Horror Inc Responds To Victor Miller Court Ruling And Is Already Developing New Friday The 13th Projects

This past Friday we brought our readers the news that original film writer Victor Miller won the lawsuit brought against him by rights holder Horror Inc, claiming he could not terminate the copyright on the script he wrote for Friday The 13th 1980. It was only a matter of time before we got a statement from Horror Inc on their loss in court and now Bloody Disgusting received that very response:

“We are disappointed in the court’s ruling and disagree with its conclusion. We are considering our options including an appeal.In the meantime, the court was very clear thatits ruling in favor of Mr. Miller is limited to the original screenplay in which Jason’s mother is the killer and that Mr. Miller’s termination notice did not purport to terminate the separate copyright in the iconic supernatural killer who wears a hockey mask. It also does not grant any rights to Mr. Miller that would enable him to use any element of the original screenplay outside of the United States.

“Following the guidelines set down by the Court’s ruling, we intend to aggressively explore many opportunities for new projects featuring settings and characters (including the hockey mask-wearing killer) not included in Mr. Miller’s screenplay, and in fact are currently in development on new projects that are consistent with the ruling which will be announced soon.”

This has been the expected response if the lawsuit did not turn out victorious for Horror Inc, however it is interesting that they are planning new projects now in accordance with the ruling. Realistically, they can move forward with a new film and the ever elusive television show as along as they do not include Mrs. Voorhees or possibly a specific iteration of young Jason. This would allow Horror Inc to release their projects in the United States and internationally. There is no way Horror Inc will create a project to release only in international markets.

One thing is for sure, this rights battle is in no way over. Stay tuned for an in-depth look and opinion of the ruling coming soon.