20 Things You May Not Have Known About Wes Craven’s ‘Scream’ For Its 20th Anniversary

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Believe it or not, it is time to feel old as another hit film has reached the milestone of being 20 years old and it is Wes Craven’s iconic Scream. Yes, the movie that breathed new life into the teen slasher genre is two decades old as it celebrates the 20th anniversary of its release on December 20. Now, knowing that you feel old since it may have come out during your high school years, it is time to rewatch the movie and here are 20 things that you may not have known about Scream to look for.

If for some reason you haven’t seen Scream by now, you will want to stop reading as there are plenty of spoilers ahead.

Now, some of these things you may already know, but there are a lot so let’s check out some fun facts, trivia, and hidden things in the 1996 hit Scream.

1. Scream wasn’t the original title — The iconic horror film was actually called something else at first, and that would be Scary Movie. Yes, the exact same name of the spoof movie that was released in 2000.

2. Drew Barrymore was tormented during filming — Anyone that knows anything about the actress knows that she is a huge lover of animals. To keep her anxious, on the edge, and upset…Wes Craven would tell her stories about animal cruelty.

3. Barrymore originally had a different part — When things started, Barrymore was cast in the role of Sidney Prescott which eventually went to Neve Campbell. It was Barrymore who wanted the role of Casey instead, and she insisted that the move be made. She knew Casey died before the credits even rolled and thought if someone like her couldn’t even make it 20 minutes, anything was possible.

4. Rose McGowan didn’t really die, but Tatum did — Believe it or not, McGowan was too small to stay stuck in the doggy door in the garage. Production crew members had to nail her shirt to it so she wouldn’t fall out.

5. Gale Weathers wasn’t always Courtney Cox — Janeane Garofalo was the original choice for the role of the hard-nosed newswoman, but she turned it down. After that, it was between Courtney Cox and Brooke Shields.

6. Some thought Scream would never succeed — Writer Kevin Williamson’s agent said that the movie would be “impossible” to sell due to the blood, gore, and violence. With Craven at the helm, much of it was kept in with more added and well, it’s done well for itself.

7. Wes Craven takes a dig at a high school — The production crew of Scream wanted to film at Santa Rosa High school as they thought it as perfect and it had been in numerous movies before. The school verbally agreed to the filming, but then problem after problem came up and the school called it off because of “final exams.”

Complaints of parents and locals may have had something to do with that decision as well due to not wanting a teen slasher flick filmed there. Well, Craven was not a forgetful man and if you sit through the credits, there is one that reads, “No thanks whatsoever to the Santa Rosa City School District Governing Board.”

8. There was fake blood — a lot of it — At least 50 gallons of fake blood were used for the different kills on the set of the original Scream.

9. Wes Craven and a horror icon make cameos at the same time — When Principal Himbry (Henry Winkler) looks out into the hallway, Craven is the janitor mopping the floor. He’s also dressed in a familiar hat and sweater…those of Freddy Krueger.

10. Neve Campbell wasn’t either — As stated earlier, Drew Barrymore was the original choice for Sidney, but after her, the role was offered to Reese Witherspoon. Due to her turning it down, Campbell came in and stole the show.

11. Money, Money, Money — According to Box Office Mojo, the movie grossed more than $173 million worldwide at the box office to make it one of the highest-grossing horror films of all time. That isn’t too bad for a movie with a budget of just $14 million.

12. Figuring out which killer is under the mask when — There have been many theories over the years that viewers can tell which killer is under the mask, Billy or Stu, by how they act after a kill. Ghostface will wipe off his knife at times, and it is theorized that only one killer does that. Some have argued that if you think about who is where when kills are made, this theory proves to be true.

Can you figure it out?

13. Scream changed the way that people used their phones –– Believe it or not, the anonymous calls in the movie made the sales of Caller ID to soar.

14. Change of heart on Dewey — David Arquette’s character was supposed to die at the end of the first film, but Craven changed his mind in case the film was successful. It was, and that is the reason that Dewey ends up near death in all four films.

15. One of the funniest lines wasn’t in the script — At the end when Stu is talking to Sidney on the phone, he whines and says, “My mom and dad are going to be so mad at me.”

Craven liked the line so much that he insisted it be left in.

16. Wes Craven wasn’t seen as the first choice for direction — Robert Rodriguez, Sam Raimi, and Danny Boyle were originally sought out, but they never took the film seriously.

17. The actors couldn’t meet the voice of Ghostface — Roger L. Jackson is the iconic voice on the other end of the line, but that was all the actors ever got to know. As reported by Fusion, Jackson was always on the set and spoke with the actors by phone, but Craven didn’t want them to meet so the mystery would be kept in place.

18. The final scene took forever to shoot — The climax of the movie is one that actually incorporates the final 42 minutes, and it included a lot. The party scene in Scream brings about four deaths and took a massive 21 days to film.

19. Total deaths equal less than 10 — When all is said and done, only seven people end up dying in the original Scream: Casey, her boyfriend Steve, Principal Himbry, Tatum, Kenny, Stu, and Billy.

Sidney’s mother’s death is not counted in the number of total deaths due to happening a year before the events in the movie.

20. Scream was loosely based on true events — Yes, Kevin Williamson revealed to CNN back in 1998 that the movie is actually based on true events. The real-life murders of students in Gainesville, Florida brought about a news report that had Williamson scared out of his mind and cinematic history was born.

“I was watching this Barbara Walters special on the Gainesville murders. And I was getting so spooked. I was being scared out of my mind. During the commercial break, I heard a noise. And I had to go search the house. And I went into the living room and a window was open. And I’d been in this house for two days. I’d never noticed the window open. So I got really scared. So I went to the kitchen, got a butcher knife, got the mobile phone. I called a buddy of mine.”

There is a lot that goes into the original Scream film, and Wes Craven knew what he was doing when he partnered with writer Kevin Williamson to bring it to the world. These 20 fun facts about Scream are just a small handful of the hidden gems and secrets that take place throughout the film and that went into creating it. Checking out the movie again after 20 years may have you thinking twice about asking “Who’s there?” when someone knocks on your door.

[Featured Image by Dimension Films]