About a month ago, I finally watched Scream 5. I enjoyed it. They figured out a decent plot, actually. It was done without the late, great Wes Craven, but the filmmakers were fans of the original franchise and they brought in Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox and David Arquette. Those are the survivors of the first four movies, the only survivors. I won’t get too spoiler-y, but Sidney Prescott lives at the end of Scream 5 because that’s the whole franchise. Sidney has to survive. Neve has played Sidney for more than 25 years. But no more. Neve backed out of Scream 6 because producers wouldn’t pay her what she’s worth. Big mistake. Huge.
We’ve officially heard that Neve Campbell won’t be reprising her role as Sidney Prescott in Paramount/Spyglass Media’s Scream 6. Word began to leak on the convention circuit with Campbell, and she says today, “Sadly I won’t be making the next Scream film.”
“As a woman I have had to work extremely hard in my career to establish my value, especially when it comes to Scream,” the actress says about her turn in the $744M-plus grossing global franchise, “I felt the offer that was presented to me did not equate to the value I have brought to the franchise. 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,” adds Campbell.
Campbell currently stars on the Netflix series The Lincoln Lawyer. Deadline recently reported that she’s joined the cast of Peacock‘s Twisted Metal in a recurring role as Raven opposite Anthony Mackie, Stephanie Beatriz, and Thomas Haden Church.
The latest Scream fired up a rebound year at the box office for Paramount, grossing $140M WW. Campbell returned with original Scream dramatis personae Courteney Cox (who plays Gale Weathers) and David Arquette (Dewey Riley).
The next Scream movie will see Hayden Panettiere return as Kirby Reed, a role she carved out in Scream 4. New franchise cast members Jenna Ortega, Melissa Barrera, Jasmin Savoy Brown and Mason Gooding are coming back for Scream 6. In the next installment, opening on March 31, 2023; the four survivors of the Ghostface killings leave Woodsboro behind and start a fresh chapter. Filmmakers Radio Silence (Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett), who were behind the last chapter, are coming back with James Vanderbilt & Guy Busick co-writing the screenplay.
Is this Paramount’s call? Because holy sh-t, what a terrible call. Neve IS the franchise. I know they’re trying to reboot the series and make it relevant to Gen Z, but people who know the original films backwards and forwards will tune in to see Neve reprise her role. These films are cheap to make as well – someone said they made Scream 5 for less than $30 million. And it grossed $140 million. Neve should have been offered much more money. I’m proud of her for walking away to what must have been an insulting offer though.
Photos courtesy of Paramount/Entertainment Weekly and Instar.
-
- – Los Angeles, USA -20220509- Los Angeles Premiere Of Netflix`s `The Lincoln Lawyer` -PICTURED: Neve Campbell -PHOTO by: Faye`s Vision/Cover Images/INSTARimages.com -51514311.jpg This is an editorial, rights-managed image. Please contact Instar Images LLC for licensing fee and rights information at sales@instarimages.com or call +1 212 414 0207 This image may not be published in any way that is, or might be deemed to be, defamatory, libelous, pornographic, or obscene. Please consult our sales department for any clarification needed prior to publication and use. Instar Images LLC reserves the right to pursue unauthorized users of this material. If you are in violation of our intellectual property rights or copyright you may be liable for damages, loss of income, any profits you derive from the unauthorized use of this material and, where appropriate, the cost of collection and/or any statutory damages awarded
After 5 movies and they don’t offer her enough? Eff them. Respect your actresses! Pay them fairly!
Neve is great in Lincoln Lawyer also. I totally enjoyed her in that role. I’ve never watched any Scream movies as I don’t like horror movies. Glad she refused to film though because she is a great actress and worth paying properly.
Paramount not a good move!
I just finished watching The Lincoln Lawyer last night and she was great in it. Glad she’s standing up for her worth.
I can’t wait for the next season. I binged watch so good
I’m glad she knows her worth and is walking away AND I’m glad she’s calling out Paramount for it. She’s not letting anything get spun about the franchise moving on or whatever. they wanted her but weren’t willing to pay her, so she said no. Good for her.
I’m happy not only that she stood up for herself, but also that she’s publicly speaking about it. The studios should be shamed for stuff like this.
Fully agreed. This was a really stupid move on their part. She’s the main reason to watch any of those movies. Love her.
I just copied that quote and put at the end of it -EVERY WOMAN EVER
Man what is it with us not being paid adequately for the millions we rake in and generate!?!?
Incredibly foolish of the studio. She is the franchise, and it was the rare film that did well in theaters in recent times.
Ugh, I believe her. I’m a trans actor (recently transitioned) and last year I was cast in a 6 month run of a play. Near the end of the run I found out my UNDERSTUDY was being paid more than me. He’s cis male AND has 10 yrs less experience than me. He was also being paid more than all the women in the cast, some of whom have been in the business for 30 years. The pay disparity is real.
Absolutely disgusting, We need to talk to our peers about our salaries. Silence only benefits the CEOs–we need full transparency.
Totally. I went straight to the women and told them. We all banded together and had a meeting with administration basically saying that this had soured our entire experience and that we would be sharing our offers with each other from now on.
Wowww that’s shameful! I’ll echo @Kitten because it needs to be heard, ALWAYS TALK TO YOUR COLLEAGUES ABOUT SALARY. Share yours, know what others in the field are making. Good on you for having those difficult conversations, @Ari!
Don’t blame her. Proud of her for knowing her worth,
I think it’s awesome that she knows her value and spoke out about this! I’m sure this is a problem so many actresses face and I admire her for standing up for herself.
I’m a huge Scream fan and I love Neve/Sidney. While I of course think it’s a mistake and horrible to not pay her what she is worth…I’m actually okay with her not returning for Scream 6? I’d rather Sidney be off-screen and happy then risk the writers killing her off. She essentially passed the baton in Scream 5, and I think including Sidney in yet another installment would really feel like they were shoehorning her in. Scream 5 was an excellent transition from the OG cast to a younger cast with ties to the past, and I feel like it can stand on its own. Don’t get me wrong — I love Scream largely because of my attachment to the characters. But if it maintains its humor, intelligence, and mystery, I don’t think this will be a disaster.
Good for her, I also love that she’s speaking about it publicly, now watch the studio find a way to release what they offered her and of course it will seem like a lot of most people, but that’s not the point. She knows her worth.
I work in an urgent care clinic and we just lost 3 fantastic women because of pay gaps. They all worked there for years but the newly hired young white man with less experience and a doctor dad was hired on at $5 more per hour, he’s lazy and sits on his phone watching soccer all day and clearly lied about his experience, so they went to our manager and the corporate office and asked them to match their pay to his and were told no, so they left, they were also black women. It’s disgusting what women go through in this country, I’m so sick of this shit.
Paramount. I AM your audience for the Scream franchise and you can bite me. #teamNeve!
Never seen a Scream movie in my life, but respect to Neve for standing up for what she’s worth!
I hate that it happened to her but I’m happy she’s speaking up.