Kevin Williamson (screenwriter)
Kevin Williamson | |
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Born | Kevin Meade Williamson March 14, 1965[1] New Bern, North Carolina, U.S. |
Occupation |
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Years active | 1990–present |
Notable works |
Kevin Meade Williamson (born March 14, 1965) is an American screenwriter, director, and producer. He is known for developing and writing the screenplay for the slasher film
Williamson also wrote the screenplays for the films I Know What You Did Last Summer (1997), The Faculty (1998), Cursed (2005), and Sick (2022). He made his directorial debut with the black comedy film Teaching Mrs. Tingle (1999).
Early life
Williamson was born in New Bern, North Carolina, the younger son of Faye and Wade Williamson, a fisherman. He spent his early years in Aransas Pass, Texas, near Corpus Christi, Texas. Williamson's family returned to North Carolina for his high school years. He then attended East Carolina University in Greenville, North Carolina, where he received a BFA in Theatre Arts.
He told Entertainment Weekly interviewer Melissa Maerz, "When I was growing up, my mom and dad took me to the Poe museum in Richmond, Virginia. It was a little house downtown, and The Raven was written on the walls. You had to move from room to room to read the whole story. I thought it was the coolest thing in the world."[2]
Career
Early career (1990–1994)
After graduation, he moved to New York City to pursue an acting career. Though he landed a part on the soap opera Another World in 1990, he moved to Los Angeles the following year, where he had small parts on the TV series In Living Color, in the films Dirty Money and Hot Ticket, and in music videos. While taking classes on screenwriting at UCLA he wrote his first script, Killing Mrs. Tingle (later retitled Teaching Mrs. Tingle) which was bought by a production company in 1995 and put on the shelf.
Mainstream breakthrough (1995–1998)
Scream
Inspired by the March 9, 1994, episode of the news magazine
Kevin Williamson earned the Saturn Award for Best Writing in 1996 for his work on Scream.
In 1997, Dimension Films released Scream 2, also written by Williamson. It, too, was a critical and box office hit and paved the way for two more installments, Scream 3 (2000) and Scream 4 (2011). The latter was written by Williamson.
Dawson's Creek
Paul Stupin, an executive at Columbia TriStar Television, read Scream after the bidding war for the script and was convinced Williamson was just the man to create a television series for his company. The result was Dawson's Creek, a semi-autobiographical tale set in a small coastal community not unlike Oriental. Williamson was the model for the title character, Dawson Leery, a hopeless romantic who is obsessed with movies—especially those of Steven Spielberg. Joey Potter, the platonic girl-next-door, was based on a real life friend of Williamson's when he was young.
In December 1995, the show was pitched to the
In 1999, Williamson left the show to focus on other endeavors, among them ABC's Wasteland, which failed to attract a sizable audience and was canceled after its thirteen-episode first season. He later returned to Dawson's Creek to pen the two-part series finale in 2003.
I Know What You Did Last Summer
In 1997, Williamson penned his next film,
Later work (1999–2008)
Williamson gave up the job of writing the full script for Scream 3 in order to direct his first penned script, originally titled Killing Mrs. Tingle, a comedy thriller, inspired by an event he experienced in high school. Teaching Mrs. Tingle (as it was renamed after the Columbine High School massacre) followed a group of students getting even with their vindictive teacher.
In 1999, Williamson created Wasteland, a late-night, sexualized version of his earlier show, Dawson's Creek. It aired for just 3 episodes in October 1999 before being canceled. The remaining 10 episodes were aired on Showtime's ShowNext channel in 2001.
In 2001, Williamson created Glory Days as a mid-season replacement for The WB. The series followed a novelist returning to his hometown, a coastal community within Washington state, which was experiencing strange occurrences—seeming to mirror the plot ABC's Twin Peaks. Debuting in January 2002, the series was canceled after the airing of nine episodes.
Williamson penned another script which Wes Craven would go on to direct called Cursed, after a failed first shoot starring an almost entirely different cast before re-writes and re-shoots turned the project into something new, it was finally released in 2005. Due to the many script changes, delays in production and low promotional budget due to all the re-shoots, the film failed to perform at the box office.
Later that same year, Dimension Films released Williamson's horror film, Venom, about a group of teens stalked by a crazed killer in the bayous of Louisiana. Williamson is listed as a producer of the film, but not as a writer. The film opened to negative reviews and suffered at the box office, taking in less than $900,000 in gross revenue.
In 2006, Williamson began production on a new teen drama, tentatively titled Palm Springs, for
Return and newfound success (2009–present)
Williamson developed a new TV series for
Williamson developed a new TV series for The CW entitled The Secret Circle, which was from another book series of Vampire Diaries writer, L. J. Smith.[4] The series revolves around six teenage witches who form a Circle coven on the fictional town of Chance Harbor, Washington.
The Secret Circle premiered on September 15, 2011, just after the third-season premiere of The Vampire Diaries. It was pickup for a full-season on October 12, 2011.[5] It was eventually cancelled.
Williamson was the writer and producer for Scream 4, which began shooting in June 2010 and was released in theaters on April 15, 2011.[6]
Williamson created the TV series The Following, which began airing on Fox in the 2012–13 television season. Starring critically acclaimed actor Kevin Bacon, the series follows an ex-FBI agent who finds himself in the middle of a network of serial killers. The series was cancelled by Fox on May 8, 2015, however it was reported the series was being shopped to Hulu for a possible fourth season.[7]
Williamson also created Stalker, a psychological thriller centered on a pair of detectives who handle stalking incidents for the Threat Management Unit of the LAPD. The pilot was directed by Liz Friedlander and starred Dylan McDermott and Maggie Q. The series was cancelled on May 11, 2015, after one season. It was reported Warner Bros. would possibly shop the series around.[8]
In 2017, Williamson developed Time After Time, based on the novel of the same name, with the plot reset in 2017 New York City. It failed to capture a large enough audience for ABC.
In 2018, Williamson created
In March 2020, it was announced that Williamson would serve as executive producer for the fifth installment of the Scream franchise, which was directed by Tyler Gillett and Matt Bettinelli-Olpin.[11] The film was released on January 14, 2022.[12][13]
In January 2022, it was announced that Williamson would reunite with Julie Plec for an adaptation of the comic Dead Day for Peacock.[14] In January 2023, it was announced Peacock was no longer moving forward with Dead Day but that the potential series was being shopped to other networks.[15]
In February 2022, it was announced that a sequel to Scream (2022) had been greenlit, with a planned release date of March 31, 2023, with Williamson on board as an executive producer.[16][17]
In June 2022, Julie Plec, who co-created The Vampire Diaries with Williamson, announced that she, Williamson, and another TVDU executive producer, Brett Matthews, were working on a fourth show in the universe together.[18]
In March 2024, Williamson was confirmed to be returning to the Scream franchise as the director of the upcoming untitled seventh Scream film.[19]
Personal life
Williamson is gay. He came out to his friends and family in 1992.[20][21]
Filmography
Film
Year | Title | Writer | Producer | Director |
---|---|---|---|---|
1996 | Scream | Yes | No | No |
1997 | I Know What You Did Last Summer | Yes | No | No |
Scream 2 | Yes | Executive | No | |
1998 | Halloween H20: 20 Years Later | Uncredited | Executive | No |
The Faculty | Yes | No | No | |
1999 | Teaching Mrs. Tingle | Yes | No | Yes |
2000 | Scream 3 | No | Yes | No |
2005 | Cursed | Yes | Yes | No |
Venom | No | Yes | No | |
2011 | Scream 4 | Yes | Yes | No |
2022 | Scream | No | Executive | No |
Sick | Yes | Yes | No | |
2023 | Scream VI | No | Executive | No |
2024 | The Exorcism
|
No | Yes | No |
TBA | Untitled seventh Scream film[22]
|
No | No | Yes |
Television
Year | Title | Writer | Creator | Executive producer | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1998–2003 | Dawson's Creek | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
1999 | Wasteland | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
2002 | Glory Days | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
2007 | Hidden Palms | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
2009–2017 | The Vampire Diaries | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
2011–2012 | The Secret Circle | Yes | No | Yes | |
2013–2015 | The Following | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
2014–2015 | Stalker | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
2015 | Scream | Story | No | No | Episode: "Pilot" |
2017 | Time After Time | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
2018–2020 | Tell Me a Story | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
TBA | Rear Window[23] | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
The Waterfront[24] | Yes | Yes | Yes | ||
The It Girl[25] | Yes | Yes | Yes | ||
The Game[26] | No | No | Yes |
Further reading
- Darren Crosdale. Dawson's Creek: The Official Companion. Kansas City, Missouri: Andrews McMeel, 1999. ISBN 0-7407-0725-6
- Jeffrey Epstein. "Unbound". The Advocate. August 31, 1999. 34+.
- Andy Mangels. From Scream to Dawson's Creek: An Unauthorized Take on the Phenomenal Career of Kevin Williamson. Los Angeles: Renaissance Books, 2000. ISBN 1-58063-122-3
- Charlie Palmer. "Kevin Williamson". In The Wallflower Critical Guide to Contemporary North American Directors. Edited by Yoram Allon, Del Cullen and Hannah Patterson. London: Wallflower, 2000. ISBN 1-903364-09-4
References
- ISBN 978-0-313-30199-5. Retrieved March 19, 2020.
- ^ Maerz, Melissa (January 11, 2013). "9 Hot New Shows: The Following". Entertainment Weekly. New York: Time Inc. pp. 54–55.
- ^ "Kevin Williamson Talks Scream 4". DreadCentral. June 5, 2012.
- ^ Andreeva, Nellie (February 9, 2011). "CW Picks Up Drama Pilot 'Secret Circle'". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved September 16, 2011.
- ^ Andreeva, Nellie (October 12, 2011). "CW Gives Full-Season Orders To 'Hart Of Dixie' & 'Secret Circle', Goes 3-For-3". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved October 12, 2011.
- ^ "'Scream IV' Writer Talks Sidney Prescott's Fate, Death Scenes and Comedy". BloodyDisgusting. November 11, 2009.
- ^ "The Following Cancelled at Fox". May 8, 2015.
- ^ "'Stalker', 'The McCarthys' Cancelled by CBS". May 11, 2015.
- ^ Turchiano, Danielle (October 30, 2018). "Kevin Williamson Talks 'World of Unrest' as Inspiration for 'Tell Me a Story'".
- ^ "Tell Me A Story: See opening credits for Paul Wesley, Kim Cattrall's CBS All Access series". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on October 29, 2018.
- ^ Gemmill, Allie (March 12, 2020). "'Scream 5' Scores 'Ready or Not' Team Radio Silence to Direct (& Scare Us Silly)". Collider. Archived from the original on April 29, 2020. Retrieved March 15, 2020.
- ^ Miska, Brad (August 28, 2020). "Relaunch of 'Scream' Slashing Into Theaters on January 14, 2022!". BloodyDisgusting. Retrieved August 28, 2020.
- ^ Kroll, Justin (June 24, 2020). "New Scream Movie From Spyglass Media Will Be Released by Paramount (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved June 24, 2020.
- ^ White, Peter (January 27, 2022). "Julie Plec & Kevin Williamson Land Straight-To-Series Order For 'Dead Day' Comic Adaptation At Peacock". Deadline. Retrieved April 4, 2022.
- ^ Otterson, Joe (January 27, 2023). "Julie Plec, Kevin Williamson's 'Dead Day' Adaptation Not Going Forward at Peacock Despite Series Order (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved January 27, 2023.
- ^ Kroll, Justin (February 3, 2022). "'Scream' Sequel Moving Forward At Paramount And Spyglass". Deadline. Retrieved April 4, 2022.
- ^ Squires, John (March 31, 2022). "'Scream 6' Will Be Released in Theaters Exactly One Year from Today!". Bloody Disgusting!. Retrieved April 4, 2022.
- ^ "The Vampire Diaries Universe Will Continue Beyond Legacies: The Next Show is 'Just a Matter of When'". June 17, 2022.
- ^ Adams, Timothy (March 12, 2024). "Scream 7 Bringing Back Neve Campbell, Original Writer Directing". ComicBook. Retrieved March 12, 2024.
- The Advocate. p. 44. Archived at Google Books. Retrieved August 31, 2015.
- ^ Summers, Claude J. (December 23, 2005). The Queer Encyclopedia of Film & Television. Cleis Press. p. 259. Archived at Google Books. Retrieved August 31, 2015.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "Kevin Williamson Sets 'Rear Window', 'The Game' & 'The It Girl' Series Adaptations and 'The Waterfront' Under Overall Deal with Universal Television". February 8, 2024.
- ^ "Kevin Williamson Sets 'Rear Window', 'The Game' & 'The It Girl' Series Adaptations and 'The Waterfront' Under Overall Deal with Universal Television". February 8, 2024.
- ^ "Kevin Williamson Sets 'Rear Window', 'The Game' & 'The It Girl' Series Adaptations and 'The Waterfront' Under Overall Deal with Universal Television". February 8, 2024.
- ^ "Kevin Williamson Sets 'Rear Window', 'The Game' & 'The It Girl' Series Adaptations and 'The Waterfront' Under Overall Deal with Universal Television". February 8, 2024.
External links
- Kevin Williamson at IMDb
- Kevin Williamson on Twitter