Despite the critical drubbing it received upon its release on February 13, 2009, Platinum Dunes' reboot of the iconic Friday the 13th franchise proved to be the highest-grossing horror remake of all-time. The film earned more than $43 million over the four-day President's Day weekend, yet for a variety of reasons, a sequel was never made.
In what plays more like a best-of album rather than an outright remake, Friday the 13th follows a bevy of dimwitted, hard-partying teenagers who retreat to Camp Crystal Lake for a summer getaway. Once there, however, they're systematically slaughtered, one by one, by the homicidal, hockey-masked manchild Jason Voorhees. Here are ten behind-the-scenes facts about the making of the latest Friday the 13th that you need to know.
New Line Cinema Offered The Remake To Quentin Tarantino
In 2005, prior to Michael Bay's Platinum Dunes production company joining the project, New Line Cinema reportedly approached Quentin Tarantino to direct the remake of Friday the 13th.
The internet went crazy over the announcement, which included the unofficial title The Ultimate Jason Voorhees Movie. Unfortunately, a few days later Tarantino publicly debunked the rumor, claiming that he while he did meet with New Line to discuss helming the project, talks ultimately broke off without a deal.
Victor Miller's Involvement Was Deliberately Minimized
Victor Miller is responsible for creating the Friday the 13th franchise. Yet when it came time to write the remake, careful measures were taken to make the film appear to be a sequel rather than a remake. This was done so that Miller would be paid less, as sequels actually cost less than straightforward remakes.
Moreover, this is why the movie plays as a composite of the first four films in the franchise rather than a traditional remake of the original. Miller sued the producers over this, but lost and was paid less anyway.
Some Of The Characters Were Cast At The Last Minute
At least two characters in the film were cast at the last minute. Aaron Yoo, who plays Chewie, was cast very close to the commencement of principal photography. Ben Feldman (Richie) and Jonathan Sadowski (Wade) were good friends in real life and were cast because of their natural rapport.
In addition, Richard Burgi was cast as Police Officer Bracke just 12 hours before principal photography began. As for the role of Jenna (Danielle Panabaker), Scout Taylor Compton also auditioned.
Derek Mears Went Through A Rigorous Makeup Process To Become Jason
Derek Mears is the eighth actor to portray the iconic Jason Voorhees. For his depiction, Mears underwent a grueling makeup and FX regiment every day before filming.
In the attempt to make Jason appear more human, full-body makeup was applied to Mears' chest, replete with a fake chest plate and faux skin that could respond to his natural muscularity. Mears was also given a prosthetic eyeball, a fake hump on his back to suggest scoliosis, and spent roughly three hours a day in the makeup chair.
Tommy Jarvis Was Set To Return
In the Friday the 13th lore, the character of Tommy Jarvis proves to be Jason Voorhees' most formidable foe. He appears in the fourth, fifth, and sixth films in the franchise, and was poised to make a comeback in the remake as well.
At one point during pre-production, Platinum Dunes producers Brad Fuller and Andrew Form confirmed that Jarvis would return in the 2009 remake to once again play Jason's archenemy. In fact, Tommy was originally written to appear in the Freddy Vs. Jason script by Mark Swift and Damien Shannan, who not only wrote the Friday the 13th remake but also planned to bring Jarvis back once again. In the remake's case, Tommy's return was considered but ultimately scrapped since the filmmakers wanted to create their own mythology rather than revive the old one.
Most Of The Weapons Were Made With CGI
During the post-production process, a slew of CGI weaponry created by Asylum was used to augment the death scenes. One example includes Nolan's (Ryan Hansen) death by an arrow to the head, which was a computer-generated image. For Lawrence's death scene, a CGI hatchet was added in post to make it appear as if the weapon is thrown in the same frame as the evading victim.
Asylum created a 3D model of the hatchet and digitally added into the film just before it strikes Lawrence (Arlen Escarpeta) in the back. Similarly, Trent's (Travis Van Winkle) death was augmented with a CGI metal spike that rips through his chest on the back of the towtruck.
Chelsea Originally Drowned To Death
Chelsea's death was originally scripted much differently than what transpires in the final version. Rather than being brutally stabbed in the head under the dock by Jason's machete, she was initially supposed to drown to death as Jason leers on.
When Chelsea (Willa Ford) is marooned at the lake and sees Jason waiting for her at the shore, the original script called for Jason to simply wait and watch Chelsea until she drowns in panic and horror. The idea was changed to ramp up the gore and stick to Vorhees' murderous M.O.
Chelsea's Speedboat Accident Was Rendered Digitally
Prior to her gory death under the dock, Chelsea nearly dies from a boating accident while wakeboarding. The stunt for the scene was too dangerous to perform practically, so Asylum used CGI composite shots to achieve the effect.
To create the shot of Chelsea being struck by the speedboat, Asylum fused footage of Willa Ford interacting with an imaginary boat that speeds over her body and footage of the actual boat. The combined footage makes it appear as if Chelsea is really struck by the passing boat.
Richie's Death Was Accomplished With CGI
Richie's death by machete to the head was also heavily augmented by the use of post-production CGI. To achieve the shot of Jason piercing his trusty blade into Richie's head, Derek Mears gripped the handle of the fake machete, the blade of which extended only halfway out.
The FX crew then superimposed the image of Richie's head to the end of the machete to make it appear as one unbroken image. CGI was also employed to achieve Richie's saggy facial skin to suggest intense nerve damage.
Jenna's Death Should've Died Later
One of the biggest surprises of Friday the 13th is the death of Jenna (Panabaker), the presumptive Final Girl. According to the original screenplay, Jenna would have died differently at a much later time in the story.
As it is, Jenna is murdered by Jason when Clay (Jared Padalecki) and Whitney (Amanda Righetti) escape his lair. The original idea was to keep Jenna alive as all three escape Jason's lair and hideout in the abandoned school bus. Jenna and Clay would have traded some more flirtatious banter before Jason killed Jenna with a fire extinguisher.