Kevin Williamson’s career in Hollywood is comparable to the myth of the Phoenix – filled with thunderous hits, and not so memorable ashes. Even knowing that his achievements aren’t a constant road, it’s worthy of respect. Not bad at all for someone who made his name out of nowhere. “From unemployed actor to spokesman for a generation” could be the subtitle of an unauthorized biography.
Right now, he is at one of those flaming peaks. The screenwriter and producer has just signed a lucrative contract of three years with the CW for the TV series The Vampire Diaries. This is a good start of the decade for Williamson. But there are new rules, really?
History teaches us that you can not bite off more than you can chew. This is a lesson to the writer, always torn between his work for television and cinema. The first time he was in such a predicament was in 1997 – between the creation of Dawson’s Creek and Scream 2, where he skillfully managed his attention between the two projects.
In 1999 and 2000, did not fare so well. Between Teaching Mrs. Tingle, Wasteland and Scream 3 – he got the first two, being removed from the trilogy’s conclusion. Despite the fact that Scream 3 didn’t returned to Woodsboro – as he predicted – Dimension used his original idea of an unknown brother (another reference to Halloween).
With ties to the projects (that brought him fame) undone – read Scream and Dawson’s Creek –, the author lost contact with the public that celebrated him. Until the vampire fever and the announcement that Scream 4 was in production.
If you follow the website, you’ve witnessed a very uncomfortable déjà vu when right at the start of the production, Kevin Williamson was unable to do some rewrites for the fourth part of the anthology, due to his commitments with The Vampire Diaries. Currently, he does not comment or supports Scream 4 – most likely because of the choice of the writer hired to replace him, we assume.
If Scream 4 goes well at the box office, make sure that there will be a fifth one. But because of this contract with the CW – that insures him a long period of calm, freedom of creativity and respect – and the diplomatic issues between him and The Weinstein Company, we may not have the original envisage of Williamson for the new trilogy.
What do you think?
Source: Deadline TV.
