Crystal Lake Memories: The Complete History of Friday the 13th (Enhanced Edition)

by Peter M. Bracke

  TOM MCLOUGHLIN, Writer & Director, Part VI:

  I directed the episode "Prophecy" of The Series, which was a two-parter and the last to feature John LeMay. Frank Mancuso, Jr. said to me on that episode, "We're going into the third season, and the kid playing Ryan, John LeMay, he wants to get into features." And there quickly became this whole cynical thing about John leaving, like, "Oh, yeah, all we're going to hear from him in the future is, 'Do you want fries with that?'" But I thought John was a good guy, very sincere. A very dedicated actor. And everybody else wants to do better things.

  JOHN LEMAY:

  After I left The Series, I ended up auditioning and auditioning after that and only getting a few commercials here and there. I actually started to think, "Hell, I like movies but there might be something else I like to do besides acting?" Like maybe art direction, or production design. So I ended up taking an Emergency Medical Technician class with Sam Mahoney, who was the First AD on The Series, and ended up also First AD-ing Jason Goes to Hell at the same time we were starting this class. Then Sam mentioned one day they were having trouble finding the lead actor for this Jason movie, and would I be interested? I hadn't worked in a while, and I went in and met with Adam Marcus. We talked for a while and they offered me the role.

  To do a Friday the 13th film right after the TV series—I wasn't sure it was the right move. For me, it was a job. I read the script, and I got to be the hero, and I got to live, and kick Jason's butt, and it all seemed like fun. Plus, they created a myth around Jason and given him a curse to deal with which, in a sense, goes along the lines of the way The Series played. And Adam's enthusiasm was infectious. He really wanted to make an old-fashioned horror film, and make characters that hadn't always necessarily been three-dimensional in the past Fridays. That's what Adam and I initially talked about when we met, and that's what made me excited to do the movie.

  ADAM MARCUS:

  John had done The Series, which actually worked against him. There were some reservations in the air about casting him because of that reason. But I liked John. I thought he had a very interesting quality. And when I described the role to him I said, "You gotta think of a young Bruce Willis." I wanted a lot of comedy, and John is a very serious actor, so I think he was sort of intrigued by that. So we went with him.

  Newcomer Kari Keegan would win her first lead role as Jessica Kimble in Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday.

  BARRY MOSS:

  All I can say is that I was against casting John LeMay because he had done the Friday television series. I really wanted an actor named Raphael Sbarge to do it. I can't remember whether Raphael ultimately didn't want to do it, or whether they ultimately didn't want him. But I know I was disappointed—not in John in any way as an actor, just in that I didn't think it was very interesting or very creative to have him play this role.

  KARI KEEGAN, "Jessica Kimble":

  I was just one of those weird children who decided when I was five years old that everybody in my neighborhood was going to be an actor and I was going to be their director. I would write these plays and direct and act in them. I think it was just something I was born to do. And my parents were the kind of people who said, "Go to college, get an education, then if you still want to act, you can do it."

  I moved out to L.A. with a guy I was dating at the time and my best girlfriend, and we all had the same agent. They both happened to be really attractive people and got auditions for Jason Goes to Hell. But the girl who was supposed to go from our agency cancelled at the last minute, so they called me and said, "You can go>—even though you're not Friday the 13th material." I guess, apparently, Friday the 13th girls are what I call "POW" girls: POW hair, POW boobs, POW butt. I was kind of like a normal-looking girl next door girl. And I actually went in to read for the best friend, the part that Allison Smith played. I got called back, and it was like, "Kari got called back and nobody else did!" It was a big scandal.

  Then I went in and read with all of the girls who were reading for Jessica, and I was in the room when they left and heard them talk about what they liked and what they didn't like. And then Sean Cunningham, toward the end of the afternoon>—I think I had read with maybe eight or nine young ladies>—said to me, "Let's see you do Jessica." And this is going to sound terrible, but because I had been in the room all day and I knew what they were looking for, I stole from all the girls what was really good. Then Adam asked the girl who was the last girl to read Jessica to read a lot. I think we did every scene in the entire movie.

  Finally, my competitors and I were all in this huge warehouse and Adam Marcus said, "Can we go play Frisbee for a couple minutes?" I was like, "This is bizarre." I guess you can tell a lot about how a girl moves when she plays Frisbee. So we played, and as I was getting ready to leave, Sean Cunningham came up to me and he said, "Oh my God, you're so in this movie. We don't know which role you're going to play yet." I thought, "Oh, maybe they'll give me a smaller role like a consolation prize." And on Monday, my agent called and said, "You got the lead." I was like, "Shut up!"

  ADAM MARCUS:

  That was something Sean taught me as a kid>—he said that any time you're casting somebody throw a tennis ball or a Frisbee with them. Because if they can't throw or catch, then there's a whole world of things they can't do. Of course, you have to laugh at that. But seriously, if they can't, then they're going to become a pain in the ass, especially if there's any physicality involved.

  What Kari had was a very accessible look, and she is a very attractive girl. I thought that she could have been Jessica, a young mom. She and John LeMay fit together, too>—sort of like salt and pepper shakers, you know? And Kari had a good sense of humor—that's something I am very strict about, that my actors have to be able to laugh and have a good time.

  ERIN GRAY, "Diana Kimble":

  I didn't want to do a horror film, but Sean Cunningham called me up and said, "Well it's not really horror, it's really black comedy. I guarantee that when you go to the screening, they're gonna be talking back to the screen and laughing and nobody will be scared." Sean talked me into it. And he really was flattering and said things like, "I'm really a fan of yours and I'd really like you to do this." There's nothing like having a producer beg-it makes the actor kind of go, "Okay, well if he really wants me that bad..."

  STEVEN CULP, "Robert Campbell":

  I was a "theatre actor" at the time, but this was a lead in a movie, and I really needed to do that, even though it was a Friday the 13th. And the people involved were fantastic. Just the fact that Barry Moss was casting, it made me go, "Okay, I'll read the script. I will think seriously about it."

  JULIE MICHAELS, "Agent Marcus":

  Before Jason Goes to Hell, I was purely acting and not doing stunt work. I co-starred with Patrick Swayze in Road House and Point Break, which Keanu Reeves was also in. Then one day Kane Hodder called me. He was up against the wall on a project, because they really needed an actress who could do their own high fall, which is a difficult stunt. In college I had been a gymnast and a marital artist, so I knew I had physical ability. And the gentleman I was dating at the time was also a stuntman. So I went in and did it and it ended up working out great.

  When I went in on Jason Goes to Hell I had just done Witchboard 2 and had blonde hair, so when I read for the part of Agent Marcus, the casting director looked at me and just said, "No, you're totally not right for this." But I knew I was. So I went home, colored my dark, had my agent call them under a different name, and then went back in. After the audition this time they said, "Oh, you're perfect! You're booked." Then I go, "Okay, actually, I'm Julie Michaels." And they went, "No way, you're not!" I guess dark hair lends more integrity to a role. Sometimes they can't see past the blonde hair.

  "Making a horror movie brings out the kid in all of us," says actress Erin Gray, who stars in Jason Goes to Hell as Diana Kimble. "I loved going to work with a knife in my back."

  LESLIE JORDAN, "Shelby":

  Right out of high school I
went to work with race horses, and I wanted to be a jockey. And I was an exercise rider for a long time. But being a jockey didn't work out, so all of a sudden I was 28 years old and what was I going to do? So I went and got a degree in theatre and then decided that if I was going to starve, I was going to starve with a tan. I just got on a bus and came out to L.A. It dropped me off right at the corner of Vine and Fountain. And, boy, that was it. I got really lucky and started doing commercials, then sit-coms. I got on "Murphy Brown" the first season, and I was on "The Fall Guy" Now, everyone knows me from "Will & Grace," as Karen's nemesis.

  And after I came to L.A., I was Rick Baker's poster boy. I did a lot of prosthetics. I went to the Mojave Desert with Boy George for a commercial for Sake Coolers for three weeks, and had 40 prosthetic pieces on my face—fake teeth, gold-speck lenses, eight-foot flags. I was a punk geisha monkey. I've done a Smurf. I even danced on Sunset Blvd. in a Care Bear costume at the premiere of the Care Bears Movie. And make-up, let me tell you it's miserable work. You're there at 3 a.m., and by the time everybody arrives at 8 o'clock, you've been in makeup for five hours and your day begins. It's just miserable. So when Jason Goes to Hell came along, that was my only reservation—that I'd have to wear make-up. Was I a fan of the horror genre? Not really. But I'm the biggest whore in Hollywood. I love when actors say, "I won't do this because I don't want to get typecast." My commercial agency gave me a list once and said, "Check the products you won't do, like Tampax. Or, if you're vegetarian, that you don't want to do meat." And I'd do whatever. Diarrhea medicine? Sign me up. I take whatever comes my way>—I've got to earn a living.

  Jason Goes to Hell was a grueling audition process. They kept having me in over and over. I kept thinking, "Good God, just make a decision!" Finally, they switched my part with Rusty Schwimmer's. I remember Adam saying, "This is going to have a little bit more comedy than the others."

  RUSTY SCHWIMMER, "Joey B.":

  I always say I got into acting because I had no choice. That was the only thing I thought I could do. And it was the only thing I ever wanted to do. And when I moved out to L.A., I said to my agent, "There are two things that I really need to do: a horror film and a soap opera. Because they're so bad, they're good."

  The funny thing is, my agent was like, "There's this new Friday the 13th, and even though the character's a man, I think you'd be really good for it." So when I walked in for my audition, I did a fake-out on Adam Marcus and the casting directors, where I said, in this beach bunny voice, "Hi! So nice to meet you!" And they were like, "What the hell is this?" Then all of a sudden, I switched into my Chicago gangster voice: "What the fuck are you doin'!? What the fuck da you want!?" And they were dying. They asked me to do it again because they were laughing so hard. Then they brought in Leslie Jordan and put us together, and Leslie is like a little elf, and an incredible actor. And he started calling me "Pookie." Which was great, because he was supposed to be the "man," but he's so femme. And they were all laughing even harder. Right there, on the spot, Adam just said, "Why doesn't he play your husband? It'll be hilarious!" And that's a really good testament to Adam, because he was up for anything. So we ended up making up a lot of stuff just as we were doing it.

  ADAM MARCUS:

  Casting Rusty and Leslie together was so inspired. The minute we saw the two of them together, the whole room just burst out laughing. But there's also this bond that happened between the two of them in the movie—they are so loving with each other that it became more than just a sight gag, it became endearing. And when they died in the movie, you were actually sad to see them go. That's what we were going for>—we tried to get as much of a familial, loving connection between the characters in the movie as we possibly could. And genuine humanity.

  RICHARD GANT, "Coroner":

  I had been in New York City for 10 years, and I thought I'd never leave. But your fortunes change, and your blood thins, and I came out to Los Angeles to do Rocky V. Then I had known Barry Moss and Julie Hughes when they cast me in The Cosby Show. They called and said, "Richard, you don't have to audition. Just come by and do us a favor and do this role." And it was wonderful, because I was fresh to it. I had never seen Jason or Freddy or any of these guys. Although at first they weren't sure what role they wanted me for—originally they had me read for the part Steven Williams eventually played.

  STEVEN WILLIAMS, "Creighton Duke":

  I actually started out as a model. And I was in the women's apparel business, selling clothes in Chicago on Michigan Avenue, which is sort of equivalent to LA's Rodeo Drive. This was around 1971 or 1972. The thing is, I'm incredibly talented. I'm blessed. I've never taken an acting lesson in my life. I'm the most opened-up free spirit I know. I also believe that you can't teach anyone to act. You either have it or you don't.

  Flash ahead to February 1991 and I had finished doing "21 Jump Street." I remember that because I directed the very last episode of the series. Then Stephen J. Cannell gave me a show called "The Hundred Lives of Blackjack Savage," starring myself, Daniel Hugh Kelly and Roma Downey, about a 17th century ghost who was a pirate. It was a terrific show, but we only did six episodes and it got cancelled.

  I was between shows and just hanging out when Jason Goes to Hell came along. My agent called and said, "I've got an audition for you and it's for Friday the 13th." I read the script, and it was a bounty hunter, and to me, this guy was a stone-cold cowboy. I said, "If I can dress like a cowboy, I will do this role." So I had cowboy hoots, a hat, and I borrowed one of those long outback coats from a buddy of mine. I just went in and said, "If I'm your guy, this is the way I want to do him." Then, when I went back, they had this strange costume for the guy, and I said, "No, I want to do him as a cowboy." And I still got the role.

  ADAM MARCUS:

  After the casting of Rusty and Leslie, it really shook things all up—the two of them completely changed our perception of our own movie. We started asking, why aren't we casting against type more? It gave us the courage to cast Steven Williams. And for one very important reason. We started looking back at George A. Romero's movies, and Romero's statement of placing African American actors in hero roles, which to me has always been an inspiration.

  Steve just made us laugh. Too many guys came in and read that material totally straight. Even the Candyman came in to read, Tony Todd. He was wonderful, but again, it was like he was still doing that role. We wanted someone who was as perverse as Quint in JAWS. Dean and I had always talked about Creighton Duke as being the one guy people would really talk about when the movie's over.

  "That camper being split up the middle is, without a doubt, the most disgusting moment in the history of Friday the 13th!" —Adam Marcus

  Despite his inexperience as a director, Adam Marcus strove earnestly to create an open, sociable, actor-friendly atmosphere on the set—although not one without a few quirks. Off screen there would be a conflicted lead actor, a "bounty hunter" with a fondness for dropping his pants, and an action-heroine who ended up with a broken toe on the very first day of shooting, compliments of a dropped flashlight. Not to mention heated arguments over hockey masks with a budget-conscious producer still somewhat uncertain about his choice in hiring a neophyte to helm his $3 million production. But no matter how crazed the on-set antics became, both cast and crew came together in a sincere and committed attempt to create the most audacious Friday the 13th yet.

  ADAM MARCUS:

  I was 23. I was a dumb-ass. But I was just egomaniacal enough to think I could pull this off. There was fear. Definitely. That first day of production I was ready to blow my brains out. I was like, "What the hell am I doing!?" But the nice thing was that after the first two days of dailies came back, I remember Michael De Luca at New Line coming back and saying, "We're set. This is going to be great." And that was it. We never, ever had New Line bothering us again. I was very lucky.

  I also have never liked the auteur theory of filmmaking. I think movies are made by communities of people and I think those communities have t
o enjoy their work. Otherwise, you know, do electrical work on someone's house, not make movies. You'll make better money, too.

  STEVEN CULP:

  Adam was into creating this little commune during Jason Goes to Hell. He had us come in a week before to rehearse. We would all play basketball and games together. So I was able to come in with ideas and get feedback from Adam and everybody on the set. I felt like I was at home. There was this feeling that we're all creating something together, even if it was this silly little horror film.

  LESLIE JORDAN:

  We had great rehearsals. We did a staged reading around a table. Film is not shot logically—you shoot by location, primarily—it's really hard as an actor to sometimes see, from reading a script, exactly what your place is. At what point are you at what emotional level? Sometimes it can be simple—you're being chased by a guy with an ax. But there's something about sitting around that table that is important. Especially since this one was one of the funnier of the Fridays. And I'm guilty of being over-the-top, especially because I do so many sit-coms. You raise an eyebrow and I'm up there like "The Three Stooges." We had to find that right tone. I think Adam did that

  HOWARD BERGER, Makeup Effects Supervisor:

  It was a long shoot—like nine weeks, which is unusually long for a film like this. And we were bouncing all over the place. Some stuff was shot in Chatsworth, California, then some stuff in Malibu, , and more stuff in sound stages down off of Robertson Boulevard.

  Adam made a point to not cast cheesy teenagers. He got a lot of really good people, which made it fun. We were all like best friends. We worked 18 hours a day and then we would spend the weekends together just having barbeques at my house, or partying at Adam's place. It was very family-oriented. Adam stayed strong to what he wanted to do. He didn't back down. And Adam was young. For me, it was fine. We've worked with a lot of directors that had never shot a film but this was extremely pleasant. He was so enthusiastic and had good ideas. I think he believed in what he was doing so strongly. He had a good support group, too.