How Skeet Ulrich Got Hurt For Real In "Scream," Plus 49 Other Behind-The-Scenes Facts About The Franchise

Turns out wearing the vest doesn't always save your chest.

WARNING: This post contains 🚨spoilers🚨 for the new Scream.

Read on for some (mostly) fun facts about the Scream franchise, and be sure to file it all away in case Ghostface gives you a call.

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1. Screenwriter Kevin Williamson got the idea for Scream after watching a documentary about the Gainesville Ripper.

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According to the Detroit Free Press, Williamson was housesitting when he caught the TV special. Later that night, he discovered a window in the house he was positive had been shut was now open. He spent the rest of the evening searching the house, butcher knife in hand, while talking to a friend on the phone. It wasn't long before the conversation turned to scary movies.

2. Wes Craven had to be convinced to direct Scream.

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In an oral history conducted by The Ringer, executive producer Marianne Maddalena said that at that time, Craven wasn't interested in returning to the slasher genre.

It wasn't until his assistant at the time, Julie Plec, got him to read the script and then told him the studio was having trouble finding a director that he said they should make him an offer he couldn't refuse — which they ultimately did.

3. Craven, who directed the first four Scream movies, also has uncredited cameos in them all.

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He played Fred the Janitor in the original Scream, a doctor in Scream 2, a member of the studio tour in Scream 3, and a coroner in Scream 4 (in a deleted scene).

4. The Scream movies have a special connection to Dawson's Creek.

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Not only did Kevin Williamson create Dawson's Creek, but Joshua Jackson, who played Pacey, appears as a film student in Scream 2. Dawson's Creek guest-star Scott Foley also starred as Roman Bridger in Scream 3.

Plus, Jenna Ortega's character Tara can be seen watching the Scream parody episode of Dawson's Creek in the new movie.

Even Scary Movie, which primarily spoofs the Scream and Scream 2, got in on the action, featuring a cameo from James Van Der Beek and using the Dawson's Creek theme song.

5. The body count for the Scream franchise is anywhere between 45 and 50, depending who you ask.

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If you include Maureen Prescott (who died before the events of the original Scream); Trudie, Sherrie, and Rachel (who died in the Stab 6 and 7 openings at the beginning of Scream 4); and Stu Macher (whose death is still widely disputed) the death toll is 50.

6. Scream 4 has the highest kill count of the series.

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Even if you don't include the Stab 6 and 7 deaths, Scream 4 still comes in first with 11 deaths. Scream 2 and 3 each have 10, the new Scream has eight, and the original Scream has seven (not including Maureen Prescott).

7. The first Scream was originally going to be called Scary Movie.

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The studio changed the name just before filming ended, and the cast and crew's wrap gifts still said Scary Movie on them. Julie Plec told The Ringer that they were "outraged" by the "terrible" new name, but that it "turned out to be a good choice."

8. The studio also wanted to change the killer's mask at first.

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Producer Bob Weinstein told Vanity Fair: "I thought the mask was goofy. I thought people would laugh at it. I thought Wes was crazy."

Obviously, Wes Craven and co. won that battle, leaving us with the now-iconic Ghostface mask.

9. Drew Barrymore was originally supposed to play Sidney Prescott.

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It was her idea to play Casey Becker instead, because it would throw the audience off and make them feel like none of the characters were safe.

Kevin Williamson was 100% onboard, telling The Ringer: "I wanted it to be this big, huge Janet Leigh [in Psycho] moment. And then when she dies, you’re like, 'Wait a second. Wasn’t she on the poster? Wait. What’s going to happen next?'"

10. Casey Becker's line about liking the first Nightmare on Elm Street but thinking the rest "sucked" almost didn't make it into the movie.

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Wes Craven (who only directed one of the Nightmare sequels) revealed on the DVD commentary that he thought it "would make [him] look like an egomaniac" but was convinced to leave it in.

11. Drew Barrymore actually called 911 during filming, after Scream prop master JP Jones had forgotten to unplug the phone.

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In the 2011 documentary, Still Screaming, he explained: "We're in the middle of a take, and the phone starts ringing, and we're like, 'What's going on? Why is the phone ringing?' And it's the police asking what the hell we're doing, and why do we keep calling them?"

12. Courteney Cox had to fight to play Gale Weathers.

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Cox, who'd been starring as Monica Geller on Friends for two years, told Entertainment Tonight: "I wrote a letter to Wes – I think I was always known as being so sweet – and I said, 'I really can be a bitch!'"

13. The high school scenes in Scream were supposed to be shot at Santa Rosa High School in California, but ended up being filmed at the Sonoma Community Center.

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After reading the script, the Santa Rosa school board, who'd thought the movie was a comedy, pulled out at the last minute because of the violence. As a result, Wes Craven added the following message to the Special Thanks section of the credits:

"NO THANKS WHATSOEVER TO THE SANTA ROSA CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT GOVERNING BOARD."

14. Matthew Lillard auditioned to play Billy Loomis.

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He told Entertainment Weekly: "I auditioned, and they said, 'You're not the right guy to make out with Neve Campbell the entire time; why don't you come back and come in for the best friend?'"

15. The party scene — known as Scene 118 on set — in the original Scream is 42 minutes long and took 21 nights to shoot.

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Once they were done, the crew had "I SURVIVED SCENE 118" T-shirts made.

16. When Sidney stabs Billy with an umbrella, Skeet Ulrich's cry of pain is authentic.

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According to the DVD commentary, as a child, Ulrich had open-heart surgery, and even though he wore a protective vest while filming the scene and the umbrella had a retractable tip, the second stab missed the vest and hit him right in an old wound from the surgery. Wes Craven kept that take in because of how real Ulrich's reaction seemed.

17. Deputy Dwight "Dewey" Riley, played by David Arquette, wasn't supposed to survive the first movie.

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He was such a hit with test audiences, though, that Wes Craven brought him back to film a shot of Dewey being rolled into an ambulance, alive.

18. The original Scream and Scream 2 were released within a year of each other.

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Scream hit theaters on December 20, 1996, and Scream 2 came out on December 12, 1997.

19. Those first two movies earned about $150 million combined in 1997.

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Because Scream hit theaters so late in 1996, it earned almost all of its box office in 1997. Scream 2, meanwhile, brought in about 70% of its total box office over its first three weeks in theaters.

20. Use of caller ID reportedly tripled after Scream was released.

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21. There were multiple versions of the Scream 2 script, including one featuring Sidney's boyfriend Derek and her roommate Hallie as the killers, and another where Dewey was Ghostface.

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Kevin Williamson told Dread Central: "The Hallie and Derek ending was a dummy draft. At the time the script was written, the studio was determined to keep the plot details under wraps.

"They were worried the killer’s identity would be leaked, so we wrote several endings. Three in all, if memory serves, and when actors and potential crew members asked to read the script, we would send the script with the dummy ending."

22. Jada Pinkett Smith asked for her character Maureen Evans "to die the most horrific death that has ever happened in a horror film."

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On an episode of PeopleTV's Couch Surfing, she said she told Wes Craven: "I want it to be long and excruciating."

23. The Stab scenes featured in Scream 2 were directed by From Dusk Till Dawn director, Robert Rodriguez.

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Rodriguez would go on to direct The Faculty, which was also written by Kevin Williamson.

24. If the Omega Beta Zeta sorority house in Scream 2 looks familiar, it's because it was also used as Miss. Trunchbull's mansion in Matilda.

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Additionally, the mansion at the end of Scream 3 was used as the private school in Halloween H20: 20 Years Later.

25. Matthew Lillard pops up in the background of the sorority party in Scream 2.

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His hair was bleached blonde at the time. 

26. Selma Blair voiced the girl Cici, played by Sarah Michelle Gellar, who was talking on the phone in Scream 2.

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They would later star in Cruel Intentions together.

27. As with the rest of the Scream movies, Roger L. Jackson was actually on the phone as Ghostface when filming Scream 2, to get more authentic reactions from the actors he was speaking to.

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While most actors found him intimidating and formidable, Sarah Michelle Gellar — perhaps channeling Buffy Summers — would mess with him. 

He revealed to Splinter News: "When [she] was on the other end of the phone between takes, she would go, 'So. You're the scary voice man, huh? Why do you do that? Do you like scaring people? You like scaring people? Why? Why? What is it about you that wants to scare other people?' And I'd go, 'I think you better save it, Sarah.'"

28. According to Matthew Lillard, Stu Macher was supposed to be the original villain of Scream 3.

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He told the Pop My Culture podcast: "The idea was to have me…[with a burned-up face] orchestrating mayhem from prison — people attacking high schools."

He added that the script was retooled after the Columbine massacre.

29. Despite playing a fan-favorite character in Scream 3, it seems that Parker Posey isn't all that attached to the movie.

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She told TooFab that she "stood in the back of the theater close to the exit door" and "barely watched it" at the premiere. She hasn't watched it since.

Even so, it sounds like she enjoyed making the film, noting how much she loved working with Carrie Fisher, David Arquette, and Courteney Cox...

30. ...Even though Cox punched her for real.

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Posey said of the scene: "It was four in the morning. I had a feeling she'd really punch me and she did! I didn't see stars or anything but it was enough for me to go 'ow' — and of course, we all thought it was funny."

31. Scream 4 was the last film to be directed by Wes Craven.

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He passed away in 2015 at age 76.

32. Scream 4 was also the first movie in the franchise to use a CGI knife.

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It was also the first not to use the Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds song, "Red Right Hand." (The song returned in the new Scream.)

33. During a scene at the high school in Scream 4, a bust of Principal Himbry (played by Henry Winkler in first Scream) can be seen in the hallway.

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The character was killed in the original Scream.

34. Dewey's missing limp was explained in the Scream 4 script.

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Over the years, there have been some seeming inconsistencies when it comes to the limp Dewey has, resulting in his first Ghostface attack. He has it in Scream 2 (where he explains it's the result of a severed nerve) and Scream 3, but by Scream 4, it's gone.

Though never mentioned in any dialogue, in the action for a deleted scene featuring Dewey and Gale, there's a note that Dewey's limp "is nearly nonexistent," due to "years of physical therapy."

(In the most recent movie, it's back — Dewey even refers to it as a "fun little limp." Since he didn't sustain any injuries in Scream 4 that would lead to another limp, it's possible it could have returned if he stopped his physical therapy exercises.)

35. The new Scream is the first in the franchise whose score wasn't composed by Marco Beltrami.

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Brian Tyler handled the music for the new Scream, though Beltrami's piece "Sidney's Lament" is used in the movie.

36. Scream directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett hit up social media for inspiration.

In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Gillett said they consider themselves part of the fan community, adding: "We looked at Twitter, at Reddit, at all the message boards, because it’s such an interesting place to gather a sense of what the momentum [is] of those communities."

37. Neve Campbell was hesitant to return to the Scream franchise without Wes Craven.

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Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett sent her a letter that convinced her to sign on. She told Variety that in the letter, they said Craven inspired them to become filmmakers, "expressed to [her] how much it meant to them to be making this film," and said they "really wanted to do right by Wes and honor his legacy."

38. In addition to David Arquette teaching the Scream newcomers to paint like Bob Ross, Neve Campbell and Courteney Cox had their own special moments with them as well.

Instagram: @screammovies / Paramount Pictures

Jasmin Savoy Brown, who plays Mindy Meeks-Martin, told The Hollywood Reporter that Cox had them over to her home in Los Angeles for karaoke and Campbell had them over to her place in North Carolina to play cards. 

39. A number of characters in the new Scream had more scenes in the original script.

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In the script, Vince and Dewey had an altercation at the bar, and Vince's death scene was much more elaborate. Dewey also had a scene with Sheriff Judy, and Liv had an additional scene where she pulled out a bedazzled knife for protection.

40. Tara and Amber were also originally dating.

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In the opening scene, their texts start out much flirtier before Ghostface calls Tara, and at one point Amber refers to Tara as her girlfriend.

41. Just like Dewey was supposed to die in the first Scream, Mason Gooding's character, Chad, originally didn't survive Ghostface's attack.

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Matt Bettinelli-Olpin told The Hollywood Reporter: "The conversation as soon as he signed on was, 'Well we can't kill Chad. Mason has got to be in the other movies. This guy is the greatest! We’d be crazy to get someone this charismatic and just kill them.' I went to a screening this weekend to see it with an audience. I heard an audible, cathartic, gasp. You could feel people were so glad that he lived. That includes us."

42. The directors of the new Scream almost didn't bother using de-aging technology on Skeet Ulrich.

Instagram: @skeetulrich

In an interview with Bloody Disgusting, Matt Betinelli-Olpin said: "Full disclosure: Probably halfway through the edit, we thought we don’t need to de-age him. He looks great. Then we saw a test of the de-aging, and we realized, oh, now he looks just like Billy. Okay. And that’s what sold us. But honestly, we thought he looked great. He’s a very handsome man."

43. Jack Quaid took after Ulrich in more ways than one.

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In the original Scream, Ulrich wears the Ghostface costume in only one scene: when he's sneaking up on Jamie Kennedy's character Randy, who's on the couch watching Halloween. Tyler Gillett revealed to Bloody Disgusting that Quaid also only donned the costume once in the new movie: when he's sneaking up on Mindy (Randy's niece), who's on the couch watching the aforementioned scene in Stab.

44. Melissa Barrera had a close call with a knife on the set of the new Scream.

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She told The Hollywood Reporter that the attack/fight scenes were filmed with both rubber and real knives, and that during the scene where Sam is first attacked by Ghostface, one of the real knives "flew out of his hand and hit the window right behind [her]." Fortunately, it flew right past her.

45. Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett filmed a quick shot to be used in the event Dewey actually survived the new Scream.

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Gillet told Variety that the studio requested it, and that they "very begrudgingly got one shot that you could put some voiceover over, like, 'He woke up from surgery, he’s gonna be fine.'" He added that they had "no intention of ever fucking using it."

46. We almost saw more of Kirby Reed in the new film.

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As many Kirby fans know by now, there's an Easter egg in Scream confirming that the character, played by Hayden Panettiere, did survive the events of Scream 4. Apparently, there was a point when Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett considered having Panettiere film a proper cameo.

Bettinelli-Olpin told Nerdist that they wanted to address Kirby right from the beginning but weren't sure how, adding: "There was a period during the pre-production where we thought we might be able to even get her in this movie. We had a Zoom with her and she was lovely. And she was like, 'I love Kirby, I’d love to be in it.'"

By that point, they were "so far down the road" they would have had to "shoehorn" Kirby in and they felt it would be an "injustice" to the character, though from the sound of it, there's a good chance we'll see her in a future installment.

47. Panettiere did get to participate in the new Scream, though, along with a few other former franchise stars.

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"Henry Winkler, Adam Brody, Hayden Panettiere they all are a part of the toast, the “to Wes” toast," Tyler Gillett told Bloody Disgusting. "Patrick Lussier, Marco Beltrami, Wes' widow Iya [Labunka]. We got everyone who knows Wes, including Julie Plec. Their voices are all in that big toast at the party at the end."

48. Matthew Lillard, Drew Barrymore, and Jamie Kennedy also had sneaky cameos in the new Scream.

Paramount Pictures

In the same interview, Gillett revealed that Lillard is the voice of the flamethrower Ghostface, saying "this shit is lit" in the Stab 8 YouTube trailer and that he also ADR'd the line "Cool house, Freeman" during the party scene.

Meanwhile, Barrymore provides the voice of the principal at the beginning of the movie, just before we see the new cast sitting at the picnic tables.

And Kennedy ADR'd the line "Someone's goofy-ass dad is kicking us out" when Richie tells all the teens they need to leave.

49. The "For Wes" sign at the party made Neve Campbell cry.

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"Walking onto that set without Wes being present, with a sign hanging across the kitchen that said ‘For Wes,’ I burst into tears when I walked in on the first day,” she told The Hollywood Reporter. "And from what I understand, Courteney [Cox] and David [Arquette] did as well."

50. Neve Campbell is adamant that Sidney is never killed by Ghostface.

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Campbell said in the same interview that because Sidney represents "a certain amount of strength and lack of victimhood," she thinks it's important that she survives.

She added: "I’ve had a lot of people come up to me in the past and just say that she inspired them in some way or helped them in their lives in some way, which is not what you normally expect when you’re performing in a horror film. I certainly would hate to see Sidney fall. I think it would be the wrong message."

Don’t miss Sam Claflin in the new rom com Book of Love from BuzzFeed Studios, coming to Amazon Prime Video February 4th and Sky Cinema February 12th.

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