Kevin Williamson (screenwriter)

Kevin Williamson

Kevin Williamson in 2012
Born Kevin Meade Williamson
(1965-03-14) March 14, 1965
New Bern, North Carolina, U.S.
Occupation Actor, filmmaker, screenwriter
Nationality American
Notable works Scream
Dawson's Creek
I Know What You Did Last Summer
The Vampire Diaries
The Following
Scream (TV series)
Years active 1990–present

Kevin Meade Williamson (born March 14, 1965) is an American screenwriter, filmmaker, and actor, best known as the creator of the TV series Dawson's Creek (1998–2003), The Vampire Diaries (2009–2017), The Following (2013–2015) and Stalker (2014–2015). He is also widely known for developing and writing the screenplay for the slasher film Scream, as well as its sequels Scream 2 and Scream 4. He also wrote the screenplay for the films I Know What You Did Last Summer, The Faculty, Teaching Mrs. Tingle (which he also directed), and Cursed.

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."[1]

Career

Early career (1990–95)

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 in In Living Color, a Roger Corman film, Hard Run, 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 (1995–99)

Scream

Inspired by the March 9, 1994, episode of the newsmagazine Turning Point on Danny Rolling, a serial killer in Gainesville, Florida, who preyed on college students, Williamson wrote a horror movie script, originally titled Scary Movie. Its characters had seen many classic horror movies (e.g. Halloween, A Nightmare on Elm Street ) and knew all the clichés. Miramax bought the script for $400,000 for their new Dimension Films label in the spring of 1995. Directed by Wes Craven, the film was renamed Scream, and released in The United States on December 20, 1996. It became a commercial blockbuster and critical success—ultimately drawing $173 million in ticket sales worldwide.

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 and Scream 4, in 2000 and 2011. Scream 4 was last film in the Scream film series to be directed by Craven before he died of brain cancer in 2015.

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 Fox Network, where Stupin had been an executive, but it was rejected. Then in 1996, Stupin and Williamson went to, and struck a deal with, The WB. Williamson said, "I pitched it as Some Kind of Wonderful, meets Pump Up the Volume, meets James at 15, meets My So-Called Life, meets Little House on the Prairie." Dawson's Creek premiered on The WB on January 20, 1998, and was an immediate hit that helped launch the newly created television network.

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, I Know What You Did Last Summer, based on a 1973 novel of the same name by Lois Duncan. Centered on four high school friends who accidentally run over a man and dump his body in an attempt to go on with their lives, the plot focuses on the four friends a year after the accident when they become the victims of a serial stalker. Despite receiving negative reviews from critics, the film was a box office success and helped launch the careers of actors Jennifer Love Hewitt, Freddie Prinze, Jr., Sarah Michelle Gellar, and Ryan Phillippe, going on to spawn two sequels, none of which Williamson was involved with.

Later work (1999–2009)

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 and inspired by Lois Duncan's novel Killing Mr. Griffin. Starring Dawson's Creek's Katie Holmes, Barry Watson, and Helen Mirren, Teaching Mrs. Tingle (as it was renamed after the Columbine High School massacre) followed a group of students getting even with their vindictive teacher. The film was neither a critical nor box office success.

In 1999, Williamson created Wasteland, starring Rebecca Gayheart. 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 differen cast before re-writes and re-shoots turned the project into something new, it was finally released in 2005 and starred Christina Ricci, Jesse Eisenberg, Joshua Jackson, and Shannon Elizabeth. 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, Kevin Williamson began production on a new teen drama, tentatively titled Palm Springs, for The CW, the successor to the WB network. Later retitled Hidden Palms, the series was a coming-of-age drama about a troubled teen who moves with his mother and new stepfather to a gated community in Palm Springs, California, where he uncovers dark secrets about his neighbors and his home's previous tenants. Hidden Palms was originally intended to be a midseason replacement set to air in March but its timeslot was filled by Pussycat Dolls Present: The Search for the Next Doll instead. The pilot eventually premiered on May 30, 2007, to favorable reviews. However, after eight episodes, the series was canceled due to low viewership ratings. The final episode aired on July 4, 2007.

Return and newfound success (2009–present)

Williamson developed a new TV series for The CW entitled The Vampire Diaries, which was adapted from a novel series of the same name by L.J. Smith.[2] The series follows the life of Elena Gilbert (Nina Dobrev), who falls in love with vampire Stefan Salvatore (Paul Wesley), and soon finds herself caught in a love triangle between Stefan and his older brother, Damon (Ian Somerhalder), while the brothers are also being haunted by the past they've had with Katherine Pierce (also played by Dobrev). The series also focuses on the lives of Elena's friends and other inhabitants of the fictional town of Mystic Falls, Virginia. The Vampire Diaries premiered on September 10, 2009, and has become a domestic and international hit.

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.[3] 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.[4] 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.[5]

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.[6]

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.[7]

Personal life

Williamson is openly gay. He came out to his friends and family in 1992.[8][9]

Further reading

Filmography

Crew

Film
Year Film Distributor Credit Notes
1996 Scream Dimension Films Writer Directed by Wes Craven
1997 I Know What You Did Last Summer Columbia Pictures Screenplay writer Directed by Jim Gillespie;
Based on the novel of the same name by Lois Duncan
Scream 2 Dimension Films Writer and co-executive producer Directed by Wes Craven;
Sequel to Scream and second installment in the film series
1998 Halloween H20: 20 Years Later Co-executive producer Directed by Steve Miner;
Seventh installment in the Halloween film series
The Faculty Writer Directed by Robert Rodriguez
1999 Teaching Mrs. Tingle Writer and director Originally titled Killing Mrs. Tingle
2000 Scream 3 Co-executive producer Directed by Wes Craven;
Third installment in the Scream film series
2005 Cursed Writer and co-executive producer Directed by Wes Craven
Venom Producer Directed by Jim Gillespie
2011 Scream 4 Writer and co-executive producer Directed by Wes Craven;
Fourth installment in the Scream film series
Television
Year Title Network Credit Notes
1998–99, 2003 Dawson's Creek The WB Series creator;
Writer (1998–1999; 2003);
Executive producer (1998–1999)		 Six seasons: 128 episodes;
Series recipient of two awards and six nominations
1999 Wasteland ABC Series creator;
Writer and executive producer		 One season: 13 episodes;
Series not picked up for second season
2002 Glory Days The WB Series creator;
Writer and executive producer		 One season: 13 episodes;
Series not picked up for second season
2007 Hidden Palms The CW Series creator;
Writer and executive producer		 One season: 8 episodes;
Series canceled midway through production
2009–17 The Vampire Diaries Series co-creator;
Writer (2009–2011; 2016-2017);
Executive producer		 Based on The Vampire Diaries series of books by L. J. Smith
2011–12 The Secret Circle Writer (1 episode);
Executive producer		 One season: 22 episodes;
Based on The Secret Circle series of books by L. J. Smith
2013–15 The Following Fox Series creator;
Writer (2013–2014);
Executive producer		 Three seasons: 45 episodes;
Series not picked up for fourth season[10]
2014–15 Stalker CBS Series creator;
Writer and executive producer		 One season: 20 episodes;
Series not picked up for second season[11]
2015-present Scream MTV Based on the screenplay by;
Story by (Pilot only)		 Based on the film series "Scream" created by
2017 Time After Time ABC Series creator;
Writer and executive producer		 Based on the book Time After Time by Karl Alexander

Cast

Film
Year Film Role Notes
1995 Dirty Money Drunk American Guy Independent film
1996 Hot Ticket Haker
1997 Scream 2 Cotton's Interviewer
Television
Year Title Role Notes
1990 Another World Dougie

References

  1. ↑ Maerz, Melissa (January 11, 2013). "9 Hot New Shows: The Following". Entertainment Weekly. New York: Time Inc.: 54–55.
  2. ↑ "Kevin Williamson Talks Scream 4". DreadCentral.
  3. ↑ Andreeva, Nellie. "CW Picks Up Drama Pilot 'Secret Circle'". Deadline.com. Retrieved 2011-09-16.
  4. ↑ Andreeva, Nellie (October 12, 2011). "CW Gives Full-Season Orders To 'Hart Of Dixie' & 'Secret Circle', Goes 3-For-3". Deadline. Retrieved October 12, 2011.
  5. ↑ "'Scream IV' Writer Talks Sidney Prescott's Fate, Death Scenes and Comedy". BloodyDisgusting.
  6. ↑ http://tvline.com/2015/05/08/the-following-cancelled-season-4-fox/
  7. ↑ http://deadline.com/2015/05/stalker-the-mccarthys-cancelled-cbs-1201424592/
  8. ↑ Epstein, Jeffrey (August 31, 1999). "Kevin Williamson Unbound". The Advocate. p. 44. Archived at Google Books. Retrieved August 31, 2015.
  9. ↑ Summers, Claude J. (December 23, 2005). The Queer Encyclopedia of Film & Television. Cleis Press. p. 259. Archived at Google Books. Retrieved August 31, 2015.
  10. ↑ http://tvline.com/2015/05/08/the-following-cancelled-season-4-fox
  11. ↑ http://tvline.com/2015/05/08/cbs-cancelled-shows-2015-battle-creek-stalker/

External links

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