Anna, Emma and Hayden in 'Scream 4'
I love it when current/former child actresses get together onscreen, and right now, you can find three of them in one movie: Scream 4, released in theaters everywhere last month, stars actors from the original Scream franchise -- namely, Neve Campbell, Courtney Cox, and David Arquette. But joining them are 21st-century starlets Emma Roberts, Hayden Panettiere, and Anna Paquin.
For Anna Paquin, now best-known for her role on HBO's True Blood, there was no trepidation about joining the established ensemble. When asked if she was nervous about taking on a cameo role, she answered: "I don't mean to sound disrespectful, but no. It's nice coming into a franchise that's already been around for a long time and is really loved. It's like your work's already been done for you in a sense because they established everything years ago." (Anna's cameo in the film is said to be similar to the small role that Drew Barrymore, then 21, had in the original Scream.)
Anna at the Scream 4 premiere
Anna also revealed that the trick to all the screaming she did in Scream 4 was to remember that "none of it's real. The bottom line is, it's all acting." But while Anna kept her cool, costar Emma Roberts, age 20, confessed that she got goosebumps from the slasher flick. "We did a lot of chase scenes in the movie, and I'd get so freaked out," she told Women's Health magazine. "Even though you know it's not real, part of you still has this scary adrenaline rush."
Director Wes Craven had high praise for Emma, saying of her, "Most actors would sit around Twittering. She reads serious books and has a knowledge of several centuries' worth of literature."
Emma at the Scream 4 premiere
Plenty has changed since Scream first rejuvenated horror films back in 1996. And unfortunately for Emma and Hayden Panettiere, age 21, stilettos now come with the territory. Gone is the practical footwear of the original franchise, which had Neve Campbell and Rose McGowan running from the ghostface killer while wearing tennis shoes. The new girls are all about heels.
"I'm 5-foot-2 on a good day, and I think I was probably 5-foot-7 or 5-foot-9 in the film," Emma said the Ministry about the tall shoes she had to rock while escaping that iconic masked killer. "On an apple crate," costar Hayden joked.
Hayden arm-in-arm with Emma at the Scream 4 premiere
But as the old saying goes, what doesn't kill you makes you stronger: "I'm definitely up for more physical roles now," Emma said. And since doing Scream 4 and playing convicted murderer Amanda Knox in a TV movie, Hayden is eyeing darker, more rebellious roles. "I was always a rebel. Everything I wasn't supposed to do, I wanted to do. So the darker for me, the better. There are no boundaries. I like to step in the places that are a little bit more dangerous."