Many may not know who he is, but to the horror fans of the world, he is
known as Shelly, the funny teen prankster who stole the hearts of people,
and got his throat slit by Jason Voorhees and giving him his trade mark
hockey mask. So what has he been up to? Well...read on to find out.
Marcus::
Before we begin, let's find out who the man behind Shelly is, What is
the real Larry Zerner like?
Larry::
Back
when I made the film I was a lot like Shelly (fat, obnoxious, wannabe
actor). Now I've lost the weight, much of the hair, and I don't think
I'm as obnoxious. I'm just your average guy who gave Jason his hockey
mask.
Marcus::
In F13, your character loves scaring people, do you yourself like being
scared? Also are you a fan of horror movies? If so what are your favorites?
Larry::
I'm a fan of good horror movies (not so much the schlocky stuff). My
favorites are Dawn of the Dead, Dead Alive and The Thing.
Marcus::
I have read it was an unusual way of how you got the part of Shelly, how did
it happen?
Larry::
I was standing on a street corner in Westwood handing out tickets to a
screening of "The Road Warrior" when the writers (Martin
Kitrosser and Carol Watson) saw me, and thought I'd be perfect for Shelly.
The rest is history.
Marcus::
Shelly is the lovable character who plays all the jokes on people and
ends up giving Jason his now trade mark mask. How does it feel knowing
it was you who made it possible?
Larry::
I didn't have much of a film career, so it's very cool that I had
one role that had a (small) part in film history
Marcus::
What was it like filming a movie that would be in 3D?
Larry::
The 3D made it difficult. Everything took a very long time to
light and many more takes than normal. But the 3D looks
really good in the theater (much better than Spykids 3-D). If you
haven't seen the movie in 3D, you really haven't seen it.
Marcus::
Did you expect Jason would continue on wearing the hockey mask? Did you also
expect them to be still making Jason movies all these years later?
Larry:: I
don't think anyone thought that there would be Jason movies 25 years later or
that the Hockey Mask would become an iconic symbol. At the time the
film came out (in 1982) there was no horror movie that had this many sequels
(now 11).
Marcus::
.Were you a
fan of the Friday the 13th series before you got the part? Are you one now?
If so, which ones are your favorites?
Larry:: I
don't know if fan is the right word because the series hadn't really
found it's groove until the 3rd film (with Mrs Voorhees the killer in Part
1 and Potato Sack Jason in Part 2). Besides Part 3 (my biased
pick for the best of the series) I also like Parts 1 and 4.
Marcus::.
Have you seen Freddy Vs. Jason? Who did you think would win?
Larry::
I wangled an invitation to the red-carpet premiere of F v. J,
which made the film so much better. As for who would win, I
figured rooting for Jason was like rooting for the Black Spy in the Spy
v. Spy cartoon. Eventually, they're both going down.
Marcus::
Paramount is putting out the box set finally for the Friday the 13th series.
Will they be putting the 3rd back into 3D? Are you involved with any
commentaries or anything in the set?
Larry:: I
was contacted by Paramount and was one of about a dozen actors (along
with Adrienne King, Corey Feldman, Bill Butler, etc) interviewed for a
segment on the extras disc called "Survivors of Crystal Lake
Speak." I also recorded a commentary track for the Part 3 disk
along with Richard Brooker (Jason) Dana Kimmel (Chris) and Paul Kratka
(Rick). The DVD will not be in 3D, because technically, it can't
really be done right.
Marcus::.
What was your experience like as Shelly? Also, what was it like seeing
yourself on the big screen?
Larry::
Playing Shelly was a great experience. I had a fantastic time
being in the movie and it was fun to experience my 15 minutes of fame.
Seeing myself on the big screen is a little weird. It's sort of like
seeing a home movie of someone who looks like you, but isn't really you
(does that make sense?).
Marcus::
You were in
one other movie, then you became an attorney. Was that something you
always wanted to be? What can you tell us about your job?
Larry:: Well,
I wanted to be an actor, but being an attorney is a lot of fun. I have
my own practice and mostly handle copyright and entertainment law matters.
I even have some clients from the horror world such as Dan Farrands (writer
of Halloween 6) and Peter Bracke (writer of the upcoming Crystal Lake
Memories book). Visit my website at www.zernerlaw.com
to find out more. I even hid some Friday the 13th related pictures in the
website. You have to find the right icon to find the pics.
Marcus::.
What is the next step for you? Is there anything we can look for to see you
in?
Larry:: Other
than the upcoming DVD, I've given up acting for lawyering (or as Shelly
would put it, "I'm not an actor, I'm an asshole"). However,
I am working on a horror film script, and hopefully that will pan out.
Marcus::
Finally, anything to say to your fans out there?
Larry::
Well, it's hard to believe that I actually have "fans,"
but to those of you who enjoyed the movie and supported the Friday
franchise over the years, thank you very much.
There you have it folks! Larry Zerner! I want to thank Mr. Zerner for doing
the interview and I can't wait to hear his commentary on Friday the 13th
Part 3 on the new DVD box set. Be sure to check out his website at "Http://www.zernerlaw.com"
and check out the hidden page for the Friday Fans!!!
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