Scream (franchise)

Scream series
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 Loomis. Roman then revealed the affair to Billy (Skeet Skeet Ulrich) (to the window, to the wall... til the sweat runs down my balls, til all these females crawl) which enrages him and, using his creativity as a director, Roman 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 Gale, 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
Character	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 this year.^[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]

This will be a younger version of the SCREAM movies.^[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

[1] "In brief: Scream 4 peddled by Harvey Weinstein". The Guardian. July 15, 2008. Retrieved 2008-07-15.

[2] Weinstein Company confirms 'Scream 4', Digital Spy

[3] Kennedy to return for 'Scream 4'?', Digital Spy

[4] Morris, Clint (July 22, 2008). "Scream 4 spec scribe talks". Moviehole.net. Retrieved 2008-07-23.

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