The Scream franchise has always had a meta quality to it, and while Scream (2022) was praised for Ghostface's real-world motivation, Scream 3 did it in a much riskier way 20 years ago. Scream 3 went wild with its meta elements, putting the protagonists in Hollywood and teaming them up with their actor counterparts to solve the latest string of murders. The movie had a variety of bizarre cameos and is the most self-referential of the franchise. Sidney (Neve Campbell), Gale (Courteney Cox), and Dewey (David Arquette) traversed a movie version of their tragic lives while facing the horrors of Hollywood based on real-life villains.

Scream (2022) commented on toxic fandoms, with its killers obsessing over the original Stab movie and returning the franchise to its roots steering the franchise in the direction they thought it should go. It was a commentary on how entitled fans can be about the properties they love and what it would be like if someone took their love of a franchise way too far. Scream 3 also took inspiration from real-world events and people, but it pulled it off in a bolder way compared to the 2022 requel.

Related: Scream 2022 Missed The Chance To Salvage Scream 3's Twist

The Ghostface motivation in Scream 3 differed from Scream (2022) as it turned to Sidney's lineage and retconned the events of the original Scream. In addition to the twist of Scream 3, a plot point of the movie was inspired by the abusive Hollywood system and even has a character that mirrored real-life villain Harvey Weinstein. Sidney's mother, Maureen (Lynn McRee), went to Hollywood to become a star but was quickly sucked into its underbelly, facing veteran movie producer John Milton (Lance Henrickson), who contributed to the sexual abuse of Maureen during her time in Hollywood.

How Scream 3's John Milton Mirrored Harvey Weinstein

Lance Henriksen as John Milton in Scream 3

Scream 3 came out nearly 20 years before the Harvey Weinstein scandal and the start of the "Me Too" movement, but Weinstein's awful actions had been known about for years before that. It was bold for Scream 3 to include a storyline about Milton because Weinstein was an executive producer on the movie. He helped make a movie that was essentially calling him out on his crimes. The Easter egg-filled Scream (2022) was successful in capturing the toxicity of pop culture, but it was nowhere near the level of Scream 3's critique of how dark and oppressive Hollywood can be.

Wes Craven and writer Ehren Krueger's not-so-subtle jab at evil figures in Hollywood in Scream 3 somehow did not warrant a rewrite or re-edit from producer Harvey Weinstein who embodied the actions of John Milton in real life. The Scream franchise has always been meta, and its longevity rides on having its finger on the pulse of pop culture. Scream (2022) was a great, but light, critique of the state of horror and toxic fandoms of today, but the maligned Scream 3 took an even bigger risk by commenting on the vile acts of the people behind the camera right under their noses.

More: Stab Movie Cast Guide: Every Actor In Scream's Meta-Horror