Good lord, has it already been over 10 years since the last Scream movie?  It’s hard to believe that Kevin Williamson and Wes Craven first turned the horror genre on its head way back in 1996 (Scream 3 came out in 2000).

That first Scream film felt fresh in the stale horror market, offering up a tale of teenagers being stalked and killed by the “Ghostface” killer. What was so fun about the series was that the kids being stalked were horror movie fanatics, thus they new the “rules” of the genre. The movie playfully skewered the very genre it was depicting. The film spawned two sequels featuring original heroine Sidney (Neve Campbell) reporter Gale Weathers (Courtney Cox) and Deputy Dewey (David Arquette).

All three characters return in Scream 4, which takes place in Sidney’s hometown of Woodsboro. Sidney has authored a successful book about her ordeal, and has come home for a booksigning. No sooner does she arrive than the bodies starting stacking up. Like all the Scream movies, the film is essentially a whodunit.  This time Sidney’s Aunt (Mary McDonnell) and cousin Jill (Emma Roberts) get pulled into the fray, since Sidney is staying with them.

The film opens with a bunch of teenagers watching Stab 6 and 7 (based on the Woodsboro killings) and lamenting the state of Asian cinema and torture porn.

Just when you thought it was safe to answer the phone again, Wes Craven and Kevin Williams (sort of) reunite to bring a whole new generation of teen victims some classic murders and rules to live by with Scream 4.

Just about everyone is back for this final scare, including Neve Campbell, Courtney Cox, and David Arquette. Along with the legacy survivors, there are some great new additions this time, including Kristen Bell, Hayden Panettiere, Alison Brie, and Anna Paquin.

This time around you can expect more gore, more deaths, and more “teenage” girls running for their lives. We’ve got a taste of what you can expect in the film this weekend with four brand new clips.

Check out those clips after the jump, and be sure to race to theaters and support horror with Scream 4 in theaters this Friday.

You may find this hard to believe but I’m actually looking forward to Scream 4. Sure, you could make the case that the franchise has seen better days or that the actors are not all that appealing anymore, but that doesn’t dampen my enthusiasm for the franchise.

To help you find the magic again we’ve got three new clips from the film to share with you today. In them we get a further look at the old gang from Westboro as well as at a few of the new, fresh faces voted most likely to be targets for our favorite ghost-faced killer.

If you’re not familiar with the Scream 4 story, here’s the scoop:

Sidney Prescott has been living the last few years of her life in relative silence. Now a guidance counselor for Woodsboro High School, her alma mater, she finally lives her life out of the media spotlight.

But with the discovery of a murdered student, Sidney Prescott’s world will once again be ripped apart by the reemergence of Ghost Face.

Check out the clips after the break. Scream 4 slashes its way into theaters on April 15th.

For the most part, sequels past 3 are rarely any good, let alone big name theatrical releases with an ensemble cast. Especially those films that fall into the “horror” or “slasher” genre. This time, things look to be different, as just about everyone (alive) is coming back for Scream 4.

Even original writer and director Kevin Williamson and Wes Craven are returning to revisit this franchise 10 years later. From what we can tell this far into production, the reasoning is to revamp the franchise for the brand new generation of tweeting, texting, and underage drinking teens. Here’s the plot rundown.

SIDNEY PRESCOTT has been living the last few years of her life in relative silence. Now a guidance counselor for Woodsboro High School, her alma mater, she finally lives her life out of the media spotlight.

But with the discovery of a murdered student, Sidney Prescott’s world will once again be ripped apart by the reemergence of Ghost Face.

We got a less-than revealing teaser a few months back, but now we’re finally getting the goods, and plenty of Hayden Panettiere as the new ditzy blond (who very well could be the new Ghost Face).

Check out the full trailer after the jump, and catch Scream 4 in theaters April 15th.

In addition to the recent casting of Adam Brody and Marley Shelton in Wes Craven’s Scream 4, we can also add one of our favorite actresses from one of our favorite shows: Alison Brie of NBC’s hit show Community. And we couldn’t be happier about it.

Brie joins a host of young acting talent lining up to be slashed in the Dimension Films reboot of the franchise including Emma Roberts, Hayden Panettiere, Rory Culkin, Nico Tortorella and Erik Knudsen. In addition, as we mentioned earlier, surviving original franchise stars Neve Campbell, David Arquette and Courteney Cox also will return for the film.

In the film Brie will play Rebecca, the ambitions person assistant to Campbell’s character who secretly envies her boss’ reluctant fame and fortune. Do we sense a catfight brewing? Perhaps.

Filming on Scream 4 recently began in Michigan with the intent of an April 15th, 2011 release. You can bet we’ll be following this one closely.

The cast of Wes Craven’s upcoming fourth installment of the hugely successful Scream franchise has just grown by one more. Emma Roberts (Valentine’s Day, Hotel For Dogs and the upcoming It’s Kind of a Funny Story) will join returning original cast members Neve Campbell, Courtney Cox and David Arquette in Scream 4, which is also being scripted by original Scream writer Kevin Williamson.

Roberts will play “Jill,” one of the heroines in the new film and probably help solve yet another series of grisly murders perpetrated on the citizens of Woodsboro. Poor citizens. Obviously, Roberts is thrilled at the news.

“I am so excited to be part of this ground-breaking franchise,” said Roberts. “As a huge fan of the previous films, I jumped at the opportunity to work with the original Scream team of Wes Craven and Kevin Williamson. It’s the perfect opportunity for me to do something completely different than I’ve ever done before. With Bob Weinstein and Dimension, and the return of original cast members Neve, Courteney and David, I have no doubt Scream 4 will live up to fan expectations.”

Producer/director Wes Craven added, “I’m absolutely delighted that Emma will be joining the cast of Scream 4. Her talent, beauty and range will add immensely to the sophistication, intensity and fun of the SCREAM franchise as it returns to the screen once more.”

Well, there you go. if he doesn’t know, nobody does. Shooting on the film will begin in June in Michigan. Scream 4 hits theatres in April 15, 2011.

UPDATE: Looks like we can add Hayden Panettiere and Rory Culkin to the cast now also. Dimension Films just confirmed their casting.

Well, well, well, look what came to our inboxes today here at The Flickcast offices. It’s the brand new teaser poster for the next installment of Wes Craven’s Scream franchise. The film, which will bring back most of the original cast including Courtney Cox, David Arquette and Neve Campbell, has the current title of Scream 4.

We brought you news of this film before. But in case you can’t remember that far back, the film, being written by original scribe Kevin Williamson, will reunite the gang in search of clues to solving a brand new series of murders. Who’s the killer, what’s their motivation and what are these new rules? Fear not, all will be explained soon enough.

Until then, take a look at a larger version of the poster after the jump. Scream 4 is scheduled to hit theaters April 15, 2011.

While it was hinted at for quite some time, news broke yesterday that made it official. It looks like Dimension has officially greenlit Scream 4, with not only original writer Kevin Williamson and director Wes Craven returning, but Neve Campbell, David Arquette, and Courtney Cox Arquette as well. From a Dimension Films press release:

“SCREAM has been such an integral part of Dimension’s history, and I look forward to continuing the franchise,” said Bob Weinstein, co-chairman The Weinstein Company. “I’ve worked with Kevin Williamson and Wes Craven on so many films at Dimension and hope to continue our successful collaboration.”

Wes Craven added, “I am delighted to accept Bob Weinstein’s offer to take the reins on a whole new chapter in SCREAM history. Working with Courteney, David and Neve was a blast ten years ago and I’m sure it will be again. And I can’t wait to find the talent that will bring new blood to the screen as well. Kevin is right on his game with the new script  – the characters and story crackle with energy and originality – to say nothing of some of the most hair-raising scares I’ve seen in a script since… well, since the original SCREAM series.  Let me at it.”

The original franchise, which spanned 3 films, grossed more than $500 million in the worldwide box office, which should mean some success for a return to the world of Scream.

The film currently has a release date of April 15th, 2011.

While attending the Television Critics Association Winter Press Tour to promote The Vampire Diaries, writer Kevin Williamson gave us some updates and the current status of Scream 4:

“I’m almost done with the first draft of Scream 4. I’m trying to get that together for Wes Craven. We’ve got to get going on that, during the hiatus. We have Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox and Dave Arquette. I was always holding out hope because the pitch was about those three characters. I didn’t want to have to re-route the whole story. We don’t have to do that. I can do it exactly the way I want wanted. The story is going to be told the way I originally conceived it.”

The immediate good news for fans of Scream are that all the principals are back, hopefully this will mean Wes Craven will return to direct. Films like this do best when you can bring back that core creative element. Of course, few of the other characters survived the first three films to return anyway.

Some may wonder if jumping back into the world of Scream is a good or bad idea. The horror genre has changed considerably since the first Scream movie came out in 1996. Scream 3 alone is ten years old. The big money makers these days are franchise films like Saw and unexpected indie hits like Paranormal Activity. The closest films to what Scream was would be the recent Halloween reboots, and even that’s a stretch.

Comedy is king, at least at ABC, as the network has renewed three of its freshmen comedies, giving them the much-coveted second season pickup. The announcement came Tuesday and was given by ABC’s Steve McPherson who said he had given early second-season orders to Wednesday night comedies Modern Family, Cougar Town and The Middle. The network also gave the green light to another comedy pilot called Mr. Sunshine, starring Friends alum Matthew Perry.

ABC also announced the pickup of Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution, which follows the celeb U.K. chef as he travels to Huntington, W.Va., in order to launch a new healthy cooking initiative. The show, from Ryan Seacrest Prods. and Fresh One Prods., will air Fridays at 9 p.m. starting March 26.

And McPherson confirmed the network is at work on a spinoff for The Bachelor. The new show, Bachelor Pad, will run in late summer as a bridge between The Bachelorette and the fall schedule. The show, hosted by Chris Harrison, features former Bachelor contestants keeping it sexy in a house. ABC’s other big reality franchise, Dancing With the Stars, is back Monday, March 22. McPherson said the show would include fewer contestants this season.