Damian Shannon Tagged Articles at Cinematical

Depending on your point of view, this is either very good or very bad news. Shock Til You Drop is reporting that the much-discussed Friday the 13th update will not be a remake of the classic 1980 flick. According to sources, writers Damian Shannon and Mark Swift (Freddy vs. Jason) will not be re-writing the original story. Going one step further, Shock reports that the flick would not be an origin story of any kind. Instead, Shock reports that the film will take place, "somewhere between parts two and four". As any horror fan knows, the story of Jason Voorhees and his reign of terror at Camp Crystal Lake is one of the cornerstones of 80's horror, and the thought of a remake had plenty of fans all up in arms. Texas Chainsaw Massacre director Marcus Nispel hopped onboard a few weeks ago to direct.

Just last week Scott had reported that there were still some details to iron out with the script; mainly how they were going to work around the fact that Jason did not really appear in the films until Part 2. As we all know, it was good old Mommy dearest doing the dispatching in the first film. If Shock's sources can be trusted then this means Nispel won't have to worry about how to work in the big daddy of slashers and his trusty goalie mask and they can just start fresh. Stay tuned for any official word on whether or not we will be seeing a "stronger, faster, better" Jason headed our way. Friday the 13th is set for release February 13, 2009.

Ah, Friday the 13th... One of these days, I'm really going to have to watch it again, but for a while, it was vehemently banned from my house. You see, at the ripe old age of 5 or 6, I had a friend with an older brother and sister who liked it, so every time I went over there, we'd sneak and watch that, as well as the other flicks we weren't supposed to (Squeeze Play). Not surprisingly, I'd come home and have crazy nightmares. However, I better get on reorienting myself with the original soon, because as you might remember, it' s getting a remake.

Instead of adding to the neverending franchise, writers Damian Shannon and Mark Swift have penned the redo, and The Hollywood Reporter has announced that Marcus Nispel is in final negotiations to direct it. (It looks like Jonathan Liebesman has gone bye-bye!) After directing music videos for the super-varied group of artists like Faith No More, Amy Grant, Billy Joel, and Bone Thugs n Harmony, he turned to television and film. There was a TV version of Frankenstein, and then he helmed Pathfinder, the weird viking/Native American action thriller. Oh yeah, he also helmed that little remake of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, which you might remember.

The plan is to start the film this winter, so it looks like he's going to tackle Jason before going to work on Sarah Michelle Gellar's action thriller Alice. This also means that we should get casting news really soon. Now, this isn't some plain-Jane remake, but a redo. THR says: "While Jason made only a brief appearance in the final frames of the first movie in 1980, and didn't even don his famous mask until the third movie, the new movie will focus on Jason -- who will wear the mask and kill -- and keep the famous setting of Crystal Lake." I wonder if this will confuse future horror fans who then go back and watch Scream...

Finally, no post like this is complete without input from resident horror expert, Scott Weinberg: "Good lord, would Nispel be a large improvement over Liebesman. Sure, Pathfinder kinda stunk, but if we can get a Friday the 13th remake that's as bleak and ferocious and Nispel's TCM re-do, then that'll be good enough for me."

Following the Labor Day success of Rob Zombie's re-invented Halloween, we knew it wouldn't be long before our old pal Jason Voorhees popped back up on the big screen. Like folks are just going to sit around and let Michael Myers soak up that box office cha-ching all by himself. No. Not a chance. There have been rumors circling around a new Friday the 13th flick for awhile now, with some saying they'd do a franchise re-boot (a la Halloween), though I have a feeling the peeps over at Platinum Dunes were waiting to see how well Myers was received in his return. And now that they've seen him rake in the dollars, they've apparently decided to fast-track the flick and place it on their pre-strike roster, replacing Roger Clemens: Will The Man Ever Retire???? (Not a real title, but a film someone should probably make -- after all, the dude seems to have more lives than Freddy, Jason and Myers)

According to ShockTillYouDrop, who've heard from a source that is "100%, solid gold, baby," Dunes has just brought writers Damian Shannon and Mark Swift on to pen a draft of the new Friday the 13th. For those that don't remember, Shannon and Swift were also the guys who brought us Freddy vs. Jason -- a film I still have not seen in its entirety, though I've heard fans enjoyed it. Shock also gives us a little backstory on the current film, recalling how early drafts from Mark Wheaton (The Messengers) were shelved, and that Jonathan Liebesman was attached as director. There's currently no word on whether Liebesman is still onboard, or what direction they'll be taking the franchise, but there's now a pretty good chance we'll see that freaky hockey mask guy wreak havoc at some point within the next year.

Just when you thought all signs were pointing toward Sam Raimi directing a big-screen adaptation of The Hobbit, The Hollywood Reporter announced that Columbia Pictures has picked up a high-concept action-adventure script for Raimi to produce (along with partner Josh Donen) through their Buckaroo Entertainment. No word yet on whether Raimi will also helm, but word is the project has definite franchise potential. Penned by Freddy vs. Jason scribes Damian Shannon and Mark Swift, studio is also looking to fast track the pic ... because it's just that awesome.

Based on the description alone, I guess you can say it's like Night at the Museum meets Shrek meets (insert a number of fantasy films here). Story centers on a cynical guy from New York who must travel to some mysterious far-off land, untouched by modern civilization, in order to help save a village and a princess from a bunch of evil fairy tale creatures. I'm thinking someone like Vince Vaughn (or, if they want younger, Jake Gyllenhaal) might be at the top of the "actors being considered" list. Surprisingly, even though the plot description was released, the title is being kept under wraps -- why, exactly, we have no idea. I mean, how much can a title give away? If Raimi does decide to direct, it could spell the end of his involvement with that other (something about a spider dude from Queens?) lucrative franchise.