Writer and director James Gunn (Slither, Scooby Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed) and actress Shawnee Smith (Saw III) will judge ten female contestants vying for a major role in a Lionsgate horror film on VH1’s new reality show Scream Queens this fall, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
In addition to judging the contestants, Smith will host the show as Gunn directs the girls through horror movie scenes that some of them will sobbingly confess “felt too real.” OMG! 🙁
Acting coach John Homa will take a seat next to Gunn and Smith as the third judge while also using his skills as an acting coach to help the girls cope with the emotional trauma suffered from digging too deep into their souls to find the essence of their character. He’s helped several actors best known for their roles in horror films including Jennifer Love Hewitt (I Known What You Do in the Summer), Eirc Balfour (Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2003), and Amber Tamblyn (The Grudge 2).
However, the thing that concerns me is that, as far as I know, Homa is not British. I don’t know why you wouldn’t just get a British acting coach to work on the show so he can tell me when something was absolutely dreadful.
Shawnee Smith might be able to bring some dry British wit to the table but most American actresses don’t develop their British accents until much later in their careers.
And can we put James Gunn in kind of a hip-hop context?
The eight-episode first season of Scream Queens begins airing this fall on VH1.