I guess you can probably tell by now that I have an affinity for the films of the Friday the 13th series. I’m not sure exactly why I enjoy them or have been taken in by the lore, but it’s obviously become a quest to collect encounters with the Jasons and some of the more prominent cast members. And now come the directors… I’m not sure how deep I’ll get into this (or even where the opportunities will stop), but there was really no question as to whether I was going to get an autograph and photo with Sean S. Cunningham, who is generally credited with being the creator of the entire franchise.
Mr. Cunningham actually only directed the very first film in the franchise, Friday the 13th – but he also served as producer for Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday, Jason X, Freddy Vs. Jason, and the 2009 retool Friday the 13th. But of course I will not claim to actually know what a producer does. Still I wanted to meet him and that’s just what I did when he appeared at the Scarefest in Lexington, Kentucky on September 15, 2013.
Because he held this status as series creator (although he had no interested in making Jason the main antagonist), I looked beyond the rather hefty price tag of $30 per autograph and $10 for the photo op…and get this, $2 additional if you wanted one of his photos. That’s a bit pricey for a signature that contains basically three capital letters.
But he was very nice and friendly, and posed for pictures with both Carolyn and me. He even took time to talk to Carolyn when she asked where the name ‘Voorhees’ came from (as in killer Jason Voorhees). He responded that this was a ‘tip of the hat’ to one of the prep school buddies of screenplay writer Victor Miller.
Of no consequence whatsoever is the fact that Mr. Cunningham is rather short. I saw him standing on a box while posing for some pictures. It would be an interesting juxtaposition to see him standing next to some of the later, taller Jasons.
Celebrity encounters of the 2013 Scarefest in Lexington will continue…
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