My First Myers Commission: NAG Rare

This was a really cool Kirk blank to work on: The "Rare" (one of the many derivatives of the Kirkus '75 Kirk) by Nikolas Art Gallery in Greece. Just finished him today, so he's off to be haired by another artist.

I'm taking Myers commissions and currently have a super quick turn-around time: I only had this one for 11 days. I don't hair yet but I can find someone who does if you don't have a hair guy. Thanks for looking!

This came to me as a blank with the eyes already (badly) cut out. The owner had made an attempt at repairs with latex, which I then built on and dremeled into shape. Even up close you can't tell where the fixes were done. I'm glad I know this is possible now, because I can offer eye cut fixes as part of a paint up/conversion.

New Blood "Master" No. 3

This is a really rare piece. It's a direct casting from the original master bust that produced the "New Blood" by Silver Shampain Novelties back in 2009. Jon Lawrence only did a few copies for friends, so I feel very lucky to have such a rare piece. Painted by me, of course!

SSN produced this mask from the original movie mold back in 2009 during a partnership with John Carl Buechler, director and FX chief on Friday the 13th Part 7: The New Blood.

Buechler supplied a casting of the original facial appliances, which were applied to a life cast of Kane Hodder, then cast again with a cranium and neck that were sculpted by Brad Hardin, if I'm not mistaken. Only a few were made, and SSN has long since closed its doors.

The major difference between this pull straight off the master and the original SSN New Blood productions is one of size: The original run were expanded so they could be worn by even the largest of heads. This produced some distortion, as you can see here (SSN New Blood on the left):

Here's the crisply-detailed master, which Jon still owns.

And the master (center) with the first two pulls.

Yessir, there's nothing quite like a movie mold piece.

Some Rare Collection Shots

Some of these pieces are works in progress, but here's my collection as it stands now. The only thing not pictured is my T-800 arm. As you can see, I focus on Jason stuff, and I try to get the best representation of each design, movie mold if possible. So much done, but so much left to acquire.

The items are as follows:

Bloody Ending II blank (2017)
Pam 3D Prototype (2017)
SSN New Blood (2009)
FFS Part 7 (2017)
DIY Kirk-H1 Conversion (2017)
Bronzed Production-Made Promo Mask, Friday the 13th Part 7 (1988)
Hideous Looking Man (2010)
Hangman II (2010)
His Unlucky Day (2010)
ToTS H40 Rehaul (2018)
HSS Coffin Dummy (2011)
Aladdin Sane: Part 6 Jason (2011)
Screen-Used Camp Crystal Lake Sign, Friday the 13th Part 2 (1980)
Jason X Movie Mold Face (2002)
SSN New Blood Master Copy Raw Casting (2018, very limited)
Hockey Masks (All paint by me): Remake on a JDF, VS on a NECA, Part 8 on a BDS, Part 6 on a FGM, FGM Plante. On the HLM is a refurbed Crash part 3, which is going to get screen-accurate varnish shortly.
In the back is a souvenir photo from my tour of Camp NoBeBoSco in a frame made from the old window frames of Van Deusen lodge, where much of the original film takes place (including Mrs. Voorhees' famous monologue).

Everything except the HLM, the HUD, the Aladdin Sane, the Hangman and the Crash part 3 mask are movie mold or from production.

Everything was (or will be) painted by me except the New Blood, the Coffin Dummy and the HUD.

BOOM. Thanks for looking.

"Voorhees" Trailer Promises Return to Brutal Realism

See this yet? If not why aren't you watching it now instead of reading this bullshit? See it now? GOOD. Are you FUCKING EXCITED LIKE I AM EXCITED???

Haha. Seriously, this project is impressive. After more than two decades of squabbling between Hollywood studios and screenwriters over a seemingly endless variety of scripts (Jason in space? Really?) fans are getting bored with delays and excuses year after year as the Friday the 13th franchise drops to an extremely low priority for major studios.

So, perhaps rightfully so, the real ideas are coming not from Hollywood screenwriters, but the fans themselves. Last year we were blessed with the one-two punch of Friday the 13th: The Game and the outstanding fan film Never Hike Alone. But the brutal, grindhouse-style gore of "Voorhees" has the potential to raise the bar for fan-made films. Besides being the first feature-length Jason film, it is one of the most well funded, at around $18,000.

The film revolves around a gang of thieves who, after committing a heist, kidnap a couple of young girls and retreat to their hideout in... you guessed it... the long-abandoned Camp Crystal Lake. You can imagine the fun that will ensue.

The magic formula struck on here by writers Cody Faulk and Chris Plaushin is something Hollywood seems to have missed: you don't need to do repeat the same pattern of Jason killing horny teens, or break so far away from the pattern that he's in FUCKING SPACE. You can insert him into legitimately interesting plots and complex character dynamics common in other genres, like crime drama.

So if Friday the 13th Part 4 feels something like "Jason vs. the Breakfast Club", Voorhees is more like "Jason vs. Reservoir Dogs." You have a real plot with believable, dynamic characters that function independently of horror tropes. Then you insert Jason, a force of nature that fucks everything up, forcing them all to improvise, testing their relationships, their character, and their ability to survive a situation they can't fully comprehend.

Why this hasn't been done before mystifies me. But I'm glad Cody Faulk is doing it now. If Voorhees ends up being as good as I think it will be, this film will likely put the 2009 remake to shame in all but the most technical respects. It may even top most of the Paramount films. And it could lead to a revolution in fan films inserting Jason into meatier plots: Jason vs. doomsday survivalists? Jason vs. satanic cult? If you can make it in the woods, you can insert Jason (and why wouldn't you?). The possibilities are endless.

It's worth a moment to comment here on the endurance this character has had over the last thirty-eight years. He's literally a man who just cuts people to ribbons and never says a word. And yet he's beloved around the world as a sort of vigilante, a manifestation of the dark side in all of us that would love to just take a machete to all the injustice in life. That Jason has the freedom to do that makes him the perfect foil for all kinds of villains in a lot of different situations way beyond camp counselors and vacationers.

I've said for years that Hollywood ruined Friday the 13th. Someone has long needed the courage to take Jason Voorhees back to his indie roots and make a real film that freshens up the genre and tells his story a new way, while remaining respectful to his mythology. Never Hike Alone certainly nailed that. But Voorhees just feels so much bigger. If the finished film kicks half as much ass as this trailer, its going to be talked about for years to come.

ToTS H40 Repaint

Took me long enough to finish it, but here is my Halloween 2018 repaint. I spent a few weeks studying behind the scenes photos of the movie masks before I even touched my copy. Looks to me like they painted them starting with a basecoat of black, then sponged on a light gray, followed by darker gray weathering, raw sienna "age spots" and finally burnt sienna dirt, mostly around the eyes, temples and base of the neck. I'm pretty proud of this and now that I have it down I may do others!

Here's a closeup:

Here's the "hero" movie mask:

 

And here's what it originally looked like, next to my DIY H1.

***Interested in a ToTS rehaul? Comment below with your email or hit me up on Facebook or Michael-Myers.net.***

Pam 3D Second Run Underway

UPDATE 11/28/18: The second run is SOLD OUT. Thank you to everyone who supported this project. I'm looking forward to getting all the new owners their copies by (hopefully) the end of January.

The second and final run of Mrs. Voorhees heads is live. After having gone through my waitlist, I tentatively have two spots left. Leave your email in the comments (preferably with your name) and I'll get back to you.

These are resin copies of a high-resolution SLS 3D print of the original prop head used in Friday the 13th Part 2. Only 22 copies will ever exist: my prototype, one flawed copy currently with Greg Nicotero, and 20 numbered copies. That's it. This is a historic piece of film history and this opportunity will not come around again.

For those who need a little backstory on this piece, click here to learn how I came to possess the original movie head.

Click here for the original sale post.

The blanks are in.

The Bible of Friday the 13th Props is Coming November 20th

Mario Kirner was recently at Weekend of Hell in Dortumund, Germany to promote the impending release of his coffee table book Friday the 13th Props Museum: The Book. I have a copy on order and I absolutely cannot wait to receive it. Mario owns the largest assembly of screen-used Friday the 13th props in the world and has never before released high-definition photos of his pieces, so this is going to be an incredible coup for fans.

He brought along the original hero mask from part 8 too... and here's one of the best photos ever taken of it, along with the original gloves. Mario bought these straight from Kane Hodder some years back, who was gifted the pieces after production wrapped.

H1 Hero Repaint

Repainted my previous Myers piece (DIY blank, hair by Martin Pena, paint by me)-- made the underlying skin tone darker, the eye cuts larger and evened out the cut of the neck a bit. Also increased the amount of skin tone exposure a bit, per photos of the hero. After a lot of trial and error, I think I know the H1 mask really well at this point, and I'm ready to take paint commissions for anyone interested. Anything you'd like to see different? Let me know!

Really proud of how the eyes have come out. Myers eyes are tough to get right because they look wildly different in every reference photo and you have to take into account stretching and sagging of the latex that will impact how they appear from shot to shot.

With its parent mask: The Medley Kirk. Screen shot from the gallery at www.michael-myers.net

Ever Notice This?

You know that sign Marta Kober picks up in Friday the 13th Part 2?...

Well, I just realized tonight that its in Part 1 as well...

It was at the turnoff to the camp. Mrs. Voorhees blows by it in her jeep on the way to kill Annie.

It's not the exact same prop, but the one in Part 2 was clearly painted to resemble the one from the first film. Has a similar font, and the same red border.

This blew my mind. Who says they never cared about continuity!

That's all. Here's a recent photo of the Part 2 version.

What is this mysterious mask?

Many of you saw this on eBay a couple times over the past year. The seller wanted as much as $2,500 for it at one point, even though the only thing he knew about it was that it came from a Friday the 13th film.

So is this just another Frightstuff or JDF mask that's been bronzed (for some weird reason) or is it something more?

I decided to buy it and examine it in person.

The first thing I noticed was that this mask bears all the tell-tale signs of being a movie mold mask, as opposed to a fan sculpt. It has all the same flaws as a Frightstuff/JDF: the warp of the forehead, the ripple under the left eye, the indentation in the lower left edge and the vertical crease through the mouth area. It also has an identifiable snap divot in the forehead, although the ones on the sides seem to have been masked by a border that resulted from the bronzing process (which you can see in the above photo).

It is clearly cut to look like a part 7, with some quick-and-dirty scratches around the propeller damage. The mask also bears heavy pitting in the bronze.

The back of the mask was also bronzed, although you can identify the telltale haircell pattern of ABS plastic. The back of the mask seems to have been abused over many years: the bronze is discolored and feel slightly filmy. It is also peeling away from the ABS in spots, and has a slight metallic odor to it which is not present in the front. There are also streaks of superglue across the back.

The eye cuts are very crude, with some partially melted ABS clumped around the backs of the cuts. Mask artists will tell you that this is a common occurrence during dremeling. The fact that the melted ABS was not removed suggests this mask was made hastily by someone who was probably trying to bang out several of them at once.

But here's where it gets interesting.

The propeller damage is very inaccurate to the movie mask, and very distinct. It looks exactly like the cuts that were done to the promotional masks made shortly after production of part 7 by MMI special effects artist Mecki Heusen.

A reliable source told me that at least ten of these promo masks were made for part 7 for various purposes.

Many of these masks were sold for thousands of dollars as "screen used" although their proper value is probably closer to $800-$1,000 each, according to my source.

But if this bronzed mask is an old promo mask, which one is it?

Most likely, its this one:

A lot of fine details line up nicely: The unusually angular cut of the top perimeter, the axe cut width and penetration into the vents, the eye cuts, the angles of the propeller cut and the way they cut into the two vent holes, and tellingly, the lack of drilled holes for straps make this a very unique mask.

The mask at above left used to belong to Lou Carlucci, best known as the creator of the original Freddy glove for A Nightmare on Elm Street. Lou also did some FX work on F13 Part 7 (notably, the electrocution scene), and used to own the screen-used Jason suit that now belongs to Mario Kirner. Here's a shot of the suit with this mask displayed with it when it was still in Lou's collection:

There's no question that this isn't a fan-made mask: trying to imitate this one obscure promo mask that almost no one has seen would be absurd. And given how sloppy the promo masks were cut, how no warping was done to the plastic to imitate the hero mask, and how consistently they cut the prop damage, chances are extremely high that this mask was made in 1988 by MMI, using the buck they had for the film.

Owning a promo mask is the closest most of us will ever get to owning an actual movie mask, so this is an interesting find. Especially considering who it belonged to. For anyone interested in owning a rare piece of F13 history, I'll consider offers on it. Thanks for reading.

The Many Faces of Jason Voorhees

Since my "visual history of the hockey mask" was so widely viewed, I wanted to do another post as a tribute to the FX work that gave us the many versions of Jason we all saw on screen over the years.

Below is a "reference pic dump" of 200+ behind-the-scenes photos of Jason actors in the original makeup being fussed over by their creators. It's almost everything I have accumulated in the last 9 years from friends, collectors, documentaries and even a Russian film forum. Maybe if you're an artist you'll see something new and some great sculpts or paint-ups will come out of this.

Friday the 13th (1980)

Here's where we're introduced to Jason as a child in two different iterations: clean, and bottom-of-the-lake version. All the basic design elements are there--the enlarged cranium, the droopy eye and ear, the deformed mouth, based on the features of a homeless man Savini knew during his youth in Pittsburgh. Savini gave birth to Jason, and every subsequent FX artist reinterpreted Savini's basic concept.

Click to enlarge any image.

Sculpt/Application: Tom Savini
Actor: Ari Lehman

Part II (1981)

New makeup, new design, somewhat loosely based on the original, and seemingly inspired by a version of Quasimodo that appeared in a makeup instruction book by Dick Smith. According to Lloyd Albin, there were as many as two other designs for Jason's face sculpted during production. No photos are known to exist of these alt sculpts.

Sculpt/Application: Carl Fullerton
Actor: Warrington Gillette

Part III (1982)

Three versions of Jason were actually sculpted for this film:

Version 1: The Winston sculpt
Sculpt: Stan Winston
Application: Doug White, Kenny Myers
Actor: Richard Brooker, Mike De Luna

This version of Jason was sculpted by famed FX man Stan Winston (Predator, The Terminator, Terminator 2, among scores of other classics) and used for the entire film while Jason is either in shadow or has the hockey mask on. The mask was a one-piece foam latex bust that fit over Brooker's head. At least three were made for filming. The design was deemed too much of a departure from part 2, so a different design was sculpted for the unmasking.

 

 

 

Version 2: The flashback
Sculpt: Doug White
Application: Doug White, Kenny Myers
Actor: Richard Brooker

After the Winston design was rejected as the "face" of Jason, a second sculpt was made by FX artist Douglas J. White on set to look closer to Fullerton's design from part 2. Deemed unrefined by director Steve Miner, this design was used only during the flashback scene where Chris Higgins was attacked by Jason.

Version 3: The unmasking

Sculptor: Doug White

Application: Doug White, Kenny Myers

Actor: Richard Brooker

After the face was modified and refined considerably (though the neck piece appears to be the same), this final and most famous version of Jason's face was used in the unmasking.

One thing you'll notice on the application photos below is that after applying a basic skin tone, the FX artists shadowed with blue and magenta to create the illusion of depth and translucence. This time-honored coloring technique counteracts the flatness of the latex and goes all the way back to Dick Smith.

Such a color scheme was used to create almost every "living" iteration of Jason, including at least part 2, part 3, part 4 and Jason Goes to Hell.

A pipe is really the only legit way to enjoy tobacco.

Part IV (1984)

Version 1: The dummy sculpt

Sculpt: James Kagel

Dummy FX Work: Alec Gillis, John Vulich, Larry Carr

Actor: Ted White

Alec Gillis & Larry Carr

This early version of the Jason head was closely based on Tom Savini's design from the first film. Sculpted onto a lifecast of Ted White, the design was used for the two dummies (one animatronic, the other static) that were created for FX shots as well as the cowl worn by White throughout the film.

L to R: Larry Carr, Kevin Yagher, John Vulich, James Kagel, Alec Gillis. Woman at far right might be Jill Rockow.

Version 2: The prosthetic sculpt
Sculpt: James Kagel
Application: Kevin Yagher
Actor: Ted White

According to legend, the second version was sculpted merely out of expedience: Sculptor James Kagel had finished his work but production hadn't yet begun and he was still getting paid by the hour. Savini encouraged him to do another sculpt of the head, improving and enhancing features. Kagel took a wax master of his sculpt and began sculpting on top of that, changing the cranium and exaggerating features to create a bolder, more fluid design. This version was used for the appliances in the final "unmasking" FX shot.

Part V (1985)

Louis Lazzara sculpted a nearly exact copy of the part 4 stunt sculpt, as you can see here. Lazzara's sculpt was used for all the Jason and Roy heads in the film.

David Miller was brought in during post production to create the dummy that fell on the spikes at the end, along with some other props.

FX artist David Miller with the massive mask he created for the opening shot.

 

PART VI (1986)

Version 1:The Bradley hood

Sculpt: Brian Wade

Actor: Dan Bradley, C.J. Graham

Respect the Graham Stache

This was a faceless head-and-shoulders sculpt for actor Dan Bradley. It was worn by both Bradley (in the paintball scene and other shots of Jason speedwalking through the woods) and by Graham throughout nearly the entire film. The paint scheme featured a blue-gray base with purple shadowing and black and brown accents.

A version of this hood with a movie-accurate paint job had a crude face that was added some time before 1996 (possibly for display purposes). Look closely and you can see the seam. Two original copies are known to exist like this; one owned by Billy Kirkus, and another in a private collection in Japan.

Version 2: The Cemetery mask (a.k.a. the C.J. mask)

Sculpt/Application: Brian Wade

Actor: C.J. Graham

According to Brian Wade, after Bradley was fired, a second sculpt was requested for the new actor, which he claimed to have completed from scratch in just 24 hours. This version was a one-piece appliance with cutouts for the left eye and nose and a detachable lower mandible. A separate insert was created to snap in the carnage for the right eye, which had been sculpted separately.

Brian Wade adding some filth to C.J.'s mask

Brian Wade's eye casting. The carnage was sculpted separately on this and plugged or snapped into the finished product. (Photo courtesy of Brian Wade)

 This mask made it in to a couple of pickup shots toward the end of the film as well...

 

Version 3: The Coffin Dummy
Sculpt: Brian Wade, FX team.

Part VII (1988)

Sculpt: John Buechler/A.J. Workman/MMI
Application: MMI
Actor: Kane Hodder

One of the most popular physical iterations of Jason, this one is perhaps the most monstrous. This paint scheme featured a brown base with black or gray shadowing and some reddish-brown accents near the wounds in the face.

Part VIII (1989)

Sculpt/Application/Dummy Work: Tibor Farkas, Jamie Brown, William Terezakis
Actor: Kane Hodder

This was a jack-o-lantern type design that blurred the lines between the bony and fleshy structures of the face. One of the more unique and controversial face designs for Jason, the paint job is more detailed than its often given credit for, even if the sculpt is a bit lacking.

And here's a nice shot of the back of an in-progress Jason hood with a mask courtesy of Tibor Farkas Jr.:

And one of Timothy Burr Murkovich as young Jason in the giant foam Jason face Tibor Sr. was making in one of the above photos. THANK GOD this shot didn't make it into the movie.

Jason Goes to Hell (1993)

Sculpt and Paint: Robert Kurtzman
Actor: Kane Hodder

KNB decided on a lumpy, over-sized head inspired by Carl Fullerton's part 2 design, with some detail enhancement. As with earlier designs for "living" Jason, this was heavily shadowed in overlapping blue and magenta tones to make the lumps really pop onscreen.

Robert Kurtzman applying blood to the mask.

 

Above: A stunt dummy used during the chest stab in the film's finale.

Jason X (2002)

Sculpt: Stephen Dupuis

Paint: Damon Bishop

Version 1 Stunt FX head: This was evidently a early design used for the FX dummy that was blown up. Most notably, it doesn't have a lumpy head. Beautifully layered paint job on this piece.

Version 2 hero head: This is the design seen during the unmasking in the first act, and used through most of the film. Primary difference from the stunt head is the added scalp layer designed to grab onto the hockey mask, reminiscent of the Jason Goes to Hell cranial design.

Version 3: Uber Jason. Fitting that this version is in outer space because this design is light years away from any previous iteration of Jason there is... aside from perhaps the part 8 design.

Freddy vs. Jason (2003)

Sculpt/Paint: Jamie Salmon/WCT Productions

Wish I had more info on this! No version of the face is known to have been sculpted, although this concept sketch was made during pre-production:

Here's a shot of the primary cowl worn through the film:

I'll update this section when I know more. For now, here's a photo of a screen-used cowl owned by Mario Kirner. Check out his upcoming coffee table book for more photos! You can buy it on eBay.

Friday the 13th (2009)

Sculptor/Painter: Scott Stoddard + FX team
Actor: Derek Mears

Scott Stoddard working on Derek Mears.