It’s a small moment, but Wes Craven included a perfectly mean-spirited message in the original’s end credits Scream that’s a great Easter egg now. Craven, who passed away in 2015, was undeniably a legend in the horror community, a master of the genre who pioneered so many influential works in the genre, from some of the best horror film franchises of all time to one-off films. His brand of horror mixed with dark comedic timing and satirical humor was a trademarkand that infused everything he did, including 1996 Screamthat changed the horror genre forever.
As much as he adopted mischievous humor, Wes Craven took his work deeply seriouslyand that’s exactly why his films still hold up. No matter how irreverent Scream and its ending is: Craven was dedicated to the craft, an absolute necessity; The shoot is long and complicated and requires a consummate professional to be in charge when problems arise. It is understandable, then, that it was the lack of professionalism that raised alarms for the director during the making of the film. Scream.
Scream’s end credits turned the “special thanks” message upside down
It was nothing thanks
Most viewers don’t usually sit down and watch a movie until the end credits end, so you could be forgiven for never noticing the special thank you message buried in Screamend credits. In this case, however, the “special” part of the thank you is that it is not actually a thank you message, but rather an anti-thank you message.
Deep inside Screamend credits, just before the trademark Miramax and “All rights reserved“The copyright language is a curious message: “No, thanks in no way to the Santa Rosa City School District Board of Trustees.” It’s strange to see the place normally reserved for a thank you to any person or organization that has been especially helpful in the production of a film, but Wes Craven clearly had other ideas. Even funnier is that it came at the end of a considerable list of thanks.
Wes Craven’s beef with the Santa Rosa City School District explained
The school district and City Council botched the production
The message is genuinely funny because It’s so clear that it’s the result of a personal fightbegging for the story behind it, and indeed, there is. Originally, Scream planned his filming location, at least for some scenes, to be Santa Rosa High School in Sonoma County, California, a popular filming location; Not only were several films shot at the school, but other films were shot over the decades in Sonoma. THE Scream the team got an agreement, albeit verbal, from the school director and prepared to film.
Days before filming began, however, the city council intervened and said the Scream the production did not provide the necessary documentation. The council then created a lot of bureaucracy, which the Scream production took twice as long to be released, which is what happened. When parents complained, however, possibly because they didn’t want a gory horror movie filmed in the school hallways, Colégio Santa Rosa ended up withdrawing the invitation after reviewing the script, delaying production.
Eventually, filming was moved to a former Sonoma elementary school turned community center, but the damage was already done. Entire scenes had to be rewritten, original shooting plans and camera strategies had to be scrapped and revised, and the production had to scramble to accommodate an entirely new location. Thanks to the last minute change and the prohibited filming location, the city of Santa Rosa cost the Scream production budget an incalculable amount of money and a lot of time. Wes Craven was so furious that he immortalized his appeal to the Santa Rosa City School District, which now lives forever in the Scream end credits.