"Scream 4" brings on more fresh blood

LOS ANGELES  - Adam Brody, Marley Shelton and Erik Knudsen have joined the cast of "Scream 4," which began shooting this week in Michigan.

The film reunites director Wes Craven with Kevin Williamson, who kicked off a horror movie revival with his "Scream" script in 1996.

Original cast members Neve Campbell, David Arquette and Courteney Cox are also returning, though the plan is to pass the baton to a new generation of slasher victims, namely Emma Roberts, Hayden Panettiere, Rory Culkin and Nico Tortorella.

Brody will play a cop recently graduated from college who was raised on the "CSI" TV series.

Shelton will play a deputy who knew Campbell's character in high school. Lake Bell had been in negotiations for the role.

Knudsen will have a role similar to the one played by Jamie Kennedy in the first two installments, a character who is familiar with horror movie conventions and a provider of comic relief.

To preserve the identity of the killer, Craven and Williamson are operating under several layers of secrecy, including not sending the script to agencies. At a table read last week, the actors were told to stop reading at page 75 to prevent even those already cast in the film from knowing the climax.

Brody recently wrapped ensemble indie drama "The Oranges," which also stars Hugh Laurie and Leighton Meester. He stars with Katie Holmes, Anna Paquin and Elijah Wood in "The Romantics," a romantic comedy slated to open this fall.

Shelton was most recently seen in director Sebastian Gutierrez's ensemble comedy "Women in Trouble." Other credits include "Planet Terror" and "Sin City."

Toronto-born Knudsen appears in the August release "Scott Pilgrim vs. the World," Edgar Wright's adaptation of the Bryan Lee O'Malley graphic novel series, as well as "Beastly," a CBS Films fantasy romance.