Emma Roberts thought that acting in a scary movie would help her overcome her fear of horror flicks — until she had a nightmare about the Scream antagonist.
“I woke up at four in the morning and never went back to sleep,” Roberts said. “I had been doing all this press and [must have] had this subconscious anxiety about it, because I literally had a dream that the guy was chasing me.”
She took to her Twitter account to relate the incident: “Woke up in the middle of the night from having a nightmare about #scre4m! I shouldn’t be scared when I’m in the movie…#ridiculous.”
While the film features veterans Neve Campbell and on-again-off-again couple Courteney Cox and David Arquette, a wave of young Hollywood females are taking over — 20-year-old Roberts included. Pretty Little Liars star and teen drama queen Lucy Hale, 90210‘s Shanae Grimes, True Blood‘s Anna Paquin, Hayden Panetierre of Heroes and “Sarah Marshall” herself, Kristen Bell, make up the new crop of Scream‘s potential murder victims.
Roberts did some screaming herself upon hearing of her approval for the role as Jill Roberts, cousin of Neve Campbell’s now iconic character Sidney Prescott.
“I was more excited than anything else [about joining the cast] just because when I auditioned I really didn’t think I was going to get the part at all,” explained Roberts. “When I did, it overshadowed any fear, doubt, or hesitation I may have had.”
“I read the script and I really loved it,” she added. “I thought, why not? It’s gonna be so much fun, and it was. Lots of blood and lots of death and lots of fun.”
Prior to Scream 4, Roberts recently had supporting roles in It’s Kind Of A Funny Story alongside Zach Galiafianakis and Valentine’s Day, alongside, well…practically everyone in Hollywood. Now privy to the realm of ensemble casts, she reminisced fondly on the surprises work days would bring.
“During Valentine’s Day, I remember I would go into hair and makeup every morning looking so tired, then I’d see Patrick Dempsey and Jamie Foxx,” she said. “I was really intimidated to meet Courteney and David and Neve [at first] because they’d been doing these movies for 10 years. But they were so awesome and really, really fun to work with.”
The actress grew close to seasoned cast members during filming.
“Neve would invite us over to her house all the time, and David and Courteney would invite us over for dinner and David would cook for us,” Roberts said. “Everyone was really welcoming and didn’t treat us like we were kids, which was really refreshing and nice.”
The movie filmed for three summer months in Michigan, which Roberts compared to summer camp. From what it seems, considering the fun and games on set, she’s spot on. The cast hung out on a regular basis, and jokes and mischief went on constantly.
Surprisingly, most came from legendary horror director Wes Craven, who apparently moonlights as a master prankster.
“He would have someone dressed up as the Scream guy and put him in places in a scene where he was not supposed to be,” she recalled. “There was a scene where Hayden was to open a closet, and no one was supposed to be in there. And all of the sudden this guys just jumps out and scares the crap out of her. He got everyone. I mean everyone.”
Roberts was no exception.
“I saw it happen and still fell for it a few days later! I was absolutely terrified,” she laughed. “I kept asking if he was going to make a blooper reel, because there are some really funny scares.”
Joking aside, Roberts, whose favorite scary movie is The Ring, noted that the films truly frightened her when she was growing up. Especially the first film, she said, due to its realness in concept.
“It’s really simple — someone that dislikes you that is going to dress up and kill you with a knife,” she explained. “It’s scarier [to think about] because whereas other movies are about the supernatural or a ghost, that kind of stuff is never so simple. That’s what really freaked me out.”
However, her ever-present fear of horror flicks probably won’t stop her from appearing in another one. The actress even alluded to another Scream installment.
“You don’t know if I’ll be in Scream 5…or if there is going to be a Scream 5. So we’ll see!” she said.
Now that she’s a slasher flick actress in her own right, Roberts offered up some advice to college students who may find themselves in an encounter with a serial killer: “Don’t go to parking structures at night by yourself without a friend!”
Thanks, Emma. We’ll keep that in mind.
Scream 4opens nationwide on Friday, April 15.
