Horror fans of the world unite! CLASSIC “Friday the 13th”(1980) is being re-created, and a 2009 re-launch of the Franchise is COMING!
Now, I’ve literally grown up with Jason Voorhees. From Watching every film, to dressing as him for Halloween, and even recall playing “Friday the 13th” on the original Nintendo. So, being a die-hard fan I wanted to find all the info I could on the Franchise re-launch, and here’s what I could find…
From IMDB: It has been announced by Producers Brad Fuller and Andrew Form that this film will be a ‘sequel to a remake of the original film, which never existed.’ So in a sense, it will be a remake/re-imagining of the second, third, and fourth films in the franchise, all that takes place with in a period of one week’s time. In this time period, Jason will first appear, he will don the hockey mask and sack, he will run rampant around Crystal Lake, and Tommy Jarvis will appear.
At first it was announced as a prequel/remake/re-imagining, much like the Rob Zombie “Halloween” film was. As of December 2007, it is still unclear as to what this movie will follow. All that is known is that Jason will wear the pillow case (which he only wore in “Friday the 13th Part 2” (1981)) as well as the hockey mask (which was introduced in “Friday the 13th Part III” (1982) and has been worn since by Jason). It has also been stated that Jason’s psychotic mother, Pamela Voorhees (originally playing the antagonist in the original “Friday the 13th” (1980) film) and his regarded nemesis Tommy Jarvis (introduced in “Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter” (1984) and appearing in “Friday the 13th: A New Beginning” (1985) and “Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives” (1986)) will most likely make an appearance.
Since the sac, the hockey mask, Pamela, Tommy, and Jason were all staples introduced in different films of the first four movies in the franchise, it can be assumed that this movie will be a re-imagining of the first four movies completely, or at least a re-imagining of the second, third, and fourth films.
Another bit of information that makes this film take place in a different continuity is because it was stated that it will take place around the events of Parts 2-4 but will also take place at Camp Crystal Lake. In the original series, during Parts 2-5, Camp Crystal Lake was abandoned following the murders of the original film. It was not re-opened until “Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives”, where it took under a different name.
 Casting List: Jared Padalecki (TV’s “Supernatural”, “Cry Wolf” (2005)) and Odette Yustman (“Cloverfield” (2008)) are in final negotiations to being cast but the roles they are playing are still unspecified, however these are character that have been confirmed to make an appearance;
WHITNEY Caucasian. Mid 20s. Younger sister to Clay. Pretty and strong girl. She has the smarts and the will to survive in the most desperate of circumstances.
CLAY Caucasian. Late 20s. Older brother of Whitney. He’s good-looking and has a quiet inner confidence. He’s a dedicated and smart guy. All the girls definitely find him attractive.
CHUMBLER Caucasian, early to mid-20s. A little chubby, but he wears his size well, along with his cool chin beard. He has a tendency to make wear his attraction to attractive girls on his sleeve. He has no shame. Please submit your funniest character actors.
TRENT Caucasian, early to mid-20s. The Alpha-Male. He’s got money, and he wants you to be his friend… especially if you can do something for him.
JENNA Caucasian, early to mid-20s. Trent’s date for the weekend. She’s great-looking, athletic, and the adventurous type. We wonder why she would be with Trent.
LAWRENCE Black, early to mid-20s. Good-looking and funny as hell. He’s smart and is already trying to get his own company started. He puts on a white sounding “good ol’ boy” voice when talking to his business associates.
NOLAN He wears a T-shirt that says *beep* CHRISTMAS – The asterisks are snowflakes. But when an older woman walks by, he crosses his arms, covering it. Nolan poses as a rebel, but he’s just as square as the rest of us.
CHELSEA Attractive college girl. Friends with BREE, but not as sexy. PARTIAL NUDITY REQUIRED
BREE Attractive friend to Chelsea, definitely the sexier of the two, and she dresses to make sure you can tell the difference. Hot as Hell!
WADE Caucasian, mid-20s. He’s technologically inclined… at least enough to use a GPS Receiver. He knows the story about Camp Crystal Lake and he tells it to his crew around a campfire.
MIKE Caucasian, mid-20s. Whitney’s boyfriend. He’s a genuine and logical guy. He makes sure that his friends, and especially Whitney, are safe and taken care of. He’s a really nice guy.
AMANDA Caucasian, mid-20s, voluptuous. Perfectly tanned and sexy. She’s into Richie…at least for the weekend. PARTIAL NUDITY REQUIRED
RICHIE Caucasian, mid-20s. Funny and definitely attracted to Amanda. He doesn’t waste time making a move on her.
It is believed that Padalecki will be playing Clay and Yustman will be playing Whitney.
Courtesy of Wikipedia:In January 2007, producers Andrew Form and Brad Fuller outlined their intended goal to bring the remake to life. Fuller and Form were approached by New Line to create a remake, but because Paramount still owned certain copyrights to the first film the remake would not be able to use anything from the original film. Paramount, who wanted to be included in the remake, approached the producers and gave them license to use anything from the original films, including the title. With Paramount on board, Fuller and Form decided they wanted to use pieces from each of the first three films. Fuller stated, “I think there are moments we want to address, like how does the hockey mask happen. It’ll happen differently in our movie than in the third one. Where is Jason from, why do these killings happen, and what is Crystal Lake?” The producers expressed an interest in using the character of Tommy Jarvis, and stated that they were currently trying to figure out an origin story for Jason that would make sense.
Damian Shannon and Mark Swift, writers of Freddy vs. Jason, were announced in October 2007 to have been hired to pen a script for the remake. The film was reported to focus on Jason Voorhees, and that he will keep his trademark hockey-mask. The film is being produced by Michael Bay, Andrew Form, and Brad Fuller through Bay’s production company Platinum Dunes, for New Line Cinema. Director Jonathan Liebesman was originally in negotiations to direct the remake in February 2006, but in November 2007, Marcus Nispel, director of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre remake of 2003, replaced Liebesman. On January 29, 2008, Variety reported that Odette Yustman had been cast for the film, although no role was specified and that filming would begin in April 2008. On March 21, 2008, it was confirmed that Jared Padalecki was in final negotiations to star as the lead who investigates what happened at Crystal Lake.
With the Franchise doing a Worldwide Box Office total of over $350 million this was a lock for a re-imagining. No confirmation yet on who will take on the hood/mask as Jason himself, but fans are crying out for 6’3 1/2″ Kane Hodder who donned the mask for four consecutive films, before being snubbed for “Jason vs. Freddy”(2003). Time will tell.
 
