Studio:
New Line Cinema.
Production Company:
Unknown.
Project Phase:
Development Hell.
Who's In It:
Unknown. We're assuming that mainstays Robert Englund (Freddy Krueger) and Kane Hodder (Jason
Voorhees) will be coming back...won't they, New Line?
Who's Making It:
Rob Bottin (Director); James Robinson (Screenwriter).
Premise:
From what I understand, we could fill an entire website
(and some people have) concerning all the different ideas, plots, rumors,
etc. about how the two wind up at each others' throats. See below
for some choice parts of the gory details. No pun intended.
Release Date:
November 1999.
Comments:
None.
Rumors:
Unknown.
Scoop Feedback:
[Page draft submitted (sure, if you could call it that - it was hacked into the floorboards
of a wooden pier sometime last week at Camp Crystal Lake) by 'Widgett'. We're also missing a
hockey mask.]
March 21, 1997... At the ShoWest convention, New Line Cinema announced their intentions to fast-track Freddy
vs. Jason movie. Movie conventions are just as notorius as any other field for trying to attract attention towards their booth and
products: at ShoWest Freddy and Jason both appeared and had a little faux boxing match. D'you think the success of
Scream had anything to do with this announcment? Hmm... [Thanks to 'bdog' and 'H.B.' for the clippings.]
August 19, 1997... After veritable aeons of speculation,
it looks like this sucker might fly, so tell Orville to sell that bike
shop: New Line releases a press statement announcing the directorial debut of effects god Rob
Bottin. Bottin has stated that he wants to "reinvent" the two characters, making
them "larger than life" (which is not a bad idea considering they're certainly
much larger than death by now...)
As stated above, speculations have been running rampant since, well,
since as long as we can recall. The titles rumored to be rolling out
with this thing alone are guaranteed to destroy a normal person's bandwidth.
Some examples: Friday the 13th X: The Freddy Vs. Jason Movie;
A Nightmare on Elm Street 8; A Nightmare on Friday the 13th.
Apparently, one of the more recent rumors has picked up momentum; it states that not
only would Freddy and Jason be going at it, but other modern horror movie icons would
return (and which have fallen from healthy box office grosses.) Pinhead, Pumpkinhead, Michael Myers,
Chucky the doll, and Candyman would be getting in on the cinematic cage
match. Fortunately, this was just a rumor, but anything is possible (just ask Mike
Tyson...)
Right now there are three major versions of the script (not counting all of the
"fan-written" ones). These were devised by writers David Schow, Peter Briggs,
and Brannon Braga. It's uncertain at this point which version (if
any) will be used, or if Bottin/New Line will just amalgamate them all
into one big uberscript.
Braga's script was the first. Reportedly it features Freddy and Jason usurping
the devil's rule in Hell and trying to rule the world themselves. New Line rejected the
work once, but apparently is taking a second look.
Briggs' script was next and concerns both Freddy and Jason being pawns
in a plan for the end of the world, and draws upon the phenomenon known
as "millennium fever". The script begins in 17th century Italy and literally deals
with the end of the universe. It also neatly wrapped up the two series
completely, leaving no plot thread unused. At one point it was announced that Briggs would
direct from his own script; however, New Line thought it would be too expensive
to produce and said, "Uh-uh." This script also reveals that the origins
of the two villains are entwined; a young Jason Voorhees lived
on a certain Elm Street, and Jason's parents had a hand in doing something very, very
horrible to a certain janitor. Then that recently-risen-from-the-dead custodian paid a
visit to Jason at a certain summer camp... (it almost sounds like what really happens out on
the schoolyards everyday...well, minus the demonic and supernatural elements...)
Schow's script, the third, has a bunch of sweater and fedora-wearing
Freddy worshippers bringing the Kruegerman back from the dead, and Jason
being brought back to stop him by a teenage girl. (That would have been my first thought
for an anti-Freddy plan.) This version was to be directed by Sean S. Cunningham, the director
of the first Jason/Friday the 13th outing.
(It should also be mentioned that Ethan Reiff, Cyrus Voris and Mark Bishop were the ones mentioned as screenwriters for the
proposed Cunningham film, as taken from David J. Schow's story. We're not sure if Schow would have continued to receive credit
on the film, or to what extent each group of writers were involved with the Cunningham version.)
At this point, Deborah Fine is said to be reworking the Braga script
while Schow is reworking the Briggs script. Does your head hurt yet? Keep reading.
Who will be in it? Who will play what? Many characters have been mentioned to return,
among them (go figure) Englund as #1 Sweater Model and Hodder as #1 Machete Etiquette Guy.
Others include "The Dream Child" of Nightmare 5; Lisa Wilcox's character
Alice from Nightmare 4 and 5; John D. LeMay's character Steven
Freeman and Kari Keegan's character Jessica Kimble from Jason Goes to
Hell. None of this has been confirmed thus far, although Hodder
himself has stated that he will take up his hockey mask and walk once more. Our best advice:
wait and we shall see.
To close it up, Rob Bottim had this to say at the announcement of his directing gig: "Rather than revisit old territory,
my intention is to celebrate these characters by way of reinvention - elevating them both to a completely new level of horror,
using state-of-the-art techniques. They will be reborn in a bigger-than-life way."
And as 'Qeelocke17' said upon hearing the annoucment, perhaps summing it up for all those who've sent in scoops for the
past two years about this much-delayed project: "Personally, I can't wait for it!"
[Complete summary of the project written up by 'Widgett'.]
[Special thanks to Diane who provided us with the additional writers named in the Cunningham
version and the identity of the 'special' Cyrstal Lake summer kid.]
[Special thanks to the, literally, hundreds of scoopers who contributed to this page. Extra special
thanks must be mentioned to 'Spaceboy', 'bickel' and 'Gralex'.]
This scooper mentions a recent interview he read about Robert Englund. In it the actor confirmed that
he was signed to do at least two more projects with New Line...which increases the chances for one
being the grudge match from Hell. [Scrawled in blood by 'rvelasco' (and that's pretty darn hard to do in
an email, guys.]
August 26, 1997... According to this scooper, New Line has also confirmed Sean S. Cunningham's
involvement with the project. He'll produce the film. [Sent to us by 'bickel'.]
October 5, 1997... An anonymous person writes to inform us that the latest Comic Shop
News lists the screenwriter of the Freddy vs. Jason movie as none other than...
James Robinson. His DC comic book Starman is so hip that the book's been featured in
Entertainment Weekly. We'll try to confirm this rumor. [Submitted anonymously.]
November 6, 1997... ZENtertainment goes to Newsarama for this little tidbit. According to
X-Men associate editor Mark Powers, the aforementioned James Robinson is leaving the X-title Cable in order to free up more
of his time to work on the Freddy vs. Jason project. [Information covered by 'Widgett' and 'ZENtertainment'; first scooped
by Newsarama.]
copyright © 1995-98 Corona Productions.
|