‘Scream’ trilogy director Wes Craven, who returned to the series to helm the upcoming fourth installment, recently discussed with Total Film his frustrations over the lack of power he had over the new script, www.reelzchannel.com is reporting. The interview comes after he tweeted that he had “not been given control of the script” by the movie’s studio, The Weinstein Company, or Dimension Films, which will distribute it.

The tweet and interview were both prompted by ‘Scream’ and ‘Scream 2’ screenwriter Kevin Willliamson’s replacement by ‘Scream 3’ screenwriter Ehren Kruger last July. Williamson is still credited as writing the third sequel, but Craven said it was bumpy when Kruger was brought in for re-writes. “I signed up to do a script by (Kevin) and unfortunately that didn’t go all the way through the shooting,” Craven also said. But he insisted that the final script still holds Williamson’s concepts, ideas and themes.

Craven added that in some ways, ‘Scream 4’ isn’t entirely his film because he didn’t have control of the script. “It’s ultimately controlled by what the studio wants in the script,” he said.

The movie, which is set to hit theaters on April 15, 2011, stars series veterans Neve Campbell, Courtney Cox and David Arquette and such newcomers as Emma Roberts, Hayden Panettiere and Adam Brody. Craven hinted that The Weinstein Company is looking for a screenwriter for the next two films, as it wants to create a second trilogy in the franchise.

Written by: Karen Benardello

Wes Craven
Wes Craven

By Karen Benardello

As a graduate of LIU Post with a B.F.A in Journalism, Print and Electronic, Karen Benardello serves as ShockYa's Senior Movies & Television Editor. Her duties include interviewing filmmakers and musicians, and scribing movie, television and music reviews and news articles. As a New York City-area based journalist, she's a member of the guilds, New York Film Critics Online and the Women Film Critics Circle.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *