"Scream" was originally going to be called what?

“Scream” was originally going to be called “Scary Movie.” Kevin Williamson wrote the screenplay under that working title after being inspired by real-world crime reports and classic slasher films, including “Halloween.”

The title changed late in production. Producer Bob Weinstein reportedly felt “Scary Movie” made the project sound like a straightforward comedy, while the film was intended to be a genuinely frightening slasher that also satirized horror conventions. “Scream,” inspired partly by the Michael and Janet Jackson song of the same name, was ultimately chosen.

The original title later became famous for a different reason: it was reused for the 2000 horror-comedy parody “Scary Movie,” directed by Keenen Ivory Wayans. That creates a common mix-up—“Scary Movie” was not originally the name of the parody franchise; it was first the working title of Williamson’s film that became “Scream.” The 1996 movie was directed by Wes Craven and starred Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox, David Arquette, and Drew Barrymore.