| “ | I'm saying things got out of hand. Maybe they did take advantage of her. Maybe the sad truth is, this is not the city for innocence. No charges were brought. And the bottom line is, Rina Reynolds wouldn't play by the rules. You wanna get ahead in Hollywood, you gotta play the game, or go home. | ” |
–John Milton to Gale Weathers | ||
Johnathan "John" Milton is the secondary antagonist of Scream 3 (2000 film). He was an executive producer at Sunrise Studios and greenlit the first two Stab films as well as the infamously cancelled original third Stab film, Return to Woodsboro.
In his past, he was involved in the shady Hollywood casting couch culture that enabled sexual predation against young upcoming actresses, one of which was Maureen Prescott, the mother of Sidney Prescott.
He was killed by Roman Bridger, Sidney's half-brother, who was most likely his own son. Milton was the ninth and final character to fall victim in the third Ghostface killing spree, also known as the Hollywood Murders.
He was portrayed by Lance Henriksen.
Biography (films)
Background
John Milton was a Hollywood horror movie producer. Young actress Rina Reynolds (the stage name of Maureen Prescott) was the star of three of his horror films. In order to keep on getting good roles, Rina, as well as some of Milton's other actresses, had to do what Milton referred to as "dirty work". At one of his parties, designed for actresses to do so, John and some of his friends "took advantage" of Rina and gang-raped her. Thus Roman Bridger was born, who she then put up for adoption after giving birth to him.
Rina left Hollywood, because of what Milton had done to her. No charges were pressed, and Milton went on with his life, until the studio came to him to produce Stab. While working on the film, which was related to the death of Maureen, he realized, that he had known Maureen Prescott, when she was a young actress. However, he feared the negative press that would come, if anyone found out that he had ruined Maureen's life, which indirectly contributed to the killings, so he kept quiet. Eventually, he became Roman's mentor in film-making, unaware that Roman knew of his connection to Maureen.
The Hollywood Murders (2000)
Milton produced Stab 3: Return to Woodsboro in 2000 after having produced the previous two films, Stab and Stab 2. This film was directed by Roman and it was there in Hollywood, where the third killing spree began. Because of it and the following investigation regarding Maureen Prescott’s past in Hollywood, he was eventually confronted about his past by Gale Weathers and Jennifer Jolie. He implicitly admitted to them what he had done to Maureen. He reveals them, that if he told anyone else, that he knew Maureen now that his film cast was being killed off, it would just make him look suspicious. They are disgusted by Milton once they hear this.
Milton has his throat slit by Roman.
Roman later killed several people during a birthday party for him at Milton's mansion and faked his death to further indue suspicion and tied Milton up, making him appear as if he was absent, because he was the killer. After unmasking himself as Ghostface and revealing his past to Sidney, Roman pulls Milton out of a closet and tells her, that he is the one to blame for Maureen's rape, as it happened right in Milton's mansion at the room they were in now, meaning that Milton could have been responsible for the rape. Roman explains that Maureen never recovered from the rape and became a "slut". Roman then tells Sidney, that he has used his voice changer to imitate Sidney's voice and recorded a message on Milton's answering machine, telling him that she is going to "make him pay".
Milton desperately attempts to reason with Roman, promising him money and even higher positions on the film, script approval and a "final cut". Roman laughs at his attempts and says, "I already have it" before slashing his throat, killing him.
Films Involved With*
*Produced, Directed, Written, etc...
- The Path to Gold
- Is Somebody There?
- The First House on the Right
- Who Said That?
- Amazombies
- Creature From The San Andreas Fault
- Frankenpimp
- Space Psycho
- Deathworld
- Stab
- There's Something About Carrie
- Stab 2
- Stab 3: Return to Woodsboro (Cancelled production)
Original Death
In Milton's original death scene, he argued with Ghostface over the phone, while he was waiting for an elevator at his office, claiming that Stab 3 was a "piece of shit" with a "no-talent director" and the "lousiest Sidney Prescott". He then threatened to track down the killer and have him killed before claiming that he intended to do a drama film for his next movie with director John Sayles. However, in this version, he never got his chance because as soon as the elevator opened, Ghostface dragged him inside, slit his throat and disemboweled him.
His death was inspired by Randy Meeks and it is likely that his death was scrapped so he could remain a suspect for longer and also avoid ripping off the previous film too heavily. In this scene, Milton insulted both the original killers, Roman and Angelina. It is possible that either killed him in the original version.
Relationships
Family
Allies |
Enemies
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Trivia
- He was described as "a creepy fifty-something with penetrating eyes and a menacing demeanor" in the script.
- Milton is named after author and poet, John Milton, who's Paradise Lost portrayed Eve's fall from grace, just as this character seduced Maureen Prescott.
- The events of the original trilogy can all be traced to Milton's actions with Maureen Prescott, who was the first victim of Ghostface.
- Roman Bridger blamed John Milton for Maureen Prescott's rape. This has caused speculation and rumors about Milton most likely being Roman's biological father. However, since it was hinted that Milton and his friends gang raped her, there's no real definitive proof. However, in the original script, Gale and Dewey found a paternity test with Gale saying, "Paternity test results. Christ, Dewey, you’re never going to believe who Milton’s kid is." It is later confirmed by Roman in the script that Milton is his father. But since there's no confirmation that the original script is canon, Roman's paternity is left more implied than confirmed.
- If this is true, he would be the first character in the franchise to commit a sexual based crime.
- While Scream 3 was the only film he made an appearance in, he and his friends gang raping Maureen led to the deaths of several people, including himself. So, he is indirectly the main reason for all the killings that occurred in Scream and Scream 2.
- On a defunct promotional website for Scream 3, which was marketed as a website for Sunrise Studios, there is another biography for Milton on the "Skip the Tour - Meet the Staff" sub-section on the website's "Studio Tour" section tab. His biography reads:
- "The son of a bus driver and a grammar school teacher, John Milton worked in the mailroom at United Artists before becoming an assistant for producing legend Benjamin E. Stokely. After his mentor passed away in 1967, Milton teamed up with the one and only Fred Rifkin to create Is Somebody There? and The Path to Gold. (The latter was actually financed in 1969 when Milton, at a Sunrise Christmas party, bet Don Gordon he could make the film in nine days for a mere $35,000.) Milton's producing ingenuity, when matched with Fred Rifkin's talents, is a collaboration that has entertained millions over the past three decades. Despite occassional "breaks" from the business, Milton's prolific career has spawned numerous hits, including Is Somebody There?, Who Said That?, Space Psycho, Frankenpimp, and, of course, The Stab Trilogy. As a result, Mr. Milton's beautiful home in the Hollywood Hills houses one of the best collections of horror movie props in the world. While Milton is the first to admit his life has been full of ups and downs, this Hollywood survivor is currently enjoying the peak of his career."
Gallery
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John Milton has a Photo Gallery. |
Appearances
- Scream 3 (2000 film)
Character Guide
| Scream 3 Characters | ||
| Principal Characters | Sidney Prescott • Gale Weathers • Dewey Riley • Ghostface | |
| Recurring Supporting Characters | Randy Meeks • Cotton Weary | |
| Supporting Characters | Angelina Tyler • Christine Hamilton • Jennifer Jolie • John Milton • Mark Kincaid • Martha Meeks • Roman Bridger • Sarah Darling • Steven Stone • Tom Prinze • Tyson Fox | |
| Recurring Minor Characters | Neil Prescott • Maureen Prescott • Hank Loomis | |
| Ghostface | Roman Bridger | |