AmandaRighetti Tagged Articles at Cinematical

They nearly did it. The first 20-25 minutes of the new Friday the 13th threatened to tear the roof off my lowered expectations for a reboot of a devalued franchise that began nearly 30 years ago. After a tentative flashback, the set-up in the present day was classically simple, the action flared up in mean and bloody outbursts, and Jason's appearance was note-perfect. I was starting to tense up, feeling the weight of gut-level dread in the pit of my stomach.

Then came a narrative pause, after which the movie never quite regains its footing.

Oh, Friday the 13th delivers the goods, in the same sense that Domino's delivers pizza. By now, anyone who goes to see "a Jason movie" knows what to expect. Before the screening began, in fact, audience members were betting how the first victim would be dispatched: In the bathroom! Swimming! Having sex! Wandering alone in the forest! We expect a high body count, creative 'kill scenes,' some nudity, some tasteless jokes, dumb behavior by good-looking teenagers, and a plucky yet tough heroine as the 'final girl.' Jason must wear a hockey mask, wield multiple weapons of mass destruction (including a machete), and appear suddenly behind his victims, looming out of the shadows, just before he strikes.

Director Marcus Nispel, producer Michael Bay, and their numerous writing, producing, and behind-the-scenes colloborators provide all that's expected, as well as some changes (which I won't spoil). For all their apparent willingness to try out new ingredients, though, they don't tamper too much with the recipe. While the film maintains a serious edge -- with the expected and welcome comic relief -- it never delves too deeply into darker territories.

My biggest disappointment of the Comic-Con weekend was not being able to stick around for the Friday the 13th panel. (Turns out Davis could have stayed for it, seeing as his flight back to NYC was delayed by about six hours, but that's a different type of horror story.) Since we know it's one of the hotter flicks being buzzed about at the convention's final day -- and, um, it's a movie I just like writing about -- we turn to ShockTillYouDrop for their blow-by-blow breakdown of the event.

My favorite nuggets include:

• The idea that, while the actors and producers are obviously up for a sequel if the fans agree, they intend to make their Friday remake a "stand-alone" entry. Which is always cool when you're doing a Part 1, if you ask me.
• No goofy cameos from previous cast members.
• Jason will be a bit cleverer this time around, perhaps setting a few traps instead of just lumbering around and practically teleporting from cabin to cabin.
• It will be PG-13 in theaters and then Unrated on DVD. (Dude, I'm kidding.)

For the full run-down (and a peek at the first poster), check out Shock's coverage right here.

Earlier this week, we learned that Jason Voorhees will be wearing both the burlap sack and the iconic hockey mask in the new Friday the 13th remake (or is it technically a remake of the first three movies?). Now, in honor of today being 2008's only Friday the 13th, MTV (one of the new film's co-producers) also shares a report from the set of the movie. They don't have anything as interesting to tell us as IESB.net did with the headgear news, but they do have video coverage, which you can watch above.

Any fan of the franchise should be excited after watching this footage. We get to see a hot young actress (Amanda Righetti) running through the woods, a dilapidated cabin, a sign telling us its Camp Crystal Lake and an overlong view of the hockey mask prop. That's almost all the ingredients needed for a Friday the 13th movie (it sounds so easy to do, right?). Oh, and finally we get to see the actor portraying Jason (Derek Mears) wearing ... a t-shirt and no make-up.

For every beast you need a beauty, right? We just heard from Scott Weinberg that the very cool "giant guy" Derek Mears has been cast as Jason Voorhees in the upcoming new version of Friday the 13th. Before that, Jared Padalecki was selected to play a leading role as someone who investigates the murderous activities at Crystal Lake. But to really jump start the franchise, the movie badly needs a hot chick talented actress to amp up the action. Will Amanda Righetti fit the bill?

Variety is reporting that Righetti is in "final negotiations" to play the female lead. Will she play the "final girl"? That would fit the pattern of the female leads in the other Friday the 13th movies. She could join a small, illustrious list that includes Adrienne King, Amy Steel, Dana Kimmell, Kimberly Beck, etc. Righetti has been steadily building her career, mostly in glossy TV shows (The O.C., North Shore). She has the good looks and steely thesping ability that "final girl" requires. To see more of Righetti, in more ways than one, check out the awesome cheese that is Angel Blade.

Production company Platinum Dunes has signed Marcus Nispel to direct, and I join Scott W. in his minority opinion regarding Nispel's work on the Texas Chainsaw Massacre remake -- that flick freaked me out for reasons I don't really want to explore too deeply. Filming on Friday the 13th begins on April 21 in Austin, Texas.