FILM · 2000 · USA
Scream 3
134 archived facts 7 topics 1 source Last reviewed Oct 2026
All facts (134)
- #001
When Sidney jumps over the bar and stabs the killer in the back with an ice pick, Neve Campbell missed the pad she was supposed to stab and actually struck flesh. Scott Foley's scream is real. Something similar happened in the first film when Campbell's character stabbed Billy Loomis: she missed the pad then too, causing Skeet Ulrich genuine intense pain.
- #002
Throughout the film, Sidney (Neve Campbell) is seen wearing around her neck the Greek letters her boyfriend Derek (Jerry O'Connell) gave her shortly before he was killed in Scream 2 (1997).
- #003
Patrick Dempsey was hired one day before filming began. He had one night to learn three dialogue-heavy scenes.
- #004
The green outfit Parker Posey wears on set is the same outfit Courteney Cox wore in Scream (1996). All the "Stab 3" sets were copies of the originals because the sets were destroyed after Scream (1996) was completed.
- #005
Another idea for bringing Jamie Kennedy back as Randy Meeks was to have him survive the stabbing in Scream 2 (1997), with his family secretly saving him. Ultimately this was deemed too far-fetched, so Randy was resurrected instead through a posthumous video appearance.
- #006
David Arquette and Courteney Cox met on the set of Scream (1996), became acquainted during the filming of Scream 2 (1997), and married a month before principal photography on this film began. They cut their honeymoon short to shoot the movie. Cox added "Arquette" to her name, as seen in the credits.
- #007
Carrie Fisher helped rewrite some of her lines.
- #008
Neve Campbell's contract allowed her to be on set for only twenty days, so Sidney has less screen time than in the other films. As a result of her role being reduced, more emphasis was placed on the supporting characters. Campbell's availability amounted to only three weeks in total, which forced the producers to shoot around her schedule.
- #009
The house used during the climax, where most of the murders take place, is the same house used as the school in Halloween H20: 20 Years Later (1998). The house would later be used again for the ending of The Neon Demon (2016).
- #010
The film never had a public test screening. Because of fears that spoilers would be posted online, the cast and crew only got to see the finished product for the first time at the premiere.
- #011
The publicity photos of young Maureen Prescott, or "Rina Reynolds," are actually early modeling photos of young Lynn McRee, who plays adult Maureen Prescott.
- #012
One scene involved Sidney (Neve Campbell) being stalked by Ghostface through set replicas of locations from Scream (1996), including her character's house. The scene was not in the script, but Wes Craven paid for the sets to be built knowing he wanted to revisit the original film in some way. After the sets were built, the scene was written around the spaces that would form it in the final film.
- #013
In a 2009 interview, Matthew Lillard claimed he was signed to reprise the lead villain role, having survived his apparent death in Scream (1996) and orchestrating new Ghostface attacks on high school students from prison, eventually targeting Sidney (Neve Campbell). Shortly before production began, in the wake of the Columbine High School massacre, the script was scrapped to avoid developing a film associating violence and murder with a high school setting, and it was rewritten without his character and that storyline.
- #014
Kevin Williamson could not return to writing duties because of scheduling conflicts with Dawson's Creek (1998), The Faculty (1998), Halloween H20: 20 Years Later (1998) and his directing of Teaching Mrs. Tingle (1999), but he wrote a draft for the film. Ehren Kruger largely ignored the draft, and his script was mostly written on the fly, with pages often completed on the day they were to be shot. The characters bore so little resemblance to their appearances in the previous films that director Wes Craven rewrote it.
- #015
Since Angelina Tyler is no longer the second killer, a plot hole opened up in the storyline where Roman Bridger is the sole killer. He is somehow able to cover vast distances and practically teleport between different locations to commit all these incredible murders, and in many of these events, when Roman is not around, Angelina cannot be accounted for, as she would be the killer. Clues that Angelina is the second killer still remain in the film.
- #016
The film broke the record for the number of opening-weekend screens in the US: 3,467. That figure was later surpassed by Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (2001) with 3,762.
- #017
Because the script kept changing, a large amount of footage was shot. More than two hours of footage was filmed for Randy's (Jamie Kennedy's) video message, a three-minute scene.
- #018
Sarah (Jenny McCarthy-Wahlberg) complains that her "Stab 3" character, Candy, has only two scenes before being killed. Sarah also has only two scenes in this film before being killed.
- #019
When Gale Weathers and Dewey Riley discover the Ghostface costume and the voice changer in the closet, Gale speaks through the voice changer three times. The third and final voice she speaks in is the voice of the real killer, Roman Bridger (Scott Foley).
- #020
After casting British actress Emily Mortimer, the production team discovered she did not have a work permit for the United States. Mortimer flew to Canada, where she could obtain the proper permit as production began. This was her first feature film in America, so she had to learn to speak with an American accent.
- #021
Scott Foley's first feature film.
- #022
If you pay attention to Angelina's actions during the Stab 3 wrap party, you can see that she behaves quite suspiciously, constantly going in and out, and mysteriously disappears when the house explodes, only reuniting with everyone after rolling down the hills. She was supposed to be the one who turned on the gas stove that caused the explosion while Roman went to kill Stone. Roman was still going to be responsible for cutting the power and faxing the script pages to the characters in the house (which would actually be impossible if the power were cut). This is why Angelina moved away from everyone before they all rolled down the hills and walked safely down to meet everyone, because she knew when the explosion would happen. It is also worth noting that upon Tom's death she became hysterical and ignored Dewey's question about how he got there.
- #023
In an Entertainment Tonight video interview released on August 14, 2020, David Arquette admitted that he was the one who suggested his then-wife Courteney Cox cut her hair like Bettie Page, thus leading to the notorious Scream 3 bangs. Fans hated the new look and mocked it for years, and a meme even emerged in 2010.
- #024
Because of the Columbine massacre and the debate over whether violent video games and films were to blame, along with the exaggerated coverage in the media, the producers were pressured to reduce the violence in the film. (At one point the studio tried to demand that no blood be shown in the film at all.) As a result, the film is somewhat more satirical and comedic than the first two. Note that stab wounds are rarely shown on screen and that the bloodiest scenes involve the aftermath of the murders. Also, the cast does not include teenagers to be killed, for obvious reasons, making this the tamest and least bloody Scream film in the entire series.
- #025
Kincaid (Patrick Dempsey) was included in the climax at the insistence of the producers, who noticed that he disappeared before the third act, and his story did not otherwise progress.
- #026
Jamie Lee Curtis was offered the role of Bianca Burnette but turned it down.
- #027
Emily Mortimer, who played Angelina, was genuinely surprised when she learned near the end of the production that her character was not revealed to be the second killer, because she had filmed all her scenes under the impression that she would be unmasked as Roman's accomplice.
- #028
Liev Schreiber insisted that Cotton Weary take off his jacket in the opening scene. Schreiber was working a lot at the time and wanted to show off his physique.
- #029
Roman faking his own death has been a target of criticism since the film's release. The fact that he is the only killer in the film, combined with the fact that Gale checks his pulse and apparently confirms he is dead, makes his fake death very far-fetched, since no one could have helped him stage it. Wes Craven tried to explain this plot point by saying that there are ways to slow your pulse in real life without causing death, but no such explanation is ever given in the film. The originally intended accomplice, Angelina, was supposed to help him stage the fake death by using the secret passages to get away from Tyson to do it.
- #030
It took $34.7 million in its opening weekend, the highest amount any film had earned in the January-April period at that time and the highest Miramax had ever earned for any of its opening films.
- #031
In Wes Craven's audio commentary on the DVD and Blu-ray, he states that Angelina is the second killer. The scene revealing her survival and her loyalties was cut from the finished film. Craven explained that the scene in the film where Sidney finds Angelina in the bathroom wearing the Ghostface costume is actually Angelina's excuse being that she was secretly stealing props from the set, and Sidney unknowingly caught Angelina wearing the Ghostface costume. Craven left it ambiguous in the final cut whether Angelina was actually betrayed and killed by her accomplice Roman for "wandering off" and then put on the Ghostface costume, or whether she survived and faked her death to clear her name (the disappearance of her body is quite suspicious). One clue supporting this is that the Scream Trilogy DVD box set released shortly after this film has a booklet written by Craven and includes a page listing all the dead characters in the film. Angelina, despite being "died" on screen, is mysteriously absent. This was either a genuine mistake or proof that Angelina really did fake her death. If so, it makes her the only Ghostface in the series to get away with her crimes.
- #032
The party scene at the mansion still contains strong hints that Angelina is the second killer. When everyone first arrives at the mansion, Roman and Angelina are already there, and it is their idea to split everyone up to give them the opportunity to dress as Ghostface and attack everyone. After Tyson notices that Angelina has gone missing, while Gale encounters Roman's supposed corpse, Angelina could have been helping Roman fake his own death using the secret passages.
- #033
Originally the ending consisted of Sidney easily defeating Roman, which led to the scene where the police arrive in the early morning and then to the final scene at Sidney's house. The production judged that this amounted to three endings that would hurt the film's pacing, and also, since this was the concluding chapter of the first three films, the audience needed to believe that Sidney could lose and die, which her easy victory failed to achieve. To create the alternative ending, the fight scene between Sidney and Roman was expanded, and an addition involved Roman apparently beating Sidney to death in the place where the character had previously hidden.
- #034
(At around one hour in) The bathroom on the "Stab 3" set where Sidney (Neve Campbell) finds Angelina (Emily Mortimer) is a replica of the bathroom where Sidney is attacked in Scream (1996), as can be seen from the position of the doors and the design of the soap dish.
- #035
An alternative opening was written but never filmed. In the opening scene, Sidney Prescott and a friend were preparing to watch a video alone at her house (under different circumstances). The killer calls Sidney and her friend without Sidney knowing, claiming to be watching them in the house, and it turns out to be true. The killer bursts out of a closet and tries to attack the frightened Sidney and her friend. However, Sidney pulls out her gun and shoots the killer several times. When the mask comes off, the killer turns out to be a fan playing a prank on Sidney.
- #036
Wes Craven was briefly considered for the role of John Milton.
- #037
Miramax was so concerned about protecting the secrets of the film's plot that no journalist was allowed to see the finished film until two days before its release.
- #038
(At around nineteen minutes in) Jay and Silent Bob, the popular drug-dealer characters from Clerks (1994) and other films, appear as tourists visiting Sunrise Studios who notice Gale Weathers (Courteney Cox) and mistake her for Connie Chung.
- #039
Wes Craven repeatedly clashed with the MPAA over censorship of violence, and in an interview Craven said these problems made him consider leaving the horror genre.
- #040
Cotton's (Liev Schreiber) death scene kept changing, and about three versions of it were filmed. This meant the opening driving scene also had to be reshot to account for the continuity changes.
- #041
At roughly forty-seven minutes in, in Scream (1996) and Scream 2 (1997), Gale Weathers (Courteney Cox) is punched in the face by Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell). In this film, Jennifer Jolie (Parker Posey), who plays Gale Weathers in "Stab 3," punches the real Gale Weathers in the face.
- #042
The Stab 3 set attack in which Sidney is chased by Ghostface was written with a plan for two killers. Angelina was to lure Sidney to the set and chase her up the stairs, and Roman was to attack through the window after Sidney barricaded the door. When Sidney later re-enters the set, she is attacked by Angelina bursting out of the closet, and Roman would then wear the costume inside the bloody body bag to scare Sidney when she goes upstairs. Note how, after Sidney throws Ghostface down through a hidden door to the second floor, she goes to the stair railing to check whether they came back. Then, immediately afterward, she enters the set version of Maureen's room with the bloody body bag; seconds later it is revealed that Ghostface is inside waiting to scare her, making it impossible for the killer thrown down the trapdoor to be the same person. Although some scenes in this film were changed to establish a single killer, such as the opening murder of Cotton and Christine and the trimming of Sarah's death scene to remove the rooftop stalking, this scene could not be changed because Neve Campbell was available for only 3 weeks and could not film reshoots.
- #043
Different endings regarding Kincaid's (Patrick Dempsey) fate were filmed because the producers were not sure at that point whether he would die.
- #044
At one point in the production, before Laeta Kalogridis was listed in the rewritten credits that made Roman the sole killer, Detective Wallace (Josh Pais) was to be one of the killers, replacing Angelina as the accomplice.
- #045
A major change was planned in which the murders would stem from crazed fans of the "Stab" films. The turning point was to be revealed when Sidney (Neve Campbell) visits a house where all the teenagers have been killed and the bodies stand up and reveal themselves as the killers.
- #046
In earlier drafts of the script, Sidney was written as suicidal in addition to suffering nightmares and post-traumatic stress disorder. The script had a scene in which Sidney goes to the bathroom and checks the scars on her wrists after a failed suicide attempt, but this was written out in later drafts.
- #047
According to Patrick Lussier and Marianne Maddalena, who say on the audio commentary that Angelina's death scene is suspicious, Angelina's death, in which her body is mysteriously dragged away while Gale and Jennifer look on in horror, was deliberately shot with a sense of ambiguity. This was still meant to leave a suggestion that she was a Ghostface, since this would not be the first time a Ghostface faked their own death to clear their name. Note that we do not actually see her being stabbed, and although it is unlikely for Ghostface killers to hide their killings, Ghostface drags the body away. The disappearance of Angelina's body could offer Roman an excuse for an autopsy as to why she suddenly vanished, if anyone were to go back and check her body. According to the original script, Angelina was to return and reveal herself alive after Sidney arrives at the mansion. The "death" scene was originally intended to be fake.
- #048
At around 24 minutes in, Jenny McCarthy-Wahlberg, who was twenty-seven at the time, played a thirty-five-year-old who complains about having to play a twenty-one-year-old.
- #049
With its 40 million dollar budget, this film cost 25 million dollars more than Scream (1996) and 16 million dollars more than Scream 2 (1997).
- #050
Production of the film was rushed because the Weinstein brothers did not want to wait for Kevin Williamson to be ready to write the script, which led them to hire Ehren Kruger for the screenplay. His first drafts were so bad that Wes Craven had to step in for some rewrites, since the characterization of the returning characters barely resembled that of the first two films. It reached a point where Bob Weinstein fired Kruger and instead had him write the screenplay for Reindeer Games (2000). Laeta Kalogridis was hired to do some work after he left, without being listed in the rewritten credits; one of her most notorious changes was establishing Roman as the sole killer instead of choosing a different character as the accomplice, and wanting to make Roman's motive very personal toward Sidney.
- #051
During their snark-to-snark fights, Jennifer tells Gale that she will not win any award for playing her. Parker Posey was nominated for an award for playing Jennifer but did not win it.
- #052
One idea during development had Tori Spelling return as herself, playing Sidney in "Stab 3." At one point the character Joel, played by Duane Martin, was also to return.
- #053
It was shot over a twelve-week period.
- #054
In recent years, fans have pointed out that the film features a character who is a film producer and sexual abuser, while the film was produced by Harvey Weinstein, who was convicted in 2020 of numerous counts of sexual assault and rape.
- #055
Gale Weathers mistakes Bianca Burnette for Carrie Fisher because of their resemblance and inadvertently brings up bad memories about her (an inside joke about the fact that Bianca is played by Fisher). Burnette jokingly asks if she wants to know who she looks like. She was threatening to say she looks like Courteney Cox, since the series Friends (1994) exists in this series' universe.
- #056
On August 15, 2023, a black-and-white VHS copy of the 1999 Assembly Cut leaked online. It has a running time of 2 hours 22 minutes. The structure of the cut is largely the same as the finished film. The differences stem from the reshoots that took place. Cotton's opening speech is longer, but his encounter with Ghostface at his home is shorter than in the final film. Randy's tape is longer and includes different lines and jokes. In a new scene, Ghostface is seen downloading the voices onto a disc placed in a voice box. The ending is shorter, with less of a fight between Sidney and the killer, and she quickly overpowers the killer.
- #057
Kate Hudson was cast but was replaced before principal photography began. This film appears among Hudson's credits on the back cover of the VHS box for Desert Blue (1998). It is not known which role Hudson was cast in, but speculation suggests she was either Christine or Sarah.
- #058
It is the only film in the series in which Ghostface uses a voice changer to perfectly imitate other voices as a way of dealing with his victims. This was a source of criticism for viewers and critics, because the series had until that point mostly been grounded in reality, and this kind of technology dangerously approached science fiction territory.
- #059
At roughly the one-hour-five-minute mark, Sidney's attack on the Woodsboro set of "Stab 3" mirrors her first attack in Scream (1996). As Sidney looks out the window beside the front door, the killer emerges from the coat closet and stabs through the door, narrowly missing her before chasing her up the stairs.
- #060
In one of three endings shot by Wes Craven, Tyson (Deon Richmond) is stabbed while trying to protect himself from Ghostface but survives.
- #061
Although her pictures and likeness were used as Sidney's mother Maureen in earlier films, this is the first film in the series in which Lynn McRee physically appears as the mother (though only through a dream sequence, surveillance footage and voice work).
- #062
To tone down the on-screen violence, only 10 gallons of fake blood were used in this film, compared with the 30 gallons used in Scream 2 (1997) and the 50 gallons used in the first Scream (1996).
- #063
The main house where most of the principal "Stab 3" cast members stay belongs to Randal Kleiser, the director of Grease (1978).
- #064
Stone Cold Steve Austin was considered for the role of Steven Stone.
- #065
Téa Leoni was a strong candidate for the role of Jennifer Jolie and was called back several times during casting, but the producers ultimately decided Parker Posey was better suited and cast her instead.
- #066
This is the only film in the series to feature a single Ghostface killer. It was a highly debated point among fans and critics, since having only one Ghostface reduced the potential rewatch value, as viewers would now know who killed the victims with a single killer in every death scene. However, the original intention was never this, given that in the first draft of the script Angelina Tyler was meant to be the second killer.
- #067
In Sidney's first scene, when the alarm is being set, a close look at the wall to the left of the door reveals a small poster for the Windsor College production of The Fall of Troy. This is the play in which Sidney played Cassandra in Scream 2 (1997). Interestingly, in Greek mythology Cassandra went mad because she was given the gift of prophecy and no one believed her. Since the killer's plan in this film is to make Sidney look insane, it is highly likely that the Greek myths used for Sidney's character in Scream 2 influenced her story in this film.
- #068
Roman, the long-lost brother with a family connection to Sidney who coached Billy and Stu in the murder plans targeting Maureen, was a nonsensical addition, because Kevin Williamson never intended this to be Maureen Prescott's backstory and it was not implied in the first two films. Sidney was always meant to be an only child. This late change was criticized for being unnecessary and coming out of nowhere.
- #069
Some versions of the script had Mark Kincaid (Patrick Dempsey) being killed in the finale.
- #070
This is the first film in the series in which Sidney never meets or knows the Ghostface killer (Roman) before the ending. She had never shared a scene with Roman before the reveal.
- #071
The film was shot under such secrecy that the actors saw only their own parts of the script the night before, and some scenes were left unfinished to keep the killer's identity hidden.
- #072
David Boreanaz was considered for the role of Mark Kincaid.
- #073
At one point Gale made a comment about Jennifer Jolie having a relationship with Brad Pitt. Coincidentally, the two actresses who gave the character her name are Jennifer Aniston and Angelina Jolie, and both would marry Brad Pitt at certain points after this film's release.
- #074
Because Kevin Williamson was not available to write a new script, he wrote a draft for this film that the new writer would use. Ehren Kruger was hired and the draft was almost entirely ignored. In fact, he had not watched the previous Scream films before starting work on this one, but he accepted the screenwriting job out of a desire to work with Wes Craven.
- #075
This is the first Scream film in which Ghostface does not say the line "Hello, Sidney" to Sidney.
- #076
It takes place three years after the events of Scream 2 (1997).
- #077
Since only one killer, Roman, is shown in the film, all of the murders are his work. With an estimated 9 victims, he had the highest kill count among the Ghostface killers. However, from the perspective that Angelina was his accomplice, it is still possible to work out which of the two committed which murder and which one was active: * Cotton Weary and Christine Hamilton - In the final cut, it is very clear that Roman killed both, because the new opening scene is a reshoot intended to firmly establish a single killer. In the alternative opening, it is clearer that there are two killers, because one killer is still on the phone with Cotton while discovering Christine's body in the closet before being ambushed by another killer who has no phone. Angelina probably killed Christine and used her voice on the phone while Roman killed Cotton. * Sarah Darling - Roman's call to her could be a signal for Angelina to attack and kill her, since Angelina is hiding in the closet among the Ghostface costumes on a shelf. If Roman were calling Sarah from the office, he would certainly have heard. An unused image from the deleted scenes shows someone watching Sarah from the roof as she enters the building, which means there are two killers. Roman is the lookout (since he is the one making the call) and Angelina is Sarah's killer. * Sidney's Phone Call - Roman had been taken into police custody for questioning before this scene, which made it unlikely that he could call Sidney to frighten her with Maureen's voice. Angelina could have made the call by taking Dewey's phone from him (or from Jennifer, who was using it) while he was distracted, in order to steal Sidney's number. * Steven Stone's Phone Call and Death - Ghostface calls Steven and, using Dewey's voice, distracts him enough to approach stealthily and kill him. Ghostface, who attacks literally in the middle of the conversation, has no phone, which means Angelina made the call while Roman killed him. * Tom Prinze - When Angelina lights the gas stove that leads to his execution, she would hold herself responsible for his death. Technically, since Angelina set the trap and Roman merely sent the bait (the script pages in the fax machine), both can be said to have killed Tom. Note also that Angelina is the only character without a phone in this scene, while everyone checks their phones before realizing it is the fax machine. This too foreshadows that she is the first second killer. * Sidney's Attack on the Stab 3 Set - This scene very clearly reveals that there are two killers; Ghostface keeps springing out of every corner and crevice to attack Sidney as if he could teleport, which is absolutely impossible with a single killer. Shortly before this scene takes place, Sidney goes over to Angelina, who is said to have stolen props from the set, including the Ghostface mask, and Angelina mysteriously disappears after coming out of the bathroom. Angelina being the second killer would reduce Roman's kill count to 7, or possibly even lower if he did not actually kill Angelina and instead faked his death to escape unnoticed.
- #078
Tom Prinze in the film guesses that the killer in this film could be Sidney. Since Angelina was originally meant to be the second killer in the script, this line could have been a meta foreshadowing, as Angelina plays the Stab version of Sidney.
- #079
Marco Beltrami hired seven orchestrators to help with the notation for the extensive orchestral accompaniment in the film's score. He experimented with new ways of producing sound by recording instruments in abnormal ways, such as placing objects on the piano and recording at various speeds to create a distorted, unnatural sound, then electronically altering the results.
- #080
Jenny McCarthy appeared in this film several years before playing in Scary Movie 3, the first film in that series to parody the Scream films. Here, her character complains about being too old to play a 21-year-old, while in Scary Movie 3 she plays a teenager. She also complains in Scary Movie 3 about having to die naked in the shower when her character is killed in the bathroom.
- #081
At the film's climax, Neve Campbell wears a green top and a brown leather jacket similar to the outfit she wore at the climax of Scream 2.
- #082
Writer Kevin Williamson was announced while he was writing the screenplay for Scream 2 (1997).
- #083
An unused shot from Sarah Darling's death scene (found in the deleted scenes) shows someone, presumably Ghostface, watching her as she enters the Sunrise Studios production office. This scene was shot while the script still had two killers written into it. The Ghostface watching her from the roof would be Roman, keeping an eye out to see whether potential witnesses would leave the office and Sarah alone. His calling Sarah would have been the signal for the other killer to attack and kill her, and that other killer was Angelina.
- #084
After the #MeToo movement began, the film was reassessed and franchise producer Harvey Weinstein was revealed to be a sexual abuser and was subsequently fired from his own company. Some scenes in this film reference the casting phenomenon and Hollywood filmmakers trading sexual favors to give actors film roles, such as Maureen Prescott being the victim of a systematic gang rape by Hollywood elites, Bianca Burnette saying she lost the role of Princess Leia because she didn't sleep with George Lucas, and Angelina revealing that she slept with the director to get the role of Sidney in Stab 3.
- #085
Ideas Kevin Williamson set aside regarding the film's plot later resurfaced in the TV series The Follow (2013).
- #086
Maureen Prescott's stage name, Rina Reynolds, comes from actress Debbie Reynolds. She was the mother of Carrie Fisher, who also appears in this film.
- #087
Sarah's death coincides with the timing of the death of the character Candy in the 'Stab 3' script. Sarah is directing lines with Roman starting on page 28. Script format generally equates one page of a film to one minute. Candy was to die somewhere in the 28-minute mark of the film they were rehearsing, which is around the same timestamp at which Sarah is also killed. Also, at the film's 15-minute mark, when Sarah says 'we're not in danger,' Tyson points out that Sarah's character says this on page 15 of the script.
- #088
Christopher Walken was considered for the role of John Milton.
- #089
It was the first Scream film (at that time) not to be released during the Christmas holiday. The film was moved from its original premiere date of December 10, 1999 to February 4, 2000 because of reshoots.
- #090
Kate Winslet, Shannen Doherty and Charisma Carpenter were the closest contenders for the role of Christine.
- #091
If Courteney Cox and David Arquette look somewhat tanned in the film, it is because they had just returned from their honeymoon in the Bahamas.
- #092
For a long time it was the worst-reviewed film in the series and the only one with a bad score on Rotten Tomatoes (Scream 4 (2011) briefly held a rotten score of 59% before rising to a new score), until the premiere of Scream 7 (2026), the second Scream film to receive much worse reviews and a bad score.
- #093
At the end of this film, Mark Kincaid (Patrick Dempsey) is the fourth surviving character after Sidney, Dewey and Gale, and he carries his left arm in a sling. In the extended ending of Scream 4 (2011), Judy Hicks (Marley Shelton) is the fourth surviving character after Sydney, Dewey and Gale, and her right arm is in a sling.
- #094
Screenwriter Ehren Kruger was rewriting frantically when filming began. As someone unfamiliar with the first two Scream films, he was given only six weeks to deliver his first draft.
- #095
The production was constantly disrupted by script delays and scheduling difficulties. New pages of the script were released every day.
- #096
Paul Walker, Josh Hartnett, James Van Der Beek and Johnathon L. Jackson were considered for the role of Tom Prinze.
- #097
Tyson Fox was written as a red herring in the film: he was present at Sarah Darling's murder, absent from the explosion scene that destroys Jennifer's house and kills Tom, and present during the Stab 3 set attack on Sidney. Before the explanation was cut, the real second killer was meant to be Angelina Tyler.
- #098
Selma Blair was considered for the role of Jennifer Jolie.
- #099
It was shot between July and September 1999, and the new ending was shot in January 2000.
- #100
This is the first Scream film that Kevin Williamson was not involved in as a writer.
- #101
Body count: 9 — Christine Hamilton, Cotton Weary, Sarah Darling, Steven Stone, Tom Prinze, Tyson Fox, Jennifer Jolie, John Milton and Roman Bridger. Angelina Tyler's supposed death was discussed by Wes Craven, Patrick Lussier and Marianne Maddalena, and she was left off the body count listed in the booklet included in the first Scream trilogy box set on DVD. Her "death scene" was meant to be fake before she was revealed to be the other killer, which is why her body disappears. Because the explanation was cut from the film, it is unknown whether she really died and was betrayed by Roman, or was only faking her death.
- #102
This is the most recent Scream film up to Scream 7 (2026) in which Sidney's place of residence is confirmed (in Scream (1996) she lives in Woodsboro with her father, and in Scream 2 (1997) she lives in a dorm at Windsor College with Hallie). Since her current location is not stated in either Scream 4 (2011) or Scream (2022), it is assumed that Sidney moved away from her cabin in the woods at some point after the events of this film.
- #103
Patrick Dempsey and Scott Foley appeared together in Grey's Anatomy (2005). Dempsey had a recurring role as a regular, while Foley had a recurring role as a patient. Neve Campbell also guest-starred as the sister of Dempsey's character.
- #104
Benicio Del Toro was reportedly considered for the role of Roman Bridger.
- #105
Liv Tyler and Jennifer Connelly were considered for the role of Christine Hamilton.
- #106
Alicia Silverstone, Claire Danes, Christie Clark, Alyson Hannigan, Kellie Martin and Eliza Dushku were considered for the role of Angelina Tyler.
- #107
Carrie Fisher is known for playing Princess Leia in the Star Wars films. In Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi (1983), it is revealed that she and Luke are brother and sister. In this film, Sidney discovers that she is Roman's half-sister. Both are the third films in their respective series.
- #108
While working on this film, Neve Campbell was also shooting "Drowning Mona." Her character Ellen has long, straight blonde hair and looks nothing like Sidney, so Neve had to wear a wig that required two hours of makeup application. This was confirmed in the film's audio commentary track.
- #109
Although Ehren Kruger was not very keen on adapting someone else's work, he accepted the screenwriting duties primarily as a chance to work with Wes Craven. Kruger admitted that Craven's contribution to the finished script was invaluable.
- #110
In Roman's birthday party scene, if the characters' wardrobes are examined closely, Roman and Angelina wear color-coordinated blue shirts and black pants, which was originally a hint that both were killers working together, since it had become a tradition for a killer to wear some form of blue — navy, blue or plaid — before being unmasked in the series. Angelina's allegiance to Roman as the second killer was removed at the last moment during production.
- #111
The killer Roman does not enter the story until 13:56. Just as in the previous two films, the killer or killers are not introduced until the middle of the first act, in the film's second 10-minute segment: Billy - 13:21, Stu - 19:47, Mickey - 15:11, Mrs. Loomis - 19:04, Roman - 13:56.
- #112
Scott Foley kept the original Ghostface mask he used during filming as a souvenir from the set.
- #113
Rachel True, Keri Russell, Alyssa Milano and Denise Richards were considered for the role of Christine Hamilton.
- #114
Jenny McCarthy-Wahlberg's character complains that she is killed second in Stab 3. In fact, in Scream 3 (2000) she is the THIRD to be killed.
- #115
Alicia Silverstone and Ben Affleck were considered for roles. Silverstone was considered for Sarah Darling and Christine.
- #116
It is never explained how Sidney paid for the cabin she lives in at the woods house throughout the film. Given that Sidney is never stated to be in witness protection or shown with any security personnel, the most likely possibilities are that her father bought it for her, or that she bought it after agreeing to join Cotton for the Diane Sawyer interview (mentioned in Scream 2 (1997)), meaning she may have been offered a lucrative payment for agreeing to appear and was thus able to afford it. If the second scenario is true, it could mean Roman saw the interview, which would explain why he threatens Cotton about Sidney's location at the beginning of the film.
- #117
Fairuza Balk was considered for the role of Martha Meeks.
- #118
A song by the band Creed appears in the end credits. While being chased by the killer, there is a Creed poster in Sidney's room on the film set.
- #119
Since the Scream series is known for paying tribute to classic horror films, it is possible that Christine, Cotton Weary's girlfriend, was named after the 1983 film "John Carpenter's Christine," an adaptation of Stephen King's novel that was not very popular when it came out but has since become a cult classic.
- #120
Teri Hatcher was considered for the role of Jennifer Jolie.
- #121
The Stab 3 cast group in this film is the only main group in the series in which every member dies (including the killer Roman Bridger). Each of the other main groups in the series has at least one member still alive. Technically, Dewey Riley was the only survivor of the group before his death in the fifth film (counting his role as technical advisor as making him a member of the group as well).
- #122
Heather Locklear was considered for the role of Bianca Burnette.
- #123
In reality, Carrie Fisher played Princess Leia in Star Wars. The joke surrounding this was intended as a hidden reference to Fisher. Scream actor W. Earl Brown and Scream 2 actor Timothy Olyphant would later appear in the second season of the spin-off series The Mandalorian, joining that franchise.
- #124
Christie Clark, Alyson Hannigan and Kellie Martin were considered for the role of Angelina Tyler.
- #125
Glenn Quinn and Charlie O'Connell were considered for the role of Tom Prinze. O'Connell's brother Jerry played Derrick Feldman in Scream 2 (1997).
- #126
Roman Bridger was born on July 15, 1970, making him 29 at the beginning of the film and 30 at the end. Scott Foley was born on July 15, 1972, making him 28 during filming.
- #127
In the dream scene where Sidney sees her mother trying to enter the house, the audience hears forest bird sounds when Sidney wakes up. The bird sounds are a tribute to Scream 3 director Wes Craven, an avid birdwatcher. Similar sounds are heard again at the end of Scream (2022), which was dedicated to Craven after his death in 2015.
- #128
In Scream 3, Gale moved to Woodsboro because she was dating Dewey, but she left to pursue career opportunities and because she could not stand Woodsboro's slow pace. In Scream 4, Gale was married to Dewey and living in Woodsboro. She was still unhappy because she found the town boring and nothing exciting ever happened there. In Scream (2022), Dewey had moved to New York with Gale, but he was unhappy, possibly because of the big city's fast pace and the relationship drama. He separated from Gale and returned alone to the slower-paced Woodsboro.
- #129
Ethan Erickson auditioned for the role of Tom Prinze.
- #130
Matt Keeslar and Parker Posey also worked together in Waiting for Guffman. In both films they play actors, but in Scream 3 they are successful and know professional actors in Hollywood, while in Guffman they appear in a community theater production in a small town.
- #131
More actors were considered for roles in the film: Julie Benz, Vinessa Shaw, Alicia Silverstone, Anne Heche and Shannen Doherty were considered for Christine and Sarah. Anna Friel, Danielle Harris, Jennifer Love Hewitt, Katie Holmes, Tracy Middendorf and Christina Ricci were considered for Angelina.
- #132
The film's cast includes 5 Primetime Emmy Award nominees: Courteney Cox, Patrick Dempsey, Parker Posey, Carrie Fisher and Liev Schreiber. Emily Mortimer is a BAFTA nominee.
- #133
The 4-digit code for the security system on Sid's fence is 1288. On a phone's alphanumeric keypad, one of the possible codes that can be spelled is "1 CUT."
- #134
Lance Henriksen and Timothy Olyphant from the second film would later become part of the Call of Duty Modern Warfare video game trilogy as General Shepherd and Grinch respectively, while Sarah Michelle Gellar from the second film would become a playable character in Call of Duty: Zombies. Later, in October 2021, it was announced that Ghostface (Olyphant being one of those behind the mask) would be one of the Warsaw Pact operators in the video game Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War. Then, in the 2022 film, music composer Brian Tyler, who scored the third Modern Warfare game featuring Olyphant, would replace the film's regular composer Marco Beltrami as composer.
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