Editorials
13 Fun Facts About ‘Friday the 13th Part 2!’
Today marks the 35th anniversary of the ultimate slasher sequel Friday the 13th Part 2, the film to introduce a grown up Jason Voorhees to terrified audiences everywhere! It is arguably one of the better entries in the franchise and features the strongest final girl in the series history. It is a film that deserves to be celebrated, even if it is basically a rehash of the first film. We thought we’d celebrate the occasion by looking at some fun facts made public by the fantastic documentary Crystal Lake Memories: The Complete History of Friday the 13th. While any Friday the 13th aficionado undoubtedly knows all of these facts, they’re still fun to read about! Enjoy these interesting little factoids and share your memories of Friday the 13th Part 2 in the comments!
1. Adrienne King was originally meant to star in the film, not just cameo in the first scene.
Unfortunately for Ms. King, her agent wanted too much money (it was originally believed she didn’t want to be in the film due to a stalker she obtained after the success of the first film). Funnily enough, she wasn’t even aware of her character’s fate until she arrived on set. They refused to show her a script beforehand! To add insult to injury, they made her wear those atrocious green overalls. Just look at this outfit!
2. In one of the takes of Alice’s death, the prop ice pick didn’t retract and injured King
As if that outfit wasn’t bad enough, one of the prop guys had it out for King too and didn’t do his job right!
3. Stan Winston was set to take over the makeup effects after Tom Savini’s departure.
Savini couldn’t work on the film due to his commitment to Midnight, so legendary special effects master Stan Winston was going to be brought in. Unfortunately, due to scheduling conflicts, Winston had to back out and Carl Fullerton was given the job. Fullerton would go on to do the makeup for films like Glory, Godfather 3, Silence of the Lambs, and Philadelphia.
4. Three actors played Jason in the film
For the first and only time in the series, Jason was played by a woman in the film’s opening shot. Those were costume designer Ellen Lutter’s legs walking through the rain puddles on Alice’s street. Warrington Gillette played Jason throughout most of the film, but he did not (or could not) do his own stunts, so Steve Daskawisz was used for all of Jason’s stunts.
From Left, Lutter, Gillette and Daskawisz.
5. The deaths of Jeff and Sandra were deemed too graphic by the MPAA.
Their uncut death scene (where you actually see the penetration of the spear through their bodies) has never been released in its entirety. This is a shame. On another interesting note, the death scene is nearly identical to a scene in Mario Bava’s Twitch of the Death Nerve (aka Bay of Blood). Cunningham claims he had never heard of the film before Part 2‘s release.
6. In fact, 48 seconds of the film were cut to avoid an X rating.
It doesn’t sound like much, but 48 seconds could be 48 shots of really cool gore effects.
7. Marta Kober, who played Sandra, was underage at the time of filming.
The actress originally had a scene with full frontal nudity, but when Paramount discovered her real age they had the scene deleted completely.
8. Ginny didn’t pee her pants. It was the rat!
This one was news to me. I always thought Ginny peed her pants out of fear when she was hiding under the bed. Apparently it was (supposed to be) the rat. Could have fooled me!
9. Steve Daskawisz gave the emergency room quite a scare!
During Ginny and Jason’s big showdown, there is a moment when she brings an ax down on Jason’s pickaxe. Unfortunately for Daskawisz (who was doing Jason’s stunt at the time), the ax came down on his finger and he had to go to the emergency room. Bear in mind, this was after the part of the film where Ginny brings a machete down on Jason’s shoulder, so when Daskawisz walked into the showroom he had a machete sticking out of his shoulder, giving the doctors and nurses quite the scare!
10. Amy Steel was not a fan of the scene where Jason jumps through the window to grab her.
Her frightened reaction is very, very real. The scene took three takes and she would tense up and get scared every time the camera started rolling.
11. Paul’s fate even confuses the actors involved in the film..
Do we even know if Paul died? The film leaves his fate so ambiguous, that everyone involved even agrees that it’s one of the series’ most confusing endings.
12. An alternate ending of the film had Mrs. Voorhees’ severed decomposing head winking at the audience and smiling.
The footage has been unreleased, but the sequence was apparently never seriously considered for the film’s actual ending.
13. Both Friday the 13th Part 2 and Halloween II feature their villains killing a law-enforcement officer with a hammer to the head. Both movies were also released in 1981.
Crazy coincidence or secret conspiracy? You decide!
Share your memories of Friday the 13th Part 2 in the comments below!
Editorials
‘The Vampire Lestat’ Concert Event Launches New Season With The Ultimate Expression Of Fandom
There are thousands of passionate fans decked out in gothic chic and champing at the bit like feral creatures. They’re screaming for Lestat, a legendary vampire-turned-rock star, as if the entire crowd has been glamored into submission.
The entire experience is magic, but not because some supernatural thrall has been activated. What’s going on is even more special. It’s the power of the effusive fandom that’s been authentically assembled by AMC’s sublime Immortal Universe, namely Anne Rice’s Interview with the Vampire, now, The Vampire Lestat.
The Vampire Lestat is far from the first Anne Rice adaptation, and it’s not as if there’s been a lack of erotic vampire material for audiences to sink their teeth into. On June 2nd, during a one-night-only spectacle, New York City’s prestigious Beacon Theatre shook from Sam Reid’s bravado performance and an audience full of adoring fans who had already memorized Lestat’s songs.
It’s clear that The Vampire Lestat just hits differently than its predecessors. It’s become more than just a TV series at this point, and this opulent display of ego, swagger, and pure sex is the perfect way to premiere the new season and give back to the fans who helped make Interview with the Vampire/The Vampire Lestat such a breakout success. It’s exactly the sort of hyperbolized hedonism that would make Lestat cackle.
For all intents and purposes, AMC has successfully created the illusion that this concert/premiere is just one of the many destinations on Lestat and his band’s 54-stop tour that is simultaneously playing out on this season of television. It’s such a sophisticated and thorough level of interactive fan engagement that the audience doesn’t just understand, but also manages to accentuate through its involvement.
It’s a level of seamless synergy that’s not unlike the give-and-take relationship of vampire and victim.
Before the concert started, “LeStans” were sitting in the Beacon and flipping through a fake Rolling Stone issue with Lestat emblazoned on the cover, complete with interviews with the undead frontman inside. Other fans were admiring the vinyl pressing of Lestat’s EP as they walked past a section of undead band merch. Fandom and fantasy blur together, and it all becomes this elaborate, immersive experience. Fan celebration, erotic gothic fantasy, and a lavish rock concert transform into one beautiful thing.
To this point, AMC Global Media’s Chief Content Officer and President of AMC Studios, Dan McDermott, introduced the event by reiterating to fans, “You are the heartbeat of the series.” That’s abundantly clear on nights like this as that heartbeat collectively pulses to this performance. In terms of how AMC engages with The Vampire Lestat’s fans, it’s as bold a reinvention as the season itself.
This intuitive gamble speaks to AMC’s creativity in this department and a fandom that is eager to seize such opportunities. It’s the same innovation that led to zombie walks for The Walking Dead and real-life Los Pollos Hermanos restaurant pop-ups from Breaking Bad. It’s a great way to pump up the audience for The Vampire Lestat and then maintain that enthusiasm for the whole season.
For most series, a rock ‘n’ roll concert just doesn’t make any sense as a promotional tool. The Vampire Lestat finds itself in a very unique position where it can deliver an excellent concert at an iconic theater, but also use it to showcase The Vampire Lestat’s music by Daniel Hart (who was shredding on stage alongside Reid and the rest of their band) and, more than anything, Sam Reid’s endless charisma.
The way in which Reid feeds off of the crowd’s energy, modulating his performance and giving different sections of the Beacon life, is a perfect distillation of the series’ thoughtful relationship with its audience and how it’s become such a breakout success for AMC. AMC Studios President Dan McDermott emphasized that the fans are the reason that the show is still here and why an event like this is even possible. It’s rare to see a series in which every single cog in the machine is so perfectly attuned to its fans. Reid’s fans already cheer whenever they see him, so why not translate that to a concert setting?
It’s clear in this season of television that Reid was born to be a rock star, but it’s surreal to see him effortlessly command the stage — and the audience — at every step of the concert. He recites Shakespeare monologues and bitches out Armand between songs, all while the audience screams in support. For the duration of this concert, Reid is Lestat, and he’s given thousands of fans a memory that’s as immortal as any vampire.
Now bring on the encore and get this show on the road!
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