Sidney Prescott

Sidney Prescott
Scream character
Neve Campbell as Sidney Prescott in Scream
First appearanceScream (1996)
Created byKevin Williamson
Portrayed byNeve Campbell
Stab films (movie-within-a-movie):
Tori Spelling (Scream 2 cameo depicting Stab)
Angelina Tyler (Emily Mortimer) (Scream 3 photos depicting cancelled Stab 3)
Birth dateMarch 14, 1979[1]
In-universe information
AliasCassandra (play role)
Laura (in hiding)
Angel of Death
NicknameSid
OccupationHigh school student (graduated)
College student (graduated)
Crisis counselor (formerly)
Self-help author (currently)
FamilyNeil Prescott (father)
Maureen Prescott (deceased mother)
Unnamed firstborn eight-year-old daughter (born 2013)[2]
Unnamed secondborn six-year-old daughter (born 2015)[2]
Unnamed baby/toddler (born approx. 2019—2021)
SpouseMark Kincaid (husband)
Significant othersBilly Loomis (original film)
Derek Feldman (second film)
RelativesMaternal:
Roman Bridger (half-brother)
Kate Roberts (aunt)
Jill Roberts (cousin)
NationalityAmerican
Location34 Elm Street, Woodsboro, California (former childhood home)[3][4]
Windsor College, Ohio (formerly)[5]
Hollywood, California (temporarily)[6]
StatusAlive

Sidney Prescott is a fictional character and the main protagonist of the Scream franchise. The character was created by Kevin Williamson and is portrayed by Canadian actress Neve Campbell. She first appeared in Scream (1996) followed by four sequels: Scream 2 (1997), Scream 3 (2000), Scream 4 (2011), and Scream (2022).[7] She is set to return in the upcoming seventh film in the franchise.[8][9] Until 2023's Scream VI (where she is only mentioned and appears via drawings), her character had appeared in each successive film in the series, her role initially that of the victim but growing into heroine where she personally confronts each killer and defeats them.

The character appears in the Scream films as the target of a series of killers who adopt the Ghostface persona, a ghost mask and black cloak, to pursue her. In each film, the Ghostface killers often murder people close to Sidney and taunt her by phone with threats and intimate knowledge of her life or the murder of her mother, leading to a final confrontation where the true killer is revealed.[10] The killers that target Sidney have varying motivations ranging from revenge in Scream, Scream 2, and Scream 3 to the fame that will come from killing her in Scream 4, due to the fame she herself has obtained as a survivor of the murder spree in the original 3 films. She first becomes the focus of her boyfriend Billy Loomis (Skeet Ulrich) and his friend Stu Macher (Matthew Lillard), Billy seeking revenge for his mother's abandonment following his father's affair with Sidney's mother, Maureen Prescott (Lynn McRee). Scream 3 later reveals that Billy learned of this affair through Roman Bridger (Scott Foley), Sidney's half-brother, himself seeking revenge for his abandonment and rejection by Maureen, sparking the chain of events that permeate each film.

Drew Barrymore was cast as Sidney Prescott but scheduling conflicts led to her taking a smaller role as Casey Becker, with the lead being offered instead to Campbell, who at the time was starring in the television series Party of Five. Campbell was hesitant to take another horror role after finishing work on The Craft (1996), but took the opportunity as it would be her first leading role in a feature film. Campbell reprised the role in Scream 2 and Scream 3 though her own scheduling conflicts meant she could only film for a short period of time while the third film was in production. This resulted in her character's role being reduced significantly from prior installments and focus was shifted onto the series' other lead characters, Gale Weathers (Courteney Cox) and Dewey Riley (David Arquette). Campbell initially refused requests to return for Scream 4, with scripts written with her character's absence in mind, but ultimately agreed to return.

The character is depicted as an intelligent, resourceful young woman who gradually becomes stronger over the course of the series as she attempts to overcome the threats and deaths around her.[11] Neve Campbell's role as Sidney Prescott has received significant critical praise throughout the series, earning her the title of scream queen in the 1990s, and won her the Saturn Award for Best Actress in 1997 for Scream[12] and the MTV Award for Best Female Performance in 1998 for her role in Scream 2.[13]

  1. ^ "How Old Sidney, Gale & Dewey Are In Scream 2022". Screenrant. January 17, 2022. Retrieved June 12, 2022.
  2. ^ a b Busick, Guy; Vanderbilt, James (January 19, 2022). "Scream (2022) First Draft". Scribd, p. 43. Retrieved June 12, 2022.
  3. ^ Wes Craven (Director) (1996). Scream (DVD). United States: Dimension Films.
  4. ^ Wes Craven (Director) (2011). Scream 4 (DVD). United States: Dimension Films.
  5. ^ Wes Craven (Director) (1997). Scream 2 (DVD). United States: Dimension Films.
  6. ^ Wes Craven (Director) (2000). Scream 3 (DVD). United States: Dimension Films.
  7. ^ Reel Views 2: The Ultimate Guide to the Best 1,000 Modern Movies on DVD and Video by James Berardinelli, Roger Ebert; Published by Justin, Charles & Co., 2005; ISBN 1-932112-40-5, ISBN 978-1-932112-40-5.
  8. ^ Adams, Timothy (March 12, 2024). "Scream 7 Bringing Back Neve Campbell, Original Writer Directing". ComicBook. Retrieved March 12, 2024.
  9. ^ Kroll, Justin (March 12, 2024). "Neve Campbell Says She Is Back For New 'Scream' Movie; Kevin Williamson Set To Direct". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved March 12, 2024.
  10. ^ The Movies That Make You Scream! by R. David Fulcher; Published by AuthorHouse, 2007; ISBN 1-4259-9427-X, 9781425994273.
  11. ^ Wes Craven: The Art of Horror by John Kenneth Muir; Published by McFarland, 2004, ISBN 0-7864-1923-7, ISBN 978-0-7864-1923-4.
  12. ^ "Past Saturn Awards". saturnawards.org. Archived from the original on 9 February 2010. Retrieved 14 March 2011.
  13. ^ "1998 MTV Movie Awards". mtv.com. Archived from the original on April 23, 2008. Retrieved 14 March 2011.