A Bittersweet Celebration for ‘Scream 3’ as Trilogy Wraps

The starry Thursday-night premiere of “Scream 3”--said to be the last in the series that redefined the horror genre by infusing it with clever, tongue-in-cheek humor--was something akin to a graduation ceremony for cast members and director Wes Craven.

“It’s definitely a bittersweet experience,” said Neve Campbell, who has played heroine Sidney Prescott in all three films. “These movies have been so much fun and I’m going to miss working with Wes and Courteney and David.”

And yes, it is the last of the “Scream” movies, according to Craven.

“A trilogy, I think, is classy. If you did any more it would just be for the money,” he said.

“I don’t think it’s hit me that we’re done,” said Courteney Cox Arquette. Her co-star and husband, David Arquette, added, “It’s just the beginning for us.” The two met and fell in love on the set of the first “Scream” and then married between parts two and three. They’ll next be seen on-screen together in director Richard Benjamin’s “The Shrink Is In,” which David Arquette describes as “a really wonderful, sweet comedy.”

The Arquettes weren’t the only newlyweds at the party. Jenny McCarthy, who plays a 35-year-old ingenue in “Scream 3” (in real life she’s 27), and her director husband, John Asher, talked about their most recent project together: an indie film called “White Bread.” McCarthy fell for Asher on the set of the road movie “Diamonds.”

“On the first day of filming, I just fell in love with him. I never believed in love at first sight, but something happened spiritually and metaphysically and I just knew that he was the one,” gushed the now brunet McCarthy. (“Diamonds” played a one-week Academy Award qualifying run in December but will reopen in theaters on Feb. 18.)

Only half of Miramax’s inimitable Weinstein team was able to attend the premiere and post-screening party, which was held at the Factory in West Hollywood. Bob Weinstein, who heads Dimension Films--the genre division of Miramax, which has released all of the “Scream” movies--mingled with guests Minnie Driver, Liev Schreiber, Milla Jovovich, Rebecca Gayheart and Clea Duvall, but brother Harvey was at home in New York, still recovering from his bout with a bacterial infection.