MovieChat Forums > Scream 7 (2026) Discussion > So... Ortega walked out because they did...

So... Ortega walked out because they didn't agree to pay her few millions

posted a year ago by emori (3661)
22 replies | jump to latest

On Nov. 22 came the news that Barrera’s onscreen sister, Jenna Ortega, had quietly exited the franchise months earlier. Scheduling issues were cited, but sources say Ortega — who has skyrocketed from child star to supporting player in last year’s Scream to the A-list thanks to her turn in the Netflix series Wednesday — asked for a bigger payday for the seventh installment, commensurate with her status. Unlike Barrera, sources say Ortega had no deal in place.

Ortega had been paid in the six figures for her previous installments, but her team now wants projects with significant paydays, something that the Scream franchise is not known for. Sources say she was seeking high seven figures and anticipated that Spyglass would balk.

Spyglass head Gary Barber is known for his shrewd business sense or for being cheap, depending on what side of the table you are on, multiple sources say. The studio had already lost Scream stalwart Neve Campbell over a salary dispute for this year’s Scream VI, with the actress saying at the time that she “couldn’t walk on set feeling undervalued.” Many predicted that film would fail without its original star, but it ended up being the biggest movie in the franchise since the 1996 original. Barber’s apparent takeaway is that neither stars nor large salaries are essential. “He didn’t need Neve, he doesn’t need Jenna,” says one insider.

Scream VII was to have been the end of a rumored trilogy focused on the two Carpenter sisters. Even after Ortega departed, it wasn’t much of a pivot to refocus on Barrera’s more prominent character. But with both actors gone, restitching from whole cloth seems necessary.

While some insiders say the situation is a “shambles” and “very raw,” it may not be as dire as it might seem. Scream has always had interchangeable villains behind the mask, ensemble casts and certain legacy characters. Another reboot will not fatally stab the franchise.

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/scream-franchise-jenna-ortega-melissa-barrera-1235683989/?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social

My condolences to people who thought that Ortega dropped out because of some "solidarity". LOL. No, it looks like she was payed less then million for previous movie. Then decided that she is big star now and asked around 6 millions. To which they said: "Girl, lol, no. Who do yo think you are? We showed Neve the door when she demanded. Do you think we will cave for you?"

Bless her little soul. She really doesn't understand that she is not the star. She is "tv girl of the moment". And those "stars" become irrelevant the moment their show loses momentum. Lost and Game of Thrones actors know it very well. Emilia Clark tries and tries. Yet public don't care about her in movies. Ortega is one role actress. She was cute as Wednesday and that was is. Scream 6 would get those money with any actress. Not because of Ortega was in it.

[–] Kowalski (76773) a year ago

THIS POST IS VERY NEGATIVE...I DON'T LIKE IT.🙂

[–] darkpast (8849) a year ago

she probably wanted out, and asked for alot to get out

[–] DoctorThirteen (14415) a year ago

That's always possible.

[–] emori (3661) a year ago

Why would she want out? To do what? Some low budget forgettable movies that will be quietly released and forgotten even before they are released?

[–] darkpast (8849) a year ago

maybe she want to be considered a "serious" actress

[–] emori (3661) a year ago

She never will be, lol. She has been boring and forgettable everywhere outside that Wednesday show. That was her role that fits her perfectly.
When I saw her in interview and red carpets I was shocked how different and uninteresting she looks. All that Wednesday charm stayed on set. Thats why she will never make it as solo star. Once show will lose its momentum - she will vanish like all those other tv stars.

[–] DoctorThirteen (14415) a year ago

I like Jenna Ortega but there's no way I'd call her 'A-list'. And 'He didn’t need Neve, he doesn’t need Jenna' does ring true to me in the circumstances.

[–] emori (3661) a year ago

What I get from it is that producers who make this franchise are businessmen and count their money. That studio is not some Disney to throw around millions. And they are not willing to pay crazy salaries to their actors. Which every studio should do. They spoiled actors. Who start think that they are the ones who bring money and not writers, directors and people who make movie.

Scream VI had budget of 35 millions. Absolutely crazy numbers in Hollywood. They don't make movies this cheap anymore. And then Neve Campbell walks in and demands few million dollars screaming she is star, carried franchise and undervalued. They refused and brough other actors. Made more money then previous movies.

Now Ortega comes and demands 6 millions. So they just kicked out all those greedy entitled actors and would bring new ones.

Actors who get famous overnight from tv shows do get fame in their head. Trully would not be surprised if Jenna Ortega now thinks she is a big deal and carries movies so she must be payed millions. Remember that Bridgerton guy who left his show because he decided he is new big deal and would do movies now. And then hype around him died down very fast and now no one even remembers him.

[–] DoctorThirteen (14415) a year ago

I haven't heard any actual figures for what Campbell and Ortega were asking, but I do agree with your general point. Heck, Evil Dead Rise (one of my favourite horror films of recent years) was made for under $20 million! Horror doesn't need huge budgets, 'A-list' stars, or bloated three-hour runtimes; people will see it for its own sake provided the premise interests them and it looks well done (look at the huge success of The Blair Witch Project and Paranormal Activity).

And yes, some actors most definitely have an overinflated sense of their own 'worth'.

[–] emori (3661) a year ago

They say in article that Ortega asked: "Sources say she was seeking high seven figures".

Seven figures means "1 000 000 at least". "High" meaning between 5 000 000 and 9 000 000 in my opinion. So probably around 6 millions. It's crazy if she asked for it considering budget those movies usually have.

Scream 1 had budget of $15 million
Scream 2 had budget of $24 million
Scream 3 had budget of $40 million
Scream 4 had budget of $40 million
Scream 5 had budget of $24 million
Scream 6 had budget of $35 million

It's astonishing how they can spent so little for such big movies when you remember what insane budgets movies have now. I applaud them. That is art and talent right there.

So when Neve approached them and probably demanded few millions instead of some 1 million or less she probably had for previous movies - they told her "no". And she was like: "Well I am the biggest star who carries this franshise on her own shoulders and I should be treated as such and receive millions. Don't you see how those Marvel actors can get 20-50 for one movie? Give it to me!"

And they were like: "Honey, we aint Marvel. Look at our budget. You will not be payed millions. No one does on our movies. Go to Marvel and ask there".

And she was like: "Fine then. I'm out. Lets see how you will all tank without me".

And then that movie made more money then previous ones, proving producers point of view.

But now Ortega decided that she is big star and mast be payed millions "for carrying that franchise on her shoulders". To which they shoved her the door and will find new actors.

Ortega and Nev's greediness and entitlement cost them money and relevance. They both will regret it, I'm sure. And Neve can't back down now. And they will not give her those millions she asked. Because their budgets are always small. That way movies are profitable.

[–] DoctorThirteen (14415) a year ago

'Ortega and Nev's greediness and entitlement cost them money and relevance. They both will regret it, I'm sure.'

I think they will. At least I can see Campbell's point (although she should have kept her demands reasonable, given the budget of the movies), but the franchise owes Ortega nothing (and as I say, I like her).

[–] emori (3661) a year ago

Well I do understand too if Neve Campbell see how other franchises pay 10-20 millions to their cast and then sees herself getting 1 million and thinks she is entitled to more. But this is if they would throw money around and have 100 millions budgets. But they dont, their budgets are ridiculously low. And when you look at their grosses - they don't make that much.

https://www.the-numbers.com/movies/franchise/Scream#tab=summary

They ended their franchise back in 2000. Grossing 89 milllions in USA.
Then there was 11 years gap before they decided to try to milk that cow again. And grossed only 38 millions in USA + 50 more overseas. USA grosses were lower then the budget of 40 millions. There was no demand for those movies.

They waited 11 more years before releasing Scream 5 and tryin to reboot that dead corpse. And gave it low budget not to flop. Got 81 million and decided to shoot another one. Again, giving it low budget.

Now if they would give it 100 millions budget and give its stars 5 million salaries - they would simply flop and lose money. Because worldwide grosses are low and they additionally spend on promotion. While actors think that studios make those movies simply to make actors rich, like its their duty. While studio make it to make money for studio and then use those money to shoot new movies, many of which will flop and lose money. But this is how it works.

If they would give Scream 5 80 millions budget and it would gross 81 millions in USA - it would be big flop. Thats why they keep shooting those Scream movies not many people actually want. But small budgets allow it to be profitable.

[–] Wint3rFir3 (7243) a year ago

I don't think this is unreasonable if she can make more elsewhere. Any normal working person wants to be paid what they deem fair, and she's the IT girl of the moment, so if there's a job offering a higher salary elsewhere, she'd be a fool not to take it, anyone would. To a regular person, these are huge numbers, but in Hollywood, they're just not.

[–] emori (3661) a year ago

No one is offering her more money eslewhere. I looked at her IMDB future projects. Apart from Beetlejuice 2 there is nothing big in there. All her future projects look like they are low budget.

"TV actors of the moment" are not movie stars that can lead big budget movies solely on their names. Producers of X Men and Terminator found out it the had way when they hired actresses from Game of Thrones for their movies. People only cared to see them in their tv characters not solo stars. Same with Ortega. People like Wednesday, not Jenna Ortega. And she doesn't understand it.

To walk out from movie that would make money and be promoted heavily is just stupid. Neve Campbell did absolutely nothing important after dropping out of greediness. And has nothing lined up.

[–] Wint3rFir3 (7243) a year ago

I don't know how the list of projects currently listed could possibly show what she's being offered, those are roles she already signed on to do. There may be many more that she's turned down due to being tied to Scream. Of course, that's just conjecture at this point, but there's no proof of this either way, I'm just going by what my eyes tell me. And that's that Jenna Ortega is likely getting a lot of offers, much like Neve Campbell got when she first signed onto Scream and blew up. I disagree that they like Wednesday exclusively, I think they want to see more Jenna Ortega because of her role in Wednesday.

But Neve Campbell chose to step away from big projects. She moved to England to get away from Hollywood and stayed away for years. And now that she's venturing back into acting, she's doing it on her own terms, which I respect.

[–] emori (3661) a year ago

Successful actors don't step away from acting. They are constantly booked. Don't know what exactly you refer since her imdb shows she did something each year. But I found this

The latter half of the 2000s saw sporadic work from Campbell, due to a hiatus. She later explained the hiatus by saying it "got to a level, also, where the kinds of things that I was being offered were not the things I wanted to do. I was constantly being offered horror films, because I was known for horror films, or bad romantic comedies.".

Problem with many actors is that they do 1-3 successful projects and suddenly their ego goes over the roof and they start to think they would sit, be sent 10 scripts and would chose what to star in. And only very few like DiCaprio can do that. All other should fight for every opportunity to even get to audition to good project. Since there is simply too many of those actors. And not enough good roles for all of them.

Neve really didn't understand lever of her popularity and talent. She is boring and charisma free. That why her career went nowhere. They tried to make her happen after success of Scream cast in few movies that were promoted and it didnt work. She is too boring for public to go see her. And her acting is limited. She looks the same everywhere, really. That's why she could only book low budget bad movies. If she would not cling for Scream and appear every few year - she would be completely forgotten long time ago. That was her only source of relevance. Thats why it was stupid for her to step away of greediness.

[–] Wint3rFir3 (7243) a year ago

Incorrect, many successful actors step away from acting for various reasons. They are still people, who wanna raise kids or move countries, or who get sick or have sick relatives, etc. Like the list is endless. Here's one article on her departure from Hollywood: https://www.sheknows.com/entertainment/articles/1140308/neve-campbells-hollywood-hiatus/

It's not always about ego, some people are overwhelmed by the media coverage and some don't enjoy doing the same thing over and over. I remember Kathy Najimy said being typecast kept happening over and over to her, first with Sister Act and then with Hocus Pocus. She still kept working, but she too on smaller roles to keep the job interesting. It's not all about fame and money for everyone in the industry, sometimes doing local theatre work is more fulfilling.

I completely disagree about Neve Campbell being too boring and charm-less, she's been a solid star in every major project she's been in. And I think that's true of Ortega as well, she's been good in everything she's been in.

[–] emori (3661) a year ago

I saw Neve in movies and Scream. There is a reason why her career failed. She is weak actress and has boring personality and presence. As I said - they tried to make her happen after Scream. But public didn't care about her. So movie offers in movies stopped coming. And all she could score were some low budget crap.

Happens to most of the one-hit wonders.

“But it got to a level also where the kinds of things that I was being offered were not the kinds of things I want to do.”

Like many other one-hit wonders before her - she started thinking she is entitled to good roles she can choose from. Because she is like famous and stuff. Only to see no one cares for her and she has to fight for good roles. But when acting ability is weak - actor can't fight for it since they don't get even invitation for audition. Because Hollywood is crowded and too many actors who all want to have good roles and big money. That's why it was so stupid from her to walk away from the only thing she can make money and relevance from.

[–] emori (3661) a year ago

Producers cast Jenna Ortega there and there because of sudden success of Wednesday. Just like Sansa Stark and Daenerys Targaryen actresses booked many roles in big movies when their show was mega popular. Only to see that no one cares about them outside of those roles.

No, no one cares about Jenna Ortega to the point to see movies just for her. Her main problem is that she is 1.55 meters short and is 21. But looks like 13. I honestly could not understand what age Wednesday supposed to be. I thought she is child like Christina Ricchi was in her movie as is around 12-13. But she was hanging out with adult dudes and eventually I understood that she is supposed to be 16-17.

And this disproportion would grow more. Like with Ariana Grande. Who someone said once about: "Ariana will always look like she is 12". Same with poor Jenna. She will be 25-30 and short. And would still look 15. But she can't be cast as school people anymore and not be authentic as 30 years old woman in romantic or action movies.

Christina Richi had same problem. When she aged out of roles of teenage girls and could not book good roles of adult women.

[–] BKB (10481) a year ago

If they were smart, they'd back up the Brinx Truck for Neve after that clusterfuck

[–] emori (3661) a year ago

People and media really don't understand that company. They don't want to spend money on actors. They want to make money on small budgets. They are not gonna run for Neve and give her same money Ortega wanted. Its stupid. They would pay Ortega then. They would just delay it and create new characters and hire new actors.

[–] darkpast (8849) a year ago

whore