This May on Shock, were looking at remakes. Were reassessing, reviewing and reexamining what we hate about them, and even maybe what we should enjoy. Part of such is an upcoming interview with producer Brad Fuller, best known as co-founderalongside Michael Bay and Andrew Formof Platinum Dunes, the production company which drew horror fan ire for much of the 00s with their remakes. In the talk, Fuller looks back on the Dunes run, which of course includes the well-received Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2003) and the underrated Friday the 13th (2009). Discussing the latter, we turned to the long-awaited sequel, and Fuller updated us on the film and its format (not found footage), to-be-directed by David Bruckner.
I could just say that for a long time we were stalled, Fuller tells Shock. I think you guys reported that the movie was going to be a found footage movie and that was a road that we went down and tried to figure out. Ultimately, I think Michael, Drew and I felt that we couldnt figure that out, so we kind of jettisoned that whole notion and we had to start over. Were in the latter phases of that starting over and hopefully were getting a script in the next month or two, and well go back to Crystal Lake.
It seems with the discarding of found footage, the Dunes producers also saw clearly what many want from a Friday the 13th film. At the end of the day, those movies are so fantastic because Jason Voorhees is such a dynamic presence and people love to see him do what he does well. We hope to put Jason in a situation where hes able to do that again, and it doesnt feel like youre seeing the same thing over and over, Fuller adds.
Fuller also spoke to how fan expectations weigh on their films, and it seems the ensuing outcry over a hypothetical found footage Friday had a direct effect. It absolutely weighs on me, and there have been many times when the fans have affected surely the way we think about, and in some cases the way we shot, some of the stories. Sometimes you have to go through a lot of bullshit in what theyre saying, but very often youll get a fan with such a great idea, or a great notion, and its meaningful to us, Fuller says. Listen, there was an outpouring of negative sentiment when it was revealed that Friday the 13th might have been a found footage movie. That was very clear to us that there was not a groundswell of support for that. That had tremendous amount of impact on us and only substantiated our concern about doing it as a found footage movie. Ultimately, the fact that the movies been delayed for a long time might be a good thing, because now the movies not going to be found footage.
Friday the 13th 2 is currently slated for a May 13th, 2016 release date.
