If you know anything about me, then you know that the Scream series is one of the franchises that means the most to me as a fan (the other being A Nightmare on Elm Street, so yes, I’ll forever be a Wes Craven superfan), which makes Scream (2022) my most anticipated film coming out next year, bar none. In late 2020, Daily Dead was thrilled to join a group of journalists for a virtual set visit for Scream (2022), where we had a chance to speak with a few of the series’ veterans and all the newcomers to this world as well (look for another piece featuring the Scream newbies very shortly).
In this first report from our virtual set visit for Scream (2022), we have some highlights of our discussions with both David Arquette as well as Marley Shelton, who will be reprising her role as Judy Hicks from Scream 4. The duo chatted about everything from missing Wes Craven, why directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett were the perfect filmmakers to keep the Scream series going with this latest entry, working with their younger cast members, and the legacy of Judy Hicks’ lemon squares.
And if you missed our coverage with the filmmaking team behind Scream (2022), you can catch up with it HERE.
David Arquette on directors Tyler Gillett, Matt Bettinelli-Olpin, and the new generation of Scream stars: The filmmakers were really specific about honoring the history of the series and the legacy of the whole franchise. They also have all these new tools for storytelling, for filmmaking, and both Tyler and Matt are just such incredible directors. They were inspired by Wes growing up, and it's just been this really incredible experience, just watching them take on this new film. Plus, we have all these young actors, and seeing them in this at a similar age to when I did my first Scream has been a really interesting experience for me. Jenna [Ortega]'s two years older than my daughter that Courteney and I had through the course of making these films. So there's a lot of history there. There's a lot of heart involved with it. There's a lot of love for horror movies and films in general, and I think a lot of that comes into the storytelling and the experience.
This Scream felt different. This is one of the first ones that there was a full script to start with or for some people there was a full script to start with. Not to mention that Matt and Tyler were inspired by Wes to be filmmakers as well, so they have a real love and respect for him. They want to do him justice and we all want to do our characters justice, too. It's really fun to play this character again and to step back into his shoes. Even though this is a new group of people, it feels very much where we're in the same world from all the other films before this.
It's been really exciting and really fun to be a part of, and I think the fans are going to really love this because it is a fan's movie. This movie is made for horror fans and for film fans, in general.
David Arquette on how Scream (2022) acknowledges the legacy of the Scream series: It takes a lot from what's happened in the films and the Stab films, but also in the horror films that have happened since, too. It is part of our pop culture now. So that's definitely a character in this thing. I mean, Matt and Tyler were inspired by the Scream films and they both were at an impressionable age when they saw the first one, and they remembered the impact it had on them. I think it's really interesting that some of the actors in this film weren't even born when the first was made (laughs). But the world has changed since the first Scream, too. Technology's advanced. The understanding of film and love for film and the history of film has evolved. And all of those things come into play in this film.
David Arquette on Wes Craven’s love for his character in the Scream series and the Master of Horror’s influence on his life: It was really amazing that Wes kept me alive in these films. He really was just such a sweet and kind human being. I think that decision that he made had nothing to do with me personally. It's always about the story. It's always about seeing where these characters are and where they're going, and it's just been a really incredible group of films to be a part of and I feel honored that I've been able to be a part of the Scream series. I met Courteney and I have a daughter, Coco, because of these films. And it's really been sad to not have Wes here. He was such an influential person in my life, and I've been just thinking about him a lot lately. But when you're on the set and you see this world that he and Kevin Williamson had created originally, and it still feels very much like he is part of that world, that's reassuring.
Marley Shelton on Getting to Play Judy Hicks Again for Scream (2022): Well, first of all, this is the first opportunity I think I've had in my career to reprise a role which is such a cool honor and a privilege, not to mention it's just a really exciting acting task. And she has evolved, Deputy Judy Hicks is now Sheriff Judy Hicks, so her career has progressed and she also has a teenage son in this one played by Dylan Minnette, who's awesome. So there'll be some interesting plot twists with that.
But coming back for another Scream came at me completely out of the blue. It was earlier this year that I was approached, and I was surprised and delighted. I could have never seen this coming, although in retrospect it makes perfect sense. Why not? It's such a great story to relaunch and continue on with. I also think this is like the perfect team to take this on as well. The Radio Silence guys, Matt and Tyler, are so perfect to helm this project because they have a knack for capturing that really specific tone of scary and funny, and action and suspense. And Kevin Williamson is still involved, obviously overseeing the tone and all of it, but James Vanderbilt is such an incredible writer and I think he hits all the marks of what makes a vintage Scream movie. But at the same time, it's also very fresh and there's a lot of newness, too, so it's not just an iteration of something we've seen in the past.
Marley Shelton on the evolution of her character in the latest Scream film: I think that Judy is always going to be intrinsically “sunny side up Judy.” But there have been some life turns that I think everyone's going to get a kick out of, and some relationship turns that have definitely affected her, too. But all the Judy fans can rest assured that she's still very much Judy Hicks.
Marley Shelton on what she loves about the horror genre: Well, I'm definitely a fan of the genre for sure. I love suspense and I love psychological horror as an audience. And as an actor, it's really a blast to participate in a genre because the stakes are so high. It's literally life and death on the line for these characters, and I usually find that the mood and vibe on set when you're doing a horror film or a suspense thriller is really fun and jovial. So yeah, I love getting to participate in the horror genre. I do really enjoy it. But as an actor, I love any genre that's done well. I think that the key for me is the actual ability to do something cool within any specific genre.
Marley Shelton on Judy Hicks’ now-famous lemon squares: I honestly think that I should have a cookbook at this point. I've gotten more intrigued about the obsession with her lemon squares. Like on social media, people are really into Judy's lemon squares. They're just very provocative, I guess [laughs]. But I'm going to say that they've had to have gotten better with time, right? I mean, she's evolving and that means that Judy’s lemon squares are evolving, too.
Heather A. Wixson was born and raised in the Chicago suburbs, until she followed her dreams and moved to Los Angeles in 2009. A 14-year veteran in the world of horror entertainment journalism, Wixson fell in love with genre films at a very early age, and has spent more than a decade as a writer and supporter of preserving the history of horror and science fiction cinema. Throughout her career, Wixson has contributed to several notable websites, including Fangoria, Dread Central, Terror Tube, and FEARnet, and she currently serves as the Managing Editor for Daily Dead, which has been her home since 2013. She's also written for both Fangoria Magazine & ReMind Magazine, and her latest book project, Monsters, Makeup & Effects: Volume One will be released on October 20, 2021.
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