15 Things You (Probably) Didn't Know About Scream 3

It was all change, almost, for the third Scream film with a new screenwriter bringing the mayhem to Hollywood, a perfect choice given the themes brought up in the first two chapters.

The lead trio all returned though and managed to survive until the end, a miracle. But while you might know the killer now, there's a good chance you might not be aware of these 15 facts about the hit slasher movie. So here goes...

(Images: Rex Features, All Star)

1.

Matt Keeslar, who played Tom Prinze, who was in turn playing Dewey in Stab 3: Return to Woodsboro, originally auditioned to play Billy Loomis in Scream.

2.

Neve Campbell was only available for 20 days of the shoot which explains why she is a smaller character than both Gale and Dewey in the film.

3.

Cotton Weary's doomed girlfriend Christine was almost played by Charisma Carpenter, who tested for the role.

4.

Kevin Williamson's original idea for Scream 3 was based around a fanclub of Woodsboro teens who had been inspired by the Stab movies to continue the killings. This idea can then be seen in parts of Scream 4 and The Following.

5.

There was originally going to be two killers with Emily Mortimer's character Angelina helping out but the idea was nixed.

6.

David Arquette's brother Richmond has a small role in the film as a student who asks Gale a question near the start of the film.

7.

At the time, the film broke a record for the amount of screens it was showing on in its opening weekend. A whopping 3,467, if you're interested.

8.

While we see Randy in the form of a video concerning the rules of a trilogy, we almost saw more of the character, despite his death in Scream 2. An earlier idea, based on fan outrage, had his family hide him away after the attack in the second film but, understandably, it was considered a tad too far-fetched...

9.

Some of the casting in the film was last minute to say the least. Patrick Dempsey was cast the day before shooting began while Kelly Rutherford, as Cotton's girlfriend, was hired once the shoot had already started.

10.

Due to the Columbine murders, there was a point where the filmmakers were told to feature no on-screen violence or blood but Wes Craven fought against this. And won. Sort of. The film used 10 gallons of fake blood, compared to 50 for the first and 30 for the second.

11.

The classroom where Gale gives a seminar in one of the opening scenes was also used in Scream 2 to represent a room in Windsor College.

12.

Kate Hudson was actually cast in Scream 3 in an unconfirmed role but was replaced prior to the shoot. Weirdly, the VHS box for Desert Blue lists it in her credits.

13.

The house used during the climax of the film was also used as a school in Halloween H20.

14.

The ending originally continued with more from Randy's videotape playing in Sidney's living room, as he talks about genres other than horror and how a happy ending would be nice. The footage was shot but never included on any DVD or Blu-ray version of the film.

15.

The film was originally promoted with a viral site, quite something given the time, which was a fake site for Sunrise Studios. The site has been archived and can be seen here.