For the moment, at least, it looked like The Weinstein Company were on the ropes in a big way towards the end of last year, largely due to the financial landmine that was “Nine.” However, they’ve set up a new financing deal and a DVD distribution deal with Sony at the beginning of the year, staved off the wolves, and made some bold acquisitions at Sundance, including the much-anticipated “Blue Valentine.”
But that doesn’t mean that Bob & Harvey are going to turn down a banker. Variety brought the news today that the long-rumored “Scream 4” has been green-lit, with original helmer Wes Craven in the director’s chair, and Neve Campbell, Courtney Cox Arquette and David Arquette all set to return to the series, alongside a yet-to-be-cast group of younger actors. The film will be released on April 12, 2011, over eleven years after the last installment of the franchise was released.
While the original was certainly a breath of fresh air in a tired genre on its release, the sequels were subject to the law of diminishing returns in a big way (a shiny penny for anyone who can recap the plot of “Scream 3” from memory), so we can’t say that we’re particularly excited about this. It’s also important to remember that the traditional target audience for a horror movie – high school and college kids – won’t have much of a connection to the franchise, with it having been away for so long. We’re sure that there’ll be an audience of nostalgic thirtysomethings, but it remains to be seen whether the “Scream” brand has any value for a younger crowd.
