Scream: Mason Gooding was cast after sending directors an old college essay on the franchise

January 18th 2022, 8:22am

Last Updated on March 15, 2024

It looks like actor Mason Gooding was always meant to be in a Scream movie and he used an old college essay to help himself secure a role in the latest 2022 film.

During a recent interview with “The Hollywood Reporter“, Gooding, who plays Chad Meeks-Martin in the film, revealed that while he was a student at NYU, he wrote a 6-page page paper arguing Scream was the one franchise that deserved to have a reboot. Years later, when he was in a meeting with directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillet, he mentioned the paper and they surprisingly asked to read it. Gooding said, “I sent it to them and heard nothing for like two weeks.” As it turns out, sending the paper was the right move because the filmmaking duo later reached out to Gooding with a direct offer to appear in the film. After he got the news, Mason said, “I muted myself and screamed!”

Gooding, along with his co-star Jasmin Savoy Brown (Mindy Meeks-Martin), is tied to the legacy character of Randy Meeks, played by Jamie Kennedy in Scream, Scream 2, and a cameo appearance in Scream 3. The siblings are the nephew and niece of the character and with Ghostface hunting town people with connections to previous characters from the franchise, both of them definitely have targets on their backs.

Mason Gooding is actually the sun of Cuba Gooding Jr. and, in addition to the new Scream, he is also notable for appearances in the movie Booksmart and the Hulu series, Love, Victor. BTW, my mind is a bit blown because I had no idea Cuba Gooding Jr. had a son, let alone that Mason is the son in question.

Per the film’s official synopsis, “Twenty-five years after a streak of brutal murders shocked the quiet town of Woodsboro, a new killer has donned the Ghostface mask and begins targeting a group of teenagers to resurrect secrets from the town’s deadly past. Neve Campbell (“Sidney Prescott”), Courteney Cox (“Gale Weathers”) and David Arquette (“Dewey Riley”) return to their iconic roles in Scream alongside Melissa Barrera, Kyle Gallner, Mason Gooding, Mikey Madison, Dylan Minnette, Jenna Ortega, Jack Quaid, Marley Shelton, Jasmin Savoy Brown, and Sonia Ammar.”

What are YOUR thoughts on how Mason Gooding landed his Scream role? Scream is currently scaring up business in theaters now!