When it was revealed that Lucy Hale had signed on to be one of the lambs for Ghostface’s “Scream 4” slaughter, I got all kinds of crazy excited. Not just because I live for the actress, but because it meant that the movie’s PopWrap bating cast — Kristen Bell, Anna Paquin, Alison Brie, the original trio — just scored one of the prettiest “Little Liars” working today.
I caught up with Lucy this morning to talk all about her super secret role in “Scream 4” … only to find out there wasn’t a whole lot she could say about said super secret role. In fact, the whole endeavor was such a clandestine affair, Lucy never saw a whole script, still doesn’t know her character’s name and couldn’t be happier about it!
PopWrap: OK, first up is the question that has made me feel super old while talking to all the new “Scream 4” actors: how familiar were you with the franchise coming into it?
Lucy Hale: [laughs] Well, I was little young to see “Scream” when it first came out, but I saw it later on – and I’ve seen bits of the second one, but I was always aware that these movies were a huge deal. The following is crazy. Like, I’ve gotten more attention and exposure for this little role than anything else in my career! It’s really crazy.
PW: How did the role come about?
Lucy: I got a call from my agent, one of the producer’s wives was a “Pretty Little Liars” fan – she told them to watch since there were some good actresses on the show. They called to talk to me about one of the roles – originally I read for the role that Brittany Robertson ended up getting, but I was still filming the show and my schedule just conflicted. They still wanted me to be a part of it and they were nice enough to let me do this other role.
PW: Your character is named Sherrie, right?
Lucy: It’s so funny, I don’t think they ever actually establish my character’s name in the movie [laughs]. Maybe it’s Sherrie.
PW: OK, well I know how much secrecy is involved in a movie like this, so what can you tell us about “Sherrie?”
Lucy: Um, close to nothing [laughs]. What can I say??? All my scenes are with Shenae Grimes, who is amazing, we play 16-year-old girls and, uh … that’s about it.
PW: Well, we know from the trailer that you get one of the funniest moments — where you hand Shenae’s character the phone and say, “it’s for you.”
Lucy: [laughs] You know what’s so funny is that whenever people see it, they laugh, but I remember when we filmed it that I didn’t even think it was a funny moment. But I guess it plays that way.
PW: And given the call, obviously you ladies have a Ghostface encounter, so how long did you practice your “Scream 4” scream for?
Lucy: [laughs] I actually didn’t practice until I had to do it because I wanted it to sound as authentic as possible. So I waited until last minute.
PW: Did keeping “Pretty Little Liars” secrets prepare you for promoting “Scream 4?”
Lucy: A little bit. “Scream” is much more secretive – I didn’t even get a script. I only got the scenes I was in and they had people hounding us not to tweet where we were or pictures from the set. We were told what we can’t say to reporters so it’ll be nice when it’s out and I can talk about it [laughs]. But “Pretty Little Liars” is the same. We just started back on Monday and they just don’t want storylines getting out, which I understand.
PW: Given that, what can you tease about season two?
Lucy: In the finale, it established that Ezra is resigning from school, so it’s going to be interesting to see where their relationship goes. There’s also a new love interest for Aria! Not forever because I think Aria and Ezra will be together forever, but she’ll have a love triangle. We’ve also got some old characters that went away in season one coming back in season two! Which is super exciting. Wait till you see season two – there is so much crazy stuff coming up!
“Scream 4” hits theaters on April 15
Photo: Weinstein; ABC Family