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.

Could Timothy Olyphant Escape From New York?

All over the web there's talk about the possibility that Timothy Olyphant could be the new Snake Plissken in The Escapre From New York remake. I'm actually liking this idea.

Kurt Russell starred in John Carpenter's original in 1981 and to tell you the truth, I've never seen it. So I'm a pretty poor judge if Olyphant would make a good Plissken. What I do know is that Plissken is pretty badass and so is Olyphant. I've been following his career for about 12 years, ever since he crazied up Scream 2. Olyphant has come along way since then. He's grown as an actor and he actually has a decent career for someone who got his break with a supporting role in a hit horror during Young Hollywood's teen craze. When Scream 2 was released late 1997, Neve Campbell, Jerry O'Connell and Sarah Michelle Gellar were the big names among the cast. Where are they now? Olyphant's longevity in this business is pretty impressive.

The charismatic actor has worked steadily for years, in big and small productions. He was excellent as a drug dealer in Doug Liman's Go and effectively carried the male lead in the gay romantic comedy The Broken Hearts Club. Olyphant was one of the detectives in Gone in 60 Seconds opposite Nicolas Cage, rocked with Mark Wahlberg in Rock Star, and was part of the ensemble in Stephen King's Dreamcatcher. 2004 was a good year for Olyphant: The Girl Next Door was released and his HBO show Deadwood premiered. Whenever I browse around the interwebs and read about Timmy, people generally seem to think fondly of both projects and his performances.

Like I said, Olyphant has worked steadily for years. But in 2006 came the game changer. He was cast as the main bad guy in Live Free or Die Hard. Yes, Timmy Olyphant versus Bruce Willis in the new Die Hard movie. I squeed, but was also surprised. While he has a solid rep, I was surprised they picked him for such a huge project. Live Free or Die Hard was a blockbuster hit in 2007 and his next big project followed only a few months later: Hitman. It was Olyphant's first starring role in a studio film. While the film didn't do as well as hoped, it didn't taint his career. He had leads in A Perfect Getaway and The Crazies and continues to work in television as well, currently playing the lead in Justified.

Olyphant is versatile. He does a lot of different projects, showing his unwillingness to be typecast. While I generally consider him to be badass, there's more to him than just that. I think that's what makes him appealing to a large audience. Guys think he's a cool dude. Boyfriend finds him likeable despite the fact that I sit next to him squealing like a fangirl whenever he's onscreen. Women (= well, at least me) find him charismatic and handsome. And to top it off, he's a good actor!

So I don't know if Olyphant would make a good Snake Plissken. I do know I've never disliked him in anything I've ever seen him in and he's a capable actor. He's appealing and has a pretty decent track record. Breck Eisner, who's responsible for the Escape From New York remake, directed Olyphant in The Crazies and recently told Movie Web that he thinks Tim "would be great for it. We have not yet discussed internally within the studio who will play Snake Plissken. There are many factors that go into those discussions. First and foremost, obviously, is the creative one. We can't make the movie unless we get the perfect Snake Plissken, and that's a tall order. There are very few guys that could do it. He would definitely be one of the guys who could. There is no question about that."

If the remake will star Olyphant, I will be watching it. Be smart, studio, who else could pull it off?

Trailer Park: The Crazies

Even though this is a remake of a movie I have never seen, George Romero's The Crazies (1973), I feel like I have seen this movie before. But hey, it's TIMOTHY OLYPHANT! I have mad love for him, so this is a must see for me. Radha Mitchell reminds me too much of Melissa George in 30 Days of Night. I miss Melissa George. *sigh*