Released in the summer of 2003, Freddy vs. Jason wasn’t so much a movie as it was an event. Teased at the tail end of Jason Goes to Hell, the Ronny Yu-directed film was an epic battle ten years in the making, bringing together the two biggest horror icons of them all for the very first time. Did it deliver the goods? If you’re asking me, a lifelong fan of both franchises… YES.
New Line Cinema was well aware of the fact that they had an event movie on their hands with Freddy vs. Jason, and you better believe they played that up in the months and weeks leading to the big release. Exactly one month prior to the film’s theatrical release, on July 15th of 2003, they brought Freddy and Jason to Bally’s Las Vegas for the coolest pre-fight weigh-in of all time.
The promotional press conference kicked off with footage from the film and a behind the scenes video package, and then Freddy (Robert Englund) and Jason (Ken Kirzinger) took the stage to be weighed and answer questions from the press. The event played out like a real weigh-in for a boxing match, with Ronny Yu representing Freddy and Sean Cunningham representing Jason.
I’ve always been bummed that I wasn’t able to attend the infamous Freddy vs. Jason press conference, and what’s even more of a bummer is that only one short video from the event has been uploaded to YouTube over the years. Which is why I’m incredibly excited to report that we’ve just gotten our hands on exclusive footage of THE ENTIRE WEIGH-IN, never before uploaded.
Speaking as a mega fan of Freddy vs. Jason, this is a huge treat. Enjoy.
We have Leroy Patterson (@HumanTackboard) to thank for the never-seen footage, and we’d also like to thank Keian (@Infamous) for hooking the whole thing up. You dudes rock!