Neve Campbell Talks Returning to ‘Scream’ Amid Franchise Fallout – The Hollywood Reporter

Neve Campbell

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the Screaming The franchise has lost a lot of blood in recent months, but the beloved star who played Sidney Prescott in five films over 25 years isn’t ruling out a return.

Hollywood Reporter We caught up with Neve Campbell on Saturday afternoon at the BAFTA tea party in Beverly Hills, where she offered, “We’ll see” if she’ll reprise her leading role in the franchise in the near future. The sequel, which is currently in the works, has been in jeopardy since November when Melissa Barrera was fired over social media posts related to the conflict in the Middle East between Israel and Hamas. Days later, it was revealed that her co-star, Jenna Ortega, had also exited the next film. A month later, director Christopher Landon parted ways with the project, going so far as to say that his “dream job turned into a nightmare.”

Campbell saw the headlines clearly. “I know things are spinning right now and I imagine they’re spinning up there trying to figure out what they’re going to do. I wouldn’t be surprised to get a call,” she revealed. “But at the same time, I made a strong statement a few years ago, which is that I didn’t believe the way I was treated would have happened if “I was male and that I deserved a certain thing because I got pregnant.” That privilege is as long as I have.

The veteran star was referring to a highly publicized exit in June 2022 over a dispute over pay. “Unfortunately, I won’t be doing the next part Screaming The film,” according to this statement. “As a woman, I have had to work extremely hard in my career to establish my value, especially when it comes to Screaming. I felt that the offer I was given did not equal the value I brought to the franchise.

Looking back on that decision now, Campbell said she took the stand “not in a selfish way” but as a way to fight for what she believes is right. “We have to stand up for women in this business and know what we’re worth. That hasn’t changed for me,” she continued on Saturday. “So, if they come back to me, it has to be with a respectable offer that I felt was in line with what I bring to this franchise.”

Which brings us to the original question, repeated by Campbell herself. “Would I do it? There are millions of fans of this franchise. These movies mean a lot to people. They mean a lot to me. They mean a lot to Kevin Williamson. They meant a lot to Wes Craven. They meant a lot to everyone in the cast, “And we’d all like to see this franchise continue. I’d hate to see it burn out. So we’ll see.”

Speaking about Williamson, who created the series, he said he would like to see Campbell return to Sydney’s status. “I’ll give her the money. I’m sure there’s a number they can agree on that will make them happy, so I hope they figure it out one day.” Happy horror time Last fall.

When news broke of Campbell’s exit from the franchise, it went viral on Twitter (now X), something Campbell said was a new experience for her. “I had a friend messaging me and saying, ‘You’re trending right now.’ I’d never been on Twitter. I didn’t know what that meant. She was like, ‘Let me explain.’ And she said, ‘You’re so adorable. People are so excited about you in these movies and fighting for you.’ “People want the studio to do your job right. “That means a lot to me,” she said. THR. “Even the fact that it caused a stir, and wasn’t anti-studio in any way, but rather made people sit up and think, maybe they can stand up for themselves in some way, that meant a lot and still means a lot.” “.

Campbell attended the star-studded BAFTA tea party on Saturday with her boyfriend of 30 years, Michael A. Emmy Award-winning Georgian, whom she met during their days on… Party of Five. Gorjian and Campbell have been making the rounds to celebrate the good news about his film americatsi It was shortlisted for an Academy Award as an international film from Armenia.

Goorjian said THR That when he heard his film had earned a place on the shortlist, he happened to be in Campbell’s kitchen. (Georgianne currently lives with Campbell and is godfather to her children with husband JJ Field.) “She started screaming and she was upstairs,” he recalls. “It’s rare, especially in film and television, that you meet so many people and work with so many different people. It’s like going to summer camp and saying, ‘Oh yeah, we’ll keep in touch but you never will.'” Nev is very much one of the people “The only ones in the industry I’ve really stayed close to. It’s rare.”

Campbell said she knew it was special when they met while acting Party of Five. “I mean I loved Michael. I thought he had a great mind and an amazing mind. He had a creative spirit and he was really nice. He’s from Oakland and he’s really cool. We hung out at the Party of Five. If I was hanging out with anyone, we were usually hanging out in each other’s trailers.” Some.

Gorjian wrote, directed and starred in the film americatsi The role of the Armenian-American returnee is played by Charlie Bakhchinyan. The story follows his journey after he is arrested for wearing a tie in Soviet Armenia. Alone in solitary confinement, he discovers that he can see inside an apartment building near the prison from his cell window, leading to a personal discovery of why he returned home in the first place.

“I’ve been working on this film for five years,” Goorjian explained. “We shot during the COVID-19 pandemic, so it was pretty crazy. There were a lot of hurdles to finishing, but in the end, when we premiered it to an American audience, I saw the reactions and thought maybe it worked.”

Campbell also helped along the way, providing feedback. Goorjian said he remixed the audio for one clip based on her feedback. “When you’re in this business long enough, you get a sense of things,” she concluded. “Michael would come up to JJ and I often, and we would watch different cuts and offer ideas because it’s always helpful. A really great director is open to other minds. I worked with Robert Altman years ago, and what was so charming about him was that he really believed that many minds are better.” “With a lot of just his mind. If you have a lot of creative opinions and you’re open, that’s really helpful. (Michael) is very talented, he really knows what he’s doing, but he’s also really open to creative ideas, which is great.”