Scream (franchise)
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Scream series | |
---|---|
Directed by | Wes Craven |
Written by | Kevin Williamson Ehren Kruger |
Starring | Neve Campbell David Arquette Courteney Cox-Arquette Jamie Kennedy |
Music by | Marco Beltrami |
Distributed by | Dimension Films The Weinstein Company |
Release date | 1996 - 2010 |
Running time | 348 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Box office | $507,244,240 |
The Scream film series is a series of horror films directed by Wes Craven and written by Kevin Williamson which begin in 1996. The main plot involves a psychopathic serial killer wearing a Halloween costume attempting to kill Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell) and various other characters involved in her life. Each film begins with the gory murder of a couple and takes off from there leading to the revelation of the killer's identity and the final battle between Sidney and the killer. They revitalized the slasher film genre in the mid 1990s, in a similar way to Halloween (1978) in the 1970s, by using a standard concept with a tongue-in-cheek approach that successfully combined straightforward scares with dialogue that satirized slasher film conventions. The first film became a major commercial success upon its release, and was one of the highest grossing films of 1996. It was also highly acclaimed by many critics worldwide, who appreciated the film's tongue-in-cheek approach. It received an 84% rating at rottentomatoes.com. The combined average of the three films' ratings is a 'fresh' 67%.
Plot summary
Throughout the films (specifically the first and third film), parts of a back story were revealed that occurred before the first film. As it turns out, Maureen Roberts (Lynn McRee) went to L.A to become an actress. She played in three horror films using the name Rina Reynolds. At one particular Hollywood party, she was gang raped by movie insiders and became pregnant with Roman Bridger (Scott Foley). After giving birth, Maureen left Hollywood as well as Roman and went back home to Woodsboro, where she met and married Neil Prescott (Lawrence Hecht). They then had a daughter named Sidney. Meanwhile, Roman grew up wondering what had happened to his mother.
When Sidney was around 16, Roman found Maureen (Rina) and went to her, hoping to spend some time with her only to find out Rina Reynolds no longer existed and that she had a new life, with no interest in digging up old secrets (Roman said she told him he was Rina's son and wanted nothing to do with him). This enraged Roman who followed her incessantly, (sometimes video recording her activities) learning that she wasn't the perfect wife and mother she pretended to be; she was engaged in several affairs with local men, including: Cotton Weary (Liev Schreiber), and more surprisingly, Hank Loomis (C.W. Morgan), father of Sidney's boyfriend Billy. Roman then revealed the affair to Billy (Skeet Ulrich) and, using his creativity as a director, persuaded him to kill Maureen and frame Cotton. With the help of his friend Stu Macher (Matthew Lillard), Billy does as instructed, and together they murder Maureen. Sidney, having witnessed someone wearing Cotton Weary's jacket, testifies that she saw Weary leave the house and Cotton is subsequently incarcerated. In the first film, Billy and Stu continue their murderous rampage, stalking other people who they feel have wronged them such as Casey Becker (Drew Barrymore) who previously dumped Stu for another guy. They begin killing Sidney's friends as part of a game whereby their actions mimic the cliche "rules" of horror movies, and although they intend to isolate Sidney and kill her as well, they are discovered by reporter Gale Weathers (Courtney Cox) who manages to help Sidney thwart and kill her attackers. In the second film, during the height of fame (thanks to a book and subsequent movies based on the Woodsboro Murders) Billy's mother (Laurie Metcalf) is the killer, seeking revenge on Sidney, and she coerces one of Sidney's film student friends, Mickey Altieri (Timothy Olyphant), into helping her. In the end, both are killed. In the third film, while filming of the latest Stab movie commences in Hollywood, Roman begins slaughtering members of the film crew in order to draw Sidney out of hiding, and seeks retribution for the life that should have been his. She mortally wounds him and Dewey Riley (David Arquette) shoots him in the head.
Cast/Characters
List indicator(s)
- A dark grey cell indicates the character did not appear in the film.
Character | Film | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
Scream | Scream 2 | Scream 3 | ||
Deputy Dwight "Dewey" Riley | David Arquette | |||
Sidney Prescott | Neve Campbell | |||
Gale Weathers | Courteney Cox Arquette | |||
Randy Meeks | Jamie Kennedy | |||
Cotton Weary | Liev Schreiber | |||
Reporter | Nancy O'Dell | |||
Maureen Roberts-Prescott | Lynn McRee (uncredited photograph in Scream 2) | |||
Neil Prescott | Lawrence Hencht | (character mentioned in Scream 2) | Lawrence Hencht | |
Hank Loomis | C. W. Morgan | C. W. Morgan | ||
Stuart "Stu" Macher | Matthew Lillard | (character mentioned in Scream 2 and Scream 3) | ||
Tatum Riley | Rose McGowan | (character mentioned in Scream 2 and Scream 3) | ||
Billy Loomis | Skeet Ulrich | (character mentioned in Scream 2 and Scream 3) | ||
Kenny | W. Earl Brown | (character mentioned in Scream 2) | ||
Sheriff Burke | Joseph Whipp | |||
Casey Becker | Drew Barrymore | (character mentioned in Scream 2) | ||
Steven Orth | Kevin Patrick Walls | (character mentioned in Scream 2) | ||
Principal Himbry | Henry Winkler | (character mentioned in Scream 2) | ||
Casey "Cici" Cooper | Sarah Michelle Gellar | |||
Mrs. Loomis | (character mentioned in Scream) | Laurie Metcalf | ||
Hallie McDaniel | Elise Neal | |||
Derek | Jerry O'Connell | (character referenced in Scream 3) | ||
Mickey | Timothy Olyphant | |||
Maureen Evans | Jada Pinkett | |||
Chief Lewis Hartley | Lewis Arquette | |||
Joel | Duane Martin | |||
Sorority Sister Lois | Rebecca Gayheart | |||
Sorority Sister Murphy | Portia de Rossi | |||
Phil Stevens | Omar Epps | |||
Officer Andrews | Philip Pavel | |||
Officer Richards | Chris Doyle | |||
Detective Mark Kincaid | Patrick Dempsey | |||
Roman Bridger | Scott Foley | |||
John Milton | Lance Henriksen | |||
Tom Prinze | Matt Keeslar | |||
Sarah Darling | Jenny McCarthy | |||
Angelina Tyler | Emily Mortimer | |||
Jennifer Jolie | Parker Posey | |||
Tyson Fox | Deon Richmond | |||
Christine Hamilton | Kelly Rutherford | |||
Steven Stone | Patrick Warburton |
Films
Scream (1996)
Scream 2 (1997)
Scream 3 (2000)
Scream 4 (2010)
A fourth installment of the horror franchise has been announced and will start filming early in 2009.[1] The press release described the film as "re-starting the Scream franchise," which has been regarded as indication of a new cast and the concept of further films to be produced in the future.[2] Jamie Kennedy has since told iFMagazine that he may reprise his role as Randy Meeks in the fourth film, despite his character having previously been killed off in the second film of the trilogy. He also claimed that the rest of the cast would be a mixture of new characters with "old faces that you wouldn’t believe," and that the film will only go ahead with the involvement of director Wes Craven. In another interview, Kennedy stated that Bob Weinstein wants everyone to return, saying "Bob wants us all to return for another film... I don't know how I'd return, but he wants me back."[3] In a recent interview with tentative script writer Michael T. Kennedy, he stated that most of the old characters, including Sidney Prescott, have been written into the script. On December 13th 2008, Michael T. Kennedy confirmed that his manager is still awaiting a response from the Weinsteins regarding whether or not they will use his script - all that is known at present is that they are still looking over the material.On December 25th 2008 Parts of Michael s Treatment appeared on Ghostface.co.uk,Michael Confirmed it was his material and it involved a quick catch up with Sidney Prescott as a counselor at Woodsboro high,and a Scene with a new character called "Hattie"[4]
References
- ^ "In brief: Scream 4 peddled by Harvey Weinstein". The Guardian. July 15, 2008. Retrieved 2008-07-15.
- ^ Weinstein Company confirms 'Scream 4', Digital Spy
- ^ Kennedy to return for 'Scream 4'?', Digital Spy
- ^ Morris, Clint (July 22, 2008). "Scream 4 spec scribe talks". Moviehole.net. Retrieved 2008-07-23.
External links