicity doesn’t mean that film archives have kept the actual negatives or prints of those scenes. Trust me, there is no great conspiracy to hide footage here. I can’t speak to anything that may be in Paramount’s archives for Parts 1-3 as I was not involved in those projects. But if there is a new edition or box set and Paramount wants me to produce the bonus material, you can bet your bottom dollar that I will go searching for any and all trims from those films. High on my list would be the alternate dream sequence ending to Part 3. If those trims exist, I promise I will find them if I am asked to work on any future editions of Parts 1-3.

6) Is there a chance that you will revisit the first three? Did you also dug out material for Part 2 and Part 3 out of curiosity when searching for everything for Parts VI, V, VI, VII and VIII?

As I said above, I would be thrilled to work on Deluxe Editions or a box set of the entire series. It all depends on how well these next versions sell that will drive any future editions, but I am hopeful that these editions will prompt another box set somewhere down the line.

7) Bitter fans always claim that Paramount isn’t very proud about the Friday-franchise. Do you feel the same way, because it seems that they were very forthcoming about these new releases?

Maybe back in the day the old Paramount regime wasn’t proud of the series, but times have changed and like most studios things are being run by a whole new group of people, many of whom grew up on these films as we did. I can tell you that David Kenny, the creative executive in charge of the “Friday” reissues, loves the series and wants to give fans all of the things they have been wanting to see. David’s enthusiasm and support is the main reason these Deluxe Editions exist, so please thank him and let him know that you love what he was able to bring you.

8. Fans seem to be very happy with the Deluxe Edition. It amazes me that the slashed scenes are in incredible shape. Wasn’t there a possibility to add them back in the film? I am aware that there wasn’t any sound, but there are fan edits out there that did a great job adding sound effects and music.

There was some discussion about adding the lost scenes (especially in Part 4) back into the picture, but there are a slew of legal issues surrounding a revised version. It mainly has to do with the guilds — the Writers Guild and Directors Guild — who have strict rules about making changes to director’s and writer’s work. That said, of course there could be a way to create a new or alternate version if the director and writer were to come to terms with the studio, but that is a long road and we honestly thought it would be best to show fans all of the trimmed gore sequences with multiple angles and director commentary than trying to reinsert pieces of these trims into the actual film. If we had done it that way, we would have been accused of not showing everything that exists — so really, can you ever win?

9) How did the “Crystal Lake Massacres Revisited” come about?

That was an idea I’d had when we did “His Name Was Jason” but didn’t have time or money to do. Essentially I wanted to create a sort of “Curse of the Blair Witch” style documentary chronicling the legacy of Jason and Pamela Voorhees as seen through the eyes of the residents of Crystal Lake. I always felt there was more to the story than what we were told in the films, and the idea of interviewing relatives of Jason’s victims seemed to me to be a way to humanize the “Friday” films in a way we hadn’t seen before. It was just amazing when so many amazing people stepped up wanting to be a part of our little “Jason Voorhees Project” — especially friends like Tom Holland and Stuart Gordon who just tore it up and made us believe that their lives were forever changed and impacted by what happened at Crystal Lake. It was just a lot of fun to do and it’s neat to hear that some fans have already adopted it as part of the “Friday the 13th” canon. I have to give a special shout out to Don Crandall, who not only kicked ass playing the part of “Deputy Buz Dorf Jr.” but who also really helped me shape the narrative and figure out how to condense the plot lines of the first six “Friday” films into an engaging and informative “mockumentary.” I loved sort of pointing out the inconsistencies of the series yet embracing them as part of the lore and mystery of the Crystal Lake Murders. And it was a total blast getting to recreate the crime scene at the actual Jarvis House from Part 4! The owners are the same people who owned the house when they made the movie, and fortunately the house is more or less the same (though I know there are fans who will point out the fact that there is different furniture in the living room and a new refrigerator in the kitchen — to which I say with great affection, “deal with it!”).

10) Are you going to be involved in the Blu-rays of Parts IV, V and VI and are we going to see some different features than on the DVD’s?

I haven’t heard that the Blu-Rays for 4, 5 and 6 have been announced but if that happens I hope I will get a chance to add some additional bonus material.

11) As said before the Deluxe editions of Parts IV and VI are a dream come true. Fans can and will thank you for that. Does that make you proud and why does it seem that Part V has lesser extra features then the others?

Of course I’m proud of these editions, but it does bother me a little if I’m going to be completely honest that fans on one hand say “Thank you for finally giving us the special editions we’ve always wanted” and then say, “But I really wish it was better.” Part 5 doesn’t have more features simply because, as I stated before, the trimmed footage doesn’t exist, at least not in Paramount’s archives. Danny Steinmann was great to work with and I was thrilled he was willing to give of his time and fly to California to take part in the commentary and “Making Of” interview. We talked about doing an entire bonus feature dedicated to Reggie’s red jogging suit but the “mockumentary” more than addressed that. We would have loved to interview more people from all of the films, but the ones you see are the ones who were available and willing to come in during our production period. It’s just not humanly possible to interview every single person from a film that is 20+ years old, as much fun as it would be to run around the country gathering snippets from each and every one of them. Tiffany Helm was terrific and at one point we discussed a bonus feature that would essentially be a “dance class” where she would show how to do her famous robot dance. Unfortunately, we just didn’t have time to do everything we had on our wish list. That said, I hope fans are happy that a film like “Part 5″ was given its props and treated with a bit more respect than it usually gets from critics and many die-hard fans.

12) Can you tell us what we can expect for the Deluxe Editions of Parts VII and VIII? I know what the extra’s are going to be, but can you tell us something more about the new featurettes, commentary’s and off course the slashed scenes? Will these the same as on the box set for VII?

Unfortunately, until Part 7 and 8 are released in September I can’t really talk about them. Suffice it to say that there are some fun and never-before-seen features that I hope the fans of those films will really enjoy. And to set the record straight, the commentary for Part 8 features Jensen Daggett, Scott Reeves and Kane Hodder — they were a terrific team and did a great commentary together.

13) It looks to me that you are a huge supporter for this franchise. Why is that?

I grew up with “Friday the 13th” and credit the series (and producer Frank Mancuso Jr.) for giving me the courage and convictions to follow my dreams and pursue a career in Hollywood. Plus, I think that the series is underrated in the sense that there is more to it than simple hack and slash. It’s easy to put that label on the films if you look at them from a purely superficial standpoint, but I believe that there is a core of humanity that resonates in the “Friday” films, especially Parts 1-4. I think they speak to young people in a very primal way — not so much as cautionary or morality tales about the perils of drugs or pre-marital sex (although those themes are probably in there as well) — but I think they are about finding the inner strength to fight back against adversity, to confront that masked, faceless evil that lives in our world, and ultimately to conquer death and survive. I think that’s a message that’s universal and I think that is part of “Friday the 13th’s” enduring appeal.

14) You are also a successful screenwriter and producer. How did you get involved in the movie business and can you tell us a bit more about your involvement on Halloween 6, the controversial “Producers cut” and off course the successful The Haunting in Connecticut?

I got in the movie business probably more by determination and hard work than through any famous friends or connections (of which I had none). I moved to Los Angeles right out of high school with something of a vision (although looking back it was probably a pretty foolish and naive one) that I would find my way into the business. Somehow it worked and I am grateful every day for the opportunities that have come my way. But I think that’s what it takes — vision and drive. Tenacity is the way to succeed in any business, Hollywood or otherwise. “Halloween 6″ was a true fan’s dream come true and despite the fact the movie bore little resemblance to my script, I am eternally grateful for the chance to be a part of that series. It truly opened the doors for me and gave me a chance to work on more and more projects. “The Haunting in Connecticut” was an idea I came up with, optioned with my manager at the time and developed along with the creative team at Gold Circle Films. We’re all very proud of its success.

15) Will you be involved in the sequel of The Haunting in Connecticut and was the success of the film a surprise?If there is a sequel to “The Haunting in Connecticut” then I hope to be involved. It’s always a surprise when a film is successful — but I think all of us involved in this project felt this one was sort of special. I just finished producing all of the bonus features for the “Haunting” DVD/Blu-Ray, which comes out here in the U.S. on July 14th. There are some great special features on the disc, including extensive interviews with the actual family whose story provided the inspiration for the film. I hope fans will enjoy it.

16) What will the future bring for you? Can you shed some light on some of your upcoming projects?

I just plan to continue my work as a producer, writer and perhaps director. There are a couple of new projects in the works now, including a 3D horror film I’m very excited about as well as a TV series that’s in development and another couple of Friday-related projects that I’m working on with Barney Cohen and Harry Manfredini. I’m also developing another supernatural thriller based on a true story. At the end of the day, it’s just great to be able to live out a childhood dream … and to be able to do it with some of the very people whose names just flashed across a movie screen when I was this wide-eyed kid sitting in the dark imagining that one day I’d see my name up there, well, that just makes the journey all the more meaningful.

Thanks for your time and looking forward to the new DVD’s!
De Roover Steve