LeBron James in talks to produce 'Friday the 13th' reboot
LeBron James grew up watching horror movies with his mom and now enjoys family horror nights with his own brood. One of the next ones they watch may be one the patriarch makes himself.
James and his production company, SpringHill Entertainment, are in talks with Vertigo Entertainment to produce a reboot of “Friday the 13th,” according to Bloody Disgusting. The Hollywood Reporter independently confirmed the report Monday.
James is a big fan of horror movies, a fact that’s been well documented over the years. He and Nike released a “Friday the 13th” iteration of his colorways shoes in 2015 and last year the Los Angeles Lakers star dressed up as Pennywise from the “It” reboot, which Vertigo produced.
Even when it’s not Halloween, he’s into Halloween things:
View this post on Instagram
Riding around masked up! Hahaha. S/O Jason Voorhees
A post shared by LeBron James (@kingjames) on Feb 5, 2013 at 1:39pm PST
The original “Friday the 13th” screenwriter, Victor Miller, won a long legal battle last month that returned the rights of the original script back to him. The fight dates back to the 2009 reboot and was between Miller and Sean Cunningham, the producer and director who hired Miller to write the screenplay based on his idea.
It’s still a little dicey, though. Cunningham could appeal and the original screenplay barely features hockey mask-wearing Jason Voorhees, so who owns that character and who can distribute it are unclear, as pointed out by The Hollywood Reporter.
The 1980 original is about a mother who seeks revenge on camp counselors at Camp Crystal Lake after her son dies in their care. It was created after the success of “Halloween” in 1978.
The latter was rebooted and released last week with star Jamie Lee Curtis. It broke U.S. box office records with more than $77 million its opening weekend.
“It” is the biggest movie at the box office for Vertigo Entertainment at $327 million overall in the U.S. and a $123 million opening weekend in September 2017, according to IMDb’s Box Office Mojo.
The company also produced “The Ring” in 2002, which grossed $129 million ($202 adjusted for ticket price inflation), “The Grudge” in 2004 and fellow horror movies “The Ring Two,” “The Strangers” and 2015’s “Poltergeist.”
James’ SpringHill Entertainment is currently working on the docu-series “Shut Up and Dribble,” focusing on the political lives of NBA players. Around this same time last month the company made headlines with the news it’s making “Space Jam 2” with “Black Panther” producer Ryan Coogler.
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