5 Behind The Scenes Facts About The ‘Scream’ Franchise

TV & Film

Aug 29

It’s been a few weeks since it was announced that Scream VII was officially greenlit, and we still can’t stop talking about it! The franchise is one of the most well-known horror franchises of all time, and it forever changed the way audiences would look at slasher movies. It gave us the iconic Westboro Four and Ghostface and was the first film to lay out the rules for surviving a horror movie. Whether you’re a newer fan or you’ve been around since the beginning, I bet there are a few things about the franchise you don’t know. Let’s take a look at five interesting behind-the-scenes facts about the Scream franchise! WARNING: This article will contain spoilers for the Scream franchise!!

5. The Mask

While fans can’t imagine the killers in Scream wearing anything but the iconic Ghostface mask, it turns out that the mask was almost changed! Producer Bob Weinstein hated the mask and told Wes’ team that he thought it was a joke. Wes and his team loved the mask because it had been found in a woman’s attic, so it wasn’t something that everyone had. They also felt that it looked just like the face in Munch’s The Scream which fit perfectly with the film. After a fight ensued over the mask, Wes’ team decided to cut together some footage to show how well the mask worked, and the rest is history!

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4. The Search For A Director

Wes Craven is a household name for all horror fans, and it is impossible to imagine anyone other than Wes directing Scream – but it almost didn’t happen! After he suffered some box office disappointments, he refused to direct any more slasher films. Kevin Williamson had written the script and Dimension had purchased it, but they couldn’t find a director for the project. After Wes read the script, he admitted that it was good but still refused to attach himself to it. It took his assistant telling him that they really wanted him for him to agree that if the studio made him an offer he “couldn’t refuse” then he would do it. The offer was made, and Wes directed one of the best horror movies of all time.

3. It’s Based On A True Story!

Screenwriter Kevin Williamson said that he got the idea for the film after watching a documentary about the Gainesville Ripper. Williamson revealed that he was housesitting when he watched the documentary and later found a window open that he knew he had closed. He says that he spent the rest of the night with a knife in hand searching the home. This wasn’t a fact that was revealed until last year when Discovery released Scream: The True Story. The Gainesville Ripper was the name given to serial killer Daniel “Danny” Harold Rolling after he murdered five college students over four days in 1990.

2. Who Is Ghostface?

Wes Craven is known for his twists especially where the Scream franchise is concerned. During filming for Scream 4, movie leaks were on the rise thanks to social media becoming more and more popular. To make sure that no one could leak information about the film, Wes Craven had every actor film a Ghostface reveal so that no one could know who was really Ghostface before the film’s premiere. This was utilized again with the newest installment, Scream VI. Fans on TikTok had figured out the killers’ identities before Scream (2022)’s release and the filmmakers wanted to make sure that didn’t happen again. They definitely succeeded because the newest film has the best act three, second only to the original.

1. Battle For Gale Weathers

The casting for the original film is so flawless that it is impossible to imagine anyone else playing the iconic characters. During an interview with Entertainment Tonight, Courtney Cox revealed that she had to fight for her role as Gale Weathers. She was known for playing Monica Geller on Friends for two years, and no one could picture her as a rude and assertive journalist. Cox revealed that she actually sent a letter to Wes Craven promising that she could do the role.

You can stream the entire Scream franchise on Paramount +.

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