Caffeinated Clint
Dimension just love their franchises. Don’t matter if they beat them to death like a hockey masked orphan that lurks at lakes, and also doesn’t seem to occur to the shingle that there’s little to no profit to be made on many of these old hat properties, they just can’t let go. Remember the scene at the start of “Cliffhanger” where rock climber Sly Stallone is desperately trying to hang onto his female friend, who is about to whisked off a rope and hurtled towards her certain death at the bottom of an icy canyon? That’s Bob and Harvey Weinstein doing the holding, and their “Hellraiser”, “Children of the Corn”, “Spy Kids”, “Mimic”, “Pulse” and “Scream” franchises a small push away from making face with the dirt below. Which many might argue is the humane thing at this point.
“Scream” and it’s first two sequels were some of Dimension’s most profitable films. If anything concluded the Weinstein’s that there was money to be made in milking a franchise, it’s that one. And fair enough, there was great potential there – terrific killer, novel concept, ability to cast cool.
Then, a decade after the last film in the series, the studio decided it time to relaunch the series. Thing is, nobody answered the door when “Scream 4” came knocking this time last year. The audience had either moved on or, since they’d recently sat through atrocious new additions in the “Hellraiser” and “Halloween” series, became savvy to the studio’s previously indecipherable knack of doing things as cheap as possible and getting the most return buck wise back. Probably a combination of both – “Scream” had lost its appeal, and the lack of effort put in on the studio side on this latest sequel wasn’t going to add any shine to the bronze offering.
As such, “Scream 4” pretty much died at the box office. Writer Kevin Williamson basically disowned it, the fans ignored it, and by all intents and purposes, the franchise had died a sad, sad death.
Or so we thought.
While talk of a “Scream 5” quickly went away (even writer Kevin Williamson mentioned on Twitter over the weekend that he’d heard no movement on one; he mightn’t be asked back to do it, but he’d surely know if it was in development), seems the idea of keeping the series going in some shape or form by the company didn’t.
The Hollywood Reporter rips up the “Scream” franchises obit tonight by announcing a new TV series based on the films is in the works.
MTV, who house the “Teen Wolf” series (actually has quite a following), is producing the thing and will broadcast it.
Now I don’t know how one could sustain a “Scream” series for a season or two.. season wide arcs concerned with concealing a killers identity? Sounds like a challenge. Still, what worked for “Twin Peaks” and “The Killing” might work for “Scream” the series. And, of course, The CW’s “Melrose Place” reboot had that… oh, that’s right.
But there’s also the gore factor, the films are famous for its icky deaths? Just how watered down will an MTV version be?
Also, one of the biggest zingers of the “Scream” saga are the famous faces that occupy the pre-credit sequence and/or the film itself? Who they going to get to pop up in the series that’s of note?
I suppose they have Gary Busey and Edward Furlong on speed dial, but.. will that satisfy the fans?
Assumingly the show will feature some of the same characters from the movies (like “Teen Wolf” does), which means less famous faces will be involved from the get go; can you think who might make a good Gale Weathers, Sidney Prescott or Cotton Weary – that MTV will be able to attain and afford? It just came to me : David Arquette.. Might he actually be a possibility to reprise his Sheriff Dewey role? It would give the show some credibility, not to mention a nice link to the films, and further more, Arquette is one of the series’s highlights. Not like he’s busy or anything.
No word on just how involved the Weinsteins will be, or whether Wes Craven or Kevin Williamson will be at all involved, so chances are none of the original pack will even touch it unless there’s a grain of evidence suggesting its not a watered down knock- off without any link or respect to the preceding films. Guess we’ll see.
