James Thomas Trenton (1958- ) is an American actor, writer, producer and director. Trenton is best known for co-creating the Friday The 13th series along with Sean S. Cunningham as well as co-producing several films based on Hasbro's line of Transformers and GI: JOE toys. He has been married to actress Melissa Gilbert since 1985.
Early Life[]
Thomas Trenton was born on March 15, 1958 in Los Angeles, California. The only son of Wilhelmina "Willy" Trenton (née Brown), a chef and restaurateur, and Charles Trenton, a studio executive and producer at Paramount Studios. He was raised as a Roman Catholic, but became a stout atheist later in life. The third of four siblings, he has three sisters: Elizabeth, Bernadette, and Rosaline. A fifth child, a boy, named Jason died in infancy.
Trenton first stepped on stage at age 11 after his English teacher offered him the lead role in a school play, which he accepted because the girl he was attracted to was starring in it. It was considered a success by the school and class. From then on, he kept acting in school productions until graduation.
Trenton, known on the Paramount lot as "Chuck's son", had privileged access during those times. He became friends with future co-producer Frank Mancuso, Jr. son of Frank Mancuso, Sr. who was an executive at the time (Later to become CEO of Paramount). For his fourteenth birthday he received a typewriter and began writing spec scripts for movies at this time. In 1977, after having seen Star Wars he told his family that he wanted to make movies for a living. His parents encouraged Trenton in his efforts, rather than discourage him.
After his older sister was attacked by two men later that year, he overheard his mother proclaim that she wanted to kill the men who mugged her daughter. That was the seed which would morph into the first draft of Friday The 13th. Conceiving an idea where after her son drowned in a New York high-rise, a woman goes on a murder spree against those she felt responsible. Upon completion, and following his father's advice, he registered the finished draft with the Writer's Guild of America.
Career[]
Friday The 13th[]
- Main article: Friday The 13th (Franchise)
Not long after having completed the script, producer Sean S. Cunningham contacted Trenton offering to pay for the title which Cunningham had hoped to use for a new film. Trenton declined, but the two began talking and Trenton suggested a meeting to see if they could combine their efforts.
Friday the 13th did not even have a completed script when Sean S. Cunningham took out this advertisement in International Variety magazine.
At the meeting Cunningham revealed a 5 page treatment about a group of isolated teenagers being stalked in a summer camp. The initial story had been titled "Long Night at Camp Blood", but Cunningham wanted to change it to Friday The 13th. Inspired by the recent success of John Carpenter's Halloween (1978), Cunningham wanted Friday the 13th to be shocking, visually stunning, and "[make] you jump out of your seat". Distancing himself from The Last House on the Left, Cunningham wanted Friday the 13th to be more of a "roller coaster ride".
Believing they could combine their efforts, a deal was made. Trenton wanted to act and learn production, and Cunningham would be the producer and director. Combing story elements from both scripts, using the locale of the campgrounds and the elements of a murderous mother, a finished second draft was completed in June of 1979. The film was shot in and around the townships of Blairstown and Hope, New Jersey in the fall (September) of 1979. The camp scenes were shot on a working Boy Scout camp, Camp No-Be-Bo-Sco. The camp is still standing and still works as a summer camp. With the aid of Trenton's father, a distribution deal was made with Paramount Pictures and Warner Bros.
Following the success of Friday the 13th in 1980, Paramount Pictures immediately acquired the worldwide distribution rights. According to Paramount Pictures Chairman and CEO Frank Mancuso, Sr., "We wanted it to be an event, where teenagers would flock to the theaters on that Friday night to see the latest episode." Initial ideas for a sequel involved the Friday the 13th title being used for a series of discontinuous films, released once a year, and each would be a separate "scary movie" of its own right. On the advice of his father, Trenton (along with Cunningham) had negotiated sequel and character rights for the series. A suggestion after news of the firing of George Lucas on Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back, which happened when Lucas was unable to procure sequel rights to his creation.
Phil Scuderi—a co-owner of Esquire Theaters with Steve Minasian and Bob Barsamian and a producer of the original film—insisted that the sequel must have Jason Voorhees, Pamela's son, assuming her duties as antagonist. Cunningham opted out of the sequel, but Trenton and Steve Miner, associate producer of the first film, believed in the idea, and began developing the series on those lines. Miner ultimately directed the first two sequels after Cunningham did not return to the director's chair.
The studio continued to generate sequels over the years, based on the financial success they produced compared to their relatively low budgets. With every film repeating the same basic premise, the filmmakers came up with subtle adjustments so the audience would return. Changes involved the addition of a subtitle—as opposed to a number to differentiate each entry—like "The Return of Jason Voorhees" and "Jason Takes Manhattan", or filming the movie in 3-D, as Miner did for Friday the 13th 3D. The third film would also be the birthplace of one of the most recognizable images in popular culture, that of Jason's hockey mask.
Producer Frank Mancuso, Jr. and Trenton eventually decided to kill Jason for good after six films. Trenton to that point had written and starred in every film and was anxious to move on. Mancuso Jr. as well experienced problems finding new films to produce that were more than just horror movies, because his name brought constant association to the Friday the 13th film series.
Despite The Death of Jason Voorhees, it's success led to The Resurrection of Jason Voorhees which shifted the focus of the story to the new and improved zombie Jason as lead. Trenton had little to do with most of the sequels, opting to leave it in the hands of others. He was brought back for part 8, but left shortly thereafter. At the urging of Cunningham, Trenton came back to write and produce Freddy vs. Jason which saved it from development hell.
| "...I just was in a good mood, trash talking Kane (Hodder) who was at another booth promoting his own stuff, and it hit me. I missed Jason, I missed the whole thing and I thought it would be fun to do it with Kane. A part of me always hated the zombie Jason so it was sort of cathartic..." |
| — Thomas Trenton (on where the idea came from) |
The original Friday the 13th had been produced and directed by Sean S. Cunningham and written by Thomas Trenton. Aside from co-producing Freddy vs. Jason, the two had not formally worked together since 1979.
For 2013, Trenton returned to the role of Jason Voorhees after being asked the obvious fan question of which Jason would defeat the other in battle. He created a story that pitted three versions of the character in a battle, using the Jason X persona and the futuristic setting to help with story difficulties by using fantastical non-existent technologies. Jason vs Jason X vs Jason was a major success and the highest grossing film to date in the series.
Two years later Trenton approached Cunningham with a new take on the series, showing a visibly aged Jason who has been locked away for the past 34 years, retconning all films, past the third one, out of existence. Cunningham read the script and enjoyed it. Upon the insistence of Trenton (who was busy with other projects) Cunningham agreed to direct a second film in the series, his first in 35 years allowing Trenton to focus on producing and again playing the role of Jason Voorhees. Bruce Greenwood, Julie Michaels and (in her final acting performance) Betsy Palmer all returned to reprise their original roles.
Though he hasn't ruled out returning to the series, Trenton noted that his advanced age made it a lot harder to do some of the stunt work and he admitted to using a stunt double on the last two films.
Transformers & G.I. Joe[]
In 2002, Trenton joined forces with Steven Spielberg and DreamWorks Pictures by obtaining live-action film rights to Hasbro's Transformers and GI: Joe properties. Trenton pictured a shared cinematic universe between the two narratives and began work on writing a series of story treatments to illustrate this.
Trenton suggested a second director to handle the Transformers films, as he had chosen to direct the series he was more interested in. That of GI: JOE. Michael Bay was picked by Spielberg personally to helm the Transformers films. The first of which would be released in 2005. Trenton remained as the writer and producer for the film, dividing his attention with the first of the Joe series GI JOE: Rise of Cobra which was released the following year in 2006. Trenton assumed the role of General Clayton "Hawk" Abernathy and has been writer and director for the entire Joe series of films.
The success of both films allowed for the creation of his Transformers/GI JOE cinematic world and more sequels followed. Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen in 2007 and GI JOE: Retaliation in 2008. Transformers: Dark of the Moon in 2010. GI JOE: The Coil Initiative in 2011.
The fourth film in the Transformers series Transformers: Age of Extinction was released in 2014, after delays for the planned crossover film plagued the production. Spielberg, Trenton and Bay decided to make "Age of Extinction" first and Trenton teased fans for the expected crossover by doing a cameo as General Clayton "Hawk" Abernathy.
Filming began in 2015 for a release of the following year. The title for GI JOE vs Transformers was announced at Comic-Con 2015 which included a teaser trailer. Trenton will return in the role of General Abernathy and his co-writing the movie and directing. The film was released on June 22, 2016. It performed extremely well at the box-office, but failed to live up to the more recent results from the previous movies. Trenton and Spielberg both tired of the franchise and Hasbro used an contractual option to take over the series.
Other Work[]
Upon completion of Friday the 13th: The Death of Jason Voorhees in 1986, Trenton attempted to get away from his horror roots. With producing partner Frank Mancuso, Jr. he wrote and directed the meta-horror film April Fool's Day (1986 film). Though a modest hit, it still was hard for Trenton to be thought of other than a "horror" actor-director. He took time off to work on a writing project that would eventually evolve into the film Ghost, though Trenton would not be given an opportunity to direct the project, as he had hoped.
The next big boost in his career came when he was chosen to direct the hit The Addams Family and its sequel Addams Family Values. He re-teamed with producer Frank Mancuso Jr. for the 1995 science-fiction thriller Species. While Mancuso, Jr. would turn that film into a new franchise, Trenton would decline working on any of the sequels. Joining forces with John Carpenter for the first time, he was an associate producer on Escape From L.A. and played the role of Kill Baby.
His biggest post-Friday the 13th success up to this point would be 1998's Deep Impact. He co-wrote and directed the disaster film and it was his biggest success. Taking in $349.4 million at the box office.
Personal Life[]
Trenton met his future wife Melissa Gilbert at a party in 1973. He was 15 and she was 9. Melissa has said that she was in love at first sight of Trenton. Trenton considered her a nuisance, but still a sweet kid. A friendship grew out of that first meeting and by the time she had turned 15, they went on their first date (with her father's permission).
It was during this time that Trenton had been developing the first draft of Friday The 13th and Melissa asked if she could join the cast. After many discussions with Michael Landon, NBC and her parents, they agreed to let her appear in the film. The only condition they had was; "No nudity, no swearing, no death on screen."
Trenton and Melissa continued to date for years and married on February 14, 1985 when Melissa was 21 and Trenton was 27. The couple have four children; Charles Jason (b. 1987), Nancy Alison (b. 1989), Paul Michael (b. 1992) and Agatha Jane (b. 1995). The couple celebrated their thirtieth wedding anniversary on February 14, 2015.
Filmography[]
| Year | Title | Production Role | Role |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1980 | Friday The 13th | Writer | Jason Voorhees |
| 1981 | Friday The 13th: The Return of Jason Voorhees | Writer, Producer | Jason Voorhees |
| 1982 | Friday The 13th: 3D or Trial of Jason Voorhees | Writer, Producer | Jason Voorhees |
| 1984 | Friday the 13th: Camp Blood | Writer, Director | Jason Voorhees |
| 1985 | Friday the 13th: The Revenge of Jason Voorhees | Writer, Director | Jason Voorhees |
| 1986 | Friday the 13th: The Death of Jason Voorhees | Writer, Director | Jason Voorhees |
| 1986 | April Fool's Day | Writer, Director | "Buck" The Make-Up Artist |
| 1989 | Friday the 13th: Jason Takes Manhattan | Story only | N/A |
| 1990 | Ghost | writer | N/A |
| 1991 | The Addams Family | writer, director | N/A |
| 1993 | Addams Family Values | writer, director | N/A |
| 1995 | Species | writer, director | N/A |
| 1996 | Escape From L.A. | Associate Producer | Kill Baby |
| 1998 | Deep Impact | Co-writer, director | Dr. Marcus Wolf |
| 2003 | Freddy vs. Jason | Writer, Executive Producer | N/A |
| 2005 | Transformers | Writer, Producer | N/A |
| 2006 | GI JOE: Rise of Cobra | Writer, Director | General Clayton "Hawk" Abernathy |
| 2007 | Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen | Co-Writer, Producer | N/A |
| 2008 | GI JOE: Retaliation | Writer, Director | General Clayton "Hawk" Abernathy |
| 2010 | Transformers: Dark of the Moon | Co-Writer, Producer | N/A |
| 2011 | GI JOE: The Coil Initiative | Writer, Director | General Clayton "Hawk" Abernathy |
| 2013 | Jason vs Jason X vs Jason | Writer, Producer, Director | Jason Voorhees |
| 2014 | Transformers: Age of Extinction | Writer, Producer | General Clayton "Hawk" Abernathy (Cameo) |
| 2015 | Friday The 13th: Jason's Legacy | Writer, Producer | Jason Voorhees |
| 2016 | GI JOE vs Transformers | Writer, Director | General Clayton "Hawk" Abernathy |