There’s no telling when horror fans can expect to see new Friday the 13th content, given how the rights to the series are currently in a legal limbo. No new movies or video game content can be created until Horror Inc.’s lawsuit against original screenwriter Victor Miller is completely resolved. To find out more, we recently caught up with Miller to get his thoughts on Friday the 13th, the current status of the lawsuit, and potentially seeing more from the franchise in the future.
Horror Geek Life: As the writer of the original Friday the 13th, you’ve played a very important role in making slasher movies what they are today. That film has served as an inspiration to so many horror filmmakers over the years. I’m dying to know, which horror films inspired you?
Victor Miller: First scary movie I saw was Seven Keys to Baldpate (1947). I was six and I ran out of the theatre (The movie wasn’t really a horror film, but it scared me). Next I saw all the Abbott and Costello films with the Wolfman, et al. Big breakthrough was Diabolique (1955) in French with subtitles. (I didn’t know you could scare people that way.) Then, of course, Tony Perkins outside the shower with Janet Leigh inside it. (Psycho, 1960) Lots of lesser sorts and then Halloween (1978), Hill and Carpenter.
HGL: You’ve won multiple Daytime Emmy Awards for your writing on shows like All My Children and Another World. Do you prefer writing daytime television over horror, or are they enjoyable in different ways?
VM: Writing for TV was more fun. Plus the work was regular—every week a paycheck for 25 years. Most fun, however, was the writing in a team. Writing alone sucks. (I nearly drove my wife of 56 years crazy asking her to be my critic so long as she didn’t say anything negative.) For the soaps, I wrote in a team of 5 or 6 folks and it was like improvisational theater, something I always loved.
HGL: Every horror fan adores the late Betsy Palmer, due to her outstanding performance as Mrs. Voorhees. Did you ever meet Betsy, and do you have any fond memories of her?
VM: I surely do. When Sean and I went to see her for casting, she said she loved my screenplay…”grand guignol” she called it. Of course, I laughed my ass off when she was on a panel with me and said she thought the screenplay was a piece of crap, but she needed the money for a new car.
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HGL: Moving into this legal battle over the rights to the Friday the 13th franchise, it has brought about the ugly side of the horror community. What we know for sure is that the franchise can’t continue until this legal mess is completely sorted out. To help separate fact from fiction, since misinformation may be circulating, can you summarize how this legal drama came about?
VM: Very simple: Congress passed a law in the late ’70s that an author could request his copyright back after 35 years. I did request. They sued me in Federal court to stop me from exercising my right. We won. They appealed. That is where we are. I didn’t do anything wrong. I wasn’t being greedy or mean spirited.
HGL: Fans were upset upon learning that the lawsuit would halt production of new films and new content for Friday the 13th: The Game. Gun Media, the publisher of the game, is quoted as saying, “Our partners at Horror, Inc have reached out a few times in an effort to settle with Mr. Miller. However, we were informed that this communication was ignored.” For the record, were you aware that they reached out, and if so, were the requests “ignored?”
VM: No. Why would they be? Do you really think I want to kill the franchise? May be 78, but I’m not senile.
HGL: People said some truly despicable things about you initially, and at the time, it made me embarrassed to be a horror fan. The vitriol seems to be dying down as more people become aware of the case details, but that must have been an awful time for you. What was it like going through that?
VM: I have to say that the worst moment was when I got the one that wished my wife and I were dead—except he/she used much worse language about us. I was really glad when the true story came out (see above about the case).
HGL: That’s extremely disappointing to hear; we hope people continue to get more educated about the details before lashing out. Lastly, as a writer, is there anything else you have for us currently in the pipeline? Are you working on any screenplays, or planning to in the near future?
VM: I have written an end of the world comedy with my friend, Peter Fonda, but it looks like we’ll have to wait until after President Trump exits. I also have a screenplay from a short story I wrote which is designed as an animated comedy feature to change how we keep screwing the agricultural environment.
HGL: Thank you for your time; we greatly appreciate it! We also wish you the best as the Friday the 13th lawsuit continues.
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