Career Assessment is a weekly look back at the hot, young things of yore. A tribute to both those who survived and enjoyed a fruitful career and to the others that flamed out just too soon.
David Arquette
Character: Deputy Dwight “Dewey” Riley, the inordinately young, bumbling deputy of Woodsboro who tries to protect Sidney Prescott but ends up getting a knife in the back. He’s okay, though.
Before: David Arquette began his career acting in two short-lived TV series: “Parenthood” and “The Outsiders” (yeah, that “Outsiders”) followed by small appearances playing teenagers in TV shows like “Blossom” and movies like Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
After: He reprised his role in the Scream sequels, married co-star Courtney Cox, and shared screentime with both Kurt Russell and DMX as well as starring in a Holocaust drama (!) directed by Tim Blake Nelson. Oh, and he was in Eight Legged Freaks.
Career High: Pick one: The Scream franchise or co-starring with Drew Barrymore in Never Been Kissed. For the sake of novelty, I’ll also accept 3000 Miles to Graceland.
Career Low: His role in the wrestling comedy Ready to Rumble led to a brief publicity stunt wrestling in World Championship Wrestling, where Arquette briefly held the title WCW World Heavyweight Champion and entered into an alliance with Diamond Dallas Page before betraying him. Seriously.
Where Are They Now? Did you know he’s still married to Courteney Cox? Oh, and there’s talk of a Scream 4, unsurprisingly.
Grade: C
W. Earl Brown
Character: Kenny, the schlubby cameraman who’s endlessly bullied by Gale Weathers before ending up as the killers’ last victim, his throat slit as he scrambles to save Randy Meeks. Besides providing comic relief, he functions as a kind of moral counterpoint to his scheming boss, offering a kind of regular Joe decency that contrasts with her rampant careerism.
Before: Small parts in a handful of sitcoms, a few lines as the bullpen catcher Frick in Rookie of the Year and an appearance in the “ALF” TV movie a few months before Scream.
After: Continuing the journeyman arc of his early career, he’s popped up in one-shot roles all over the television spectrum, making his only steady contribution as a series regular through three seasons of “Deadwood,” where he played Dan Doherty, the brutal yet emotionally tender right hand man of town boss Al Swearengen.
Career High: Undoubtedly “Deadwood,” which in addition being his biggest role also gave him the opportunity to expertly wield a knife, weep with his shirt off and pop a guy’s eye out with his thumb. He also proved adept at handling David Milch’s notoriously prickly dialogue, creating one of the show’s most fully realized characters.
Career Low: Outside of “Deadwood” he hasn’t appeared on anything long enough to consider a low, but his role as “Bucky from Kentucky” in 2003′s Pauly Shore Is Dead looks like it could have been pretty embarrassing.
Where Are They Now? Brown has wrapped two movies for release in 2010, returning to the Wild West in the comedy Pickin’ and Grinnin’ and playing Val Kilmer’s brother, alongside Kris Kristofferson and Hilary Duff in Provinces of Night, for which he also wrote the screenplay.
Grade: C+
Neve Campbell
Character: Sidney Prescott is the unlucky focus of multiple murder sprees, first in Scream and later in – as of 2010 – three sequels. Who knows what Mr. Ghostface sees in her but he just can’t get enough of their little games.
Before: Before being cast as the tortured protagonist in Scream, Campbell’s career largely consisted of small TV appearances and bottom of the barrel film parts until things picked up with a 1994 role in the long-running series “Party of Five.” Then she got to play the narcissistic Bonnie in teen-witchcraft drama The Craft. The part involved playing a beautiful but emotionally scarred character – no surprise she moved right on to Sidney Prescott doing the same damn thing.
After: Considering how big of a break the Scream franchise has been for Campbell, she should have been able to do grander things with her career. Most of her subsequent projects have been anything but respectable films though “Part of Five” lasted her for a few more years. However, through the ’90s Campbell frequently found casts to lead and had no shortage of work.
Career High: Scream managed to spawn a well-loved franchise so it’s hard not to call that her career highlight. “Party of Five” is no masterpiece, but its popularity surely had something to do with Campbell as well.
Career Low: Did we mention she shared a pool scene with Denise Richards’ “talent” in Wild Things? We all thought she was classier than that.
Where Are They Now? Campbell continues to make frequent television appearances including parts in “The Philanthropist” and “The Simpsons.” She’s also starring alongside Alfred Molina and Malcolm McDowell in the upcoming Vivaldi (which should make her a better actor via theatrical osmosis) and is reprising her role as Sidney Prescott for next year’s Scream 4. As long as the paychecks keep coming her way she’ll probably keep coming back.
Grade: D+
Courtney Cox
Character: Cox plays bitchy tabloid journalist Gale Weathers who investigates the murders. She also wrote a book that claimed Sidney’s mom had an affair with convicted murderer Cotton Weary. She shoots Randy and survives for the sequels.
Before: Cox started acting young, doing mostly television. Her most significant early role was Alex’s girlfriend on some episodes of “Family Ties.” She was also in Bruce Springsteen’s “Dancing in the Dark” video and is credited with being the first person to say “period” on American TV (in a tampon ad). Early movies include Mr. Destiny and Ace Ventura: Pet Detective. Dated Michael Keaton. Oh, she was also in a show about white people in New York called “Friends.”
After: She returned for two (soon to be three) Scream sequels and raked it in by playing Monica on many more seasons of the inexplicably popular “Friends.” Did another TV show, “Dirt,” and married Scream co-star David Arquette. Named her female dog Mr. McBarker.
Career High: In the final seasons of “Friends,” she was getting a million dollars an episode. A million. Why doesn’t anyone every blame Hollywood for the economic crisis?
Career Low: Either dating head Counting Crow Adam Duritz or starring across from Dolph Lundgren in the so bad it’s not even campy Masters of the Universe movie. There was also that Razzie nomination for her role in 3000 Miles to Graceland.
Where Are They Now? She can currently be seen on the show “Cougar Town.” which she also produces. Unfortunately, it’s not about actual cougars.
Grade: B+
Jamie Kennedy
Character: Randy Meeks, the uber-nerd video clerk who applies horror film “rules” of survival to real life situations. Interestingly, he actually makes it most of the way through a sequel before getting slashed up.
Before: Prior to Scream, his sole credits are as an extra in Dead Poet’s Society and a small role in Baz Luhrmann’s Technicolor Romeo + Juliet.
After: Whew, where to start? Kennedy has had a relentlessly, almost remorselessly productive career stained by mediocre to awful comedic ideas. From Malibu’s Most Wanted to Bowfinger and a rap career/reality show that culiminated with “Rollin’ With Saget,” the man has managed to find ways to skew a moderate comedic charm into abhorrence. While he’s also appeared in brief dramatic roles in the likes of Boiler Room and Three Kings, low-tier comedy is his bread and butter.
Career High: Being employed that much for that long is pretty good, right?
Career Low: 2005′s Son of the Mask. Nothing screams the unnecessity of its existence like a decade-later sequel to an already crappy comedy, with none of the original stars returning. Kennedy was even nominated for the legendary Golden Raspberry Award for worst acting (among the other seven categories the film was nominated in).
Where Are They Now? Rumors abound that his already slain character will return for another Scream installment, but Kennedy seems busy with work like roles on “The Cleveland Show” and porn-themed romantic comedy Finding Bliss.
Grade: D
Matthew Lillard
Character: Stuart is the brash and obnoxious member of the gang. He is one of the film’s two killers. Unlike Skeet Ulrich’s character, Stuart has no reason to kill other than pure boredom. He does get to drool quite a bit during the climax.
Before: Lillard appeared in a handful of films before Scream, most notably in John Waters’ Serial Mom and the Angelina Jolie vehicle Hackers. He also appeared as an extra in Ghoulies 3: Ghoulies Go the College.
After: Lillard has worked consistently since starring in Scream. Despite starring as Shaggy in the Scooby-Doo films, he has done little that matches the popularity of Scream. Even his personal life has been scandal-free, the most excited news being he took part in a Dungeons & Dragons tournament in 2005.
Career High: Scream may have been the defining role of Lillard’s career but his best performance comes in the criminally underrated SLC Punk! (1998). He stars as Stevo, a punk rocker finding it difficult to cope with living in sterile Salt Lake City.
Career Low: Both Wing Commander and Thir13en Ghosts are supposed to be really, really bad. Did anyone even see them?
Where Are They Now? Lillard has taken his Shaggy performance to voiceover for the cartoon Scooby-Doo! Abracadabra-Doo. He recently starred in a handful of films like Endless Bummer and The Pool Boys. Never head of them? Neither have we.
Grade: D+
Rose McGowan
Character: Tatum is the slutty foil to Neve Campbell’s goody-two-shoes Sidney. She dates Stuart, but no one can understand why. Tatum doesn’t make it through the movie. Her head is crushed by an opening garage as she tries to escape out a doggy door.
Before: After appearing in films like Encino Man, McGowan’s role in The Doom Generation garnered her attention from critics, even netting her a nomination from the Independent Spirit Awards.
After: McGowan enjoyed success in mainly indie films following Scream. The ’00s saw a bump in her profile as she starred in the popular television series “Charmed,” in the Quentin Tarantino/Robert Rodriguez double feature Grindhouse and IRA thriller Fifty Dead Men Walking.
Career High: Though not necessarily an acting coup, McGowan’s three and a half year with relationship with Marilyn Manson did much to raise her profile. It must have given her courage, since she opted to wear this to the MTV Music Awards in 1998.
Career Low: Can we count dating Marilyn Manson for three and a half years a career low as well?
Where Are They Now? McGowan will appear as a witch-creature in Marcus Nispel’s (shudder) re-make of Conan. There has been confusion whether or not she will appear in Red Sonja and Barbarella re-makes. However, she will reprise her Grindhouse role as Cherry Darling in Robert Rodriguez’s Machete.
Grade: B-
Liev Schreiber
Character: Cotton Weary, who’s wrongfully convicted of the murder of Sidney’s mother, his name gets eventually cleared when Billy and Stu admit to having committed the crime. He spends most of the movie looking like the kind of person who could have killed someone’s mother.
Before: Aside from voiceover work and a TV version of Neil Simon’s The Sunshine Boys (which starred Woody Allen), Schreiber made his name in the mid ’90s as the heartthrob lead in a slew of indie comedies, including Party Girl and The Daytrippers.
After: He’s earned respect by doing a lot of Shakespearian work while never really fulfilling his promise on the big screen, showing up in a lot of mid-level action fare (The Sum of All Fears, The Manchurian Candidate, Defiance) and a few clunky prestige pictures (Love in the Time of Cholera, The Painted Veil).
Career High: Possibly doing his best work in theatre, Schreiber won a Tony for playing Richard Roma in the 2002 revival of David Mamet’s Glengarry Glen Ross, while earning rave reviews as the lead in the 2006 Broadway staging of Eric Bogosian’s Talk Radio and as Macbeth during 2007′s Shakespeare in the Park.
Career Low: On the schlocky, less prestigious side of his career, a cheesy turn as Sabretooth in last year’s Wolverine movie reminded audiences how middling his film career has been.
Where Are They Now? Schreiber has added two more specious-looking action films to his resume, with Repo Men currently in theaters and the Angelina Jolie vehicle Salt awaiting a July release.
Grade: C+
Skeet UIrich
Character: Billy Loomis is scream queen Sidney Prescott’s quiet, ’90s-scruffy boyfriend. While patiently waiting for a little bedroom time with Sidney and her occasional accusations of murder, he hides more than a few secrets of his own. Like that he’s a mass murderer.
Before: Beginning as an uncredited extra in such cinematic masterpieces as Weekend at Bernie’s and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Ulrich (born Bryan Trout, a barely less baffling name) began garnering some more presence with a role in 1996′s Boys and The Craft.
After: It’s been a mixed bag for Ulrich, with supporting roles in bombs like Richard Linklater’s The Newton Boys alternating with the likes of a surprisingly soulful cameo as a larcenous hustler/male model in As Good As It Gets. Since the ’90s, he’s moved more into TV, with a longstanding lead in cult post-apocalyptic series “Jericho” and appearances on “CSI: NY.”
Career High: While the lead in your own CBS “nuclear Armageddon in Kansas” is pretty decent, Ulrich is almost certainly going to be best remembered for his role in the longstanding Scream franchise. After all, not everyone gets to stab Matthew Lillard (much as we all might dream).
Career Low: On the other hand, being remembered for a character killed off in the first installment of a tongue in cheek horror series isn’t all the affirming, either.
Where Are They Now? Most recently appearing in Armored, a crime thriller that drifted through theaters without much note (despite turns by Laurence Fishburne and Matt Dillon), Ulrich also has an archival appearance in the projected sequel Scream 4 listed in his credits. Looks like Ghostface is going to keeping haunting him.
Grade: C-
