ROBERT ENGLUND:
I was an independent actor in the '70s. And for a long time I was this snob. I could talk about Margot Kidder and Steven Spielberg and Martin Scorsese with their floppy hats and their sunburns. I was right on the edge of that whole time in the 1970s. I was with Bob Rafaelson and Jeff Bridges and Arnold Schwarzenegger and Scatman Crothers—we were all hanging out and doing stuff together. And Daniel Petrie, who discovered Sidney Poitier. I had my nose broken by Richard Gere and Kris Kristofferson. Robert Mulligan, who directed To Kill a Mockingbird—I worked with him. It was a great time.
Then JAWS hit—and I love JAWS—but it changed Hollywood. The blockbuster ethos. That hurt the independent renaissance of the early part of that decade. But what was good for me because I lost my cynicism. I learned a lot. And you could still live in L.A. cheaply—it didn't get expensive here until '78 or '79. I lived in Malibu for $250 a month on the beach. I fished off my porch! Then "V" came along and I had a little bit of celebrity, and with 15 or 20 movies to my credit already, I'd been around the block and paid my dues. It was when I did Freddy that people finally learned my name. The irony is that I'm underneath all that makeup. Mark Hamill, an old buddy of mine, in the incredible face of celebrity with Star Wars, and I watched him. He said to me at the time, "Don't fight this, Robert. Just relax." I was in my early 30s, I had a young fan base, so I sort of just kicked back and enjoyed it instead of saying, "I'm a Shakesperean actor. I'm not a whore!"
Freddy's been very, very good to me. I've had friends that are much better actors than I am, that had to quit the business because they couldn't survive the auditions or the rejections, or people just didn't realize how good they were. So I'm certainly not going to whine now, having been in the business for 30 years, and having had hit movies for the last 20.
William Terezakis' photo album.
SEAN CUNNINGHAM:
Robert had been on board since the very beginning. It was a very conscious understanding that a Freddy vs. Jason would not go far without him. And even over all the years when this was an on-again, off-again project, he remained on standby for us, and I think he even turned down jobs when we thought we were really close to going but then it fell apart.
Casting the role of Jason was another matter. It was New Line's decision to hire a new actor for the role. It was not a consensus. A lot of people, including me, thought they should have stayed with Kane Hodder. But the studio wanted to try something different, to make it fresh. To me, it was done for no good reason. But, at some point, the people that write the checks get the cut, if you know what I mean. Having said that, I think Ken Kirzinger did a terrific job. I like Ken, and I like Kane. Still, and this is nothing against Ken, I feel that it was a mistake to not go with Kane. Of all the people who had anything to do with Freddy vs. Jason, Kane was the one that I think was not treated as well as he should have been.
KANE HODDER, Actor & Stuntman:
Maybe some of the other guys who have played Jason didn't think it was that big of a deal, but to me it was always a tremendous honor. I loved playing the character, every single thing about it—I believe that was part of my success in the role. And it had always been my dream to kick Freddy's ass.
Way back in March of 2002, I got one of the first Freddy vs. Jason scripts once it had been given the green-light. And I thought, "We're looking good here now. If they are giving me the script, obviously they want me to play the character." And this came from New Line directly. I even had a meeting with an executive there, as well as a great talk with Ronny Yu—at least, I thought it went very well. Maybe that was just a meeting to satisfy whomever. Then I was made an offer. One of the producers of the film called and said, "We want you to do it, but we don't have much money and this is what we can offer." And he gave me a number. My only question was, "Does that include residuals? Was this a buyout situation?" The answer was, "I'm not sure. Let me check on that."
After that, I started getting weird feelings whenever I would call over there. I started thinking, "Something's going on." I talked to another New Line executive, and they said, "Well, you're not out of the running, but we're thinking of going in a different direction." I said, "Different direction?" They tried to tell me that they wanted someone with more expressive eyes and all this stuff.
MATTHEW BARRY:
Kane came in and said, "This means a lot to me. I have a lot of fans. Don't take this away from me." But in the end, you always have to do what's best for the film, and Ronny thought recasting Jason would be the right thing to do. And, to be honest, so did I. Kane was physically too big. He didn't fit the image that Ronny was going for. Ronny wanted to focus on Jason's eyes. And he felt Kane was a little too cartoon-y in the last few films. It was about movement, too, at least compared to the other films, where Jason just kind of walks around like Frankenstein. There's a lot more to him in this one.
RONNY YU:
Jason was born with a disability. I can relate. I had polio when I was about nine months old. Jason has this sort of rage in him—he grew up hated. This is just me talking here, but I find him sympathetic. Even though he's a mindless killing machine, I don't think he was given a choice—I don't think he even knows the difference between right and wrong. His mother taught him the wrong thing, but he has such a respect for her that he would do anything she tells him to. So that's why I feel sorry for him. He has this just one-track mind to kill people. For me, that's pretty powerful.
I had no problem with Kane. Kane did fantastic work. But the studio thought it was a good idea to change. They were thinking that this is a whole new franchise, and another new actor to play Jason could give the movie a little different flavor, including updating his costume and look. Ultimately, it was not my call—it was really New Line's. Although I agreed it was a great idea because then we could inject new ideas into Freddy vs. Jason.
ROBERT ENGLUND:
I believe that Ronny had a different concept of Jason's physical nature in mind. I think he was looking for more of a tall, skinny, Anthony Perkins kind of character.
DOUG CURTIS:
Ronny didn't really care. To Ronny, it was a non-issue, but Stokely, to her credit, didn't want the guy. She thought Kane wasn't scary, that he was too chunky. To me, it needed to be somebody who could pull off the Jason swagger with some intelligence and not be a total robot, and who could convey what turned Jason into this monster.
Gallery: Behind the scenes at Springwood High.
RONNY YU:
I was certainly worried. Even until the day I screened the movie for fans, I was worried. Because I would go onto the Internet and there's all these angry fans. So I called Jeff Katz, who was working for Stokely—Jeff is the expert when it comes to these franchises. I asked him, "Hey Jeff—will this upset the fans?"
JEFF KATZ, Development Executive, New Line Cinema:
I'm on the Internet all the time. I was literally checking this stuff 20 times a day because I'm obsessive-compulsive. And there were all these rumors about what we were doing. The most ridiculous? The one that was around for the longest time, one that had this whole sect of Jason fans really upset, was that we were going to have Jason talk. Frankly he's been beat to shit so many times I don't know what he'd say. How could he form a word?
Anyway, Kane has his fans, obviously. But with a new guy, we could bring something new to the table. And ultimately, Ken's Jason is more to-the-point, and more brutal.
KANE HODDER:
It's hard to even put it into words. It was such a slap in the face, especially not to be given any official reason for it whatsoever. It's very difficult to phrase this correctly. I've been trying to think of a way to say it so that doesn't sound like I'm a pompous asshole. But I don't think they realized the following that I have with the fans. Because if they had, I don't think it would have been so easy for them to decide to recast, which is part of the problem with Freddy vs. Jason. Whoever made the decision to not use me was under the impression that they just needed a big guy in a mask. "That'
s fine, whatever, it doesn't matter, he's just walking around stalking people." And that's not true.
To top it all off, the same week I found out I wasn't going to be playing the character in Freddy vs. Jason, I was asked by New Line to go to Texas to promote the release of the Jason X DVD. For free! They wanted me to do it out of the goodness of my heart, and they're screwing me out of my character. That's a tough thing. Maybe it sounds shitty, but the timing was so terrible, I was like, "I don't think so." If there had been a little time in between, I may have reconsidered.
The fans are the only ones who are loyal. Loyalty really doesn't exist in this business, for the most part. That's the way it is. But at least I know there were some people who were on my side.
GREG NICOTERO, Effects Supervisor, Jason Goes to Hell:
Jason is so much about body language, and Kane spent a lot of time perfecting that. Kane really finessed that performance, and there are a lot of people that don't understand that. Certain performers bring a character to life. Or kill it. So when you see another guy in Jason's outfit in Freddy vs. Jason you know it's not Kane. I thought it was really sad that he didn't get a chance to continue that. He really believed that his nuances brought Jason to life. And they did. He's absolutely correct in saying that, just as he's absolutely correct in saying that you could never have someone else playing Freddy Krueger—so why would you have someone else play Jason?
TONY TIMPONE, Former Editor-in-Chief, Fangoria Magazine:
The great slasher icons are an embodiment of pure evil, that thing in the dark, the thing that can't be reasoned with. It's a deep primordial fear that has been personified in these big hulking stuntmen holding machetes. And it's just amazing that these guys, they've really been able to build a career and nurture the fan base of these movies by appearing at conventions and on their own websites. But the most important thing is, that they really do love what they are doing, they love the genre, they love horror films. All of the actors that played Jason have added something to the character, especially Kane. He really built up the little he was given with the character to make it something special and different and truly fearsome. I think of all these guys who play these slasher characters, Kane respects it the most, and appeals the most to the legion of fans of this genre.
JOHN CARL BUECHLER, Director, Part VII:
It was so stupid. I don't understand it. It makes no sense to me. You can't separate the physical presence of Jason from Kane. He didn't just fit the suit right—he created a character that made the suit work. Kane is an amazing actor. He's never false. That man charges into a scene—no matter what, it's passionate, it's what he is. He throws his heart and soul into it.
Clockwise from top left: Director of photography Fred Murphy; director Ronny Yu and New Line CEO Robert Shaye; Murphy and crew line up a shot; Yu and producer Doug Curtis.
TODD FARMER, Screenwriter, Jason X:
I have always wished Freddy vs. Jason the best, but they were morons for not hiring Kane. He deserves it. He's the only guy who kept this thing alive for 10 years, talking about it in every interview and at every convention he did. There's the right thing to do and the wrong thing to do. But Kane will be fine.
CJ GRAHAM, Stuntman:
I've known Kane for 20 years, and though I only seen him once in a while it's always like a reunion feeling. And it should be said that we've always been very supportive of each other. One time, after I did my Jason, we were both up for another film and, being blessed at the time, I got it. But there is still a camaraderie between us. If I was in a bar and there was a problem, I'd back Kane and he'd back me, in a heartbeat.
Kane took the last four Friday films before Freddy vs. Jason and become the truly iconic Jason of us all as a result. So he carried a big burden. But now that the torch has been passed, I think the challenge is going to be for all the next guys that come after him to do what he could do. I think Kane did Friday the 13th proud.
KANE HODDER:
Eventually they had an open casting call—I know a lot of people who went in on it. They ended up hiring a Canadian stuntman. So what does that tell you? They wanted someone with more expressive eyes, or someone who was cheaper and more convenient?
KEN KIRZINGER, "Jason Voorhees":
This just fell into my lap. I've done a fair bit of acting in my past. I started out as a stuntman and then they started handing me lines playing a thug. Eventually I got an agent and started doing some acting. But then my stunt career really took off and I got into coordinating.
When I went in to interview for the job on Freddy vs. Jason, the producer liked my looks. I got a call a couple of weeks later, "Would you like to come in and audition for it?" I'm 6'5", 225 pounds. It wasn't a real complicated audition. I came in, waved a knife in the air, flexed my muscles, walked around in the mask and they hired me on the spot. They also had me read a scene and react. I was wearing a mask, and they did close-ups of my eyes and had me walk around the room and react to a scene they read from the script.
DOUG CURTIS:
We tried out a lot of guys, but you could see it in Ken's eyes that this guy was a tortured soul. The other thing was that he doubled Kane as Jason in Jason Takes Manhattan. And Ronny liked him right off the bat. Ken's a very articulate guy. He has a gracefulness about him. He never fought Ronny on anything—it was always, "Is this what you want?"
KEN KIRZINGER:
The experience on Part VIII definitely helped me land the role. But Kane's a pro and we've both been around a long time. Freddy vs. Jason was just an opportunity that came along that I took advantage of. New Line made the decision that they wanted to go with a different Jason—Kane realizes it has nothing to do with me getting the job. And even though Kane hates losing the part, I hope he's happy that I got it, somebody that he knows. At least it didn't go to some dancer they auditioned or something. I hope there are no hard feelings.
KANE HODDER:
I want it known that Ken Kirzinger only doubled me in two shots in Jason Takes Manhattan, and only because we were under tremendous pressure and I just didn't have the time. That's it. It's not like he did all the stunts in it. And you can see the difference in our performances. Watch the shot after Jason gets electrocuted and walks off the subway train—Ken looks nothing like me because he swings his arms. It's fucking terrible.
Ken doesn't make it clear that this was all he did as Jason in Part VIII. He's not lying, but he certainly can be misleading. I just resent the fact that people were under the impression that he did a lot more on that movie than he actually did. Two shots don't qualify you to play a character. But as shitty as it is, I can't say I blame him. He wanted to get the job. He just did it in a shitty way, in my opinion.
Monica Keena's photo album.
WILLIAM TEREZAKIS, Makeup Effects Supervisor:
Ken Kirzinger wasn't signed on until a while after we started filming. And when he first came to the shop, honestly, he didn't know a heck of a lot about the character. He was nervous. He asked me, "What's this guy supposed to be like? What do we do?" He had a big job to fill, but he really got it right away. I even have some test footage we shot, where Ken's doing his walk for the first time, and I could tell right away he was doing the right thing when I saw it. I think Ken did a great job.
KEN KIRZINGER:
Even by my first day on the set, New Line hadn't OK'd me yet for the part. They wanted to see me on film. So my first day was that moment where I first walk down Elm Street. And I was so nervous because they wanted Jason to walk a certain way and they were being very specific and nit-picky about it. Thankfully, New Line saw the footage and they were happy, and I signed a contract. But that was a pretty nerve-wracking night.
RONNY YU:
Ken was working on the character a lot. He'd say to me, "I'm not going to live up to Kane!" I said, "Don't worry about it. Just go in and do the best you can. Look at it as a brand-new Jason. Let's think of it as Frankenstein." Remember the way Frankenstein would walk really slow—like a silent, gi
ant killer? And often he just stands there. Because then when he moves in for the kill, he's like lightning.
KEN KIRZINGER:
Ronny's ideas about the character were very strong, so much so that it was more up to me to match what Ronny wanted than give my own point of view. He was definitely directing me. The subtleties of the movements were very important to him. He had a very specific idea that Jason would move very slowly—painfully slowly—until he actually did something, like break a neck or swing the machete. Because it just made it look that much more violent.
Playing Jason is like putting on a Santa Claus suit. You have this iconic character, and all of a sudden you're it. There were not really any other films or actors who played Jason that I looked at specifically. Of course, having worked with Kane on Part VIII, and him being the archetypal Jason—we wanted the fans to see something familiar. Hopefully we walked that fine line of creating something new, but that fans still identified as the character.
WILLIAM TEREZAKIS:
I did try to keep a continuity in Jason's look, but, honestly, if we would have followed the other movies, Jason would have been reduced to a pile of goo. Basically, Ronny wanted a reborn Jason. Something without the scars, without the ax wound in the head. Ronny also wanted Jason's main feature to be the hockey mask, so everything surrounding it is like a black frame. That would make the mask pop out, which I thought was a good concept.
We settled for a pooled-blood look, basically leaving Jason's head very black. It still has the deformities that Jason had, following the original Tom Savini cranial shape. From there, we advanced it to an adult stage. The concept was that Jason's been on his back for a while, so all the blood has pooled into the back of the head and has created this darkness creeping up.
RONNY YU:
I love the hockey mask. You can hide anything behind there. Whether you're happy, angry, sorrowful, whatever—when it is behind the mask, it's scary. It's symbolic. So I used that visual a lot in the movie.
Crystal Lake Memories: The Complete History of Friday the 13th (Enhanced Edition) Page 85