Jason Voorhees not a villain." Jason Voorhees went from deceased child to full-grown man for "Friday the 13th Part 2", and Warrington Gillette was hired to play the role. Gillette auditioned for the role of Paul; that role eventually went to John Furey. Under the belief that he had attended the Hollywood Stuntman's School, Gillette was offered the role of Jason Voorhees.<ref name="Cast/Design">Bracke, pp. 60–65</ref> Initially Gillette was unsure about the character, but the idea of starring in his first film grew on Gillette, and he also thought the role was amusing. It became apparent Gillette could not perform the necessary stunts,
Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan distributed by New Line Cinema. The film, like several of its predecessors, was intended to be the final film in the series. Filming took place primarily in Vancouver, British Columbia, with additional photography in New York City's Times Square and in Los Angeles. At the time of its production, "Jason Takes Manhattan" was the most expensive film in the series, with a budget of around $5 million. It received substantial attention for its initial marketing campaign, featuring Jason Voorhees slashing through the "I Love New York" logo with a knife, which was later retracted after the New York City Tourism