Neve Campbell and faced a lot of controversy following her 1998 film, Wild Things, co-starring a young Denise Richards who's now rumored to be a top-earner on OnlyFans. "It's uncomfortable," the latter said of their infamous intimate scene with Matt Dillon.
She added that she and Campbell had each other's backs while filming that threeway. "I will say this, when it was just her and I, it was easier because you just feel like you'll protect each other and you know different things you don't want, that kind of thing," Richards recalled.
"But the other part of it that wasn't easier with that scene was knowing that people on the crew were, 'Oh, two girls are kissing,'" she continued. Years later, Campbell candidly shared that they "drank" to get through it and that the industry has changed a lot since.
But how did it affect her career? Could it be related to her exit from the Scream franchise? Here's what really happened to her after Wild Things.
Why Did Neve Campbell Leave Scream?
Despite being on Scream 5, Campbell refused to reprise her role in the sixth movie due to "feeling undervalued" in relation to her salary. She had played Sidney Prescott in the first five films. In her statement in June 2022, she said: "Sadly I won't be making the next Scream film. As a woman I have had to work extremely hard in my career to establish my value, especially when it comes to Scream."
She continued: "I felt the offer that was presented to me did not equate to the value I have brought to the franchise. It's been a very difficult decision to move on. To all my Scream fans, I love you. You've always been so incredibly supportive to me. I'm forever grateful to you and to what this franchise has given me over the past 25 years."
Her former co-star, Courteney Cox later expressed her support for the Party of Five star's decision. "I missed working with her, but I'm going to support whatever she feels is right," said the Friends alum.
Two months after the announcement, Campbell confessed to Forbes: "It was a hard decision. Obviously, I love the franchise. I love the movies. I loved these new directors and the cast, so it was a difficult decision to make but I felt for myself that it was the right one."
How Did Wild Things Affect Neve Campbell's Career?
Wild Things nearly put an end to Campbell's career, but thanks to Scream, she had a chance to turn her image around. Unfortunately, it was a challenge for her to break out of being typecast in the film series. In 2018, during an appearance on Watch What Happens Live, the actress said that at best, that scandalous scene with Richards and Dillon was just "awkward" to shoot. Back then, movie sets didn't have intimacy coordinators.
For instance, HBO's ongoing drug-and-sex-filled teen drama, Euphoria has an intimacy coordinator for those racy scenes. Eric Dane, who plays Cal Jacobs, once told Entertainment Weekly that although those were "difficult to shoot," they had an intimacy expert that "helps to have one voice in your ear. One voice that you can express your feelings to, and somebody that is an advocate for the actors."
"It just simplifies a lot of things and makes for a safe and comfortable environment while shooting something that is fairly uncomfortable to shoot," he explained. "And certainly, the stuff that we did in the pilot is no exception. It's a pretty intense scene." Perhaps Campbell and Richards would have had a better experience doing that scene if only they had such guidance.
What Does Neve Campbell Do Today?
While Richards is now famous as a reality star on Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, Campbell has also forayed into TV — starring on Netflix hits, House of Cards and The Lincoln Lawyer. In 2016, GQ called her the "best thing" about the former. "I was excited about the idea of playing someone unapologetically powerful and strong and successful and an intelligent woman," she told the magazine of portraying LeAnn Harvey.
In 2022, Campbell revealed that she was doing another collaboration with The Lincoln Lawyer's creator, David E. Kelley. It was for the ABC drama, Avalon. But barely two months after the announcement, the project was canceled by the network.
As for her film career, it seems like the Craft star's last notable movie aside from Scream 5 was 2018's Skyscraper alongside Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson. However, the big-budget action flick was just rated 48% on Rotten Tomatoes. During a promotional interview for the movie, she clarified that she didn't quit acting after her sudden move to London in the early 2000s.
"I didn't quit the business. It wasn't about that," she said, seemingly frustrated. "I think people made the assumption just because I wasn't showing up in things in America that I left being an artist, which I didn't." She was just choosing gigs that matched her children's schedule.
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