New documentary details how Louisiana serial killer inspired the original ‘Scream’ movie
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Discovery+ will be launching a two-hour documentary as part of their Shock Docs series in honor of the new entry into the “Scream” franchise titled “Scream: The True Story” on Jan. 14.
In December of 1996, Wes Craven’s “Scream” made its silver screen debut and revitalized the slasher film genre. This now-iconic piece of cinematic history was greatly inspired by a drifter in Florida who murdered five college students over the course of three days in August of 1990. The drifter? Shreveport native Danny Rolling.
Rolling’s reign of terror began in Shreveport in November of 1989, when he broke into the home of 24-year-old Julie Grissom where he killed her, her 8-year-old nephew and her father.
Fleeing to Florida after shooting his father, a Shreveport police officer, in May of the following year, Rolling committed the crimes that would later earn him the moniker “The Gainesville Ripper.”
When finally caught and charged for the murders nearly two years later, Rolling claimed to have been driven to do so by an alternate personality named “Gemini.” In February of 1994, Rolling pleaded guilty to his crimes while his mother recounted the abuse Rolling had received at the hands of his father to the jury. Several psychiatrists testified that a Rolling suffered from a severe personality disorder, but stated that Rolling understood what he was doing at the time of his crimes.
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Rolling was found guilty on all five counts in late March and sentenced to death in April 1994. He was executed at Florida State Prison on Oct. 25, 2006.
In 1994, an episode of ABC News’ “Turning Point” about Rolling inspired screenwriter Kevin Williamson to write “Woodsboro Murders,” which later became the script for “Scream.”
The cult horror classic draws on various “horror movie rules” to explore the story about two teenage boys who terrorize a small town.
In the new documentary, paranormal investigator Steve Shippy and psychic medium Cindy Kaza team up to uncover the truth behind Rolling’s insanity claims.
The duo will be the first to ever conduct a paranormal investigation at the campsite near the University of Florida campus where the murders took place and in his childhood home, where current homeowners complain of aggressive poltergeist activity.
The “Scream” film finds a new set of teenagers being terrorized by the infamous Ghostface to resurrect secrets from the town’s past 25 years after the original series of murders. While this will be the fifth installment of the franchise, it is being marketed as a relaunch and will be the first to not be directed by Wes Craven after his passing in 2015.
“Scream” and “Scream: The True Story” will both premier on Jan. 14. You can catch the new film in theaters everywhere and the documentary on Discovery+ with a subscription.
Subscribe today for more great content from Meredith G. White.
Meredith G. White is the arts and culture reporter for the Shreveport Times. You can find her on Facebook as Meredith G. White, on Instagram and Twitter as @meredithgwhite, and email her at mgwhite@gannett.com.
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Scream Premiere Photos from 1996 Red Carpet Event in L.A.
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“Even though we cleared my calendar for the day, I was still on the phone. There was no resting, you just kept on going,” Tammy Duckworth says on an episode of PEOPLE’s podcast Me Becoming Mom
All Of The Scream Movies, Ranked
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The horror genre has been in a renaissance for a number of years, thanks to acclaimed original movies, and long-awaited franchise sequels. The new Scream is in the latter category, and marks the first time an installment was brought to life since the death of the late Wes Craven. The slasher property has forever changed the genre, and like most fans, I’ve got some opinions about which is the best Scream movie. Let’s break down all of the Scream movies, ranked.
(Image credit: Dimension Films)
- Scream 3 (2000)
Scream 3 was originally set up to be the “final” installment of the property, but no horror franchise is ever truly dead. The third installment came out in 2000, and takes place largely on the set of in-universe movie Stab 3. This allows for Wes Craven to do some great nods to the original movie, and have some commentary about the film industry as a whole. Unfortunately I don’t think it’s the best Scream movie out there.
Wes Craven’s threequel has a tone unique to the rest of the franchise, leaning on comedy and camp, and even going full Scooby Doo at points. The violence is way more dialed down when compared to its predecessors. Sidney also has over the top visions of her dead mother, which felt a bit out of place. The Ghostface reveal does some less than ideal retconning, which never sat right with me. It’s for these reasons that it’s always been my least favorite of the bunch; it just feels like Scream 3 is in a slightly different franchise. That being said, every single line Parker Posey utters as Jennifer Jolie is hilarious, and the threequel did gift us with Courteney Cox’s infamous bangs .
(Image credit: Dimension Films)
- Scream 2 (1997)
The pressure was on for Wes Craven to deliver with Scream 2, given what a phenomenon the original 1996 movie was. Luckily he and writer Kevin Williamson did just that, and created what many consider as one of the best Scream movies. We jump ahead in time to follow Sidney and Randy (Jamie Kennedy) at college, where a copycat killer soon begins killing on campus.
Scream 2 helped to greatly expand the narrative of the franchise, cementing the trio of OG heroes who would lead all five movies. The cast is stellar, with newcomers like Sarah Michelle Gellar and Laurie Metcalf standing out with their performances. The kills are gruesome, the identity of Ghostface is genuinely surprising, and we’re treated to another iconic opening sequence courtesy of Jada Pinkett Smith. This also showed footage from the Stab movie featuring Heather Graham, which would be seen a number of times throughout the franchise.
(Image credit: Dimension Films)
- Scream 4 (2011)
I might be a bit biased on this one, because Scream 4 was the first movie that I was able to see in theaters. That being said, Wes Craven and Kevin Williamson reunited for this sequel and came back with a vengeance. This sequel brings us back to Woodsboro as Sidney is doing a book tour while Gale and Dewey are happily married. It also features Sidney’s cousin Jill (Emma Roberts) and her friends.
Scream 4 brings a ton of new and exciting concepts to the franchise, and features iconic performances. The triple opening sequence is a standout that shows Craven and Williamson came to bring something new to the table. All three of the original cast members bring it, but there are some real stand out performances from Hayden Panettiere, Emma Roberts, and Alison Brie. It’s also the birth of Marley Shelton’s Judy Hicks, who has a role in the 2022 Scream.
The kills in Scream 4 are a return to form for the franchise, with the camp of Scream 3 left in the early 2000s. That isn’t to say there isn’t still comedy; Anthony Anderson, Courteney Cox, and Alison Brie all chew the scenery and consistently get belly laughs from me. Act 3 of the movie is also super effective, with tension building to a boiling point by the time Ghostface’s identities are revealed.
(Image credit: Dimension Films)
- Scream (1996)
Sidney Prescott says in Sream 4 “Don’t fuck with the original.” And Neve Campbell’s signature character is right, as Wes Craven’s OG 1996 flick is by far the best Scream movie. What he was able to do with Scream was revolutionary, and single-handedly saved the horror genre at the time. And despite the movie coming out over 20 years ago, its aged like fine wine in regards to both the dialogue and the actual scares.
It’s a story that even the most casual fans are familiar with: The Ghostface killer starts killing teenagers in the town of Woodsboro, starting with Drew Barrymore ’s Casey Becker. That opening sequence is probably the most iconic horror scene from the last few decades, and absolutely shocked audiences at the time. This is due to both the grisly violence and the fact that the character played by Barrymore, who was a massive star, died so early.
Scream introduced a new tone to the horror genre; one that pivots between comedy and gnarly kill scenes. It’s a method that countless projects would try to emulate over the next few years, to varying levels of success. Wes Craven and Kevin Williamson’s way of breaking down the genre made it an instant classic for fans of the genre, many of whom identify with Randy. The original cast is all stellar, in particular standouts like Matthew Lillard and Rose McGowan. It’s just too bad that their respective tenures in the franchise were cut so short.
‘Scream’ looks to draw in young horror fans and jumpstart 2022 box office
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The latest installment in the “Scream” franchise opens this weekend to a movie theater industry threatened by a rapid rise in coronavirus cases fueled by the more transmissible omicron variant.
December’s release of “Spider-Man: No Way Home” was able to defy Covid concerns to become the highest grossing movie during the pandemic, making more than $1 billion and counting. But the debut of “Scream” presents a chance to break Spider-Man’s grip on the top spot at the weekend box office, which it’s held for four weeks.
“Scream” does have some challenges. It’s facing not only a potentially smaller moviegoing audience, but it’s been more than a decade since the franchise’s last theatrical release.
“Consumers are being increasingly selective of what they believe justifies that theatrical visit,” said Rich Greenfield, general partner at LightShed Ventures.
The film is the fifth installment since the original opened in theaters 26 years ago. Neve Campbell, Courtney Cox and David Arquette reprise their roles in the franchise, and bring along newcomers Melissa Barrera (“In The Heights”), Jenna Ortega (“You”) and Jack Quaid (“The Boys”). Cox described the movie as a “brand new launch” of the slasher franchise in an interview on “The Drew Barrymore Show” in May.
The film is projected to tally between $25 million and $30 million in ticket sales during its opening weekend, according to Comscore. The figure includes the holiday on Monday. Along with its legacy factor, the film has the advantage of being in a genre that appeals to younger audiences, who are more willing to head to a movie theater in the midst of the pandemic.
During the health crisis, horror films like “Candyman,” “A Quiet Place: Part II,” and “Halloween: Kills,” all grossed more than $20 million in their opening weekends, according to Comscore.
“The horror genre was one of the saviors of the movie theater during the pandemic,” said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst at Comscore.
A survey from Gallup found that Americans between 18 and 29 years old were seeing movies in theaters at more than twice the rate of other demographics. This age group has always had more active moviegoers, but the gap has widened during the pandemic.
“You’ve got more mature audiences still staying home to a greater degree and you have a genre that has that youth appeal,” said Dergarabedian. “Then you have younger viewers who want to go out to the movie theater. And the pandemic has really heightened that disparity.”