Even Ghostfaces jaw would have dropped further if it could have.
But it was one of the hardest movies to write.
It looks like a silly, slapstick film, but it was not an easy movie to execute.
Credit: Everett Collection
KEENEN IVORY WAYANS (director):In a parody, you still have to tell a story.
What people tend to do is write a bunch of jokes and just string em together.
That wont hold up; you have to create a narrative.
Everett Collection
To [Dimension founder] Bob Weinsteins credit, he was very good about not being afraid.
[Laughs]Screamstill stood on its own, becauseScreamwasgreat.
We had the guts to do it, Ill put it that way.
Everett Collection
KEENEN:The biggest surprise was Anna.
And it wasnt really a surprise, it was a gift.
I had seeneverybody, and I kept saying no to the point that the casting people were getting pissed.
Everett Collection
But I was looking for someone specific.
And I was like, [sighs] Yeah,okay.
ANNA FARIS (Cindy Campbell):I dont think I even had a headshot.
I didnt have an agent.
Like, Has my life just completely shifted?
FARIS:Its true, I had no idea what to say when he called Action.
And he was like, Say yourline.
JON ABRAHAMS (Bobby Prinze):Anna was just amazing.
I mean, to come in that green and to have that kind of comedic timing wasbananas.
Some tailored their performances to the original actors work.
My favorite line was Oh my God, we hit a boot!
I literally tried todielike Jada.
ABRAHAMS:All horror movies are slightly ridiculous, but these were being melded with popular teen movies.
For a good part ofScream, Skeet Ulrichs characters main objective is to get laid.
[Laughs] So I played into that.
CHERI OTERI (Gail Hailstorm):Spoofing these movies was perfect.
It was just, like, young people getting killed one by one, and the sexier the better.
I laughed so much.
Shoot for the Ceiling
The writers continued tweaking the script during filming, as Keenen encouraged improvisation.
LOCHLYN MUNRO (Greg Phillippe):Keenen was all about, What do you have?
What can you bring?
He made it comfortable for us to let loose and not worry about making a fool of ourselves.
If we fell on our faces, he would just kind of chuckle from behind the monitor.
[Laughs] I absolutely loved him for that.
FARIS:Oh, I was too terrified to try much.
But I would go home at the end of the day feeling like, Oh my God.
The audience is gonna decide.
If theyre laughing, then you will have nothing to be embarrassed about.
If theyre groaning, I give you my word, Ill cut it out of the movie.
She took a deep breath and committed 100 percent, and the rest is history.
FARIS:Keenen told me two amazing bits of advice.
One was that theres no vanity in comedy, and two, dont wink at the audience.
You have to be willing to embrace the idea that the audience is going to think youre an idiot.
That was an important lesson to me.
[Laughs] But Keenen was always smiling.
There was a sense of peace about him.
SHERIDAN:Keenens not just editing the film, hes editing the filmmaking itself.
Hes making tweaks just as a tailor does.
A tailor doesnt make the suit he adjusts.
Thats how he viewed directing.
FARIS:I owe everything to that movie.
I couldnt believe it.
People were going a little crazy for it.
I had to have a talking-to to myself about enjoying that experience a little too much.
It was the coolest thing ever.
[Laughs] To this day, I dont think Ive ever been to a movie where that happened.
Well, maybeStar Wars?
WEINSTEIN:Other studios were going, What just happened?
It was like winning the Super Bowl.
Just the most unbelievable thing.
KEENEN:It was a really,reallygreat feeling.
For me, it was sort of redemption afterhaving to move on fromIn Living Color.
HALL:It was huge to have an African-American director open an R-rated comedy that was that big.
It broke the ceiling for what was possible.
It was a movie that was really diversely cast, and we saw young audiences gravitate toward that.
It was just amovie.
SHAWN:It was the right movie at the right time done by the right people.
