How ‘Vampire Diaries’ EP Julie Plec Helped Make Kevin Williamson’s ‘Scream’ Script Into The Cult Slasher Film

Ever wonder how “Scream” was turned into a movie? You can thank “Vampire Diaries” executive producer Julie Plec for that. Plec and “Scream” writer Kevin Williamson were on hand at the 2015 ATX Television Festival in early June to talk about their time working in Hollywood. The duo opened up a little bit about the 1996 slasher film, which became the first project they were on together.

With a production budget of $15 million, “Scream” went on to make over $100 million worldwide at the box office. Directed by Wes Craven, the movie became a cult classic – but the legendary director initially passed on the flick, according to Williamson. It wasn’t until Julie Plec came along that Craven eventually expressed interest in the film.

For those that don’t know Plec’s full history, the producer and writer used to be Wes Craven’s assistant – dry cleaning, coffee, the whole nine yards. However, one of her responsibilities also included reading scripts. When Plec came across the “Scream” script with a co-worker, she remembered saying, “oh my god, this is the greatest thing ever.” However, not everyone agreed. She reminisced about another co-worker saying, “I don’t get it. I just don’t get it.”

The script was ultimately submitted to the studio, but Craven was weary of working on the movie – then titled “Scary Movie” – due to the flop of his previous film, “Vampire in Brooklyn.” Although he liked Williamson’s story, he wanted to branch out of the genre.

Names like Robert Rodriguez, Bryan Singer and Quentin Tarantino were all being thrown around for directing, and Oliver Stone even wanted to attached to the project. However, none of them worked out. That’s when Plec revisited the idea with Craven.

According to the producer, Craven told her, “Well, tell [the studio] to make me an offer I can’t refuse.” And that’s how “Scream” became the movie it is today! Of course, that’s Plec’s version at least.

“This could be a full revision of history,” Plec joked. “Because I give myself way too much credit for getting this movie made. And it can’t really actually be true.”

The “Scream” franchise turned into four movies, and most recently a TV series for MTV – although not attached to Williamson. The new TV show will premiere on MTV on Tuesday, June 30 at 10 p.m. EDT.