Trivia / Friday the 13th (1980)

• Acting in the Dark: This was Mark Nelson's first feature film, and when he went in for his first audition the only thing he was given to read were some comedic scenes. He received a call back for a second audition, which required him to wear a bathing suit, which he acknowledges made him start to wonder if something was off about this film. He did not fully realize what was going on until he got the part and was given the full script to read.
  "It certainly was not a straight dramatic role, and it was only after they offered me the part that they gave me the full script to read and I realized how much blood was in it."
• Billing Displacement: Betsy Palmer gets top billing, but only appears in the last fifteen minutes of the film.
• Cast the Expert: Robbi Morgan was a trained acrobat and thus well able to jump out of a moving jeep and run through the woods.
• Cast the Runner-Up: Adrienne King auditioned for all three female roles. Apparently her scream got her the part of Alice.
• Contractual Purity: As noted below, Betsy Palmer was known as a squeaky clean goodie two shoes before this film. According to her, after it came out there was an outrage. Gene Siskel published her address in the paper and encouraged people to send her hate mail. He got the address wrong.
• Cowboy BeBop at His Computer: When the film was aired on AMC's "DVD on TV",^note  Something they did in the early 2000s where they'd air a movie in letterbox format with special features and trivia bits airing on the bottom of the screen it featured an interview with Robbi Morgan, who played Annie. After talking about her role in the film, she ended by saying she was honored to be Jason's first victim.^note  Which is wrong on two levels, because she wasn't even Pamela's first victim; that honor goes to the counselor in the opening. She corrected herself on the Crystal Lake Memories documentary.
• Creator Backlash:
  • The only detail Victor Miller doesn't like about the film is the cop that shows up at the camp to warn the kids about Ralph. This scene wasn't in any of his drafts, and he wanted the camp to be isolated and away from any authority figures to give the impression that no one could save the kids.
  • Initially, Betsy Palmer didn't think very highly of the script and was hesitant from the start, and experienced a lot of backlash for the role. As the years went on, she embraced the movie and the sheer dedicated devotion from fans that had come to define her career.
• Darkhorse Casting: Most of the cast had theater backgrounds and little to no film/TV experience.
• Dawson Casting: While it's never confirmed exactly how old the characters are supposed to be, they're assumed to be teenagers barely out of high school. Thus, this applies to Harry Crosby (21), Laurie Bartram (21), Kevin Bacon (21), Jeannine Taylor (25), Adrienne King(24) and Mark Nelson (24). The only actor that avoids this is Robbi Morgan (18 during filming).
• Dyeing for Your Art: Kevin Bacon shaved his armpits for the bedroom scene.
• Enforced Method Acting: Ari Lehman, who played Jason was originally intended to only appear in a short flashback of him drowning. But the director decided to have him appear in the end as a surprise. He was instructed not to show anyone the mask he wore for the scene. The shock and fear on Alice's face is genuine.
• Follow the Leader:
  • Screenwriter Victor Miller admitted that he was purposely riding off the success of Halloween (1978).
  • Tom Savini explained the ending:
  The whole reason for the cliffhanger at the end was I had just seen Carrie (1976), so we thought that we need a 'chair jumper' like that, and I said, "let's bring in Jason".
  • Mrs. Voorhees as the killer was inspired by the 'psycho biddy' films of the '60s and '70s such as What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?, Hush... Hush, Sweet Charlotte, and What's the Matter with Helen?. Shelley Winters - who had played a few such roles - was even the first choice for the character.
• Hostility on the Set: Tragically, the snake that was killed by the cast was an animal performer and a pet who belonged to the animal handler. The director asked to borrow it for the scene and the handler gave it away without knowing they were going to kill it. When the snake was killed, the furious and grief-stricken handler had to be restrained by the rest of the crew backstage. Jeannine Taylor (who played Marcie) still regrets the snake's death.
• Money, Dear Boy: Betsy Palmer's only reason to appear was to get cash for a new car.
• No Stunt Double: To keep costs down, there were no stunt doubles. Betsy Palmer and Adrienne King did their fight scene themselves.
• The Other Marty: Estelle Parsons was cast as Mrs Voorhees initially. Producers also courted Penelope Milford for the role of Brenda, in the hopes of drawing more audiences in (as she had just been nominated for an Oscar). When she turned the role down, Estelle Parsons soon dropped out too - finding the film too violent.
• Playing Against Type: Betsy Palmer mentioned how at the time she was typecast as a Girl Next Door and stuck doing game shows. So playing a "psycho-biddy" was quite a different role for her.
• Pop-Culture Urban Legends: Rumors abound that Claudette's death was filmed and cut from the movie. The crew have said it didn't happen, but there is a still image of Claudette with a machete in her neck. This could have just been shot for promotional purposes.
• Reality Subtext:
  • Mark Nelson, Jeannine Taylor, and Kevin Bacon all knew each other beforehand, which is reflected in the banter between Ned, Marcie, and Jack.
  • The strange relationship between Alice and her older boss Steve makes more sense if the rumors of Alice's actress having an affair with the film's director are true.
• Reclusive Artist: Adrienne King opted to stop acting in films after a bad experience with a stalker and so only did voice over work for years. She didn't appear at a convention until 2009. But she has since embraced her fans and gives more interviews and public appearances.
• The Red Stapler: The truck that Enos drives at the start has the business name "Elston Oil Supply" on it. This is an actual business in New Jersey, though now it's called Todd-Elston Oil. Their phone number is said to still be valid, occasionally getting phone calls from fans.
• Romance on the Set: According to author and series chronologist David Grove, Adrienne King allegedly had an affair with the older and married Sean S. Cunningham. This, combined with his alleged special treatment of her, bred some resentment among the cast and crew.
• Sleeper Hit: The movie grossed more than US$59 million worldwide on a US$550,000 budget.
• Throw It In!:
  • The bit with the snake in the cabin wasn't in the script but Tom Savini suggested it after his own personal experiences.
    • This also wasn't explained to the snake's handler prior to the shoot - he was, naturally, very unhappy with what happened.
  • Robbi Morgan wasn't even auditioning when she was cast. She was in Julie Hughes's office when the latter looked at her and said "you're a camp counselor" - and she was on set as Annie the next day.
  • The bubbling effect when Jack is stabbed in the throat happened because the blood pump wasn't working - so a crew member had to blow it himself (they only had one take to use the latex neck).
  • Bill's eye twitching when his body is found is because the make-up effects were irritating the actor's eye.
  • The Friday the 13th Title Drop came about when the crew realised there was no reference to the date in the film.
  • The scene with Steve Christie looking through Alice Hardy's sketchbook was added because Adrienne King is a skilled artist in real life.
• Word of Saint Paul:
  • Mark Nelson has said he believes Ned jokes around to hide his insecurities and is secretly in love with Brenda.
  • Betsy Palmer came up with a backstory to give Mrs Voorhees a Freudian Excuse; Jason was the result of a Teen Pregnancy that her parents disowned her for, and thus she hated any kind of premarital sex.
• Working Title: The script of the film was originally called "Long Night at Camp Blood", hence why the townsfolk really push the "Camp Blood" nickname early on and why the filmmakers had to throw in a last-minute comment that Friday the 13th was Jason's birthday (not that they were accurate on that count).

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