Just when you thought there was a faint light at the end of what has undoubtedly been a very long, meandering tunnel for Jason Voorhees (and, by effect, Friday the 13th), director Sean Cunningham files a notice of appeal against Victor Miller.
Word comes to us by way of entertainment lawyer/Friday the 13th Part III star Larry Zerner (h/t Bloody Disgusting), who relayed the filing from Cunningham and his Horror, Inc. banner. The duo had until October 31st to appeal the court’s ruling that Miller’s entitled to ownership rights in regards to Friday the 13th‘s original script – for the record, Horror, Inc. holds foreign rights to the 1980 slasher.
And so begins another chapter in this admittedly messy saga, with no clear or tangible sign of resolution – not now, and perhaps not ever? That’s the glass-half-empty estimation, of course. Though it’s fair to say that Larry Zerner doesn’t sound too optimistic about the whole ordeal.
Well, Sean didn't wait the full 30 days to file the Notice of Appeal, which I would take to mean that Sean and Victor are not close to reaching a settlement. https://t.co/TO7cq1tdwv
— Larry Zerner (@Zernerlaw) October 18, 2018
Zerner has been an authority on this legal drama from the very beginning, and one need only look to his breakdown from earlier this month for proof of his wall-to-wall coverage.
It essentially offered some insight into the goings-on between Cunningham and Miller, including why this saga looks set to rumble on for at least another two years…
So, what happens next? Horror Inc. could appeal, but that will be at least 2 and more likely 3-4 years of waiting for a resolution. Also, IMHO, the chance of Horror winning on appeal is poor. If Horror doesn’t appeal, then it has to make a deal with Victor in order to make a new movie. Victor only owns the U.S. rights to the original movie. Horror owns the foreign rights to the first movie and to all the other movies. Hopefully, Victor and Sean will work something out and get moving on a new F13 movie ASAP.
Suffice it to say, this Friday the 13th legal battle shows no sign of letting up anytime soon, but we’ll be bringing you all the latest developments as they emerge.