Script To Screen: “Scream”
Part of the memorable opening sequence in the 1996 horror movie Scream, written by Kevin Williamson.
Part of the memorable opening sequence in the 1996 horror movie Scream, written by Kevin Williamson.
Setup: Casey is home alone, waiting for her boyfriend Steve, when she gets a phone call…
INT. KITCHENPopcorn sizzles in a pot on the stove. Casey covers it with a
lid, reaching for the portable phone. CASEY
Hello. MAN
Why don't you want to talk to me? CASEY
Who is this? MAN
You tell me your name, I'll tell you mine. CASEY
(shaking the popcorn)
I don't think so. MAN
What's that noise?Casey smiles, playing along, innocently. CASEY
Popcorn. MAN
You're making popcorn? CASEY
Uh-huh. MAN
I only eat popcorn at the movies. CASEY
I'm getting ready to watch a video. MAN
Really? What? CASEY
Just some scary movie. MAN
Do you like scary movies? CASEY
Uh-huh. MAN
What's your favorite scary movie?He's flirting with her. Casey moves away from the stove and takes
a seat at the kitchen counter, directly in front of the glass
door. CASEY
I don't know. MAN
You have to have a favorite.Casey thinks for second. CASEY
Uh...HALLOWEEN. You know, the one with the
guy with the white mask who just sorta walks around
and stalks the baby sitters. What's yours? MAN
Guess. CASEY
Uh...NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET. MAN
Is that the one where the guy had knives
for fingers? CASEY
Yeah...Freddy Krueger. MAN
Freddy-that's right. I liked that movie.
It was scary. CASEY
The first one was, but the rest sucked. MAN
So, you gotta boyfriend? CASEY
(giggling)
Why? You wanna ask me out? MAN
Maybe. Do you have a boyfriend? CASEY
No. MAN
You never told me your name.Casey smiles, twirling her hair. CASEY
Why do you want to know my name? MAN
Because I want to know who I'm looking
at.Casey spins around like lightning facing the glass door. CASEY
What did you say? MAN
I want to now who I'm talking to. CASEY
That's not what you said. MAN
What do you think I said?Casey CLICKS on the outside light. A flood light illuminates the
backyard. Her eyes survey the grounds. But it's empty. No one's
there. She turns the light out.On the stove, the popcorn POPS. CASEY
I have to go now. MAN
Wait...I thought we were gonna go out. CASEY
Nah, I don't think so... MAN
Don't hang up on me. CASEY
Gotta go. MAN
Don't...CLICK! Casey hangs up. She checks the glass door making sure
it's locked and then moves to the stove as...THE PHONE RINGS.
Here is the scene from the movie:
The film version is pretty close to the script. What shots are in the script… what shots are not?
One of the single best things you can do to learn the craft of screenwriting is to read the script while watching the movie. After all a screenplay is a blueprint to make a movie and it’s that magic of what happens between printed page and final print that can inform how you approach writing scenes. That is the purpose of Script to Screen, a weekly series on GITS where we analyze a memorable movie scene and the script pages that inspired it.
For more Script To Screen articles, go here.