Well, we have come to the end of the Production Crew Challenge. Thus far, we have created the definitive production of Friday the 13th. Thanks to those people who commented the past two days on what they would like to see as the final component of the production. I even received some emails, so that was much appreciated. With all that being said, what film location from the franchise would you choose as the definitive setting for the ultimate Friday the 13th movie?

Friday the 13th (1980)

 
 

Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter

Friday the 13th: A New Beginning

   

Friday the 13th Part 6: Jason Lives

 

Friday the 13th Part 7: The New Blood

         

Friday the 13th Part 8: Jason Takes Manhattan

 

Jason Goes To Hell

 

 

Jason X

Freddy vs Jason

 

Friday the 13th (2009)

 

 

 

 

We are going to finish up the Production Crew Challenge next week and wanted to open up the floor to everyone. What aspect of the production, that we have not covered yet, would you like to vote on? We’ll take the most requested aspect of the production and make it our last Production Crew Challenge. So, let us know what you want!

Makeup Effects Results
Tom Savini:  16 votes
Martin Becker:  5 votes
Magical Media Industries, Inc.:  5 votes
K.N.B. Effects:  2 votes
Stephan Dupuis:  1 vote
Chris Gallagher:  1 vote
Carl Fullerton:  0 votes
Reel FX:  0 votes
Jaime Brown:  0 votes
WCT Productions:  0 votes

There have been some truly spectacular makeup effects that have been created throughout the 30 years of Friday the 13th. Everyone has their favorite artist or company. Tom Savini is a popular choice because his work helped set the tone for all other movies in the series. However, I do want everyone to look at the accomplishments of other makeup effects artists in other Friday the 13th movies. The Final Chapter was the goriest movie for me growing up until Jason Goes To Hell came out. That movie sports some serious gore and effects and will never be rivaled by another movie in the franchise. So, with all due respect to Mr. Savini, I would take K.N.B. effects anyday.

Some of the artists and companies listed below worked on multiple Friday the 13th movies. In fact, Martin Becker not only worked on Part 3, but he worked on Part 5 through 8 in one compacity or another. Let us know which artist or company that you would like to supply the Special Makeup effects to the ultimate Friday the 13th movie! How much gore do you want in your movie?!

- Carl Fullerton (Friday the 13th Part 2)

- Martin Becker (Part 3)

- Reel FX (A New Beginning, Jason Lives)

- Magical Media Industries Inc. (The New Blood)

- Jamie Brown (Jason Takes Manhattan)

- K.N.B. Effects (Jason Goes To Hell)

- Stephan Dupuis (Jason X)

- WCT Productions (Freddy vs Jason)

- Chris Gallaher (Friday the 13th 2024)

We took a week off with the Challenge as the previous week’s challenge, Production Companies, was extended. Now, we are back with the next piece of the ultimate Friday the 13th movie. Sifting through the writers in the franchise turned out to be a little more complicated than just putting a single name to a movie. In the earlier movies, especially, Part 1 -5, multiple writers and script supervisors were used. Even directors gave writing input into the films and some were credited and others were not. That being said, I have added some names to this list that have never been credited as writers, but were definitely a big part of getting the movies onto the big screen. Which writer would you want to create the ultimate Friday the 13th story?

Ron Kurz (Friday the 13th Part 2)
Ron was the person that finished the script for the original movie, but did not get writing credit for his work as he did not inform the Writer’s Guild of his activity. However, when he got the job for Part 2, he went right ahead and notified the Guild and received full credit for creating the story for Part 2. Since Ron helped write the first movie, there a number of similar elements in the second movie that are found in the first. But Ron wasn’t the only writer to have his hand in the original set of movies. Script supervisor Martin Kitrosser worked in his capacity on the first and second movie and would go on to influence a couple of other movies in the franchise.

Martin Kitrosser and Carol Watson (Friday the 13th Part 3)
This husband and wife tandem were tasked with taking the franchise into a different sort of direction, keeping the framework of the franchise, but adding different elements. The decision for 3-D did not help ease the process and after their intial draft was submitted another writer was brought in to take their concept and expand upon it.

Petro Popescu was hired to basically flesh out the characters and create the death scenes in a certain fashion. However, after attending a viewing of Part 3, his agent suggested taking his name off of the project in fear of the movie ruining his reputation in the industry as the film was viewed as plain terrible from a writing perspective. So, Martin Kitrosser and Carol Watson retained their writing credit for the film.

Barney Cohen (The Final Chapter)
Director Joseph Zito had worked with Bruce Hidemi Sakow previously and asked him to write a treatment for the Final Chapter. After his treatment was complete, Zito brought in Barney Cohen to flesh out the story and characters. In fact, Zito had a lot of influence into the script and he mentions that the producers wanted him to have full writing credits. Uninterested, Zito allowed full screenplay credit to go to Barney Cohen, who he himself gave a lot to the movie.

David Cohen and Danny Steinmann (A New Beginning)
Martin Kitrosser is also credited with writing on this movie. His involvement in the first three Friday movies gained him trust with the financial backers from Boston and they eventually gave him the job of creating the story of A New Beginning. Eventually, as with Part 3, his first draft needed to be added to and reworked. Here is where director Danny Steinman and Co-Scriptor David Cohen were given the task of giving depth to the characters and creating not only the creative death scenes, but an actual story to the Tommy Jarvis character.

Tom McLoughlin (Jason Lives)
Director Tom McLoughlin took on double duties for Jason’s first foray into Zombie Land. His condition for making the movie was that they not take the movie too seriously. In creating the story, he brought forth a number of very real characters and humor that was not seen in previous Friday the 13th movies. Because of this, Jason Lives to this day is the best received movie by critics and fans combined.

Daryl Haney (The New Blood)
Haney was hired by Associate Producer Barbara Sachs to help usher in another new take on the franchise. After many clashes with how the story should go, Frank Mancuso Jr stepped in and basically told Haney to clone The Final Chapter in terms of story outline. The two houses next to each other, a party house and the family next door.

After many drafts and revisions, Haney was let go and as he puts it, “a union writer who doesn’t even use his real name was brought in to finish the script”. That union writer is credited with Daryl Haney as writing The New Blood under the pseudonym of Manuel Fidello.

Rob Hedden (Jason Takes Manhattan)
Feeling the burn of a very much dead franchise, Paramount decided to turn to Rob Hedden, who had worked on their syndicated Friday the 13th: The Series television show. His request was that he wanted to remove Jason from Crystal Lake and what better way to market that movie than to have him go to New York. Hedden’s original script called for Jason to spend a good portion of the movie in New York, however, budgetary constraints forced Hedden to change his script to place Jason mostly on the cruise ship headed to Manhattan.

Dean Lorey and Jay Hugley (Jason Goes To Hell)
After New New line took over the franchise, they had hearts set on Freddy vs Jason. However, since the writing process for that project was slow and painful, they listened to Sean Cunningham as he pitched them an idea to have an all new Jason movie.Many concepts were thrown around to make Jason literally reborn again after Paramount killed him. Jay Hugley was called upon to create the story and after many drafts, Cunningham and director Adam Marcus hired Dean Lorey to look over the script and bring it to fruition.

Many concepts were thrown around such as Jason having a brother then to showcasing his father as the killer. Eventually Lorey and Marcus settled on body hopping Jason and an amalgamation of the best scenes from the previous Friday the 13th movies, creating a truly unique film in the franchise.

Todd Farmer (Jason X)
Farmer, much like Rob Hedden was a victim of financial restraint. Had the production had the money to spend, his original script would not have turned out as cheesy in some parts and actually offered a more serious in tone Jason movie event. His ode to Aliens was welcome and what else could you expect from a writer that has now taken an iconic slasher from the woods and now put him in space?

Damion Shannon and Mark Swift (Freddy vs Jason, Friday the 13th 2024)
You know, I think I am going to leave this one alone as we have all commented on these two writers over the past year or so and I think our visitors know what they can expect in their movies!

Voting Results For Production Companies
Georgetown Productions Inc.:  16 votes
Jason Productions:  5 votes
Friday Four Inc.:  7 votes
Terror Inc.:  4 votes
Horror Inc.:  1 vote
Crystal Lake Entertainment:  0 votes
Platinum Dunes:  3 votes

With the reboot almost a year old, there are still fans visiting our website wanting Platinum Dunes to disban and never make movies again. I personally do not see where PD shipwrecked the franchise? That being said, if you had your pick of past Friday the 13th production companies, which would be the best suited to give you, the fan, the perfect Friday experience and ultimate Friday the 13th movie?

Georgetown Productions Inc. (Friday the 13th 1980 and Part 2 1981)

Jason Productions Inc. (Part 3)

Friday Four Inc. (The Final Chapter)

Terror Inc. (A New Beginning)

Terror Inc. (Jason Lives)

Friday Four Inc. (The New Blood)

Horror Inc. (Jason Takes Manhattan)

 
Crystal Lake Entertainment (Jason X)

Platinum Dunes (Friday the 13th 2024)

There were no production companies credited for the following movies as they only listed individual producers either, associate, executive or plain producer:

Jason Goes To Hell (Exact same people involved with Crystal Lake Entertainment, but at this time the company was not formed)
Freddy vs Jason ( Douglas Curtis, Robert Shaye, Stokely Chaffin, Renee Witt, Sean Cuningham)

Ok, disclaimer done and over with. Now, here is your chance to vote on which composer you think should create music for the ultimate Friday the 13th music. Choose from the list of past Friday the 13th composers that should make a new chapter of Friday the 13th!

 
Fred Mollin (The New Blood, Jason Takes Manhattan)
Fred was working for Paramount on various projects, including the Friday the 13th: The Series show that ran in syndication for a number of years. When Harry Manfredini was unavailable to create a new score for The New Blood, Fred was brought in to supplement some of the stock audio Harry had created for previous Friday’s with his own unique brand of music. When Jason Takes Manhattan was put into production, Fred was brought back due to his ties with the studio as well as a needed new sound to fit Jason leaving Crystal Lake and heading for the big city.

Graeme Revell (Freddy vs Jason)
Graeme has worked on a lot of major Hollywood films, including the Harrison Ford/Jack Ryan movie, Clear and Present Danger, The Bone Collector, starring Denzel Washington and of course Bride of Chucky. When Ronny Yu was hired to direct Freddy vs Jason, it was a no brainer that he would bring Graeme along for the ride after their great working relationship on Bride of Chucky. Graeme score fit perfectly for the film as he added a comic book feel to the film while staying true to the original cues of both the Friday the 13th and Nightmare on Elm Street franchises.

 
Steve Jablonksi ( Friday the 13th 2024)
Known very well in the video game world for his scores for Modern Warfare and other titles, Steve burst onto the motion picture scene with his score of the 2024 remake of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Since then, he has gone on to score most every movie Platinum Dunes has produced as well as create scrores for the Michael Bay movie, The Island and both Trasformers movies. His score for the Friday the 13th reboot had more of an industrial edge to it and focused on more pulse pounding beats and very minimal instrumental beats.