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Exclusive: Friday the 13th Lawsuit Turns Bloody

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The lawsuit over the franchise rights to Friday the 13th entered a new phase last Friday, when Sean S. Cunningham was formally deposed under oath. Cunningham, the director and producer of the 1980 film Friday the 13th, was questioned during the deposition by Marc Toberoff, the attorney for writer Victor Miller. Miller, Friday the 13th’s lone credited screenwriter, has also been deposed.

In June 2016, Miller sent a notice of termination to producers, identified as Horror Inc. and The Manny Company, for the purpose of reclaiming the rights to the Friday the 13th property. While there are several issues related to copyright law at play in Miller’s filing, the key question at this juncture in the proceedings is whether Miller was an “employee” or an “independent contractor” when the 1980 film was developed and then went into production in 1979.

This was reflected in the questioning Cunningham received during this deposition, which took place inside a law office. During his deposition testimony, Cunningham reiterated his claim that his agreement with Miller, which was signed on June 4, 1979, was a “work-for-hire” arrangement. Cunningham also testified that Miller hadn’t completed a screenplay or even a treatment at this point, approximately three months before Friday the 13th started filming.

Cunningham also testified that he didn’t believe Miller was responsible for the creation of the iconic character Jason Voorhees, beyond the name itself. In my book, On Location in Blairstown: The Making of Friday the 13th, Miller stated that “Jason” was an amalgam of the names of his sons, Ian and Josh.  Miller said that the Voorhees surname was inspired by Van Voorhees, a girl he’d known in high school.

Regarding Friday the 13th’s screenplay, Cunningham testified that his June 4, 1979, agreement with Miller covered the writing of a treatment and then a screenplay. Cunningham testified that he paid Miller “out of his own money” for the screenplay and the treatment. Cunningham testified that by July 4, 1979, when Cunningham placed the now infamous Friday the 13th advertisement in the trade paper Variety, all he’d seen from Miller was a treatment, not a screenplay. Miller’s name doesn’t appear in the Variety advertisement.

Cunningham has always maintained that the Variety advertisement was entirely a ploy to raise financing for the project, and Cunningham has long claimed that no completed screenplay existed at this point, approximately two months before Friday the 13th started filming.

To bolster his argument, Cunningham pointed that the first draft of Miller’s screenplay was titled A Long Night at Camp Blood, not Friday the 13th. Miller has countered that the Friday the 13th shooting script, which was dated August 21, 1979, was titled Friday 13, not Friday the 13th.

Regarding the creation of Jason, Cunningham argued that Miller isn’t entitled to be credited as the creator of the Jason Voorhees character, because Jason “was dead” in all of Miller’s screenplay drafts.

Now Miller’s trying to prove that Cunningham perjured himself during his deposition testimony. Miller’s attorney, Marc Toberoff, is presently searching for a former secretary of Cunningham’s who might corroborate Miller’s recounting of events. My book, On Location in Blairstown: The Making of Friday the 13th, was also extensively quoted by Toberoff during the deposition.

Toberoff is also searching for a specific filming draft of the Friday the 13th screenplay, which he hopes will prove the extent of Miller’s contribution, especially as it relates to the character of Jason, which is under copyright. Cunningham and Miller are the only witnesses who have been deposed so far.

Another challenge facing Miller is that he must be successful in gaining rights to both the North American and foreign rights, since the property would have little or no value to film studios without both. “Victor doesn’t want to control the entire Friday the 13th franchise, and that’s not what this is about,” says a source close to Miller. “If the lawsuit is successful, it would mean that Victor, as a writer, as a creator, would simply be able to negotiate a new deal, new terms, and to gain some leverage as an author over the existing franchise.”

On June 9, Miller intends to make a motion for summary judgment in court. If this fails, the court would likely assign a trial start date.

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Brad Dourif Says He’s Retiring Except For One Important Role

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Brad Dourif has been doing movies for nearly 50 years. Now it seems he is walking away from the industry at 74 to enjoy his golden years. Except, there is a caveat.

Recently, digital entertainment publication JoBlo’s Tyler Nichols talked to some of the Chucky television series cast members. During the interview, Dourif made an announcement.

“Dourif said that he’s retired from acting,” says Nichols. “The only reason he came back for the show was because of his daughter Fiona and he considers Chucky creator Don Mancini to be family. But for non-Chucky stuff, he considers himself retired.”

Dourif has voiced the possessed doll since 1988 (minus the 2019 reboot). The original movie “Child’s Play” has become such a cult classic it’s at the top of some people’s best chillers of all time. Chucky himself is ingrained in pop culture history much like Frankenstein or Jason Voorhees.

While Dourif may be known for his famous voiceover, he is also an Oscar-nominated actor for his part in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. Another famous horror role is The Gemini Killer in William Peter Blatty’s Exorcist III. And who can forget Betazoid Lon Suder in Star Trek: Voyager?

The good news is that Don Mancini is already pitching a concept for season four of Chucky which might also include a feature-length movie with a series tie-in. So, Although Dourif says he is retiring from the industry, ironically he is Chucky’s friend till the end.

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Editorial

7 Great ‘Scream’ Fan Films & Shorts Worth a Watch

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The Scream franchise is such an iconic series, that many budding filmmakers take inspiration from it and make their own sequels or, at least, build upon the original universe created by screenwriter Kevin Williamson. YouTube is the perfect medium to showcase these talents (and budgets) with fan-made homages with their own personal twists.

The great thing about Ghostface is that he can appear anywhere, in any town, he just needs the signature mask, knife, and unhinged motive. Thanks to Fair Use laws it’s possible to expand upon Wes Craven’s creation by simply getting a group of young adults together and killing them off one by one. Oh, and don’t forget the twist. You’ll notice that Roger Jackson’s famous Ghostface voice is uncanny valley, but you get the gist.

We have gathered five fan films/shorts related to Scream that we thought were pretty good. Although they can’t possibly match the beats of a $33 million blockbuster, they get by on what they have. But who needs money? If you’re talented and motivated anything is possible as proven by these filmmakers who are well on their way to the big leagues.

Take a look at the below films and let us know what you think. And while you’re at it, leave these young filmmakers a thumbs up, or leave them a comment to encourage them to create more films. Besides, where else are you going to see Ghostface vs. a Katana all set to a hip-hop soundtrack?

Scream Live (2023)

Scream Live

Ghostface (2021)

Ghostface

Ghost Face (2023)

Ghost Face

Don’t Scream (2022)

Don’t Scream

Scream: A Fan Film (2023)

Scream: A Fan Film

The Scream (2023)

The Scream

A Scream Fan Film (2023)

A Scream Fan Film
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Another Creepy Spider Movie Hits Shudder This Month

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Good spider films are a theme this year. First, we had Sting and then there was Infested. The former is still in theaters and the latter is coming to Shudder starting April 26.

Infested has been getting some good reviews. People are saying that it’s not only a great creature feature but also a social commentary on racism in France.

According to IMDb: Writer/director Sébastien Vanicek was looking for ideas around the discrimination faced by black and Arab-looking people in France, and that led him to spiders, which are rarely welcome in homes; whenever they’re spotted, they’re swatted. As everyone in the story (people and spiders) is treated like vermin by society, the title came to him naturally.

Shudder has become the gold standard for streaming horror content. Since 2016, the service has been offering fans an expansive library of genre movies. in 2017, they began to stream exclusive content.

Since then Shudder has become a powerhouse in the film festival circuit, buying distribution rights to movies, or just producing some of their own. Just like Netflix, they give a film a short theatrical run before adding it to their library exclusively for subscribers.

Late Night With the Devil is a great example. It was released theatrically on March 22 and will begin streaming on the platform starting April 19.

While not getting the same buzz as Late Night, Infested is a festival favorite and many have said if you suffer from arachnophobia, you might want to take heed before watching it.

Infested

According to the synopsis, our main character, Kalib is turning 30 and dealing with some family issues. “He’s fighting with his sister over an inheritance and has cut ties with his best friend. Fascinated by exotic animals, he finds a venomous spider in a shop and brings it back to his apartment. It only takes a moment for the spider to escape and reproduce, turning the whole building into a dreadful web trap. The only option for Kaleb and his friends is to find a way out and survive.”

The film will be available to watch on Shudder starting April 26.

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