Scream

 Drew Barrymore and Neve Campbell did not meet Roger Jackson, the actor who played The Voice in "Scream" (1996), before shooting commenced. Whenever they are talking on the phone to the killer, they are actually talking to him. In fact none of the cast met him. Craven thought that would be better to bring out the shock reactions he needed from everyone when they heard that voice.

Executive producer Cary Woods used his friendship with Barrymore's agent to approach her for the lead role of Sidney Prescott, but she requested the smaller role of Casey Becker because "that's the part I love the most." Exceutive producer Marianne Maddalena suggested that Barrymore had wanted to leave the project entirely, but took the smaller role to avoid disappointing Bob Weinstein and his brother Harvey. The filmmakers agreed to the change, believing it would be impactful to kill off their most well-known actor during Scream's opening and convince audiences that no character was safe.

Barrymore insisted on shooting all of her scenes barefoot because her part in the movie was brief and she doesn't like wearing shoes.

When Bob Weinstein watched parts of the first scenes filmed (rough cuts), he said that the mask used was "idiotic." He asked the producers to film one scene with seven different masks and let him choose the one he liked the most. Producers didn't agree and threatened to shut down production. They told him to wait until the first sequence (Barrymore's) was completed and then he could decide. After watching it, he happily agreed to the mask used and didn't make another complaint for the rest of the filming.

Wes Craven initially turned down the film. He was already busy developing a remake of "The Haunting" (1963) and was considering distancing himself from the horror genre. He signed on to direct after Barrymore agreed to appear in the film.