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"Scream" and everyone who worked on it have had a big influence in my acting and writing. Before I saw it, I had never really seen a scary movie before. I wasn't scared, I just had no interest. I remembered that my next door neighbor had every installment of both "Friday the 13th" and "Nightmare on Elm Street" movies on video. That was when we were about seven years old. Blood was something you needed a band-aid for.
I didn't want to see "Scream" when it first came out. I thought it was going to be nothing but one of those teen-movies that everybody in the world would like, just because it was trendy, kind of like a bloody "Clueless." (I've never seen "Clueless." I never will. I refuse.) I started expressing interest in the summer of '97, when it was released on video. All my friends had seen it, and were quoting it, and talking about it. The first time I saw it was in pieces. I saw the first half at a friend's house, and was too busy trying to cuddle with this sort-of-boyfriend that I had to concentrate on the movie. I had to leave at a certain time, which was about at the end of the scene where Sidney gets her first phone call. I remember thinking "This is lame, I'm so not scared…did that kid just say 'liver in the mailbox'?" Then, the tape was at my house. It had been a hot day and I wanted to go swimming in my pool in the dark. So while my friend (who I had driven home that other night) watched the rest of the movie, I was swimming. When I came in, another friend was saying "Oh, wait! I have to watch the head squoosh!" I watched the head squoosh, then left to go change and straighten myself out after getting all chlorinated. When I came back, the "liver in the mailbox" kid popped up from nowhere and said "I never thought I'd be so happy to be a virgin." I said, "What kind of movie is this, anyway?" After my friends left, I kept the tape because I wanted to see the entire thing. It sat around, and sat around, and sat around…until the time came when I got surgery done on my foot. I had the VCR in my room and was ready to watch the whole movie, without stopping. And I did. Oh, yeah. Did I mention I was on painkillers at the time? I was. The first time I watched "Scream" in its entirety I was on strong painkillers. Darvasat, to be exact. After weeks of recovery, I kept watching it and watching it, and still enjoyed it without the added, uh, effect. The first day of my senior year I had designated myself the "Scream" Queen.
And I still am. I follow the movie religiously, I light candles next to the posters I have, I dress in the black costume…no, I don't really. But I did go to a Halloween party dressed as Casey Becker, phone and all. If I'd had the time and a cheap sweater, I would have concocted quite a realistic set of intestines. When I got the boxed video set with the director/writer commentary, I kind of realized that this might be an addiction. But, damn, was I impressing people with all my new useless trivia.
Wes Craven seems like a really great director to work with. I know what it must be like, filming a scary scene over and over again; it doesn't seem scary anymore. That takes real talent between the actors and the director to work of that sense of fear, take after take. It's almost the same as rehearsing a comedic scene. After five tries, it's not funny anymore. (That's what happened when I was in "Arsenic." Obviously it's a comedy, but it's like when you say a word over and over again, it completely loses its meaning. We had so many jokes and moments that we forgot were so funny until the audience started laughing.)
Kevin Williamson had a real impact on my writing. It's hard to write something that's scary. Sure, you can picture in your mind what it could look like, but writing exactly what you think isn't easy. I've read all the different scripts for "Scream," "Scary Movie," and "Scream 2," and now I know what to do when I want to "write scary."
And, of course, the actors. Neve Campbell is my new hero. It sucks when people can't act, and they're so bad that you want them to get killed. It was great to see a horror movie heroine who was smart, funny, and human, and not just some screaming bimbo. I thought the way she was kind of suspecting Billy, but not really wanting to believe it was really well done. Her character was carried over really well in "Scream 2." It was obvious that it affected her, but hadn't really taken over her life. It could have been like "Here I am, Sidney Prescott, traumatized youth," but she was strong, and it showed. And the look of dread when she was talking to the director about "Cassandra" and how her character was destined to be the center and cause of chaos was authentic and real. Rose McGowan is just so cool. She looked like she would be the typical movie slut, but she was smart and knew what she was doing. Courtney Cox is my other hero. I read somewhere that she was told not to do "Scream" because of the bitchy character, but she was great. I really want to look like her. I'm getting red streaks when I go to college. (I'm going to start writing less because I'm writing a lot.) David Arquette was a cute little goofball. He can really act. I felt so bad for him when he was putting Gale on a guilt trip because of the book she'd written. Then I see him in interviews and award shows and he's a total whack job. He's cute, too. ("Phone head!") Skeet Ulrich was good. I appreciated him more after the commentary video because it pointed things out that I didn't notice that he did, like his looks and body language. Yeah, he played a good psycho. Matthew Lillard is a pisser. He's also quite the cutie and his cameo in "Scream 2" made my friend Jenny really excited. Kevin Williamson said that he had underwritten the part of Stu. Matthew Lillard added so much to that part, I would never have guessed that. His little improvs are cute, too. Seeing him as the killer was very unexpected, especially if you didn't pick up on the part where he said he used to date Casey Becker. And I know I went on and on about Jamie Kennedy on My Jamie Kennedy Appreciation Page, but there is one more thing I have to point out about Randy: all those third killer theories that Randy was involved in any of the murders is complete bullshit. If Randy liked Sidney so much, why would he want to do anything to hurt her? Hello…
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