While promoting his latest film The Romantics, actor Adam Brody gave fans a glimpse into his experience working on Scream 4. From sharing surreal moments with Ghostface to diving into the movie’s multilayered meta-commentary, Brody’s reflections capture the excitement of joining the iconic franchise.

On Playing a Deputy

Brody clarified his role in Scream 4:

“It’s a deputy, really. Deputy to now-Sheriff Dewey.”

When asked how filming went, he shared:

“It was fun! It’s also a funny one where it’s all night shoots. It was cool and kind of surreal—not just to see Ghostface, but there was one night where Wes [Craven] was directing Ghostface in his mask. He’s like, ‘Ghostface, you’re over there…’ It was just surreal: ‘God, I wish I had my camera.’ But to do the scenes not only in ‘Woodsboro,’ or do them with Ghostface, but to do them with David Arquette, Courteney Cox, and Neve Campbell was weird. It’s cool, but it truly is a surreal experience, just because I remember walking into the movie theater when I was 16 and…”

On Being a Scream Fan

Brody, like so many of us, was a fan of the franchise long before joining it:

“Yeah, absolutely. How could you not be? Totally enjoyed the movie.”

The “Meta on Meta” Nature of Scream 4

Discussing the franchise’s famous self-awareness, Brody explained:

“This one’s like meta on meta on meta. Self-referencing on self-referencing. But again, because the first one is about movies, and this one’s about movies and all the murders that have taken place onscreen over the years. This one’s all about commenting on itself. And I like that. It’s part of the fun.”

He also pointed out how meta-commentary has become more prevalent in pop culture:

“I think everything is more meta and self-referential now. People are more plugged-in, communication works faster, people are more educated about it—how it did or whatever. Even Apatow—there’s nothing ‘meta’ about it, but it references events. People are doing more of that in movies and pop culture in the moment.“