A new Scream tell-all book revealed surprising details about franchise salaries, firings and behind-the-scenes drama.
Ashley Cullins’ book Your Favorite Scary Movie: How the Scream Films Rewrote the Rules of Horror, released on August 19, featured brand-new interviews from Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox, David Arquette, Kevin Williamson, Skeet Ulrich, Matthew Lillard, Jack Quaid, Parker Posey, Hayden Panettiere, Jasmin Savoy Brown, Mason Gooding, Radio Silence, Roger L. Jackson and more, all detailing what went into making the beloved horror franchise.
Inspired by a real-life series of murders in Florida, Scream followed a group of high school students as they tried to survive — and uncover — a serial killer in a mask, a.k.a Ghostface. As the Scream series found success, it expanded to include six more films and even a TV series.
Keep scrolling for the biggest revelations about what went into bringing Scream to life from Your Favorite Scary Movie, out now:
Scream’s All-Star Cast Through the Years
Offers for ‘Scream’
Williamson revealed that there were numerous offers to purchase Scream, but Paramount allegedly pulled back “once it went over the $300,000 mark.” The bidding continued, hitting $450,000 and then ultimately $650,000.
Rose McGowan’s Paycheck
McGowan, who played Tatum, was offered $50,000 for the role, but her attorney demanded triple that amount.
“All of a sudden, this man named Harvey Weinstein that I’d never heard of got involved and they rescinded the offer,” she recalled of the disgraced producer, currently serving a 23-year sentence in a New York prison after being convicted on charges of criminal sex act and rape in the third degree. “Then they made me do more screen tests even though I’d already had the offer.”
The Reality of Making the 1st Film
Despite playing one of the OG killers, Lillard said he “probably cleared $11,000 to $12,000 for a month of work.”
The book also highlighted the challenges of getting permission to film at Santa Rosa High School. The district school board pulled back their involvement after a public debate about violence in movies, which led to a request for $10,000 in payment — an amount that was later increased to $30,000. Scream was ultimately filmed at the Sonoma Community Center for a fee of $27,000.
Various Firings Throughout the Franchise
Director Wes Craven, who directed the first four films before his 2016 death, almost got fired just a week into filming Scream when Dimension Films head Bob Weinstein was concerned about the raw footage shot in the first week. (The decision was walked back when Bob saw a cut-together scene that showed more of the final version of Scream.)
The original cinematographer for the first Scream movie was fired a week before filming wrapped. There were conflicting reports about whether Mark Irwin’s shots were out of focus, which was the reason given for his dismissal.
“When Wes passed away, Hollywood Reporter, Variety, they asked, ‘Any last impressions, fond memories?’ Nobody ever quoted me, but I said, ‘I knew Wes was my friend because he stabbed me in the front as opposed to the back,’” Irwin shared in the book. “And that’s what he did. With a straight face, to point to a screen and say, ‘That’s out of focus.’ First of all, it’s not out of focus, and second of all, it ended up in the goddamn movie.”
Irwin continued, “They threw me to the wolves, saying that two weeks of my work was bad, which was an absolute fallacy. They got two weeks’ worth of reshoot money, and I know that they didn’t reshoot anything because the guys that took over the show are friends of mine. They just needed the money to finish the movie. Wes needed that lifeline to save his career and it did.”
“That was the moment that changed everything for my relationship with Dimension, and that story has never been told. I was never going to tell that story ever, but that’s the truth. That’s what happened,” Williamson said. “It’s legendary that I had a big fight with the studio. That’s where it all started. I said, ‘I need to get out. Let me just walk away: That’s when I negotiated my way out of my overall deal with Dimension. I gave up all my rights to Scream. I gave up any sort of first refusal, or any other rights that typically a writer has. I gave them up so that I could walk free out the door.”
Producer Cathy Konrad also had a falling out with Bob between Scream 3 and Scream 4. She was not brought back for the fourth film, and only learned she was no longer involved via various news outlets.
“I sued them,” Konrad recalled about the lawsuit that was settled out of court. “That was a pretty controversial time for myself and my career. I was really pushing back quite hard with the brothers. I had a lot of other things going on, and they always liked to make things difficult. My experience with 4, it wasn’t a shining time for me.”
Which OG Stars Are Returning for ‘Scream VII’? What the Cast Has Said
Most Shocking Exits
After Radio Silence members Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett were brought on to direct Scream 5, they also faced a few roadblocks when scheduling issues with their film Abigail led to them exiting the seventh film.
Scream 5 also introduced protagonists Sam (Melissa Barrera) and Tara Carpenter (Jenna Ortega) but Ortega, 22, left ahead of Scream 7 due to scheduling conflicts and Barrera, 35, was fired after being vocal about her support for Palestine amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Palestine.
Your Favorite Scary Movie revealed that Ortega’s exit “managed to stay secret for several months” before coming out shortly after Barrera’s exit made headlines.
“Based on the way people were talking about the project in the early fall, I suspect they thought she’d change her mind and at least make a quick cameo in the form of a FaceTime call,” the book noted. “In late November [2023], right after the SAG-AFTRA strike ended, it became clear that wasn’t going to happen.”
Scream 7 director Christopher Landon also addressed his own exit, saying, “I made my decision to walk away about a week after they fired [Melissa]. There was no movie anymore. The whole script was about her. I didn’t sign on to make a Scream movie. I signed on to make that movie. When that movie no longer existed, I moved on.”
Neve Campbell’s Exit — And Return
Campbell rose to stardom after starring as Sidney Prescott in the slasher films, but subsequently didn’t return for the sixth film after rejecting the studio’s salary offer.
“I knew I wouldn’t be able to walk on set feeling disrespected. I knew I wouldn’t be able to walk on set feeling that I hadn’t respected myself. And I knew I wouldn’t be able to walk on set if I wasn’t being paid what I deserve after decades of doing these films,” Campbell shared in the tell-all. “I love these movies and the idea of them carrying on without me made me sad, but it wasn’t worth feeling disrespected. So, I didn’t watch the movie, and I didn’t pay any attention to how it was doing. I love all those actors. I have no ill will towards anybody who made the movie. I’m happy for anyone who gets to be a part of these films. But, for me, it wasn’t the right decision to go and be in the film. And now, in the end, it’s come back around and I’m very grateful.”
Campbell has since returned ahead of the seventh Scream installment. Your Favorite Scary Movie offered a glimpse into her financial negotiations.
“I had big conversations with the studio when they approached me about it. We had some apologies, and we had some honesty, and that was really great. So I feel good about coming back,” Campbell added. “When they approached me, they said, ‘We’re going to come with a number that is starting in a much more appropriate place.’ Then we negotiated and we got to where we needed to be, which is what should have happened on 6, but it’s OK. We live and learn.”
Plans for ‘Scream 7’
After returning for Scream 7, Campbell revealed she had some concerns when filming the fifth movie when Sam brutally stabbed one of the killers. She said it stopped feeling like Scream, which influenced the story she was hoping to see told in Scream 7.
“Neve wants to go back to the first one and find the suspense and really concentrate on scary and not bloody,” Williamson teased. “She was smart. She goes, ‘This is the time to do it because we’re moving away from New York. We’re going back to Sidney’s life. This is the time to reset a little bit. And I’m like, ‘Yup, let’s do it.’”
Campbell explained that while Scream 7 would be a whodunit it would go beyond that. At the center of the film would be Sidney — who fans shouldn’t worry about seeing get killed off on screen.
“I have made it very clear, I think publicly too, that Sidney has been through so much torment, and she has been through so much trauma, that to give her anything less than a happy ending is mean,” Williamson added. “It’s just sacrilegious.”
Campbell, meanwhile, teased how Sidney’s family would play a large role.
“Think about how challenging it would be to make the choice to even have a child if you were Sidney Prescott. Then, if you did have children, the stress and fear that you would live under about your history coming back to you,” Campbell said. “I don’t want to give it away, but how she chooses to parent is a big choice and perhaps different than how others might.”
