Scream 4, what's going on?!

I'm a big Scream fan. I was obsessed with it when it was released here in The Netherlands in 1997 and rewatched it over and over on VHS. I can pretty much recite the entire opening sequence and believe it or not, that's what I do when I feel a panic attack coming on in the subway (it's called task concentration and redirects attention away from yourself - see, being a psychologist comes in handy sometimes). I didn't consider myself a teenager, but a Screamager. Along with Buffy the Vampire Slayer (show, not movie), this movie shaped the person who I am today. It's the film that got me interested in screenwriting and just movies in general. It's the reason this blog exists! The opening is genuinely scary and the rest of the script is solid. The cast is fun and fresh (hello, Matthew Lillard, Rose McGowan and Jamie Kennedy!). It's a really good movie that lost a lot of love over the years. For some reason (the teen horror craze that followed it, that made people tired of WB horror?), people love bashing Scream.

I always defend Scream, except for part 3 of course (screw you, Ehren Kruger!), but even I'm getting concerned about Scream 4 here. Kevin Williamson has been writing the fourth installment for ages. I mean, seriously, excluding Vampire Diaries, that's all he tweets about. I worship at the shrine of Williamson, but something is going on.

Let's see:
- Scream 4 is already in production, yet the script keeps changing
- Lake Bell tweeted she dropped out due to scheduling conflicts
- Over a week ago, Gilmore Girl Lauren Graham announced she had joined the cast and this morning I woke up to the news that she dropped out as well

Also, I'm not a big fan of the cast they have ensembled. Adam Brody and Marley Shelton (replacing Lake) have now joined Emma Roberts, Hayden Panettiere, Rory Culkin, Anthony Anderson and the original castmembers Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox and David Arquette. It all seems very glossy for a movie that's supposed to go back to Woodsboro. Sure neither Scream 2 or 3 lacked in the familiar faces department (Sarah Michelle Gellar, Jerry O'Connell, Scott Foley, Jenny McCarthy, Parker Posey), but they didn't stick out like a sore thumb. They blended in with new talent like Timothy Olyphant and Emily Mortimer (okay, I don't like Emily Mortimer, but that's beside the point). Round the cast out with unfamiliar faces, please! The addition of Brody and Shelton (I love Marley!) is just too much. It's starting to look like Scary Movie 5!

I'm trying to have faith here in Scream 4, Kevin Williamson and Wes Craven, but all this news is not making the project look good. To be continued, I guess.