Victor Miller’s lawsuit over the Friday the 13th rights rages on

Last Updated on August 2, 2021

As you may know, back in June, FRIDAY THE 13TH screenwriter Victor Miller filed for a termination of his grant of rights, meaning that he wants to reclaim ownership of the property effective July 2018. Because the universe wants us to earn another Jason Voorhees movie, dammit.

The plaintiffs Horror, Inc. and the Manny Company both claimed that the script was a work made for hire, an idea created by director Sean S. Cunningham and written according to his intent. Entertainment lawyer and Voorhees victim Larry Zerner chimed in, saying that unless they can prove that Cunningham was a prominent collaborator, the rights to FRIDAY THE 13TH and the characters will revert to Miller. He has not stated what he intends to do with them.

So here's the new scoop: Miller has responded to the plaintiffs' complaints with two consequential motions. The first details the fact that, contractually, his script couldn't have been a "work for hire":

While the Screenplay was clearly commissioned by Manny for use as part of to be part of a motion picture, the Film, Plaintiff never alleges that a written instrument signed by Manny agreeing the Screenplay shall be considered a 'work made for hire.' And the Agreement attached to the Complaint, and alleged by Plaintiffs to be Miller’s operative agreement, does not contain any such express agreement, nor even the phrase 'work made for hire' or 'work for hire.'

That's some dense legalese, but the bottom line is that Miller thinks their claims don't hold water, unlike Alice's canoe after Jason finished with it. His second motion claims that he wasn't legally an employee at the time. Instead, he was an independent contractor.

Thus the continued tug-of-war over the machete continues, with the rest of us caught in the middle like those poor, useless human characters in FREDDY VS. JASON.

For a full rundown of the details of the case, click here.