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[Thisstorycontainsspoilersfrom[ThisstorycontainsspoilersfromScreaming 7.]
The biggest question in every Scream franchise is always the same: Who is Ghostface?
in scream 7, The answer is three killers – including Sidney Prescott’s neighbour, Jessica Bowden, played by Anna Camp. The film also marks the franchise’s final return for Neve Campbell’s original Wey Girl Screaming Writer Kevin Williamson steps into the director’s chair.
Before Jessica’s belated film reveal, her screen time was fairly limited. But Camp says Hollywood Reporter The character was almost less. “It was everything I saw in the initial script, except for the scene with Gail on the front porch,” she says, adding that the creative team discussed how much Jessica should be shown so they wouldn’t “shine too bright a light” on Ghostface.
Following the film’s opening weekend success, Camp also addressed the online backlash after he posted that “the boycott didn’t work,” referring to people who protested after Melissa Barrera was fired from the film over her social media posts about the war between Israel and Hamas. Camp explains below what she meant, and why she felt it was important to apologize.
Read on as Camp discusses the film’s biggest spoilers, Jessica’s motivation, her brutal fight scene with Sydney — and what she heard about itScreaming 8.
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I heard you say that Kevin Williamson told you in advance that he wanted you to play Ghostface. At that point, did you think you’d be the only one or did you know there would be two more in the movie?
He told me during a Zoom meeting that there are two Ghostfaces. I didn’t know exactly how many, until I read the script. But I knew I wasn’t alone and that I was working in collaboration with some other Ghostfaces.
Who else in the cast knew you were Ghostface?
Oh, my God. I know it’s obvious that Neve did it, because she’s Neve Campbell, and she’s Sidney Prescott. ( He laughs.) I’m not sure who can read the entire text. It could have been everyone, or it could have been just a limited amount, I don’t know.
I’ve never been sent to an office in Beverly Hills and I get in an elevator and then I’m put in a room alone with a watermark text, with the door closed, and then I’m told to come in and take it from me immediately. I felt like I was in a spy movie or something, classified information.
You mentioned creating some of Jessia’s backstory yourself – what details did you imagine about her life before the events of the film?
She definitely thought about who she was married to and what that relationship was like. She indicates that she was in an abusive relationship with her husband. I just have to put myself in someone’s shoes and what it means to be married to a narcissistic abuser, and what that can do to someone who may already be prone to feelings of depression or mania, to land her in a psychiatric hospital. Those were the things I really worked on. What she felt in that relationship – and then what it meant to transfer all those feelings of love that she couldn’t feel in her marriage to this person she’d never met, Sidney Prescott, and how that became an outlet for her in some way, so that she had something to focus on. Some people do that. They became incredibly obsessed. This is what happened to Jessica. Sydney became all the things she hoped for from a healthy relationship. This is where she put all her energy and focus into Sydney’s comeback. That’s why you say, “I’m creating Sidney 2.0, I’m creating this new version,” because now it’s the thing that I’m addicted to, so I don’t have to focus on my actual life.
In terms of her motivations, what does Jessica really want from Sydney?
I think what she really wanted for herself was to be the best she could be. I think Jessica and her warped view of the world, she knew that Sydney was this final girl, this ultimate, true girl and hero. And it was really interesting that Jessica wasn’t getting that done. Jessica was saying, I love this person so much, but I only really love him if he’s at the peak of himself, operating in this high-functioning ghost face, attacking the world of the last girl she really was, I’ll do everything I can to get her back there, even if it means sacrificing my life to my obsession. That’s how I played it, that’s how I envisioned it, and I hope it arrives.
Did Kevin give you specific guidelines for how Jessica’s motivations should look?
She is completely unhinged at this moment, fierce and wild and animalistic. I remember him saying, “Don’t back down at all. I’ll pull you back if I think you’ve gone too far.” It really gave me the freedom to just leave it all out there that night when we were shooting that scene, and when a director gives you freedom like that, it opens a lot of doors emotionally for the actor, because they feel like they have the freedom to try and fail and be goofy and weird. This is the director I would love to work with. Shooting that scene is one of the highlights of my entire career that I’ve ever had.
Were there hidden clues that you intentionally put into your performance that viewers might notice on rewatch?
There were some things. When I hit Lucas [Asa Germann] At first, I just tell him to shut up. The slap was probably a little harder than the average mother who didn’t worry about what her son would do when he lived or died. Also, the scene in the coffee shop when I was talking to her, I was like Jessica, I’m so happy to have some special time alone with Sydney. In this scene, I was just trying to make it very easy and comfortable for her to talk to me because Jessica wanted to spend all the time in the world with her. Even though this scene was very short in the movie, as an actor, I try to create a very safe, calm, and warm environment for the subject of my obsession to engage and open up with me, stay a little longer and maybe get another coffee, like that’s what I plan to do. So maybe you can see a little twinkle in my eye (He laughs.) If you go back and watch this scene.
Your fight scene with Nev was very intense. Obviously we know which parts are not real, but how much of the parts you actually made vs. Stunt double?
You’ve got the best doubles performance in the world. You absolutely killed it. When I suffocate on the floor from Nev, I suffocate. Obviously safe with a stunt coordinator there. When my face gets red and a vein pops out of my head. Obviously that’s me. There’s the scene where she hits me with the garage door and we’re stabbing each other [with fake knives]And it’s all very real. Also, the last shots of my face, I shot them twice, and I remember it was the second shot, and my neck was really swinging back, and everyone was lunging at me and saying, “Oh my God, Anna, are you okay?” And I remember saying, “Well, did it sound good?” They would say, “Yes, it looks like you got shot in the face.” And I thought, “Okay, so you have to use this shot, right?” And they say, “Yes, we got it. We’re done. No more.”
Has there been talk of having a fight scene with Gail and Courteney Cox’s Ghostface? I think this is the only movie in the series where we don’t see them interact.
Oh, I have no idea. But that would be great. I always love seeing Courteney Cox kicking some ass with Ghostface. ( He laughs.)
Yes, at the same time, it was sad to see how fragile it was based on the brutal sceneSixth scream.
Especially when they talk in the newsroom, and then she has to go and take pills. They made it very real, and it tracked really beautifully. Your heart really goes out to Gale Weathers in those moments. Courtney gave a beautiful performance. She’s also very funny in this movie, and her entrance is one of the most iconic entrances of any character in any franchise I’ve ever seen. I remember when I read that in the script, my jaw was on the floor, and I was like, “Yes!” I cheered alone in the room while reading the script. ( He laughs.)
Will you return for the flashback scene? It’s hard to imagine Screaming 8 It won’t happen.
I know he will be thereScreaming 8. I’ve actually heard people talking about it. I don’t think Jessica is clearly alive. ( Laughs.) She could have a twin there, right? I love playing with twins. But yeah, 100 percent. I’m very honored to be a part of the franchise at all. So of course.
I’ve heard that Screaming 8 It is happening?
Just rumours, just rumours. I haven’t heard from anyone specifically that I’ve worked with, like Kevin or Nev but I’ve heard the rumors going around that there are Screaming 8.
Who did your character kill? Was she the face of the ghost that killed your son?
I think I killed McKenna Grace’s character. If you watch the movie and see the Ghostfaces in action, a lot of the kills are powerful. Like Ethan Embry and then the other actor who plays the other Ghostface, they can lift people up, they can do things. I don’t necessarily lift people or do that, but I think using a knife and chopping is something my character would have done. I’m not sure if you killed my son or not, so I don’t know. I will leave it to the audience to decide which ghostly face is the one that killed the son.
She issued an apology for a statement stating how the boycott had not worked. At the time of the tweet, what were you trying to express, and what, if anything, would you like to get across now?
I’m glad you asked this. I have always been a supporter of people standing up and fighting for what they believe in, and it was never my intention to discredit that. At the time, I was so grateful for the fans who came out and made it Screaming 7 Such a success and ticket purchases because the cast and crew worked so hard on this movie, my intention was just to thank the fans who were going to watch the movie.
What made you decide it was important to apologize publicly?
My heart is very big. I am a very sensitive person. A very sensitive actor. And I just wanted to make it clear that it was in no way my intention to belittle or belittle anyone. That’s why I deleted the post because when I posted it. It was never my intention to do something like this, and I wanted to make sure people knew that. I really didn’t mean any harm.
Some fans said they were confused by the final reveal and wished they had seen more of Jessica before the unmasking. What did you gain from the audience’s reactions to that moment?
I tried not to look at a lot of things because I worked so hard on that scene, and it was so important to me. I wanted the fans to be happy. What I felt when I read the script was that I just needed a little more introduction to my character in the beginning or middle part of the movie to help make that reveal pay off more. And I spoke for myself. So I did everything I could do. After that, the producers can do whatever they want with the film. So, I definitely fought for more, and I’m glad I did. At the end of the day, I’m very happy with how it ended up on screen. I hope people enjoy my performance, even though they feel frustrated because they are confused about the motive or revelation.
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Screaming 7 Now showing in cinemas.Check all Hollywood ReporterCoverage hereincluded Interviews with Kevin Williamson, Michelle Randolph, and McKenna Grace.
