Scream

Background:

“I always wanted to direct. That's my passion. I was an actor. That went nowhere. I tried directing theatre, nope. I wrote this movie called 'Killing Mrs. Tingle,' sold it. It sat on the shelf. My unemployment dried up. I couldn't get work. I had borrowed money from all my friends. I wrote 'Scary Movie' (later retitled ‘Scream’). Just banged all it out, as fast as I could.” Kevin Williamson

American screenwriter, producer and actor Kevin Williamson entered the entertainment industry as an actor, but after finding little success made the transformation to writing. A self-described workaholic, Williamson was shot to stardom with the screenplay for the successful horror movie “Scream” (1996), which was directed by Wes Craven. For his writing, he was handed a Saturn Award in 1997. He went on to write for such box office hits as “I Know What You Did Last Summer” (1997), “Scream 2” (1997), “The Faculty” (1998) and “Cursed” (2005, again directed by Craven). Williamson made his directorial debut with the flop “Teaching Mrs. Tingle” (1999), which he also wrote. He has also produced such movies as “Halloween: H20” (1998), “Scream 3” (2000) and “Venom” (2005). On the small screen, Williamson is probably best remembered for his work on “Dawson's Creek,” a popular series for the WB network. Other series’ credits include “Wasteland” (1999), “Glory Days” (2002) and “Hidden Palms” (2007). Williamson is currently a writer and producer of the dramatic fantasy series “The Vampire Diaries” (2009-current).

As for his private life, Williamson is openly gay. His favorite movie is “Halloween” (1978) by John Carpenter. He has stated that the horror film was his inspiration to begin writing.

Spielberg Fan

Childhood and Family:

Kevin Meade Williamson was born in New Bern, North Carolina, on March 14, 1965. He lived in the neighboring coastal community of Oriental with his parents Ottis Wade Williamson (fisherman) and Lillie Faye (storyteller) and older brother John until his family moved to Aransas Pass, Texas, before Kevin started school. After moving to Fulton, Texas, they returned to Oriental. A lifelong movie buff, especially of Steven Spielberg films, Kevin applied to New York University's film school and was accepted, but due to financial problems went to East Carolina University in Greenville, North Carolina, a school closer to his home. He graduated with a B.A in theater and film.

The Vampire Diaries

Career:

Hailing from North Carolina, Kevin Williamson headed to New York City after studying film and theater at East Carolina University with the goal of becoming an actor. Although he did secure a gig on the NBC soap opera “Another World” (1990), he soon recognized that acting was not his true calling and turned his sights toward writing and directing. He made his way to Los Angeles and while writing screenplays, worked as an assistant to a music video director. During this period, he worked on such noted videos as “Mama Said Knock You Out,” which was performed by rapper LL Cool J.

Williamson's big breakthrough arrived in 1996 with his script for “Scream,” which became a massive box office hit. The film was directed by horror sensation Wes Craven and starred a cast primarily made up of new faces, including Neve Campbell. For his effort, Williamson won a 1997 Saturn for Best Writer. Williamson continued to enjoy another blockbuster hit with the teen thriller “I Know What You Did Last Summer” (1997), which he wrote and based on the Lois Duncan novel of the same name. Like “Scream,” it also featured some of Hollywood's young performers. Later that same year, Williamson wrote and executive produced the sequel “Scream 2,” which received equal commercial success. In addition, he also appeared in the film as an interviewer.

“'Dawson's Creek' has always been very personal and autobiographical. I live and breathe in all the characters. Dawson represents the filmmaker and dreamer, the Spielberg-obsessed idealist who views the world optimistically. Joey represents more of the cynical, angry side as well as my roots and upbringing. Pacey represents the joker in me and Jen, the rebel. This year we added two new characters to the mix. Andie represents my overachieving, sometimes manic personality and in Jack, I wanted to create a character to represent my sexuality, which is my greatest asset in life.” Kevin Williamson

During late 1997, Williamson was flooded with numerous offers, including one to develop a television series. The result, “Dawson's Creek,” a teen drama starring Katie Holmes, James Van Der Beek, Michelle Williams and Joshua Jackson, debuted on January 20, 1998. An intelligent coming-of-age drama, “Dawson Creek” soon became a hit and established its stars as teen idols. He wrote and executive produced the series until 1999, when he left the show.

Meanwhile, Williamson also remained busy with film work. He served as a co-executive producer for “Halloween: H20” (1998), the sequel of the “Halloween” series that was directed by Steve Miner. The horror movie brought back legendary scream queen Jamie Lee Curtis and added young performers Michelle Williams (of “Dawson's Creek”) and Josh Hartnett. He also wrote the screenplay of the sci-fi thriller “The Faculty” (1998), which was directed by Robert Rodriguez.

In 1999, Williamson made his directorial debut with “Teaching Mrs. Tingle,” a black comedy inspired by his experiences with an intimidating teacher. Williamson's script for the film was initially picked up for development by Interscope, but they put it on hold. With the success of “Scream,” the film was reclaimed by Miramax's Dimension Films and they put Williamson on board as both screenwriter and director. Starring Helen Mirren and Katie Holmes, “Teaching Mrs. Tingle” proved to be a complete disaster at the box office and with critics. Still in 1999, Williamson made his return to series TV with “Wasteland,” which he wrote and produced for ABC. Starring Sasha Alexander, Marisa Coughlan and Rebecca Gayheart, the series failed to ignite an audience and the network canceled it after 13 episodes.

2000 saw Williamson return to the “Scream” franchise with “Scream 3,” in which he was a producer but not a screenwriter. Two years later, he created a TV series for The WB called “Glory Days.” Although it received good reviews from critics, the series only had a short life.

Following an extended hiatus from the big screen, the screenwriter rejoined director Wes Craven for the werewolf thriller “Cursed” (2005), which starred Portia de Rossi, Mya and Shannon Elizabeth. Despite suffering script and scheduling difficulties during production, it was well received at the box office. The same year, Williamson also produced the horror film “Venom,” helmed by Jim Gillespie. In 2007, Williamson revisited the small screen as a creator of the short-lived drama “Hidden Palms.” Airing on The CW, the coming-of-age drama was axed by the network because of low ratings. Williamson is currently a writer and producer of the dramatic fantasy series “The Vampire Diaries” (2009-current).

Awards:

• Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films: Saturn, Best Writer, “Scream,” 1997