There's been a lot of talk about Neve Campbell quitting the Scream franchise as well as her former castmates standing by her decision. Among these supporters are the villains from the original film, Billy and Stu, played by Skeet Ulrich and Matthew Lillard. While the 1996 Wes Craven film works on so many levels, there's no doubt that the killers really made it fly.
Nowadays, Skeet is best-known for his work on CW's Riverdale after seemingly disappearing since the late 1990s. Similarly, Matthew's career hasn't quite been the same since his Scooby-Doo days, of course, that's taking into account his tremendous performance in The Descendants and various indie films. But regardless of what they do, the legacy of Scream lives on with them. In an interview with Vulture, both actors revealed their true feelings about the film, their castmates, and
7 Did Skeet Ulrich Get Along With The Scream Cast?
According to his interview with Vulture, Skeet not only got along with his fellow castmates on the set of the original Scream, but the group became exceptionally close.
"We did feel like a group of outcasts that came together. You know, 6 a.m. getting off work and we’d be rolling into the hotel half caked in sticky syrup and blood as people are rolling out to go on their wine tours in Napa Valley. We must have looked like the most insane group of people in this hotel complex! I mean, obviously there were relationships. There were children born of those bonds!" Skeet said, referring to the daughter his co-stars, Courteney Cox and David Arquette had together. "It’s not every film that you get to do that — less and less now as we get distracted by so many things. It really was an incredible time."
"You could just feel this energy, and I think we were all excited by what everyone was bringing to the film," Skeet continued. "In a way, what we experienced was this union of souls that sort of brought a backstory, or what you think is a backstory, to the film."
6 Why Matthew Lillard Actually Liked The Scream Cast
Building on what Skeet said about his experiences with the rest of the Scream cast, Matthew Lillard explained that the lack of phones allowed them to actually talk to one another.
"I will say that there are very few instances in my career now, 30 years in, that have replicated what we had on that movie. It was before technology, before phones, before Instagram and these social-media platforms. In between takes now, you’re seeing people lined up on phones, but back then, there was nothing other than each other. Because of the hours we worked and the way we worked, we were inseparable. You get off work at six o’clock in the morning and you want your sort of traditional after-work beer, and you’re going to David Arquette’s room to grab a drink. Not only that, but the grips are there, the crew’s there, Wes is there. The entire cast is there, and the idea of being night owls on location adds to this really familia sort of vibe. I think that there was an innocence about it because we were all young. We all had a lot to gain."
5 Skeet Ulrich Doesn't Think Scream Can Be Replicated Today
While there have been recent Scream films and at least one more redevelopment, Skeet explained how he doesn't think the original film can be replicated in any shape or form. This is because film today simply doesn't allow for risk-taking.
"There’s something very fresh and free and rebellious about all the performances [in the first Scream] that I don’t know if you get in this day and age," Skeet said to Vulture.
4 Matthew Lillard And The Scream Cast Just Wanted To Make A Good Movie
"Nobody [on set] was out trying to make an iconic movie. We were just trying to make the best movie possible," Matthew said to Vulture. "Nobody was jaded. Nobody’s protecting themselves or being like, This is lame. Everyone was all in, and I think the power of that is sort of unappreciated and undeniable. It really speaks to the artistry. And I know that sounds really dramatic, but I know when you have a bunch of artists fully committed to making something incredible, great things happen."
3 Matthew And Skeet Terrified Their Castmates
Without a doubt, the final twenty minutes of Scream is a downright bloodbath. It's the sequence that finally reveals the killers and just how demented they truly are. As it turns out, both Matthew and Skeet got so into the headspaces of their characters that the director had to tell them to relax.
"I have a memory of when we shot a lot of the kitchen sequence, and it was time for Gale [Courteney Cox] to enter the scene. Courteney came to the set, getting ready to shoot it, and Matt and I are like caged animals, in that zone, and just pacing the set," Skeet explained. "Courteney comes in, and we make eye contact, and Wes is like, 'Okay, all right. All right.' She’s freaked out, and we’re not even filming yet. And I distinctly remember Wes being like, 'All right, guys. Just calm down for a second.' She was quite startled by what she walked into!"
2 Skeet Couldn't Get Through Billy's Monologue About His Mom
All villains, especially in the Scream franchise, have their final monologue. Usually, this is where they explain their motives. The monologues tend to be filled with some pretty unnerving stuff. But in the original Scream, director Wes Craven really wanted the character of Billy to have some vulnerability. And this was something that Skeet had a hard time finding.
"We’ve got Neve pinned in the corner of the kitchen, and I’m trying to hit that little heartfelt moment of Billy having lost his mom," Skeet explained of his character's final emotional beat. "Trying to find this hint of rawness and pain and tears. Then Sidney disappears, and we can’t find her, and I run into the living room with the knife and cut the couch open. I had so many damn feathers stuck to all that blood around the knife. We do the first take and all I can hear is Wes laughing. I’m like, What? So I look down, and it looks like I have a duck on my hand. We were like, 'How are we going to do this?'"
1 Matthew Doesn't Think Scream Is A "Perfect" Movie
Despite both Skeet and Matthew being utterly grateful for their experiences on the first Scream movie, the latter doesn't believe the movie is as exceptional as some do.
"I think the opening sequence is incredible. It sets the tone for everything else, and the middle of the movie sort of gets bogged down," Matthew claimed. "Then the end sequence, the last 20 minutes, is incredible. You earn so much street cred in those first 20 minutes that the rest of the movie, it sort of tanks! And then it comes screaming up to finish strong."
The reason why Matthew believes the finale, as well as the entire concept for Scream, works so well is due to the juggling of multiple genres.
"I think what it is in that last sequence is the ability to laugh at the same time that you’re horrified. To be like, 'Oh my God, that’s crazy! They’re stabbing each other!' The brutality, the killing of Tatum — and then you’re laughing in the middle of it all. I think it’s an intersection you don’t see very often, and it’s really hard to hit. It’s hard to scare the crap out of people and make them laugh at the same time."