Scream Movie News
Today at Life After Gateway, a tidbit of news about the Scream franchise.
But first, I have a quick story to tell you, because hey — that’s what I do!
The first Scream came out on 20 December 1996. It’s thirty years old this year. I vividly remember seeing it in theatres, for one specific reason.
I had graduated university roughly eighteen months prior, and I was both supply teaching in high schools and working construction. I was twenty-six years old. It was a grueling period of my life, not so much because of the work, but because of the uncertainty of what lay ahead of me. I had a Bachelor of Education, but not a permanent job. Teaching jobs were tough to get back then. I also didn’t have a book contract yet; that wouldn’t come for sixteen more years, when I landed a publishing contract for The Tanner Sequence in 2012.
Back then, my friends and I generally saw a movie every weekend. There were lots of movies released into theatres in the 1980s and 90s. That weekend, we picked Scream. We’d seen the trailer and marketing campaign, so we knew what we were in for: a teen-oriented horror/slasher film, but with an interesting take. You see, in this movie, the kids knew the rules to slasher films. They’d watched all the Friday the 13th films, A Nightmare on Elm Streets, and Halloween movies. When they found themselves living one of these experiences, they had a basic concept of how to navigate the situation.
Cut to that movie theatre. We were sitting about a quarter of the way from the screen, and behind us were a pair of moviegoers who didn’t really know what they were in for. We could hear them talking, and they had no idea what they had chosen to see that evening.
The film started, with Drew Barrymore’s now-iconic intro where she answered the phone and suddenly found herself one of Ghost Face’s victims. At the end of the visceral prologue, when the title card materialized on the screen, it seemed like just a straight-up violent and very gory horror film.
The two behind us started complaining instantly. “This is so stupid.”
“I know. Why’d we pick this?”
“This sucks.”
They were quiet for the rest of the Kevin Williamson and Wes Craven film.
When the credits rolled and lights came up, the audience laughing and cheering, everyone stood up to collect their things. The film had been scary, yes, and violent, but it had also been funny and clever. There had never been a film like it. The characters actually understood what was happening to them, and how to play by the rules and increase their chances of survival. The best part of all of this was that, in the movie, the expert on the situation had been the video rental store guy! He’d seen all the movies, because that was his job.
Meanwhile, the conversation behind me had totally changed.
“That was so good.”
“Amazing.”
“That was really fun.”
I took note of that exchange, because writer Kevin Williamson had done something miraculous. He’d changed people’s preconceived notions of what a horror movie could be.
Scream has had an exceptional run of films. Scream 7, directed by Kevin Williamson, recently came out and was well received by moviegoers, had a strong opening weekend of $97 million USD, and a decent total take of $204 million USD.
The News
Word is now that Scream 8 has been greenlit, but with a different team working behind the scenes. Spyglass Pictures has hired Nora and Lilla Zuckerman to write the script and shepherd this new project.
I wish them all the best. The franchise is best when the characters understand the situation and use their knowledge of horror movies to survive. I hope they embrace this as they begin work on the film. Good luck! I’ll definitely see it in theatres.
As more news about this project comes in, I’ll post it here at Life After Gateway. Watch this space!
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A Blanket of Steel by Timothy S. Johnston and from Fitzhenry & Whiteside, LTD. is the recipient of the 2024 GLOBAL Thriller Award GRAND PRIZE and the 2024 CYGNUS Award First in Category.
— Timothy S. Johnston, 7 April 2026
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Praise for Timothy S. Johnston’s A Blanket of Steel
“Fans of Clive Cussler’s NUMA Files will be delighted with Timothy S. Johnston’s undersea novels. Truman McClusky and Dirk Pitt are cut from the same adventurer’s cloth.” — Nick Cutter, author of The Deep and The Troop
“Action that ranges from close range combat to torpedo-fueled attacks. The result is a thriller that keeps moving from confrontation to confrontation … with constant danger and the vast depths of the ocean as a setting, there is always reason to keep reading.” — Kirkus Reviews
“Read the book and prepare to be blown away by one of the best writers I have ever had the pleasure to read. Timothy S. Johnston is simply amazing.” — FIVE Stars from Readers’ Favorite
“A Blanket of Steel is not simply a ‘daring do’ thriller … It’s prescient.” — Amazing Stories
“A priority selection. An action-packed story that is hard to put down. A Blanket of Steel is outstanding.” — D. Donovan, Sr. Reviewer, Midwest Book Review
“Innovative technology, Mac taking risks no one else would dare and thinking his way through to brilliant solutions … But the stakes are higher than they’ve ever been before. This is it. The countdown to the final battle … Johnston does an excellent job of keeping the tension taut as he plays with the reader’s perceptions of characters we thought we knew and trusted …” — SFcrowsnest
“Expect to be left breathless. Trust me here. Please. I COULD NOT PUT IT DOWN.” — Michael Libling, author of The Serial Killer’s Son Takes A Wife and Hollywood North: A Novel in Six Reels
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A BLANKET OF STEEL is out now!
WATCH THE GRIPPING BOOK TRAILER HERE.
FOR PURCHASE OPTIONS CLICK HERE
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A Blanket of Steel from Timothy S. Johnston and Fitzhenry & Whiteside, Ltd.
Book Cover & Jacket Copy:
AN UNSTOPPABLE THREAT!
A mysterious assassin has murdered Cliff Sim, Chief Security Officer of the underwater colony, Trieste. Cliff was a mountain of a man, highly trained, and impossible to defeat in combat. And yet …
Someone brutally beat him and left his broken body in a secret Chinese facility at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean.
And included a calling card for Truman McClusky, Mayor of Trieste.
Taunting him.
Mac has led the underwater colonies in their fight against the world’s superpowers. Climate change has devastated the surface; nations suffer famine, drought, rebellion, rising waters, and apocalyptic coastal flooding. But now, as Mac leads the underwater colonies to freedom and independence, he’s faced with the gravest threat of his life: a Russian assassin, hellbent on killing Mac and everyone he cares for. Now Mac must uncover the identity of the killer, face him in combat, and at the same time lead people in battle against the largest underwater force ever assembled. It’s Mac’s final test, and to win the war, he must use every tool at his disposal, including the most surprising and devastating underwater weapons ever invented.
If Mac fails, all hope is lost for the future of human colonization on the ocean floors.
But the assassin could be anyone …
Watch your back, Mac.
A Blanket of Steel is the most gripping thriller yet in The Rise of Oceania.
FOR PURCHASE OPTIONS CLICK HERE
The other books in The Rise of Oceania series by Timothy S Johnston:
The War Beneath 9781771484718
The Savage Deeps 9781771485067
Fatal Depth 9781554555574
An Island of Light 9781554555819
The Shadow of War 9781554556007
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TSJ’s Awards
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THE WAR BENEATH: FIRST PLACE 2018 GLOBAL THRILLER Action / Adventure Category Winner, 2019 Silver Falchion Award Finalist, 2018 CLUE Award Semi-Finalist, 2019 Kindle Book Awards Semi-Finalist, & 2019 CYGNUS Award Shortlister
THE SAVAGE DEEPS: FIRST PLACE 2020 CYGNUS Award Winner, 2019 GLOBAL THRILLER Awards Finalist, 2022 Kindle Book Awards Semi-Finalist; 2019 CLUE Award Shortlister
FATAL DEPTH: FIRST PLACE 2021 GLOBAL THRILLER Award Winner, 2022 Silver Falchion Award Finalist (Best Action Adventure), 2021 CYGNUS Award Semi-Finalist
