1. The film's original title was Scary Movie.
2. The producers changed it to Scream after they heard Michael Jackson's song of the same name playing in one of their cars.
3. The film was originally given an NC-17 rating, but the studio edited the violence down so it could be rated R.
4. Drew Barrymore was originally cast in the lead as Sidney, but suggested playing Casey instead. She reportedly wanted to throw audiences off by having her character die in the opening act.
5. Craven initially passed on the project because he thought it was too violent.
6. The film's plot was inspired by actual events that took place in Gainesville, Florida during the early '90s.
7. Ghostface's mask was found by accident, while crew members were on a location scout.
8. Producer Bob Weinstein didn't like Ghostface's mask and threatened to shut down production if director Wes Craven failed to come up with a scarier one.
9. After watching Drew Barrymore's death scene, Weinstein decided to let Craven keep the mask after all.
10. Linda Blair (The Exorcist) made a cameo in the film as the reporter who famously yells "people have a right to know" at Sidney.
11. Director Wes Craven also made a brief cameo as a janitor. He wore Freddy Krueger's hat and sweater as a nod to his previous horror movie classic, A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984).
12. When Rose McGowan found out she was cast as Sidney's friend Tatum, she dyed her hair blonde to contrast Neve Campbell's dark hair.
13. The 42-minute party scene at the end of the film took two and half weeks to film, and remains the longest scene Wes Craven has ever directed.
14. Janeane Garofalo was offered the role of Gale Weathers, but turned it down.
15. Miramax took a major gamble by releasing the film a week before Christmas. It was a calculated move to combat the family friendly releases that were coming out, and the risk eventually paid off: Scream made over $100 million dollars at the U.S. box office, easily becoming one of the most profitable horror films of all time.
16. While the movie might seem like an endless bloodbath, the special effects team only used 50 gallons of fake blood during shooting.
17. Though most moviegoers were familiar with Courtney Cox and David Arquette's on and off-screen romance, most people didn't know Neve Campbell and Matthew Lillard (Stu) also dated, albeit briefly.
18. Despite being billed as a slasher film, there are only seven deaths in the whole film: Steven (Casey's boyfriend), Casey, Principal Himbry, Tatum, Kenny, Stu, and Billy.
