With Halloween right around the corner, we're counting down the days by posting five fun facts about our favorite fright flicks.
Today's featured film is the Kevin Williamson-written, Wes Craven-directed 1996 smash "Scream."
1. Screenwriter Kevin Williamson saw a news story about The Gainesville Ripper -- a serial killer who murdered five students in the Florida city. After finding an open window in the house where he was staying, he got scared and was inspired to pen an 18-page treatment entitled "Scary Movie."
2. Both Drew Barrymore (Casey Becker) and Courteney Cox (Gale Weathers) were so interested in the film that they approached the filmmakers to seek out parts after reading the script. Cox really fought for the "bitch" character to offset her "nice" "Friends" image.
Melissa Joan Hart, Brittany Murphy and Melinda Clarke are a few of the actresses who auditioned for the Sidney Prescott role, which went to Neve Campbell.
3. To keep Drew looking upset and crying, director Wes Craven told the animal-lover stories about animal cruelty. Judging by the pic above, his technique definitely worked.
4. Roger L. Jackson, the voice of Ghostface, wasn't allow to meet the other actors until the movie wrapped -- filmmakers wanted him to just be a scary voice to them. He would hide out on set and speak to the others only over the phone.
5. When attacking Skeet Ulrich (Billy Loomis) with an umbrella during the flick's finale, a stuntwoman missed the protective vest he was wearing and accidentally stabbed him in the chest. Skeet's pained reaction was caught on film and used in the final version of "Scream."
For more fun/freaky facts check out these flicks as well!
"Saw"
"Scream"
"Psycho"
"Shaun of the Dead"
"Dawn of the Dead"
"Poltergeist"
"The Shining"
