There was an increased scrutiny on the effects of violence in media and the effect it could have on the public in the aftermath of the Columbine High School massacre which occurred shortly before production would begin on the film. In addition, since the release of the original "Scream" films, various acts of violence had taken place which had gained notoriety and media attention when they were linked to, or blamed on, the films. Eager to avoid further criticism or connection to such incidents, Williamson's notes were largely discarded as the studio insisted that the script should focus on the comedic elements of the series while significantly reducing the violence. The setting of the film was changed from Woodsboro to Hollywood upon which Kruger commented that he believed the characters should be moving to "bigger" places from high school, to college to the city of Hollywood. Behind the scenes however, the move away from Woodsboro was mandated as it was considered that a film containing violent acts of murder in and around the small town of Woodsboro and the associated school would attract significant negative criticism and attention that could be detrimental to the production and studio, the film set for release less than a year following the Columbine incident. Kruger agreed to develop the script for "Scream 3" primarily to work with Craven and the executives under Miramax, arguing that writing a sequel to the work of someone else was not the same as writing "an original". To help in developing the script, Kruger read copies of Williamson's scripts for "Scream" and "Scream 2" as well as watching the earlier films to better understand the characters and tone. In an interview, Kruger admitted that his lack of involvement with the development of the principal cast of "Scream" hampered his ability to portray them true to their previous characterization. Early scripts had the character of Sidney Prescott much like "Linda Hamilton in """ - a more action-orientated heroine - at which point Craven would intervene and correct the script to bring the characters closer to their previous appearances. Kruger would admit that despite not receiving any writing credit, Craven had a significant hand in developing the script for "Scream 3". Like "Scream 2", the script for "Scream 3" was subject to repeated alterations with pages sometimes completed only on the day on which they were to be filmed. Multiple scenes were rewritten to include previously absent characters or change elements of the plot when it was decided that they were not connecting with other scenes. In a 2013 interview, Williamson further detailed his original script which would have seen the killers be a "Stab" fan club of Woodsboro kids.