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Why not start us off with a visual and describe
the room where you are answering these questions?
Room?...It's
more of a lair, in a cavern. I live in a cavern
of cold stone, deep, deep under the icy waters of
Crystal Lake, far from the harsh light of human
misunderstanding, beneath several layers of murk
and muck. As I cast my dread gaze over the heaps
of carcasses, cadavers, bloody weaponry, torture
devices, offal and filth, I wonder if the cavern
floor was always stained this dark black-red, or
if it just got that way over the years. Wow...The
Boy Jason -- in the rotted cyber flesh.
I guess first
off I want to hear about what the role of
"young Jason" looked like on paper --
in the script?
On paper?
There was nothing on the paper! They even gave me
the wrong script at first, Kevin Bacon's script.
But then Sean says, "No - you are going to
play the monster! Can you swim?"
"Yes." I said. "Fine" says
Sean, "You got the part". When I saw
that Jason had no lines, I became determined to
create a detailed background story in my mind, so
that his actions would reflect a true inner
motivation through body language and facial
gesture.
So tell me
about the make-up process that genius Tom Savini
did on you for those scenes?
Once they
cast me, handed me over to Tom and his assistant,
Taso Stavrakos. Being at Tom's studio was like
walking into Merlyn's Workshop, everywhere you
looked there were relistic replicas of
decapitated heads, severed limbs, disemboweled
torsos, as well as busts of all the great Horror
actors including Bela Lugosi, Lon Chaney, Boris
Karloff, and Christopher Lee. We worked for weeks
on the first mask, casting the teeth, eye, and
head itself. One time, when my entire head was
completely covered in plaster, Tom put on Jim
Morrison and The Doors' "Strange Days",
it was the first time I heard music like that,
and I was impressed...Strange Days, Indeed! After
we did the first prosthetic and filmed the
drowning scene, a second one was required for the
final scene, so I went back to the studio for
that one, which was created to look more scary.
They wanted Jason to be both repelling and
pitiable at the same time, so Tom fashioned a new
version which I wore in the final scene. Of
course we also covered the mask and myself if
muck and vegetation that Tom asked us to scrape
from the bottom of Sand Pond the night before.
Tom also applied additional latex, which he
allowed to dry, and then peeled back to look like
decaying flesh. Nice!
What was your
overriding memory of the filming process?
I was
really trying hard to make Jason as scary as
possible, even though he was only onscreen for a
moment. I wanted to get way into character, so,
before filming, while in makeup, I would stare
into the waters of Sand Pond, trying to imagine
what I would feel like if I went through what
Jason went through. One day, Kevin Bacon was on
the set and he saw me doing this. So, he comes
over and asks me what am I doing? "Getting
into character", I told him, as seriously as
I could. Man, he just about fell over laughing!
He even called over Harry Crosby to tell him
about it. That was funny...!
Was it fun to
drag Adrienne King into Sand Pond (aka Crystal
Lake)?
The best
part was her reaction. Tom had instructed me to
stay away from Adrienne while in makeup, so she
did not know what the mask really looked like
right up until the shoot. When I jumped out of
the water, she was truly frightened. She
practically jumped right out of the boat! I was
really impressed when we did the second take,
because Adrienne's composure did not reveal that
she knew that I am about to jump out at any
moment.
So you were
what - 14 or 15 when you filmed this. Were your
folks cool with it? I know you'd previously done 'Manny's
Orphans' for Sean Cunningham so
was it more a "working with Sean"
situation rather than the type of film per se?
Yes, they
were happy to see that Sean had hired me once
again, and I think any parent is glad to see
their offspring get decent pay for their efforts.
Everyone knows
the horror and especially Friday the 13th fans
can be a tad fanatical (who us?) about their
dedication...Gotta know, what is the strangest or
most unusual request a fan has ever made of you?
At
Horrorfind Arizona, I played the piano at the
actual wedding of two very dedicated Horror fans.
The great Bill Moseley was the best man, and the
fine actor Doug Bradley, who is ordained, acted
as minister, delivering a firy sermon that could
have been straight out of Hellraiser!
Speaaking of
that, since the filming of the movie you've been
mainly involved in music. I am really excited to
hear your horror-rock band FIRST JASON. Tell me a
bit about that and I love the fact that
'You'd Better Run' is written
from the "Voorhees perspective".
Destruction
has a new middle name: FIRSTJASON! FIRSTJASON is
a progressive Horror-Punk band, fronted by none
other than the First Jason Voorhees, Ari Lehman,
himself. Please visit FIRSTJASON.com to hear our
unique message and sound which has done enough
damage to get us featured in BLENDER Magazine, on
BBC-Radio and as a frequent guest on ManCow's
Morning MadHouse. We now play cover songs by
bands like Danzig, The Misfits, and the Dead
Kennedys as well as our own original songs forged
in Punk and Metal. In fact, there is an event
coming up here in Chicago which may interest you
your Racks and Razors readers: I did the
soundtrack for VAMPIRA:THE MOVIE, a documentary
about that legendary Horror Vixen, and on
Saturday, February 24th, I will be hosting the
release party here in Chicago at MEMORIES, on
Montrose at Cicero. FIRSTJASON will perform,
alongside local Punk Greats Johnny Vomit, and The
Massacres. There will also be a costume contest
for best dressed Vampirette sponsored by
VAMPRA:THE MOVIE. For more information, see the
"Calendar" page at
atwww.FIRSTJASON.com. VAMPIRA:THE MOVIE will be
screened that same weekend at FANGORIA'S WEEKEND
OF HORRORS. FIRSTJASON will also be touring this
Summer alongside FREAK13, as a collaborative
effort called "Creatures Of Cystal Lake Tour
2007". Please visit www.MySpace.com/creaturesofcrystallake for more
information.
And what
should fans do who want to buy or check out the
CD?
I
completely reformed the band late in 2006, and we
are becoming a kickass unit, practicing, writing,
and peforming. Officially there is STILL no
FIRSTJASON CD out, but it will be available at
CDBaby.com once it is.
Tell me about
your recent return to the horror fold and your
role in 2005's 'Tattoo Terror'.
Tattoo
Terror was a great deal of fun to work on. The
filmmakers are still finishing High School, so we
can expect a lot from them in the future. I
recently portrayed the character "Delbert
Eaton" in the independent Horror movie
"ThanXgiving". Delbert is a backwoods
weirdo who speaks with a West Virginia twang. I
even got to shoot a real shotgun in the film, and
I did my own stunts, falling from a small cliff
onto a concealed mattress. Working on
"ThanXgiving" really inspired me to get
back into acting when I'm not touring around
singing. The cast and crew are like a big family,
located in the St. Louis area. Being on the set
there was similar to "Friday the 13th"
because it was shot out in the woods too.
"ThanXgiving" is scheduled to be
screened at FANGORIA WOH 2007 in Chicago. Please
visit www.MySpace.com/ThanXgiving for more
information.
Okay Ari -
we're pulling the car into the Ari Lehman
Drive-In. What three of your favorite horror
flicks are on the triple bill and what goodies
are they serving up at the concession stand?
SILENT
HORROR NACHT DER GOLEM Dir. Paul Wegener
NOSFERATU Dir. F.W. Murnau FAUST Dir. F.W. Murnau
Tofu Hot Dogs with Saurkraut and German Beer.
HOUSE OF HORROR NIGHT HOUSE ON HAUNTED HILL
Starring Vincent Price HORROR HOTEL Starring
Christopher Lee THEATRE OF BLOOD Starring Vincent
Price Vegan Fish and Chips and English Ale. DARIO
ARGENTO NIGHT DEEP RED Dir. Dario Argento SUSPIRA
Dir. Dario Argento PHENOMENA Dir. Dario Argento
Assorted Fried Ravioli with Chianti Wine.
So which is
scarier to you and why --- drowning or way
overprotective mothers?
Wow,
you're going deep there! To me it would be
drowning, but my Mom was great, not
overprotecting. Was Pamela guilty of being
neglectful? Well the stoty goes that she was
working in the kitchen when Jason drowned,
working to feed Jason and herself, so, I feel
that she is blameless. The real question at hand
here is how do we forgive ourselves after
needless loss? Pamela's inablity to forgive
herself is what truly drove her to kill.
What's
something in real life that turns you into an
absolute psycho?
Well,
when I see young people going to fight a needless
war in absolutely hellish conditions, and dying
in greater numbers everyday, and the people
around them becoming the victims of sectarian
violence, sometimes I feel that an army of Jasons
should be assembeled to set the whole world
straight. Jason is evil because he goes too far
in his self-righteous destruction, never knowing
when to stop, like a child trapped in a monster's
body. What a good analogy for humankind to
consider today! |
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