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In 1979, Long Island
native Adrienne King, a veteran of TV commercials and soap operas since
the tender age of six months, accepted a role in a low budget "indie" film
shot in Blairstown, New Jersey, about a drowned boy, his vengeful mother,
and a group of kids caught in her path of revenge. It would go on to be a
seminal classic and one of the most celebrated horror movie franchises in
motion picture history.
For its lead heroine and
sole survivor, FRIDAY THE 13TH brought Adrienne the highs in appearing in
a monster hit film and the lows of life imitating art. After appearing in
the film's sequel, Adrienne focused on working as audio dialogue recording
artist (ADR) and, ironically, painting (like her most famous alter
ego).
With the release of
CRYSTAL LAKE MEMORIES in 2003, Adrienne embraced the legions of FRIDAY THE
13TH fans and on Friday, April 13th, 2007, she honored their loyalty with the launch of her official website,
www.adrienneking.com, which
feature great insight into the making of the classic, as well as a chance
for rare memorabilia, and to purchase artwork made by King herself.
To celebrate the launch
of her website, Adrienne agreed to stop by the Crypt to discuss the making
of this classic film, as well as appearing at conventions, her website
launch, and answers the question about acting in front of the camera again in this Colonel's Crypt exclusive!
COLONEL'S CRYPT: Welcome back and it was
nice meeting you at Chiller Theatre. How was the experience this past
weekend and how has the convention circuit been?
ADRIENNE KING: Chiller was great! I
love the spirit and loyalty of the Friday fans and they were there again
in force for Betsy, Ari and me. It was especially exciting because I
launched my website in conjunction with this convention appearance and now
after meeting everyone there's a connection that can continue. I have a
real soft place in my heart for the Tri-State area fans as they were the
first ones that welcomed me back a few years ago at the Chiller in January
2002 (I think). I was blown away by the loyalty of fans I didn't even
realize I had. Who knew? And then when I saw everyone waiting in those
long lines in freezing cold temperatures.... Can you imagine how awesome
an experience that was for me once I got over the initial shock? That
devotion hit me so deeply that I was able to open up and talk about some
very personal things during the Q&A. I certainly hadn't intended to do
that but that Chiller convention allowed me to experience my fans for the
first time... and it was all good. It had me wanting to come back for
more. That was such a nice surprise for me and I truly respect and
appreciate my fans for being so steadfast.
I've had nothing but wonderful times at the
conventions so far. I've done about five so far and I keep meeting
the most interesting people from all walks of life. The multi-generational
aspect to the ever-growing FRIDAY audience is fascinating to me. I've also
been getting e-mails from fans as far away as Japan, Australia, South
Korea, UK, Germany and Norway.
CC: Do you consider yourself a fan of
horror and what are some of your favorite films?
AK: This is only a partial answer
because I need to bone up on some recent movies but I must say that I'm a
big George Romero fan! I love the the DEAD movies and I thought that the
remake that director Zack Snyder was pretty damned good, too and I'm not
usually big on remakes. I don't know if you consider SKELETON KEY a horror
flick but I really enjoyed that too. I don't like gore for gore's sake but
if there's a real story that substantiates it then I can totally get into
it.
CC: Were you familiar with
Victor Miller, being that you worked on several soap operas prior to
working on FRIDAY?
AK: I didn't know Victor Miller before
FRIDAY THE 13TH but I wish I had!
CC: What were
your initial thoughts of Sean S. Cunningham and how was it working with
him?
AK: My initial thoughts were
that Sean was very particular about his vision and what he wanted from his
characters and this movie. He was driven and he wanted to make the
ultimate scary movie! Talented, tenacious, endearing and very protective
of his actors. We worked very well together and he directed with love and
creativity not fear and loathing like some others. He kept a calm set even
though the world was caving in around him (running out of money)... the
actors didn't know and hew kept it that way. He wanted everyone focused on
their roles and characters and Sean was able to offer the right words at
the appropriate times. When I had to go into the cold waters of Crystal
Lake for the third time in October he was able to instill the calm the
comes across the screen even after I'd already been soaked to the skin.
Sean was able to keep everyone happy on the set and get exactly what he
was looking for from his actors and onto the screen. Now that's a
consummate director!
CC: Being FRIDAY THE 13TH was a complete independent production, how much
preparation did you do with the cast and crew before the film?
AK: We had very little prep time: like
none! That's the beauty of an independent film. Sink or swim! Hold on for
dear life and those creative juices are going at full blast! Rehearsal
would've been nice but looking back it probably would've ruined a lot of
the spontaneity that comes across between the actors. The strip Monopoly
scene pages were added and given to Laurie, Harry and me the day before
the night we were shooting it. A lot of the stuff we did was improvisation and if
it happened and it worked it was left in. The scene where Brenda's body
(actually Tom Savini's body) comes flying through the kitchen window and I
react... when my raincoat gets caught on the stove, well, it's not like
that was planned and Sean said, "it's real, it works... that's a take!"
CC: You seem to have had a special bond with
Tom Savini from the photos on your
website with some of the props. What were your thoughts on his effects
during filming?
AK: Tom's a master! A genius! And I was
lucky enough to be able to hang and watch his artistic genius at work
during some of my down time. The effects of the original FRIDAY hold up so
well that when I watch other big budgets horror films you wonder what were
they spending their money on. I watched Tom get under the bunk bed where
Kevin Bacon was laying and actually blow into the tube to get the 'blood'
going. He was always hands on and it was an incredible experience to watch
him at work!
CC: I heard the
Monopoly strip scene was actually conjured up the night before filming.
Was that the only instance where a scene was thrown upon the cast while
filming?
AK: As I said, there was a lot of
improvisation. Let me think. The last scene in the hospital didn't come around
until the end of the shoot when we were still shooting young Jason pulling
me into the lake.
CC: How was working with Betsy Palmer? She
really went after you at the end of the film.
AK: I have the most absolute respect
for Betsy as an actress and as a friend. She was caring, funny and very
professional. She always had the cast and crew in stitches. Coming from a
very theatrical background she taught me that in order for an action to
look real it had to be real. No faking it! That's why the fight on the
beach looks so intense... because it really was! There were no holds
barred and by the end of it we were spitting up sand & blood and had some
nasty bruises of honor. I'm very proud of that scene and I know Betsy is,
too! I saved Sean's directors notes that he had scribbled on two sheets of
note paper that night... 13 of them to be exact and some twenty-five years
later I found them when we moved to Oregon and incorporated them into a
limited edition poster which is available for the FRIDAY fans on my website
www.AdrienneKing.com and/or
www.officialFridaythe13th.com.
CC: I have to ask this because it's one of
my favorite scenes ever committed on celluloid, the scene where Jason
jumps out of the lake. What were the circumstances surrounding shooting
that scene? I believe it took three tries.
AK: It took three different days of
shooting but probably more like ten times over those three days. Those
days were over the course of late August, late September and then the
final time it was 28 degrees as the sun dawned upon Camp Crystal Lake in
late October. My 1979 datebook is still lurking in some dusty box and when
I uncover it, I'll have those exact dates for you! The leaves were turning
color and falling and the water was FREEZING and neither Ari or I had a
wetsuit of any proportion. Sean hadn't gotten the exact shot he had in his
mind so on this third and last attempt he had multiple cameras including
a slow-motion camera to catch it. Don't forget low-budget: we only had two
tries.... they could only afford one change of clothes for me. The first
time we tried it was all good except for one minor detail: I went out of
camera range. I think the hardest thing for me as an actress was to be
able to lay there in canoe for the second attempt and not anticipate the
action. I think we got it right! I know from watching that scene with an
audience recently that it still gives a great scare!
CC: The film premiered in Times Square.
What was the feeling watching it on the big screen for the first time?
AK: It was very surreal. Seeing
yourself larger than life for the first time was strange and wonderful all
at the same time. Plus I was with friends and family and they were
carrying on with the rest of the audience who were watching this
roller-coaster of a movie for the first time. That was as much fun as
watching the screen especially during the build-up to the fake ending.
That was wild!
CC: What made you sign on for the sequel
and how soon after the initial box office was that put into
pre-production?
AK: I'm
pretty sure that Frank Mancuso, President, and the brains at Paramount
behind the release of FRIDAY, also a dear family friend now, put the
pre-production of PART 2 into effect as soon as the opening box office
weekend grosses came in Monday morning. As far the sequel went I wasn't
ready to jump on board initially but I was the only thread that survived
to connect PART 1 to PART 2. This was the time when I was first
encountering my stalker so it was difficult to feel excited about
continuing on in the series. Steve Miner, the producer on PART 1 and the
director on PART 2 persuaded me to sign on and assured it would be quick
and painless.
CC: What were the differences between
working on the two films and how long were you on set for PART 2?
AK: It was definitely quick: a one long
night shoot over a weekend in Connecticut but it was not painless. The
props & special effects guys forgot to check the retractable ice pick
before it was jabbed into my face & it did not retract. A big OUCH! I was
not a happy camper to say the least.
CC: I felt it sucked Alice got killed off
so quickly.
AK: Believe it or not, I never received
a script for PART 2 and actually, the way it was explained to me when I
signed on was that Alice's part would be open-ended so she could come
back some time in the future if need be. Then I was told it was going to
be a lot of dream sequence, flashbacks, a little improv conversation with
my mother and then a couple of scares and an ice pick! Not to mention that
there was no wardrobe fitting ahead of time and I must tell you I absolutely
hated that green plaid ugly outfit that stuck me in! So there was
absolutely no love happening during that all-nighter especially if I
remember correctly I believe that my scene was the last one shot of
the movie and that the entire crew just wanted to go home and sleep.
I felt so used after that experience.
It was kind of like "slam-bam thank you ma'am" and then I went back to my
apartment in NY, cried for a week and had another scare with my stalker!
Not good memories for me. Wow! I can't believe I just let all of that come
up! That was ugly!
CC: Are you surprised of the film's
impact, 27 years later?
AK: Shocked! But so thankful. I finally
get a chance to enjoy my fans this time around. What a gift!
CC: You have spent many years as a
top "ADR" artist. Explain what ADR is and some of the films we have heard
you in.
AK: When an actor re-voices his own role or that of another actor's or add
additional dialogue to complete a scene in post-production.
If it's done right you can't tell! I screamed all through TITANIC and that
last breath from the old woman was mine, too. I did a scene with Johnny
Depp In WHAT'S EATING GILBERT GRAPE (when he's buying the birthday cake),
a couple of scenes with Mel Gibson in MAN WITHOUT A FACE, with Tom Cruise
in JERRY MAGUIRE and the list goes on and on. On my website, I have a full
list of movies I've done as an ADR artist. It's a wonderful gig because
it's mostly improvisation and lots of voices come out to play!
CC: On Friday, April 13th, you
launched
www.adrienneking.com
and I think it's very cool. What made you
decide to launch the site and appear at conventions like Chiller and
Monster Mania?
AK: The
reason I launched the website was that after catching up with my fans at
the cons I've been to and listening to how much of an impact that this
film and I, as an actress, had (and still have to new viewers) actually
blew me away. The actual fan camaraderie is so genuine that I wanted to
give something back and share all the extras that I had in my archives
with my fans. I wanted to say "thank you" for caring and for being so
loyal & waiting for me to "show up" for camp! As an artist it was also a
way to say "Hey this is what I'm doing now and who I am and where I've
been for the last 27 years" and this is my artwork that you've been asking
me to show you! Which has led me to doing interviews like yours
Scott, trying to give more insight into FRIDAY THE 13TH, for the fans. The
feedback from my new site has been tremendous and we're constantly
reconfiguring; adding new things, listening to what the fans want... I'm
truly enjoying the interaction and hearing from all the Friday loyalists
that might not be able to make it to a convention.
CC: I like the FRIDAY inspired artwork on
your site, especially the " Alice in Canoe" painting. How long have you
been painting and what are you giving to fans in terms of the FRIDAY
inspired paintings?
AK: I've been painting and drawing since I was a kid. It's always been a
passion of mine. I got into sculpture in high school. I had some
incredible art teachers who encouraged me to pursue fine arts which I did
at Fashion Institute of Technology in New York. I decided to do some
FRIDAY inspired paintings specifically for the fans who'd asked about my
art and the sketches I was doing during the films. It's totally
coincidental that Alice was an artist but it certainly made it more
interesting for me. I will be putting a lot more of my paintings on the
website soon and I intend to put a little inspirational history with each
one. By using the technique of "giclee" printing I'm able to offer the
fans the opportunity to create their own desired size of a limited
edition, hopefully making fine art affordable. The giclee prints on canvas
have the absolute fine quality of the original and each one is signed and
numbered.
CC: You recently signed with Horror &
Hilarity with Betsy Palmer and Ari Lehman and appeared with them at
Chiller. Are there plans for more conventions or screenings in the near
future and how is it seeing them again?
AK:
It's been great appearing with Betsy & Ari. We enjoy being with each other
and fool around way too much especially when the fans ask us to do photos
together! It's also a wild time during the "Q&A" sessions... we feed off
each other, trigger each other's memory and laugh a lot! We all appreciate
the fans and that's the true delight of being there together. We'll
definitely be together soon so keep checking the website for updates.
CC: I know you've had a bad experience
with a stalker, and I don't want to go into that, but I wanted to ask what
has been the most humorous story or confrontation you've had from a fan?
AK: Actually, one of the best bonuses of reconnecting with the fans is
realizing that the whole stalker thing is in the past! I've come to
cherish my fans as part of my strength when it comes to that whole bizarre
chapter of my life. Now it's my turn to give back. When I was at
Screamfest in Orlando last year I was able to do that for one of my fans.
A young man, an artist came up to me and asked me if he could take a
picture of my cheek for a sculpture he was doing. Strange, I thought until
he showed the piece hw was working on which was from the scene with the
infamous 'ice pick in the face'. It was amazing! Then he showed me his
other drawings of Alice and FRIDAY THE 13TH characters and a "paper &
tape" sculpture of Jason. Hard to describe but what a talent!
I told him to wait right there at my table and I brought back a gentleman
I had previously met who worked for Ripley's Believe It-or-Not. Well! I
put them together and now this young artist will be featured in an
upcoming UK published Ripley's book. His career is taking off! I just
loved being able to do that for such an incredible fan. When it comes out,
I'll link it to this site.
CC: Absolutely! What are your feelings about the
current state of horror? I find it interesting that studios are making
glossy horror films while ignoring the success of the FRIDAY films at that
time.
AK: Sean Cunningham was just asked this question during the FANGORIA radio
interview that will be airing July 13th on Sirius and I happen to agree
with him. In a nutshell, there needs to be a better script; a better
story. The over-the-top graphics & gore have gotten to be almost...
boring. If the audience is not invested in the characters no one cares
how they get killed. That's why the original FRIDAY THE 13TH still stands
so strong: you care about or at least relate to the camp counselors. The
story behind it is simple but it makes sense. The roller coaster of
emotions is only as good as the script you get to ride with the
characters. Let's hear it for the upcoming writers and directors who can
tap into what the fans really want and then find the financing to give it
to them!!!
CC: Will we see Adrienne King appear on
screen again? I know a ton of FRIDAY fans (including myself) would love to
see you act again.
AK: When I find I good script with a character that speaks to me and a
director who wants me to play it, I'll be there. I've been reading scripts
recently and I have my New York agent who is on the lookout so I'm open to
the possibility! Of course, I'm partial to low budget horror... that's the
real creative, fun stuff!
CC: I leave the last word for you to the
horror fans.
AK: I have a couple of last words to the
fans: thank you! Thanks for this second go-round: getting to experience
the Friday the 13th world and all the devoted fans who've made it
everything it's come to be...
a cult classic with all the trimmings!
CC: Adrienne, thank you so much for your
time and for entering the Crypt.
AK: And thank you Scott for your thought provoking questions
and if I don't see you at camp then.... I'll meet you at the Crypt!
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