Unfortunately, I then discovered the term "development hell." The movie was never made and went through many incarnations. The option money I made got me through some old student loans and a new car, but alas, I was broke and on unemployment again. That soon ran out and I was in serious trouble.
My friend Gil kept loaning me money. Lots of money. To this day, I am forever indebted to his generosity. To help repay the thousands of dollars I owed him, I would house-sit for him when he went out of town.
One night, I sat in his house in Westwood watching a Barbara Walters special on the Gainesville murders. It was scary as hell and was really spooking me. The idea that this man was stalking and killing these college kids in this small, unsuspecting town was very frightening. It reminded me of Halloween. Then, suddenly I heard a noise. It was coming from another room. I went to check it out and discovered an open window. I had been staying in the house for two days and hadn't noticed it had been open. I was starting to lose it. I don't do well in scary situations.
With a butcher knife in one hand and a cordless phone in the other, I called my buddy David (who now works with me) and made him talk to me while I searched the house over. I checked the closets, under the beds, in the shower stall, and then went out to the garage. David, of course, was being a dick. He kept trying to scare me on the phone, saying things like "Freddy's gonna get you," and "Michael's behind you," and "Kill, kill, kill, ha, ha, ha..." Before you know it, we were arguing over which killer was scarier and what horror movie worked best, mixing up all the movies together. The conversation turned into a movie debate where we started quizzing each other with our movie knowledge. Thus, Scary Movie was born.
I say Scary Movie because that was the original title of Scream. After the Gainesville house-sitting night, I went home and started outlining a movie in my head. I used to sit around and tell the story to my friends. One night, I sat in a car with five people and told them the whole story from beginning to end and I had them scared out of their minds. That was when I knew it was time to start writing.
I went away to Palm Springs for the weekend. I wrote around the clock and in three days had a first draft. That draft is pretty much the one that got made. I tweaked it here and there but that first draft is essentially the movie that made it to the theaters.
I gave the draft to my agent, and he went through the roof. He sent it out immediately but I thought it would never sell. Horror movies have never really done well on the spec market. After the first day, no one had made an offer. New Line passed and I thought the script was dead in the water.
I remember sitting in Jerry's Deli in West Hollywood with my friend Kathryn (who now also works with me) contemplating my lack of money and future when she said, "Just shut up. This script will sell, I just know it."
The next morning the flurry began. I quickly found myself in an intense bidding war. Miramax, Oliver Stone, Morgan Creek, Paramount, and others were making offers. The price kept getting higher and higher and I was getting more and more scared.
By the end of the day, a stalemate had been reached between Bob Weinstein and another studio. Bob got really tough. He said, "Take it or leave it." His price stood firm. The other company offered more money. Quite a bit more. My agent was ready to close the deal, so I had to make a decision.
In a private conversation my lawyer, Pattie Felker, expressed her concern and reservations about going with this other company. This was ultimately my decision but she wanted me to have all the facts. Patti reminded me of what had happened to my last script, Killing Mrs. Tingle, and if I sold it to this studio, that could also be the fate of Scary Movie. However, Bob Weinstein, owner, cochairman, head of Miramax, had loved the script. He had just opened a new division called Dimension Films which was dedicated to this type of movie, and had promised to make this film right away. And getting a movie made was a hell of a lot more important than the money. I really wanted to see Scary Movie made, so Bob and Dimension got the script.
What a great decision (thanks to Patti) it turned out to be. Scary Movie became the beginning of a long relationship with Miramax and Dimension. Bob not only kept his word and made the movie right away with producers Cathy Konrad and Cary Woods, he assembled the most incredible cast imaginable: Drew Barrymore, Courteney Cox, and Neve Campbell. And he gave Scary Movie it's greatest gift. He gave it Wes Craven.
Wes Craven in many ways was the perfect choice for this movie. He knew these movies inside and out and I think, quite frankly, he was tired of them. I think he saw Scream as a challenge. He understood what I had set out to do with the horror genre and he completely concurred. He loved the idea of exposing the conventions of the genre. Wes gave Scary Movie its tone. He brought it to life with a perverse wickedness and I'm forever grateful.
Scary Movie quickly became Scream for a number of reasons. While we all liked the quirky feeling the title invoked, it raised some issues as to what type of movie it really was. We were worried that middle America might think the title implied it was a comedy. We wanted it clear. While the script is funny, it is definitely a scary movie. Hence, the title was changed. Scream was Harvey Weinstein's idea. An idea that soon proved to be genius.
Scream has changed my life. Since it sold, I've switched agents (not lawyers - I'm locked to Patti for life) bought a house, and was able to buy a truck for my dad. It's a Dodge Ram with extended cab, running boards, and roll bar with head beams. It's a carbon copy of the truck Chuck Norris drives in Walker, Texas Ranger, which is his favorite show. The "Walker" is his dream car. I surprised him with it. It was one of those "life moments."
