Editing Friday the 13th (1980 film) (section)

===Development===
[[File:F13Variety.jpg|thumb|upright|''Friday the 13th'' did not have a completed script when Sean S. Cunningham took out this advertisement in ''Variety'' magazine]]
''Friday the 13th'' was produced and directed by [[Sean S. Cunningham]], who had previously worked with filmmaker [[Wes Craven]] on the film ''[[The Last House on the Left (1972 film)|The Last House on the Left]]''. Cunningham, inspired by [[John Carpenter]]'s ''[[Halloween (1978 film)|Halloween]]'',{{sfn|Grove|2005|pp=11–12}} wanted ''Friday the 13th'' to be shocking, visually stunning and "[make] you jump out of your seat."{{sfn|Grove|2005|pp=11–12}} Wanting to distance himself from ''The Last House on the Left'', Cunningham wanted ''Friday the 13th'' to be more of a "roller-coaster ride".{{sfn|Grove|2005|pp=11–12}}

The original screenplay was tentatively titled ''A Long Night at Camp Blood''.{{sfn|Bracke|2006|p=18}} While working on a redraft of the screenplay, Cunningham proposed the title ''Friday the 13th'', after which Miller began redeveloping.{{sfn|Bracke|2006|p=18}} Cunningham rushed out to place an advertisement in ''[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]'' using the ''Friday the 13th'' title.{{sfn|Bracke|2006|p=17}} Worried that someone else owned the rights to the title and wanting to avoid potential lawsuits, Cunningham thought it would be best to find out immediately. He commissioned a New York advertising agency to develop his concept of the ''Friday the 13th'' logo, which consisted of big block letters bursting through a pane of glass.{{sfn|Grove|2005|pp=15–16}} In the end, Cunningham believed there were "no problems" with the title, but distributor George Mansour stated, "There was a movie before ours called ''Friday the 13th: The Orphan''. It was moderately successful. But someone still threatened to sue. Either Phil Scuderi paid them off, but it was finally resolved."{{sfn|Bracke|2006|p=17}}

The screenplay was completed in mid-1979{{sfn|Bracke|2006|p=18}} by [[Victor Miller (writer)|Victor Miller]], who later went on to write for several television [[soap opera]]s, including ''[[Guiding Light]]'', ''[[One Life to Live]]'' and ''[[All My Children]]''; at the time, Miller was living in [[Stratford, Connecticut]], near Cunningham, and the two had begun collaborating on potential film projects.{{sfn|Bracke|2006|p=17}} Miller delighted in inventing a serial killer who turned out to be somebody's mother, a murderer whose only motivation was her love for her child. "I took motherhood and turned it on its head and I think that was great fun. Mrs. Voorhees was the mother I'd always wanted—a mother who would have killed for her kids."<ref name=miller/> Miller was unhappy about the filmmakers' decision to make Jason Voorhees the killer in the sequels. "Jason was dead from the very beginning. He was a victim, not a villain."<ref name=miller>{{cite web |last=Miller |first=Victor |title=Frequently Asked Questions |url=http://www.victormiller.com/faq.php |work=Victor Miller Official Site |access-date=June 25, 2017 |quote=I have a major problem with all of them because they made Jason the villain. I still believe that the best part of my screenplay was the fact that a mother figure was the serial killer—working from a horribly twisted desire to avenge the senseless death of her son, Jason. Jason was dead from the very beginning. He was a victim, not a villain. |archive-date=September 24, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170924054710/http://victormiller.com/faq.php |url-status=live }}</ref>

The idea of Jason appearing at the end of the film was initially not used in the original script; in Miller's final draft, the film ended with Alice merely floating on the lake.{{sfn|Bracke|2006|p=20}} Jason's appearance was actually suggested by makeup designer [[Tom Savini]].{{sfn|Bracke|2006|p=20}} Savini stated that "The whole reason for the cliffhanger at the end was I had just seen ''[[Carrie (1976 film)|Carrie]]'', so we thought that we need a 'chair jumper' like that, and I said, 'let's bring in Jason'".<ref>{{cite news|title=Jason Voorhees: From mama's boy to his own man|url=http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/movies/story/462246p-388901c.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061114062638/http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/movies/story/462246p-388901c.html|archive-date=November 14, 2006 |work=[[New York Daily News]]|access-date=December 11, 2006 |date=October 19, 2006|url-status=dead}}</ref>