Larry Zerner walks fans through the Friday the 13th legal issues

Last Updated on July 30, 2021

For those of us who aren't fluent in legalese, trying to keep track of what's going on behind the scenes of the FRIDAY THE 13TH franchise has been quite an endeavor. Original FRIDAY THE 13TH screenwriter Victor Miller filed to gain the copyright to the first movie within the United States, the law states a writer can get the copyright to their work after 35 years if it was an original piece, FRIDAY THE 13TH producer and director Sean S. Cunningham, whose company Horror Inc. holds the rights to the franchise, argued that Miller's script was a "work for hire" product. A judge has ruled in Miller's favor, Cunningham has filed an appeal, and Miller recently pulled NBA superstar LeBron James into the mix.

It's quite a mess, and it's tough to figure out who holds which rights at the moment and exactly what they are legally allowed to do with them.

Thankfully, there's a FRIDAY THE 13TH cast member who is able to translate all this stuff for us. Larry Zerner, who played prankster Shelly in FRIDAY THE 13TH PART III, the character who was responsible for providing iconic slasher Jason Voorhees with his first hockey mask, has gone on to become a prominent entertainment lawyer, and throughout this legal process he has been gracious enough to offer his readings on what's going on with the lawsuits.

A couple days ago, Zerner sat down for a video interview with Slash 'N Cast, and if you really want to know the current status of the FRIDAY THE 13TH franchise, I highly recommend watching the video embedded below. 

Over the course of 25 informative minutes the actor-turned-lawyer lays out the details of the court battle between Miller and Cunningham in a way that's easy to understand, and says what really needs to happen before we can get another entry in the series: Miller and Cunningham need to set aside their differences and make a deal with each other so Jason can return to the screen.

Zerner predicts that we'll be hearing some F13 news within the next 30 days. I hope we will, and I hope it will be some very good news.