Neve Campbell, who played Sidney Prescott in the first five movies in the Scream horror franchise, did not appear in the most recent pic, this year’s successful Scream VI, amid a salary dispute. Series creator Kevin Williamson has a response for that.
“All I can say is, ‘Pay her the money’,” Williamson said during an interview on the latest episode of the Happy Horror Time podcast that dropped this week.
Williamson was asked by podcast hosts Tim Murdock and Matt Emert his thoughts on Campbell’s decision to not be in the movie, which she made public in June 2022 saying, “As a woman I have had to work extremely hard in my career to establish my value, especially when it comes to Scream. “I felt the offer that was presented to me did not equate to the value I have brought to the franchise.”
She later expanded on her reasoning, noting that if she “were a man and had done five installments of a huge blockbuster franchise over 25 years,” the number she was offered wouldn’t have been the same. “In my soul, I just couldn’t do that,” she said. “I couldn’t walk on set feeling that — feeling undervalued and feeling the unfairness, or lack of fairness, around that.”
Williamson, as part of the wide-ranging podcast discussion, said he respected her decision.
“I know her well. I love and adore her, and that’s what she did and it’s great for her,” he said. “I love everyone involved with Scream and all I can say is pay her the money. Yes, you heard it, everyone. That’s what I would do. I would give her that.”
He added, “One day, they’ll figure that all out.”
There will be more Scream movies, for sure, for Campbell to return to, after the success of Scream VI. It bowed in March and broke franchise records by bringing in $168 million at the global box office.
Williamson co-wrote the script with James Vanderbilt and Guy Busick and also executive produced.