Padelecki and the rest of 'Friday the 13th' cast and crew try to revamp franchise

In anticipation of his latest horror film, "Friday the 13th" (2009), The Daily sat down with star Jared Padalecki. Padalecki is known for his work on the TV series "Supernatural" as well as his role in other horror films like "House of Wax" (2005) and "Cry Wolf" (2005). He headlines in the latest film in the "Friday the 13th" slasher-horror series, which reboots the franchise and almost summarizes the first four films into one. Padalecki's character, Clay, is a lone traveler looking for his missing sister, Whitney (played by Amanda Righetti). After the police find nothing, Clay does some searching on his own. He travels into the woods near Camp Crystal Lake with some new friends, only to find a faster, stronger maniacal killer named Jason Vorhees (Derek Mears). The film opens tomorrow.

Tufts Daily: Have you seen the finished movie yet?

Jared Padalecki: I have not. I might be the only member of the cast and crew that hasn't seen it yet because I shoot "Supernatural" in Vancouver. Every time they have a screening, I'm out of the country. I actually saw 20 minutes of it in New York on Saturday.

TD: What did you think of the first 20 minutes?

JP: Oh, it's badass. I'm not just saying that because I am in the movie, but I am really excited to be a part of it. I think I had a smile on my face the whole time. I was saying to myself, ‘This is cool; this is scary,' and the audience seemed to be loving it. It's better than it needs to be.

TD: How do you think this film is going to separate itself from the rest?

JP: Jason got a little cheesy toward number 12 of the installments … it was like "Jason Goes to the Moon" (referring to Jason X) or "Jason Shops at Target." It started out scary and then ended up kinda campy. That's fine; it has its time and place, but I don't think that time and place is with Jason Vorhees at Camp Crystal Lake. So the guys who put together the "Texas Chainsaw Massacre" [(2003)] remake, "The Amityville Horror" [(2005)] remake and "The Hitcher" [(2006)] remake are also behind the "Friday the 13th" [(2009)] remake. You'll notice how they tried to make those films sexy and new while still paying homage to the original film, and that's what they did here … made it for a new generation almost.

TD: Did you get a chance to work with [producer] Michael Bay on the set?

JP: Yeah, he was there, but he wasn't there for all of it … He has a hundred million projects in the works. But we really worked hard with Andrew Form and Brad Fuller, who were the on-set producers, and I am sure they were on the phone everyday multiple times with Michael Bay. He did show up for a few to check up on things and make sure they were going well.

TD: How much creative influence did he have?

JP: I think he had a tremendous creative influence. I know that every costume, every line change and set change and idea change ultimately goes through him. He takes a very active part in movies that he is involved in. It was really impressive and cool for me to see. That's how he got to where he is.

TD: What did you do to prepare for your role, and how did you pretend to be scared when you knew what was going on?

JP: Well, for my role, I was filming "Supernatural" until April 28, and I was on set April 29. So there was really no time to change over. So I tried to familiarize myself with the script the best that I could and get a sense for what the director is doing and what the editors are going to do and what kind of movie they are making. I don't want to play it cheesy and campy and then everyone else plays it real … I want to know what type of movie I am making. I really just tried to play the reality of the moment and just make my character as real as possible.

TD: Is Derek Mears [the actor who plays Jason Vorhees] a method actor? Is he Jason on set when the camera is not rolling?

JP: No, not at all. In fact, one scene we were filming on top of a bus where we have a fight and the camera messed up or something, so in the middle of the take before they called "cut," we just started dancing, like having a dance-a-thon on top of the bus. It was five in the morning, and I was all beat up, and I was having a dance party with Jason Vorhees on the top of a bus. It was kind of a fun little moment that I get to laugh about.

TD: What was it like working with the rest of the cast since they are around your age?

JP: It was really fun since we are all a young, hip cast and everybody had a lot of different things to offer. One of the more important things is that we all have an equal part, and we all have to carry this movie to success. If one guy or one girl does a crappy job, then the viewer will be like, "Ah, I'm watching a crappy horror movie." Everyone was nice, and we had fun; we went out drinking together every now and again.

TD: Did you ever get recognized while walking around in Austin, Texas after filming?

JP: Yeah but people in Austin are really cool about it. There weren't really any screaming fans; someone would just come up to me and go, "Hey dude, I'm a fan. What are you doing in Austin?" Everyone was really nice and relaxed.

TD: What was the most enjoyable part of being in the movie?

JP: Well, I am a fan of the franchise and a fan of the genre, so it was a big deal. Also, my character goes head to head with Jason at multiple points in the movie, so it was really cool having grown up watching this series and now actually being a part of it and being on set fighting Jason.

TD: What's it like filming a death scene?

JP: That's a trick question. I'm smarter than the average bear, brother.