never done before – he released this
little indie film at the height of summer
and marketed it as a legitimate
Paramount movie...”
Yes, this little $500,000-budgeted
slice-and-dice suspenser would now be
sold to audiences as a must-see studio
blockbuster. For Cunningham, his main
concern was hoping that no one would
catch on to the fact that this was not
quite Star Wars (ironically, Friday The
13th would be the second-highest
grossing movie of the 1980 summer
season, after The Empire Strikes Back).
“But in the end it certainly paid off,
because it launched Frank’s career to
a much more senior level at
Paramount,” laughs Cunningham.
“But at that time there was something
I quickly learned, which is when people
met me and asked me what I wanted
to do next, the only answer that they
wanted to hear was, ‘I plan to do
another film just like Friday The 13th’.
And I realised I was going to be a ‘nut
for hire’ for the rest of my life if I did
another slasher film...”Perhaps unsurprisingly then,
Cunningham opted out of making
Friday The 13th Part 2 the next year
(which introduces Jason proper) and
sold the rights to Paramount, only
reclaiming them again in the early
1990s when he produced the flop ninth
entry Jason Goes To Hell: The Final Friday
(1993). But old friend Steve Miner was
available to pick up the slack...“When Sean said no to the second
film, he said to me ‘Steve, I’ll back you
with Paramount and get you hired, but
only if you give my wife a job as the
editor,’” laughs Miner. “So I did and
that was her first credit. But doing
parts two and three were great. We
just did whatever the hell we wanted.
There was no studio person there. It is
different now but back then nobody
from Paramount cared what we did –
just so long as we delivered Friday The
13th Part 2.”
Currently, Cunningham finds
himself embroiled in a legal dispute
with the original film’s writer, Victor
Miller, over who owns the ultimate
intellectual property rights to the
series, but – in retrospect – the
director admits he has few
regrets about letting the
franchise slide away from
his grasp for so long. “I
made the first movie and
it was a success but,
unless we are talking
financially, I just never
saw an incentive to do the
sequel,” affirms
Cunningham. “With Friday
The 13th it was just going
to be the same thing over
and over again.”
Meanwhile, disgusted
film critics attacked the
popularity of Friday The 13th
hitting the big time (it was
nominated for numerous
Golden Raspberry Awards,
along with none other
than Stanley Kubrick’s
Ma^yLabgbg`) and bemoaned the state
of a society that would flock to see
such cheapjack sex and violence.
Forty years later, however, and it is
clear that just like Jason Voorhees
himself, the popularity of
Cunningham’s creation is not
about to die any time soon.
“I have not made my love story
yet,” smiles Cunningham. “It’s great
to be known for Friday The 13th, but
that’s still my uphill challenge. To get
to do something that’s a little bit
different from what everyone
expects...” In other words, less puke-
in-the-bucket and more amore. Just
don’t let Jason find out.FRIDAY THE 13TH IS AVAILABLE ON DVD
AND BLU-RAY.DebraSHayesas
doomed
counsellor ClaudetteAdrienneKingisaboutto
getarudeawakeningout
onCampCrystalLakeGAMESRADARCOM/TOTALFILM APRIL 2020 | TOTAL FILM
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