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''Scream 2'' is a 1997 American
slasher film A slasher film is a genre of horror films involving a killer stalking and murdering a group of people, usually by use of bladed or sharp tools like knife, chainsaw, scalpel, etc. Although the term "slasher" may occasionally be used informally as ...
directed by
Wes Craven Wesley Earl Craven (August 2, 1939 – August 30, 2015) was an American film director, screenwriter, producer, actor, and editor. Craven has commonly been recognized as one of the greatest masters of the horror genre due to the cultural imp ...
and written by Kevin Williamson. It stars
Neve Campbell Neve Adrianne Campbell (born October 3, 1973; ) is a Canadian actress. She is known for her work in the drama and horror genres. She has appeared on ''People'' magazine's list of "50 Most Beautiful People" twice. Following a series of minor ...
,
David Arquette David Arquette (born September 8, 1971) is an American actor and former professional wrestler. He is best known for his role as Dewey Riley in the slasher film franchise ''Scream'', for which he won a Teen Choice Award and two Blockbuster En ...
,
Courteney Cox Courteney Bass Cox (previously Courteney Cox Arquette; born June 15, 1964) is an American actress and filmmaker. She gained international recognition for her starring role as Monica Geller on the NBC sitcom ''Friends'', which aired from 1994 ...
,
Sarah Michelle Gellar Sarah Michelle Prinze ( ; born April 14, 1977) is an American actress. After being spotted at the age of four in New York City, she made her screen acting debut in the television film ''An Invasion of Privacy'' (1983). A leading role on the te ...
, Jamie Kennedy,
Laurie Metcalf Laura Elizabeth Metcalf (born June 16, 1955) is an American actress. Often described as a character actor, she's known for her complex and versitile roles across the stage and screen. She has received various accolades throughout her career sp ...
, Jerry O'Connell,
Elise Neal Elise Demetria Neal (born March 14, 1966) is an American actress. Her big break came with three 1997 films, appearing in ''Rosewood'', '' Money Talks'' and ''Scream 2''. From 1998 to 2002, Neal starred as Yvonne Hughley in the ABC/ UPN sitcom ...
,
Timothy Olyphant Timothy David Olyphant ( ; born May 20, 1968) is an American actor. He made his acting debut in an off-Broadway theater in 1995, in ''The Monogamist'', and won the Theatre World Award for his performance, and then originated David Sedaris' ''Th ...
, Jada Pinkett and Liev Schreiber. The film was released on December 12, 1997, less than a year after the first, by Dimension Films, as the second installment in the ''Scream'' film series. It was followed by three sequels, ''
Scream 3 ''Scream 3'' is a 2000 American slasher film directed by Wes Craven and written by Ehren Kruger. It stars Neve Campbell, David Arquette, Courteney Cox, Parker Posey, Patrick Dempsey, Scott Foley, Lance Henriksen, Matt Keeslar, Jenny McCarthy ...
'' (2000), ''
Scream 4 ''Scream 4'' (stylized as ''SCRE4M'') is a 2011 American slasher film directed by Wes Craven and written by Kevin Williamson. Produced by Outerbanks Entertainment and distributed by Dimension Films, it is the fourth installment in the ''Scream ...
'' (2011), and ''
Scream Scream may refer to: *Screaming, a loud vocalization Amusement rides * Scream (Heide Park), a gyro drop tower in Soltau, Germany * Scream! (ride), a tower ride at Six Flags Fiesta Texas and Six Flags New England * Scream! (roller coaster), at ...
'' (2022). ''Scream 2'' takes place two years after the first film and again follows the character of
Sidney Prescott Sidney Prescott is a fictional character and the protagonist of the ''Scream'' franchise. The character was created by Kevin Williamson and is portrayed by Canadian actress Neve Campbell. She first appeared in '' Scream'' (1996) followed by fou ...
(Campbell), and other survivors of the Woodsboro massacre, at the fictional Windsor College in
Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...
, where they are targeted by a
copycat Copycat refers to a person who copies some aspect of some thing or somebody else. Copycat may also refer to: Intellectual property rights * Copyright infringement, use of another’s ideas or words without permission * Patent infringement, a v ...
killer using the guise of Ghostface. Like its predecessor, ''Scream 2'' combines the violence of the slasher genre with elements of comedy, satire and "
whodunit A ''whodunit'' or ''whodunnit'' (a colloquial elision of "Who asdone it?") is a complex plot-driven variety of detective fiction in which the puzzle regarding who committed the crime is the main focus. The reader or viewer is provided with the c ...
" mystery while satirizing the cliché of film
sequel A sequel is a work of literature, film, theatre, television, music or video game that continues the story of, or expands upon, some earlier work. In the common context of a narrative work of fiction, a sequel portrays events set in the same ...
s. Williamson provided a five-page outline for a sequel to ''Scream'' when auctioning his original script, hoping to entice bidders with the potential of buying a franchise. Following a successful test screening of ''Scream'' and the film's financial and critical success, Dimension moved forward with the sequel while ''Scream'' was still in theaters, with the principal cast all returning to star, Craven to direct and Beltrami to provide music. The film suffered controversy following its significant issues with plot information leaking onto the
Internet The Internet (or internet) is the global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a '' network of networks'' that consists of private, pub ...
, revealing the identity of the killers. Combined with the film's rushed schedule, the script was rewritten often; pages were sometimes completed on the day of filming. Despite these issues, ''Scream 2'' earned $172.4million at the box office, only $683,362 less than ''Scream'', and received positive reviews from critics, with some arguing that it surpassed the original in quality. Beltrami received positive critical reception for his score for evolving the musical themes of the characters created in ''Scream'', although some critics claimed that the most memorable pieces from the film were created by composers Danny Elfman and
Hans Zimmer Hans Florian Zimmer (; born 12 September 1957) is a German film score composer and music producer. He has won two Oscars and four Grammys, and has been nominated for two Emmys and a Tony. Zimmer was also named on the list of Top 100 Living G ...
. Elfman's contribution had been specially written for the film, but Zimmer's score for '' Broken Arrow'' was controversially used in the film, replacing Beltrami's own work. The film's soundtrack achieved moderate sales success, reaching number 50 on the ''Billboard'' 200.


Plot

Two Windsor College seniors, Maureen Evans and Phil Stevens, attend a sneak preview of ''Stab'', a film based on the events of the Woodsboro massacre. Briefly exiting the theater to use the bathroom, Phil is killed by the masked killer now known as Ghostface. Ghostface sits beside Maureen in Phil's place and stabs her, leading her to climb up on stage in a cry for help, which the audience mistakes for a publicity stunt until she falls dead. The news media, including local journalist Debbie Salt, descend on Windsor College where
Sidney Prescott Sidney Prescott is a fictional character and the protagonist of the ''Scream'' franchise. The character was created by Kevin Williamson and is portrayed by Canadian actress Neve Campbell. She first appeared in '' Scream'' (1996) followed by fou ...
studies alongside her best friend Hallie McDaniel, her new boyfriend Derek Feldman, fellow Woodsboro survivor Randy Meeks and Derek's best friend Mickey Altieri. Two other Woodsboro survivors arrive: police officer Dewey Riley to offer Sidney protection, and reporter
Gale Weathers Gale Weathers is a fictional character of the ''Scream'' film series, created by Kevin Williamson and portrayed by Courteney Cox. The character first appeared in '' Scream'' (1996), followed by five sequels: ''Scream 2'' (1997), ''Scream 3'' (20 ...
to cover the case. Gale and her new camera man, Joel Jones, unsuccessfully try to stage a confrontation between Sidney and Cotton Weary, who is attempting to gain fame from his exoneration for the rape and murder of Sidney's mother, Maureen Prescott. That evening, Sidney and Hallie attend a party at a sorority house. At another nearby sorority house, Ghostface murders student Cici Cooper. After the partygoers leave, Ghostface enters the house and attacks Sidney. Ghostface injures Derek but flees when the police arrive. Later, after realizing that Cici's real name is Casey, Gale theorizes that the new Ghostface is targeting students with the same names as the Woodsboro murder victims. Randy theorizes that the killer is likely someone Sidney knows and is basing the killings on a movie sequel. Soon after, Ghostface calls Gale, Dewey, and Randy while they are together in daylight on the college campus green. Gale and Dewey tell Randy to keep him on the line while they go around confronting everyone else in the surrounding area who is on a cell phone. Ghostface ambushes Randy, pulling him into Joel's media van, where he is murdered. Joel, scared he will be targeted next, skips town. As night falls on the campus, Dewey and Gale go to a building to review tapes of footage shot by Joel, hoping to spot the killer in the vicinity of the previous crime scenes, but the killer attacks them, stabbing Dewey. Two officers drive Sidney and Hallie to a safe house, but Ghostface intercepts the car and murders them. In the ensuing struggle, Ghostface is knocked unconscious, but recovers and kills Hallie. Drawn to music playing in the campus theatre, seeking safety, Sidney finds Derek in the auditorium tied to a cross from an earlier fraternity hazing ritual. Ghostface arrives, revealing himself to be Mickey, and shoots Derek, killing him. Mickey intends to kill Sidney and allow himself to be arrested so he can blame violence in movies for the murders at his trial. Local reporter Debbie Salt is then revealed to be his accomplice, whom Sidney recognizes as Mrs. Loomis. Mrs. Loomis betrays Mickey and shoots him, reflexively shooting and injuring Gale before he collapses. Mrs. Loomis reveals that she is seeking revenge against Sidney for killing her son, Billy, but Sidney points out the hypocrisy of her motive, considering that Mrs. Loomis abandoned her own son in the past, which caused him to turn into a serial killer. The pair fight until Cotton intervenes. Mrs. Loomis attempts to manipulate Cotton into murdering Sidney, but he chooses to shoot Mrs. Loomis in exchange for an interview with Sidney and
Diane Sawyer Lila Diane Sawyer (; born December 22, 1945) is an American television broadcast journalist known for anchoring major programs on two networks including ''ABC World News Tonight'', ''Good Morning America'', ''20/20'', and ''Primetime'' newsmagaz ...
. Mickey suddenly resurfaces, but he is then promptly and viciously gunned down and killed by Gale and Sidney. Sidney then shoots Mrs. Loomis in the head to ensure she is dead. When the police arrive, Dewey is revealed to still be alive and Gale climbs into the ambulance with him rather than taking the opportunity to report to the returned Joel, indicating that she cares more for Dewey than for the notoriety she always sought. Sidney instructs the press to direct questions to Cotton, rewarding him with the fame he has been chasing while removing the attention from herself.


Cast


Production


Writing

While writing the script for ''Scream'', Williamson also developed two five-page treatments for potential sequels. Following the release of ''Scream'', Williamson would confirm that he had considered a sequel concept where the character of Sidney Prescott would now be attending college and a
copycat Copycat refers to a person who copies some aspect of some thing or somebody else. Copycat may also refer to: Intellectual property rights * Copyright infringement, use of another’s ideas or words without permission * Patent infringement, a v ...
Ghostface killer would start a new series of murders. Dimension Films agreed to pursue the sequel in March 1997, by which point Williamson already had forty-two pages of the plot developed which involved four different killers,
Derek Derek is a masculine given name. It is the English language short form of '' Diederik'', the Low Franconian form of the name Theodoric. Theodoric is an old Germanic name with an original meaning of "people-ruler". Common variants of the name ar ...
, Hallie, Cotton Weary, and Mrs. Loomis, who is the mother of one of the previous film's killers. By July 1997, filming began on ''Scream 2'' but after Williamson transferred his script to the production it was leaked onto the
Internet The Internet (or internet) is the global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a '' network of networks'' that consists of private, pub ...
in full, revealing the identity of the killers and a large amount of the involved plot. This resulted in the production continuing to film with only a partial script while Williamson conducted extensive rewrites, changing much of the film's finale, the identities of the film's killers and drastically altering the roles of other characters such as Randy Meeks and
Joel Joel or Yoel is a name meaning "Yahweh Is God" and may refer to: * Joel (given name), origin of the name including a list of people with the first name. * Joel (surname), a surname * Joel (footballer, born 1904), Joel de Oliveira Monteiro, Brazili ...
. To avoid another such incident and prevent sensitive plot details being revealed through other means, the actors were not given the last pages of the script until weeks before shooting and the pages that revealed the killer's identity were only provided on the day the scene was shot to the actors involved. The short production schedule on ''Scream 2'' and his work on other projects meant that Williamson's final script used for the film was detailed in some areas but lacking in others, with Wes Craven forced to write and develop certain scenes as they were being filmed. The incident was the first in which a film was significantly affected by an Internet leak. In 2017, Williamson claimed the leaked script was a "dummy draft" that was crafted specifically to avoid leaked details. Williamson claimed there were three dummy endings written.


Development

Williamson had been contracted for two potential sequels to ''Scream'' when selling the script for the original, based on five-page proposals he attached to the script, hoping to entice prospective buyers with the fact that they were not just buying a film but a franchise, and after a successful test screening for the original, at which Miramax executives were present, Craven was also given a contract to direct the two future films. Dimension Films considered pursuing development of a sequel in January 1997 after ''Scream'' proceeded to gross more than $50million in the first month of its release, with production being
greenlit To green-light is to give permission to proceed with a project. The term is a reference to the green traffic signal, indicating "go ahead". Film industry In the context of the film and television industries, to green-light something is to ...
in March 1997 and an increased budget of $24million over ''Scream''s $15million. The production of the film suffered a significant setback when the script was leaked, revealing plot details including the identity of the killers, resulting in the script being modified to change many details. In an interview, Craven commented on the rushed six-month production schedule, with the film being expected ready for release on December 12, less than a year after the release of ''Scream'', and Williamson forced to rewrite his script, pages for scenes would often only be ready on the day of filming and others lacked significant detail that forced Craven to develop them as the scenes took place. Various titles were considered for the sequel at different points in the film's production, including ''Scream Again'', ''Scream Louder'' and ''Scream: The Sequel'' before the studio decided to simply use ''Scream 2''.


Casting

Neve Campbell Neve Adrianne Campbell (born October 3, 1973; ) is a Canadian actress. She is known for her work in the drama and horror genres. She has appeared on ''People'' magazine's list of "50 Most Beautiful People" twice. Following a series of minor ...
had been contracted to reprise her role as heroine
Sidney Prescott Sidney Prescott is a fictional character and the protagonist of the ''Scream'' franchise. The character was created by Kevin Williamson and is portrayed by Canadian actress Neve Campbell. She first appeared in '' Scream'' (1996) followed by fou ...
in a potential sequel before filming had even begun on ''Scream'', her character being the only one from the original film guaranteed to survive and lead a new film. Once production of a sequel was seen as inevitable, following the success of ''Scream'', Dimension Films added sequel options for the actors whose character had survived the previous film;
Courteney Cox Courteney Bass Cox (previously Courteney Cox Arquette; born June 15, 1964) is an American actress and filmmaker. She gained international recognition for her starring role as Monica Geller on the NBC sitcom ''Friends'', which aired from 1994 ...
as ambitious
news reporter A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalism ...
Gale Weathers Gale Weathers is a fictional character of the ''Scream'' film series, created by Kevin Williamson and portrayed by Courteney Cox. The character first appeared in '' Scream'' (1996), followed by five sequels: ''Scream 2'' (1997), ''Scream 3'' (20 ...
,
David Arquette David Arquette (born September 8, 1971) is an American actor and former professional wrestler. He is best known for his role as Dewey Riley in the slasher film franchise ''Scream'', for which he won a Teen Choice Award and two Blockbuster En ...
as retired deputy sheriff
Dewey Riley Wes Craven's ''Scream'' series features a large cast of characters created primarily by Kevin Williamson with contributions from Craven and Ehren Kruger. The series focuses on the character of Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell) and a succession ...
, Jamie Kennedy as film-geek Randy Meeks and Liev Schreiber as Cotton Weary, the man exonerated for the murder of Sidney's mother. Roger L. Jackson also returned to voice the character of Ghostface. Having finalized the returning principal cast from ''Scream'', the production approached their casting for ''Scream 2'' in a similar manner, seeking established and popular actors, largely sourcing from TV shows of the time. In interviews, the production staff of the film remarked that they found approaching and securing the talent they wanted significantly easier than it had been for ''Scream'', considering the financial and critical success of the film but also believing the prior involvement of
Drew Barrymore Drew Blythe Barrymore (born February 22, 1975) is an American actress, director, producer, talk show host and author. A member of the Barrymore family of actors, she is the recipient of several accolades, including a Golden Globe Award and a ...
had lent the horror genre an element of credibility which made serious actors eager to become involved. New cast included
Sarah Michelle Gellar Sarah Michelle Prinze ( ; born April 14, 1977) is an American actress. After being spotted at the age of four in New York City, she made her screen acting debut in the television film ''An Invasion of Privacy'' (1983). A leading role on the te ...
as
sorority Fraternities and sororities are social organizations at colleges and universities in North America. Generally, membership in a fraternity or sorority is obtained as an undergraduate student, but continues thereafter for life. Some accept gradua ...
sister and film fan Cici Cooper,
Elise Neal Elise Demetria Neal (born March 14, 1966) is an American actress. Her big break came with three 1997 films, appearing in ''Rosewood'', '' Money Talks'' and ''Scream 2''. From 1998 to 2002, Neal starred as Yvonne Hughley in the ABC/ UPN sitcom ...
as Sidney's friend and roommate Hallie, Jerry O'Connell as Sidney's boyfriend
Derek Derek is a masculine given name. It is the English language short form of '' Diederik'', the Low Franconian form of the name Theodoric. Theodoric is an old Germanic name with an original meaning of "people-ruler". Common variants of the name ar ...
,
Timothy Olyphant Timothy David Olyphant ( ; born May 20, 1968) is an American actor. He made his acting debut in an off-Broadway theater in 1995, in ''The Monogamist'', and won the Theatre World Award for his performance, and then originated David Sedaris' ''Th ...
as
Mickey Mickey is a given name and nickname, almost always masculine and often a short form (hypocorism) of Michael, and occasionally a surname. Notable people and characters with the name include: People Given name or nickname Men * Mickey Andrews (bor ...
and
Laurie Metcalf Laura Elizabeth Metcalf (born June 16, 1955) is an American actress. Often described as a character actor, she's known for her complex and versitile roles across the stage and screen. She has received various accolades throughout her career sp ...
as local reporter Debbie Salt, later revealed as Mrs. Loomis, mother of Billy Loomis from ''Scream''. Early in development, Alicia Silverstone and Liv Tyler were approached to appear in the film's opening sequence, while
Eric Mabius Eric Harry Timothy Mabius (born April 22, 1971) is an American actor. Born in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, he graduated from Sarah Lawrence College in Bronxville, New York, with a degree in cinema studies. After working in theater productions, Mabiu ...
, Natasha Gregson Wagner and
Paula Marshall Paula Marshall (born June 12, 1964) is an American actress. Career In 1990, Marshall had a guest role as Iris West, the love interest of Flash (Barry Allen) in the pilot episode on the short-lived '' Flash''. In 1991, she guest-starred on ''Supe ...
all auditioned for unspecified roles. Many of the actors involved in the production, including Campbell, Cox, Gellar, and O'Connell were starring in their own television series at the time, allowing the production limited availability to schedule their involvement. Gellar in particular was in-between filming of '' Buffy the Vampire Slayer'' and had only recently finished work on another Williamson-penned film, '' I Know What You Did Last Summer'' (1997). Despite the hectic scheduling, Gellar admitted in an interview that she agreed to perform in ''Scream 2'' without having read the script because of the success of ''Scream''. Metcalf had only just finished her nine-year run on the popular sitcom '' Roseanne'' when she began work on ''Scream 2'' and Craven was praising of her ability to portray the deranged Mrs. Loomis. To obtain the role of Derek, O'Connell and other candidates had to audition by performing a scene from the film where the character sings "
I Think I Love You "I Think I Love You" is a song by Tony Romeo, written as the debut single for fictional musical TV family the Partridge Family, released in August 1970, a month prior to the debut of the ABC-TV musical sitcom ''The Partridge Family'' starring Sh ...
". Olyphant's involvement as Mickey was his first leading role in a feature film. Despite scheduling difficulties, Craven took their desire to participate in the film despite their workload as a compliment to the film's quality. The cast was rounded out by
Lewis Arquette Lewis Michael Arquette (December 14, 1935 – February 10, 2001) was an American film actor, writer, and producer. Arquette was known for playing J.D. Pickett on the television series ''The Waltons'', on which he worked from 1978 to 1981. Life ...
, father of David Arquette, as a local Sheriff in charge of investigating the new murders,
Duane Martin Duane Martin (born August 11, 1965) is an American actor. Early life and education Martin was born in Brooklyn, New York, and he graduated from New York University. He played NCAA Division III basketball at NYU and was signed as an undrafted ...
as Gale's cameraman
Joel Joel or Yoel is a name meaning "Yahweh Is God" and may refer to: * Joel (given name), origin of the name including a list of people with the first name. * Joel (surname), a surname * Joel (footballer, born 1904), Joel de Oliveira Monteiro, Brazili ...
, Jada Pinkett and
Omar Epps Omar Hashim Epps (born July 20, 1973) is an American actor, rapper, and producer. He has been awarded nine NAACP Image Awards, two Teen Choice Awards, one MTV Movie Award, one Black Reel Award, and one Screen Actors Guild Award. Epps's film r ...
as Maureen Evans and Phil Stevens, patrons of the fictional "Stab" film who become the film's opening victims, and
Portia de Rossi Portia Lee James DeGeneres (born Amanda Lee Rogers; 31 January 1973), known professionally as Portia de Rossi, is an Australian-American former actress. She played Nelle Porter on the American drama series '' Ally McBeal'' (1998–2002), for w ...
and Rebecca Gayheart as sorority sisters Murphy and Lois. Gayheart had auditioned for the role of Tatum Riley in ''Scream'' and auditioned multiple times for ''Scream 2'' for the roles of Cici Cooper, Hallie and Maureen Evans before obtaining her eventual role. Minor roles were filled by Chris Doyle and Philip Pavel as Officer Richards and Officer Andrews, assigned to protect Sidney, veteran actor David Warner as Sidney's drama teacher, Joshua Jackson as an unnamed film student, and
Nancy O'Dell Nancy O'Dell (born Nancy Evelyn Humphries; 1966) is an American television host and entertainment journalist. She served as co-anchor of the syndicated entertainment news show ''Entertainment Tonight'' from January 3, 2011, to August 2, 2019. E ...
as an unnamed reporter who would reprise the role in future installments of the series.
Tori Spelling Victoria Davey Spelling (born May 16, 1973) is an American actress and author. Her first major role was Donna Martin on ''Beverly Hills, 90210'', beginning in 1990. She has appeared in made for television films, including '' A Friend to Die F ...
, Luke Wilson and
Heather Graham Heather Joan Graham (born January 29, 1970) is an American actress. After appearing in television commercials, her first starring role in a feature film came with the teen comedy '' License to Drive'' (1988), followed by the critically acclaime ...
played themselves as characters in the "Stab" films; credited as Stab Sidney, Stab Billy and Stab Casey respectively. Spelling was cast based on a sarcastic remark by Campbell's character in ''Scream'' that she would be played by Spelling in a movie based on her life. Craven remarked that she was a "good sport" about the joke and happy to take part.


Filming

Principal photography Principal photography is the phase of producing a film or television show in which the bulk of shooting takes place, as distinct from the phases of pre-production and post-production. Personnel Besides the main film personnel, such as a ...
for ''Scream 2'' took place over a nine-week period beginning in mid-June 1997 and on a budget of $24million.
Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,7 ...
and
Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...
were used to represent the state of
Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...
, where the fictional Windsor College is situated in ''Scream 2'', with filming taking place largely in Los Angeles and over four weeks in Atlanta. The opening scene featuring the premiere of the fictional "Stab" film was filmed over three days in the Vista theater on Sunset Drive, Hollywood, the exterior represented by the Rialto theater in
South Pasadena, California South Pasadena is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. As of the 2010 census, it had a population of 25,619, up from 24,292 at the 2000 census. It is located in the West San Gabriel Valley. It is 3.42 square miles in area an ...
. Due to the large number of extras present in the scene, full details of what occurred were leaked onto the Internet shortly after filming completed which Craven cited as the production's first experience of a major plot leak. The
sorority Fraternities and sororities are social organizations at colleges and universities in North America. Generally, membership in a fraternity or sorority is obtained as an undergraduate student, but continues thereafter for life. Some accept gradua ...
homes used by the character Cici Cooper and a nearby party were also filmed in Pasadena, east of Los Angeles. The fictional ''Stab'' film was filmed in
Malibu, California Malibu ( ; es, Malibú; Chumash: ) is a beach city in the Santa Monica Mountains region of Los Angeles County, California, situated about west of Downtown Los Angeles. It is known for its Mediterranean climate and its strip of the Malib ...
. Agnes Scott College, just outside Atlanta, and
UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California ...
in Los Angeles were used to represent the fictional Windsor College which appears in the film. Following a script leak early into filming, security around the production was significantly increased, with a focus on closed filmsets and strict restrictions on what personnel could be present during filming and have access to the script, with all present required to sign
non-disclosure agreements A non-disclosure agreement (NDA) is a legal contract or part of a contract between at least two parties that outlines confidential material, knowledge, or information that the parties wish to share with one another for certain purposes, but wish ...
. The script itself was reprinted on specialty paper to prevent photocopying and was often destroyed after use.


Post-production

Craven had difficulties passing ''Scream'' through the film-rating body
MPAA The Motion Picture Association (MPA) is an American trade association representing the five major film studios of the United States, as well as the video streaming service Netflix. Founded in 1922 as the Motion Picture Producers and Distribu ...
to receive an R-rating to help the film remain commercially viable, sending eight different cuts and requiring the direct intervention of Dimension Films founder
Bob Weinstein Robert Weinstein (born October 18, 1954) is an American film producer. He is the founder and head of Dimension Films, former co-chairman of Miramax Films and The Weinstein Company, all of which he co-founded with his older brother, Harvey. He ...
to eventually get the necessary rating to release the film without significant cuts. Eager to avoid the same experience on ''Scream 2'', Craven attempted to manipulate the MPAA by sending them a version of the film that had been edited to focus on and enhance the gore and violence present beyond what they actually wanted in the film, including reusing a clip of
Omar Epps Omar Hashim Epps (born July 20, 1973) is an American actor, rapper, and producer. He has been awarded nine NAACP Image Awards, two Teen Choice Awards, one MTV Movie Award, one Black Reel Award, and one Screen Actors Guild Award. Epps's film r ...
' character Phil Stevens being stabbed in the ear three times, instead of only once as seen in the final film, and an extended scene of Randy Meeks' death that showed his throat being slashed. Craven's reasoning was that the parts of the film they wished to keep would be more acceptable when viewed with the enhanced violence and so the MPAA would force them to remove the footage they already did not want to keep while passing the content they did want. However, the MPAA granted ''Scream 2'' an R-rating for the more violent cut as they believed the underlying message of the film was significant enough to warrant the violence.


Music

Marco Beltrami returned to helm the score for ''Scream 2'', though there would be a late inclusion by Danny Elfman in the form of the choral track "Cassandra Aria" which plays during a scene where Campbell's character performs in a
play Play most commonly refers to: * Play (activity), an activity done for enjoyment * Play (theatre), a work of drama Play may refer also to: Computers and technology * Google Play, a digital content service * Play Framework, a Java framework * P ...
and again in the film's finale as "Cassandra Aria Reprise". Excerpts from the score of the 1996 film '' Broken Arrow'' by
Hans Zimmer Hans Florian Zimmer (; born 12 September 1957) is a German film score composer and music producer. He has won two Oscars and four Grammys, and has been nominated for two Emmys and a Tony. Zimmer was also named on the list of Top 100 Living G ...
appeared in the film, in particular guitar work by
Duane Eddy Duane Eddy (born April 26, 1938) is an American rock and roll guitarist. In the late 1950s and early 1960s, he had a string of hit records produced by Lee Hazlewood, which were noted for their characteristically "twangy" sound, including " Rebel ...
, for the character Dewey, replacing the tracks that had been developed for the character from the original ''Scream'' score. Beltrami would explain in an interview that the Zimmer piece was used as a placeholder for Beltrami's incomplete score during a test screening. The test audience reaction to it influenced the studio to keep the Zimmer piece, reducing "Dewey's Theme", which Beltrami had composed to fill its place, to minor use during more serious scenes involving the character. In 1998
Varèse Sarabande Varèse Sarabande is an American record label, owned by Concord Music Group and distributed by Universal Music Group, which specializes in film scores and original cast recordings. It aims to reissue rare or unavailable albums, as well as newer r ...
released a 30-minute album with music from ''Scream'' and ''Scream 2'', and in 2016 ''Scream 2: The Deluxe Edition'' was released including the Elfman material and the complete Beltrami score.


Trivia

Matthew Lillard Matthew Lyn Lillard (born January 24, 1970) is an American actor. His early film work includes Chip Sutphin in ''Serial Mom'' (1994), Emmanuel "Cereal Killer" Goldstein in '' Hackers'' (1995), Stu Macher in '' Scream'' (1996), Stevo in ''SLC Pu ...
has an uncredited
cameo appearance A cameo role, also called a cameo appearance and often shortened to just cameo (), is a brief appearance of a well-known person in a work of the performing arts. These roles are generally small, many of them non-speaking ones, and are commonly ei ...
at a sorority party, after previously portraying Stu Macher in ''
Scream Scream may refer to: *Screaming, a loud vocalization Amusement rides * Scream (Heide Park), a gyro drop tower in Soltau, Germany * Scream! (ride), a tower ride at Six Flags Fiesta Texas and Six Flags New England * Scream! (roller coaster), at ...
'' (1996). He revealed in a 2009 interview that Stu was originally intended to be revealed as the killer in ''
Scream 3 ''Scream 3'' is a 2000 American slasher film directed by Wes Craven and written by Ehren Kruger. It stars Neve Campbell, David Arquette, Courteney Cox, Parker Posey, Patrick Dempsey, Scott Foley, Lance Henriksen, Matt Keeslar, Jenny McCarthy ...
'', having survived his apparent death in ''Scream'' (1996), retroactively making his ''Scream 2'' character also Stu; however, this plot was abandoned and the script was rewritten without Stu. An
alternate ending An alternate ending (or alternative ending) is an ending of a story that was considered, or even written or produced, but ultimately discarded in favour of another resolution. Generally, alternative endings are considered to have no bearing on t ...
was planned to reveal a third Ghostface killer to be watching Sidney from her university roof, but the idea was scrapped. The movie was mentioned in an episode of '' The Office'' (" Frame Toby"), with the character Michael Scott saying how much he loved it and drawing parallels to his life and Sidney Prescott's.


Release

''Scream 2'' held its premiere on December 10, 1997, at Graumans Chinese Theater in Hollywood followed by a general release on December 12, 1997, less than a year after the release of ''Scream''. After the unexpected success of ''Scream'', by late 1997, ''Scream 2'' was considered such a potential box office success that the
James Bond The ''James Bond'' series focuses on a fictional British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short-story collections. Since Fleming's death in 1964, eight other authors have ...
film ''
Tomorrow Never Dies ''Tomorrow Never Dies'' is a 1997 spy film, the eighteenth in the ''James Bond'' series produced by Eon Productions and the second to star Pierce Brosnan as fictional MI6 agent James Bond. Directed by Roger Spottiswoode from a screenplay ...
'' and James Cameron's future hit '' Titanic'' were moved from their release date of December 12 to 19 so as to not face the film as competition.


Box office

''Scream 2'' opened in 2,663 theaters and took $32.9million on its opening weekend in box-office receipts, a $27million increase over ''Scream'', and went on to gross $101.1million in the U.S. and a worldwide lifetime gross of $172.4million. Its debut set the December opening weekend record until December 2000, being replaced by ''
What Women Want ''What Women Want'' is a 2000 American romantic fantasy comedy film written by Josh Goldsmith, Cathy Yuspa, and Diane Drake, directed by Nancy Meyers, and starring Mel Gibson and Helen Hunt. The film earned mixed reviews from critics but wa ...
'' (2000). It also achieved the highest December weekend gross for two weeks until it was overtaken by '' Titanic''. ''Scream 2'' enjoyed financial success on par with ''Scream'' despite its rapid production time and issues with script rewrites, nearly matching the first film's total gross of $173million. ''Scream 2'' is currently the third highest-grossing film in the slasher genre, again behind ''Scream''. ''Scream 2'' was the 21st highest-grossing film of 1997 despite competition from
blockbuster Blockbuster or Block Buster may refer to: *Blockbuster (entertainment) a term coined for an extremely successful movie, from which most other uses are derived. Corporations * Blockbuster (retailer), a defunct video and game rental chain ** Bl ...
films such as ''Titanic'' and '' Men in Black''.


Critical reception

On
review aggregator A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews of products and services (such as films, books, video games, software, hardware, and cars). This system stores the reviews and uses them for purposes such as supporting a website where users ...
Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...
, the film holds an approval rating of 82% based on 83 reviews, with an average score of 6.90/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "As with the first film, ''Scream 2'' is a gleeful takedown of scary movie conventions that manages to poke fun at terrible horror sequels without falling victim to the same fate." On
Metacritic Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...
, the film received a score of 63 based on 22 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews". On CinemaScore, audiences gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale. Both Gene Siskel and the ''
New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' Janet Maslin gave the sequel positive reviews despite their negative response to ''Scream''; Maslin remarked that "''Scream 2'' almost works as straight satire. It's so sharp—pardon the expression—that no pretty young things absolutely had to die." Roger Ebert stated the film was "about as good as the original" but lamented that " 'Scream 2''is gorier than the original, and that distracts from the witty screenplay." '' Time Out London'' was mixed in its response, calling the film superior to most other horror films but poor in comparison to ''Scream'', while ''
Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...
'', scathing of ''Scream'' before its release, positively received the sequel, saying " haractersponder whether any sequel ever topped the original. ''Scream 2'' is certainly worthy of being part of that debate." ''
Empire An empire is a "political unit" made up of several territories and peoples, "usually created by conquest, and divided between a dominant center and subordinate peripheries". The center of the empire (sometimes referred to as the metropole) ex ...
s Kim Newman echoed this sentiment saying "Some great comic—and terrifying—moments, but suffers for not being as original as the original" remarking that though the film had the same elements that made ''Scream'' a success, they were no longer surprising for having been in ''Scream''. There was however criticism over the death of the character Randy Meeks played by Kennedy. John Muir, author of ''Wes Craven: The Art of Horror'' called the character's death the "most devastating moment of the sequel" and a "bad call" but praised the development of the other surviving characters from ''Scream'', calling Cox, Arquette and Campbell's characters "beloved". In contrast, Muir criticized all of the new characters in ''Scream 2'', believing they never attained the same depth of the ''Scream'' cast because of ''Scream 2''s focus on increasing the body count and violence over the original, saying that the film's killer could literally be anyone as the audience is never provided with enough information about the new characters to form an opinion about them. Ebert also commented upon this, saying "there is no way to guess who's doing the killing, and everyone who seems suspicious is (almost) sure to be innocent".


Accolades

''Scream 2'' won few awards compared to its predecessor with Campbell again receiving the most nominations and wins, having won two awards on ''Scream''. She received a Saturn Award for Best Actress nomination and went on to win a Best Female Performance. Despite having only a brief cameo appearance as "Sidney Prescott" in the film within a film "Stab" shown in ''Scream 2'',
Tori Spelling Victoria Davey Spelling (born May 16, 1973) is an American actress and author. Her first major role was Donna Martin on ''Beverly Hills, 90210'', beginning in 1990. She has appeared in made for television films, including '' A Friend to Die F ...
became one of the nominees for a 1997 Razzie Award for Worst New Star. The film also received Saturn Award nominations for Best Supporting Actress for Courteney Cox and Best Horror Film for ''Scream 2'' itself.


Home media

''Scream 2'' was released in US territories on VHS on December 1, 1998 by
Buena Vista Home Entertainment Buena ( ) is a borough in Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough's population was 4,603,Alliance Atlantis Alliance Atlantis Communications Inc. (commonly known as Alliance Atlantis and commonly shortened to simply Alliance or Atlantis and formerly traded as TSX:AAC) was a Canadian media company that operated primarily as a specialty service operato ...
). ''Scream 2'' was released on
DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kind ...
for the first time in the US on July 22, 1998 with a Collector's Edition following on September 26, 2000, in "The Ultimate Scream Collection" and a separate release on August 7, 2001. The Collector's Edition featured additional material including outtakes, deleted scenes, the film's theatrical trailer, music videos of songs featured in the film and director's commentary. Both releases were undertaken by Buena Vista Home Entertainment. Following the release of then series finale ''Scream 3'', the three films were collected in "The Ultimate Scream Collection" by Dimension Films on September 26, 2000, in a
boxset A box set or (its original name) boxed set is a set of items (for example, a compilation of books, musical recordings, films or television programs) traditionally packaged in a box and offered for sale as a single unit. Music Artists and bands ...
containing "Behind the Scream", a short documentary about the production of the three films and additional material including screentests of actors involved in the films, outtakes and deleted scenes. ''Scream 2'' remained unreleased in foreign territories including Europe and Japan until February 26, 2001, when it was released simultaneously with ''Scream'' and ''Scream 3'' by Buena Vista Home Entertainment. Each film contained the additional content found in the Collector's Edition version of the U.S. release, including deleted scenes, outtakes, theatrical trailers, music videos and commentary from each respective film's crew. Additionally, the three films were collected together in a single pack as the "Scream Trilogy". ''Scream 2'' was released individually and in a collection with ''Scream'' and ''Scream 3'' on
Blu-ray The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released on June 20, 2006 worldwide. It is designed to supersede the DVD format, and capable of st ...
on March 29, 2011, two weeks prior to the theatrical release of ''Scream 4'', by
Lionsgate Home Entertainment Lions Gate Entertainment Corporation, doing business as Lionsgate, is a Canadian-American entertainment company. It was formed by Frank Giustra on July 10, 1997, domiciled in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada and is currently headquartered ...
. In addition to the films, each release contained audio commentary, theatrical trailers and behind-the-scenes footage. The film was released on 4K
Ultra HD Blu-ray Ultra HD Blu-ray (4K Ultra HD, UHD-BD, or 4K Blu-ray) is a digital optical disc data storage format that is an enhanced variant of Blu-ray. Ultra HD Blu-ray discs are incompatible with existing standard Blu-ray players, though a traditional Bl ...
on October 4, 2022, by Paramount Pictures.


Soundtrack

The ''Scream 2'' original soundtrack was released November 18, 1997, by Capitol Records, a division of
EMI EMI Group Limited (originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records Ltd. or simply EMI) was a British Transnational corporation, transnational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate founded in March 1 ...
. The soundtrack consists of 15 songs by various artists from the R&B,
Rap Rapping (also rhyming, spitting, emceeing or MCing) is a musical form of vocal delivery that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and street vernacular". It is performed or chanted, usually over a backing beat or musical accompaniment. The ...
and Rock genres, all but two of which - "One More Chance" and "The Race" - appear in the film. The album spent ten weeks on the ''Billboard'' 200, rising as high as #50, performing significantly better than the ''Scream'' original soundtrack which never charted. Music guide AllMusic however scored the album lower than its predecessor. AllMusic's Stephen Erlewine was highly critical of the album, believing the content was an attempt to compensate for the previous film's lack of a hit soundtrack, but the attempt had failed, creating an "uneven" album of songs not "good enough to make he artists'own albums", awarding it only 2 stars out of 5. Only one song featured in the film did not appear on the album, the original work, "Take Away the Fear", written and performed by Craven's own daughter Jessica Craven and Mike Mancini, which plays on a TV during an early scene in a sorority house involving
Sarah Michelle Gellar Sarah Michelle Prinze ( ; born April 14, 1977) is an American actress. After being spotted at the age of four in New York City, she made her screen acting debut in the television film ''An Invasion of Privacy'' (1983). A leading role on the te ...
. On February 4, 1998 ''Scream 2: Music from the Dimension Motion Picture'' was certified
gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile me ...
by the Recording Industry Association of America, signifying that the album achieved sales in excess of 500,000 units.


Score

The ''Scream 2'' original score was, as in ''Scream'', developed by Marco Beltrami and was released on July 14, 1998, by
Varèse Sarabande Varèse Sarabande is an American record label, owned by Concord Music Group and distributed by Universal Music Group, which specializes in film scores and original cast recordings. It aims to reissue rare or unavailable albums, as well as newer r ...
on a CD which also contained tracks from the score of ''Scream'' entitled "Scream/Scream 2". The commercially released score for both films was found to be lacking many pieces heard in either film, consisting of only nine tracks – "Stage Fright Requiem", "Love Turns Sour", "Cici Creepies", "Deputy for a Friend", "Hollow Parting", "Dewpoint/Stabbed", "Hairtrigger Lunatic", "Sundown Search" and "It's Over, Sid" – with a runtime of only 17 minutes, compared to nearly 90 minutes of score developed for the film and the more common 30–45 minutes of music found in other original scores. The release was also found to be missing the track "Cassandra Aria" by Danny Elfman, described by soundtrack-review site
Filmtracks Filmtracks.com is a modern film score review website created and maintained by its sole reviewer, Christian Clemmensen. Since the launch of Filmtracks in 1996, the website has reviewed nearly two-thousand soundtracks dating as far back as 1954, t ...
as "a frenzied, choral-enhanced three minutes". The length of the released score was considered disappointing with some reviews considering the track omissions the result of the high fees required to be paid to composers in order to release their music commercially. The influence of several other famous composers could be heard in the score including
Hans Zimmer Hans Florian Zimmer (; born 12 September 1957) is a German film score composer and music producer. He has won two Oscars and four Grammys, and has been nominated for two Emmys and a Tony. Zimmer was also named on the list of Top 100 Living G ...
,
Elliot Goldenthal Elliot Goldenthal (born May 2, 1954) is an American composer of contemporary classical music and film and theatrical scores. A student of Aaron Copland and John Corigliano, he is best known for his distinctive style and ability to blend various ...
, Ennio Morricone and Christopher Young. In particular excerpts of the Hans Zimmer's score to '' Broken Arrow'', particularly the tracks "Brothers" and "Secure", featuring guitar work by
Duane Eddy Duane Eddy (born April 26, 1938) is an American rock and roll guitarist. In the late 1950s and early 1960s, he had a string of hit records produced by Lee Hazlewood, which were noted for their characteristically "twangy" sound, including " Rebel ...
, would become a component of the theme tune of the character Dewey Riley. Filmtracks was complimentary to the score, appreciating Beltrami's evolution of his work in ''Scream'' but remarked that the most memorable music of the film would be from other composers, Elfman's contribution "Cassandra Aria" and the samples from Zimmer's score, finding the replacement of Beltrami's work for the Dewey character with Zimmer's work "effective". Ultimately, the album was called unsatisfying without Elfman's piece but better than the score for the first movie and it was awarded 3 stars out of 5. The music guide AllMusic was more complimentary of Beltrami's contribution, saying the score "perfectly captured the post-modern, hip scare-ride of the Scream movies", and awarded it 3 stars out of 5.


See also

* List of films featuring fictional films


References


External links

* * * * * {{Authority control 1997 films 1997 horror films 1997 independent films 1997 thriller films 1990s English-language films 1990s horror thriller films 1990s mystery films 1990s serial killer films 1990s slasher films 1990s teen horror films American films about revenge American independent films American mystery films American sequel films American slasher films American horror thriller films Dimension Films films Films about fraternities and sororities Films about fratricide and sororicide Films directed by Wes Craven Films produced by Cathy Konrad Films scored by Marco Beltrami Films set in a movie theatre Films set in Ohio Films set in universities and colleges Films shot in Atlanta Films shot in Los Angeles Films shot in Pasadena, California Films with screenplays by Kevin Williamson Self-reflexive films 2 1990s American films