Film Series…Day 5

One of my favorites is “Scream” by Wes Craven. I remember when it came out in 1996, I was so excited because I thought, “finally, some horror movies again!” Here are some fun facts about the film:

–Cameo: [Linda Blair] the reporter who says, “People want to know, they have a right to know.”

–To keep Drew Barrymore looking scared and crying, director Wes Craven kept telling her real life stories about animal cruelty. She is a keen animal lover in real life.

–Wes Craven found the mask in a store while location-scouting in California.

–When the killer smashes his head through a window and Casey hits him in the face with the phone, Wes Craven is actually wearing the costume and was really hit in the face.

–Rose McGowan discovered that she could actually fit through a pet flap.

–Drew Barrymore was originally cast as Sidney Prescott (eventually played by Neve Campbell). But Drew Barrymore insisted that if she played Casey then it would make the audience think anything could happen.

–The film was originally to be shot at a high school in Santa Rosa, CA, but after the school board read the script they objected to the violent nature and production was moved to Healdsburg, CA.

–The special effects artists used about 50 gallons of blood.

–Tatum’s house is right across the street from the house in Santa Rosa, California used in Pollyanna (1960). It is also across the street from the house used in Alfred Hitchcock’s Shadow of a Doubt (1943). The house in the opening scene was next door to the house used in Cujo (1983).

–Being a favorite of the writer Kevin Williamson, Molly Ringwald was offered the role of Sydney Prescott, but turned it down, saying she’d rather not be playing a high school student at the age of 27.

–These are the horror film rules as stated in the movie:
– 1. You will not survive if you have sex
– 2. You will not survive if you drink or do drugs
– 3. You will not survive if you say “I’ll be right back”
– 4. Everyone is a suspect.
Two additional rules come from the killer:
– 5. You will not survive if you ask “Who’s there?”
– 6. You will not survive if you go out to investigate a strange noise.

–Reese Witherspoon turned down the lead role.

–The MPAA wanted to cut out the graphic shot of the killer stabbing Casey Becker at the beginning, but director Wes Craven claimed it was the only take of it they had filmed (which wasn’t true). The shot remained intact.