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Tag: Courtney Cox

Joel McHale Joins ‘Scream 7’
Joel McHale as Jeff Winger on NBC’s ‘Community.’ Photo courtesy of NBC.com.

Preview:
- Joel McHale is joining the ‘Scream’ franchise.
- He’ll play Sidney Prescott’s husband.
- Original writer Kevin Williamson is on board to direct.
McDreamy is out. Say hello to… McSnarky?

No, we are not having a stroke. The news has broken via Deadline that Joel McHale is the latest addition to ‘Scream 7.’ And he’s reportedly playing Sidney Prescott’s (Neve Campbell) husband.
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But in this case, it’s not Detective Mark Kincaid, the character that Sidney met in ‘Scream 3,’ and who was played by Patrick Dempsey, and since married. Instead, it seems Sidney will be married to a man named Mark Evans, as that’s who McHale is now on set playing.

With production having ramped up in Atlanta, Campbell is back as Sidney alongside the likes of Courtney Cox (her co-star and fellow ‘Scream’ co-star, who is back as reporter/author Gale Weathers) and Mason Gooding as Chad Meeks-Martin, and Jasmin Savoy Brown as Mindy Meeks-Martin, as reported by Variety, as well as newcomers Isabel May, Celeste O’Connor, Asa Germann, Mckenna Grace, Sam Rechner and Anna Camp.

What’s the story of ‘Scream 7’?

Neve Campbell (“Sidney Prescott”) stars in Paramount Pictures and Spyglass Media Group’s “Scream.”

There are no details yet on what the latest film will feature, though given that Campbell is back as Prescott and May is playing her daughter, you know it’ll factor into the Prescott family.

Obviously, there has been a change to Sidney’s situation, and she’s now gotten remarried. The stress of having survived so many encounters with Ghostface, perhaps?

Kevin Williamson, who wrote the original ‘Scream’ and some of its sequels, has stepped up to direct this latest installment.

Related Article: Courteney Cox’s Gale Weathers Will be Back to Confront Ghostface for ‘Scream 7’

What has happened with ‘Scream 7’ so far?

Director Matt Bettinelli-Olpin, left, and Director Tyler Gillett on the set of Paramount Pictures and Spyglass Media Group’s ‘Scream VI.’

To this point, the development of the next ‘Scream’ installment has been more trouble than a scorned lover throwing on a cloak and a Ghostface mask to hunt their friends.

Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett effectively rebooted the ‘Scream’ franchise with 2002’s ‘Scream’ and followed it up with 2023’s ‘Scream VI’, opted to move on after their second effort, choosing instead to make vampire movie ‘Abigail’, which arrived last year.

Production company Spyglass Media Group found a suitable replacement in Christopher Landon, who previously directed the ‘Happy Death Day’ movies and ‘Freaky’, but then things started to go wrong.

Melissa Barrera fired from ‘Scream VII’

(L to R) Melissa Barrera (Sam Carpenter) and Jenna Ortega (Tara Carpenter) stars in Paramount Pictures and Spyglass Media Group’s ‘Scream VI.’

Melissa Barrera was dropped from the franchise for social media posts supporting Palestine in the tragic, ongoing war between Israel and Hamas.

While calling for a cease fire in the conflict might not seem all that controversial, some of the reposts on Barrera’s Instagram account have edged over into potentially troubling opinions.

‘Scream’ production company Spyglass issued a statement on the situation:

“Spyglass’ stance is unequivocally clear: We have zero tolerance for antisemitism or the incitement of hate in any form, including false references to genocide, ethnic cleansing, Holocaust distortion or anything that flagrantly crosses the line into hate speech.”

That was followed by word that her co-star, Jenna Ortega, would not then be returning fir the new movie. Ortega’s departure was chalked up to schedule clashes with Season 2 of Netflix hit series ‘Wednesday’, and indeed the decision was reportedly made months before Barrera’s statement and subsequent firing. The timing, though, remains somewhat suspicious.

With his main stars absent, Landon also quit the movie, citing that it had become a nightmare in development.

Neve Campbell talks ‘Scream’ return

Neve Campbell (“Sidney Prescott”) stars in Paramount Pictures and Spyglass Media Group’s “Scream.”

Here’s what Campbell had to say on the news of her return:

“I’m very happy and proud to say I’ve been asked, in the most respectful way, to bring Sidney back to the screen and I couldn’t be more thrilled!!! Well actually I could. While I’ve been so incredibly lucky to make these films with both the master of horror Wes Craven and the wonderfully talented Matt and Tyler team, I’ve dreamt for many years of how amazing it would be to make one of these movies with Kevin Williamson at the helm. And now it’s happening, Kevin Williamson is going to direct ‘Scream 7’! This was his baby and it’s his brilliant mind that dreamt up this world. Kevin is not just an inspiration as an artist but has been a dear friend for many years.”

You can read her full Instagram post here:

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Neve Campbell (@nevecampbell)

Where else have I seen Joel McHale?

Joel McHale hosts ‘Crime Scene Kitchen’. Photo: Fox.

McHale is a recognizable, sarcastic comic presence, having hosted the likes of ‘The Soup’ and more recent shows such as ‘Crime Scene Kitchen’ and ‘House of Villains.’

But he’s enjoyed an eclectic TV and movie career, appearing in shows such as ‘Community,’ ‘Animal Control,’ and ‘The X-Files.’

On the big screen, he’s been seen in ‘The Informant!’ ‘Ted,’ ‘Blended,’ ‘Deliver Us from Evil’ and ‘A Futile and Stupid Gesture.’

He’ll appear in the ‘Community’ movie that keeps being touted by its cast and has an unknown role in the third season of ‘Yellowjackets.’ And he’s most frequently found making fun of former ‘Community’ co-star and good friend Ken Jeong.

When will ‘Scream 7’ be in theaters?

‘Scream 7’ will release in theaters worldwide via Paramount Pictures on February 27th, 2026.

Ghostface in Paramount Pictures and Spyglass Media Group’s ‘Scream VI.’

Movies in the ‘Scream’ franchise:
- ‘Scream‘ (1996)
- ‘Scream 2‘ (1997)
- ‘Scream 3‘ (2000)
- ‘Scream 4‘ (2011)
- ‘Scream‘ (2022)
- ‘Scream VI‘ (2023)
Buy ‘Scream’ Movies on Amazon
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January 17, 2025
Neve Campbell Won’t be Back for Next ‘Scream’ Movie

Neve Campbell (“Sidney Prescott”) stars in Paramount Pictures and Spyglass Media Group’s “Scream.”

In the months since the most recent entry in the Ghostface franchise – simply titled ‘Scream’, despite being the fifth movie – we’ve had a flurry of stories that represent good news for fans.

In February, a month after the latest movie opened, we learned that the next one is already in the works, with directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett, part of the filmmaking collective known as Radio Silence, returning behind the camera along with writers James Vanderbilt and Guy Busick.

That was followed by word that ‘Scream 4’s Hayden Panettiere would be back as her character, Kirby Reed. And just this month, Dermot Mulroney was recruited to join the movie, set to play a cop (which doesn’t point to the healthiest life expectancy for his character).

But then came the bad news: Neve Campbell, one of the veterans of the franchise, the woman who has brought stalker slasher survivor Sidney Prescott to life in every one of the movies so far, would not be returning for this new one.

And, as it turns out, it’s because she’s taking a stand over a lowball pay offer. “Sadly, I won’t be making the next ‘Scream’ film,” Campbell says in a statement. “As a woman I have had to work extremely hard in my career to establish my value, especially when it comes to ‘Scream’. I felt the offer that was presented to me did not equate to the value I have brought to the franchise.”

Neve Campbell (“Sidney Prescott”) stars in Paramount Pictures and Spyglass Media Group’s “Scream.”

Campbell has a point – this is a run of movies that has so far made around $774 million in the last two decades plus, and fans do keep coming back to see how Sidney fares.

She goes on to add: “It’s been a very difficult decision to move on. To all my ‘’Scream fans, I love you. You’ve always been so incredibly supportive to me. I’m forever grateful to you and to what this franchise has given me over the past 25 years.”

The movie has yet to start shooting, so there remains hope that Paramount could dig into its pockets (recently lined with lots of ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ money) and put forth a better offer.

Fellow ‘Scream’ stalwart Courtney Cox will be back for the new movie as Gale Weathers, and the cast is led by the survivors of this year’s ‘Scream’ – Melissa Barrera (Sam Carpenter), Jasmin Savoy Brown (Mindy Meeks-Martin), Mason Gooding (Chad Meeks-Martin) and Jenna Ortega (Tara Carpenter), whose characters are moving out of Woodsboro to try and start the next chapter of their lives.

Little else is known about the plot so far, save that Ghostface will naturally be back to terrorize everyone and there’ll be plenty of references to horror movies. Ortega has described the script as getting “more and more gory” as it goes along, and that the masked menace will be “the most aggressive and violent version” yet.

‘Scream 6’ is due in theaters on March 31, 2023.
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June 8, 2022
Hayden Panettiere Back for New ‘Scream’ Sequel

Hayden Panettiere on NBC’s ‘Heroes.’

‘Scream’ is a franchise that has not shied away from bringing back people who have appeared in previous movies. In fact, it revels in it.

So for the next outing full of Ghostface-led killings, directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett have recruited someone from the movies’ past – Hayden Panettiere, who starred as Kirby Reed in 2011’s ‘Scream 4’.

The most recent ‘Scream’ outing, which arrived this year, successfully brought the movie series back to screens, featuring a combination of younger cast members (including Melissa Barrera, Jasmin Savoy Brown, Mason Gooding and Jenna Ortega) and the returning likes of Courteney Cox, Neve Campbell and David Arquette.

It has so far made more than $140 million worldwide and a sequel was announced almost as soon as it debuted. As it turns out, the writing and directing team – which includes James Vanderbilt and Guy Busick once again co-writing the script and Bettinelli-Olpin and Gillett back calling the shots – had already been figuring out what the next movie should be, and the cameras will be rolling this summer.

Barrera, Brown, Gooding and Ortega are all officially confirmed to be coming back for more, having survived their encounter with the cloaked menace in the last movie, called, like the original, simply, ‘Scream’.

Spyglass Media and Paramount have yet to announce much about the story, save for the hint that it follows those four surviving younger characters leaving the town of Woodsboro behind to start a fresh chapter in their lives. This being a ‘Scream’ movie, however, they can expect blood to be splashed across that chapter before too long.

(L to R) David Arquette and Courteney Cox in Paramount Pictures “Scream.”

We don’t yet know whether Cox or Campbell will also be back (spoiler alert in case you’ve yet to see the 2022 ‘Scream’: Arquette’s Dewey Riley didn’t make it out alive), but we’re sure there’s scope for the veterans to show up again should the story call for it.

Panettiere’s Reed was more of a best friend character in her movie when it started, but she rose to full hero status and ended up almost mortally wounded yet survived to see another day. She’ll probably be hoping that she makes it out of the next movie intact, but we’re interested to see how she factors in.

Also intriguing? What the next ‘Scream’ will be focused upon, since the last one took on legacy sequels and more recent horror trends. Plus, what will it be called? ‘Scream 2’ ‘Scream And Scream Again?’

The movie will mark a return to screens for Panettiere, who hasn’t appeared since finishing up work on TV’s ‘Nashville’. It’s notable that she’s thanked in the credits of the last ‘Scream’.

Assuming all goes to plan, the next ‘Scream’ movie will be slashing its way into theaters on March 31st next year. You can just imagine Ghostface trying to figure out which phone plan will offer the best deal – because there will be some calls to make, and questions to ask…

‘Scream’ 2022 Poster Courtesy of Paramount
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May 12, 2022
Courteney Cox and Greg Kinnear Talk ‘Shining Vale’

(L to R) Greg Kinnear and Courteney Cox in Starz’s ‘Shining Vale.’

Premiering March 6th on Starz is the new horror comedy series ‘Shining Vale,’ which stars Courteney Cox (‘Friends’) and Greg Kinnear (‘As Good as It Gets’). The series also features Oscar winner Mira Sorvino (‘Romy and Michele’s High School Reunion’), Rob Morrow (‘Quiz Show’), Sherilyn Fenn (‘Wild at Heart’), Dylan Gage (‘Stranger Things’), Gus Birney (‘Jessica Jones’), Merrin Dungey (‘Greenland’), and Judith Light (‘tick, tick…BOOM!’).

The series follows a dysfunctional family that moves from the city to a small town after Patricia “Pat” Phelps (Cox), a former “wild child” who became famous through writing raunchy female empowerment novels, is caught cheating on her husband (Kinnear). The house the family moves into is a place where terrible atrocities have taken place. But nobody seems to suspect anything odd except for Pat, who’s convinced she’s been possessed by a demon.

Moviefone recently had the opportunity to speak with both Courteney Cox and Greg Kinnear about their work on ‘Shining Vale.’
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You can read our interview with Courtney Cox and Greg Kinnear below, or click on the video player above to watch all of our interviews for ‘Shining Vale’ with Cox and Kinnear, as well as Mira Sorvino, Merrin Dungey, Dylan Gage, Gus Birney, and Judith Light.

Moviefone: To begin with, Courteney, what was your first reaction when you read the screenplay for ‘Shining Vale?’

Courteney Cox: I thought how lucky I would be to get this part. So, I could play all of those different facets of Pat’s personality and what she’s going through, from the depression, to the mental illness, to the possession, a mom of a teenage daughter, which I have, to marital strife. The whole thing, it just was a character that I’ve never experienced before, and never played. I was so excited.

MF: Greg, what was your first reaction to the script?

Greg Kinnear: I loved it. I wasn’t sure what it was, truthfully. I didn’t know if it was comedy with horror or horror with comedy. And a mystery with both. It’s a lot of different things. But at the end of the day, it seemed like a family in peril and if we could kind of tap into that and make that real, I felt like the show could have a really interesting tone. I think it does.

Listen, I hadn’t worked with Courteney before and it was wonderful. She’s wonderful in this role. I knew she was going to be. I just knew it was going to work. It was going to be great and kind of effortless working with her. I guess that could have surprised me, but it didn’t. I had a blast and we had some spooky times doing it too, which was great.

(L to R) Greg Kinnear, Gus Birney, Dylan Gage, and Courteney Cox in Starz’s ‘Shining Vale.’

MF: Courteney, can you talk about Pat’s writer’s block and why she has been unable to write her second novel for 17 years?

CC: I think that she got depressed. She just felt lonely. She felt trapped. Every day was the same for her. She stopped drinking so she her life is just you’re going through that phase where you’re having a midlife crisis and menopause, all of it. Probably the menopause got the midlife crisis going, but I think that she just was just dried out.

MF: Finally, Greg, can you talk about the family’s move from the city to the country? Does Terry think the move will help improve his marriage?

GK: It’s a Hail Mary pass. He’s a man whose wife has had an indiscretion and I think he’s trying to heal all these wounds. It’s interesting, right? In the middle of COVID, I think that also the show is very timely. There’s a lot of families in big cities that have said, “I’m going to go. We’re just getting out of here. We’re getting out.” They move out to these far and away places. I tend to think your problems follow you. If anything, I think the problems that follow the Phelps are bigger than they started with. So that’s a problem. But ultimately, I think he’s trying to find salvation in another place.

‘Shining Vale’ premieres March 6th on Starz.

March 2, 2022
‘Scream’ Sequel in the Works

‘Scream’ 2022 Poster Courtesy of Paramount

Do you like scary movies? Paramount is hoping you do.

With this year’s ‘Scream’ legacy sequel scoring big business at the box office already, the studio is ready to take yet another stab at the long-running horror franchise.

The company, alongside production company Spyglass, have the same team responsible for that movie returning to create more terror for the residents of the not-always-sleepy town of Woodsboro.

Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett, part of the filmmaking collective known as Radio Silence, will direct again, with the script courtesy of returning writers James Vanderbilt and Guy Busick.

The latest ‘Scream’ – which was simply known by that name, rather than ‘Scream 5’, successfully relaunched the franchise when it opened in January. To date, it has earned more than $62.6 million domestically and $106.7 million worldwide. It brought audiences back to Woodsboro, where a new killer wearing a Ghostface mask stalked a group of young friends.

Among the new faces introduced were Melissa Barrera’s Sam, Jack Quaid’s Richie, Mikey Madison’s Amber, Jenna Ortega’s Tara, Dylan Minnette’s Wes, Jasmin Savoy Brown’s Mindy, and Mason Gooding’s Chad, many of whom had links to characters from the original movies.

There were also appearances from franchise veterans Courteney Cox, David Arquette and Neve Campbell.

(L to R) David Arquette and Courteney Cox in Paramount Pictures “Scream.”

Bettinelli-Olpin and Gillett should have the cameras rolling this summer, with the plot being kept secret. Though surely, we know the formula by now: some references to other horror movies, a scary phone call or two and lots of running, screaming, slashing, and slaying. And as for who will be back? We won’t spoil those who don’t survive this year’s movie.

The ‘Scream’ franchise, of course, started life in 1996 with Wes Craven’s original movie, written by Kevin Williamson. It deconstructed the genre with characters mentioning rules for surviving horror movies and still layered on plenty of terror for the teenagers who are targeted by the masked killer.

Craven went on to make three more movies, each more referential than the last, and tackling different themes such as the pressure to make a sequel and movie adaptations of horror tales.

“We are tremendously grateful to the fans around the world who enthusiastically received our film. We can’t wait for audiences to see what Radio Silence, writers Jamie & Guy and Project X have in store for our Woodsboro family,” Spyglass and Paramount said in a joint statement.

“Working with such a wonderful and talented family of creators — and in the lineage Wes and Kevin so expertly built — has been the thrill of a lifetime, and we’re so excited to bring the next chapter in the ‘Scream’ saga to life,” Radio Silence added.

“Is this real life? Getting to collaborate once again with our friends on the next installment of the ‘Scream’ story is more than we could have hoped for,” commented writers Vanderbilt and Busick. “We are overwhelmed that we get to continue to play in the sandbox that Kevin and Wes created. It is, as Ghostface would say, an honor.”
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February 4, 2022
‘Scream’ Movie Facts You Need to Know

Paramount Pictures

The new ‘Scream‘ movie is in theaters now and doing pretty well at the box office with $30.6M on it’s opening weekend.
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Since the first film’s release on December 20, 1996, there have now been four sequels that have grossed over $615 million worldwide, and counting, as well as a spinoff series on MTV. “Scream” not only became the most lucrative slasher-film series ever, but it also revitalized the teen horror genre.

Still, as inescapable and relentless as the “Scream” franchise has been, there are still a lot of secrets behind that mask. Here are 16 terrifying tidbits of trivia.
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1. “Scream” was originally a screenplay by Kevin Williamson called “Scary Movie,” inspired in part by the real-life killings of five college students in Gainesville, Florida in 1990. But Dimension studio chief Bob Weinstein didn’t think the title reflected Williamson’s blend of horror and comedy.

2. Inspired by the recent Michael Jackson hit, Weinstein renamed the picture “Scream” but kept the “Scary Movie” title for the horror-spoof franchise launched in 2000.

3. Horror master Wes Craven turned down the movie several times, but the director changed his mind when he learned an actress of Drew Barrymore‘s stature was involved. Barrymore was initially cast as heroine Sidney Prescott, but she then shifted to the smaller role of first victim Casey Becker due to her busy schedule.

4. Friends” star in a bitchy role. The filmmakers considered Brooke Shields and Janeane Garofalo, but Cox assured them she could play against type.

5. The menacing phone voice of Ghostface in all the movies belongs to Roger L. Jackson, who also voices the villainous chimp Mojo Jojo on “Powerpuff Girls.” During production of the first three films, none of the other actors even met Jackson but only heard his voice when talking to him on the phone; Craven thought that would make their fear more convincing.

6. Because of “Scream’s” extreme violence and gore, Craven had to recut and submit it to the ratings board eight times in hope of avoiding an NC-17 rating. Craven even lied that he had no alternate, less bloody take of Barrymore’s stabbing. Eventually, Weinstein persuaded the board that “Scream” deserved an R because the movie was satirizing violence, not glorifying it.

7. With the success of “Scream,” the sequel was rushed into production, shooting in July 1997 for a release date that December. The haste led to a leak of the script, forcing Williamson to rewrite on set and change the identity of the killers.
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8. “I hate horror movies,” said Liev Schreiber, after he had played the menacing Cotton Weary in the first two installments. So why did he act in the series? Because he liked the idea of horror movies that were “in on the joke.” Also, he said, “because I knew I wouldn’t have to watch them. I would only have to be in them.” Soon after, he signed on for “Scream 3.”

9. Cox and David Arquette (Deputy Dewey Riley) met on the set of “Scream.” By the time they shot “Scream 2,” they were a couple off-screen. Just before the “Scream 3” shoot, they got married. When “Scream 4” was shooting in 2010, they were on the verge of splitting up.
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10. The Columbine High School massacre in April 1999 made Hollywood much more sensitive, at least for a little while, about violence in teen entertainment. As a result, “Scream 3” was rewritten, taking it out of its initial high school setting, playing up the humor, and downplaying the violence.

11. Williamson proposed a second trilogy in 2008, but only got as far as “Scream 4.” (Blame that film’s less-than-expected box office for why the fifth and sixth films never materialized.) Weinstein instead decided to launch the MTV series in June 2015. Craven’s death in August 2015 probably puts the kibosh on any more “Scream” movies.

12. Campbell initially didn’t want to return for “Scream 4,” and Williamson had to write Sidney out of early drafts of the script.

13. The “Scream 4″ filmmakers initially offered Scream Queens” star Emma Roberts.
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14. Lauren Graham was cast as Roberts’ mom, but left the shoot after just a few days. Mary McDonnell replaced her.

15. The Ghostface mask was designed by retailer Fun World in 1991, inspired (aptly) by Edvard Munch’s famous painting “The Scream.” It was also inspired by a figure from Gerald Scarfe’s artwork from Pink Floyd’s “The Wall” album and some ghost figures in an old Betty Boop cartoon.

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16. The “Scream” franchise has reportedly made the mask, along with the ragged-edged cloak used in the films, into the best-selling Halloween costume in America.

January 23, 2022