The Real Life Murderers Billy & Stu Were Based On

The relationship between Billy & Stu in Scream is based on the real life killer duo Leopold & Loeb, according to the screenwriter Kevin Williamson.

Scream takes influence from multiple sources, but the dynamic between antagonists Billy and Stu in the franchise's first installment is based on the relationship between real-life murderers. The subtle homoeroticism between the killers in Scream is stated by the openly LGBTQ+ screenwriter Kevin Williamson to be heavily influenced by Leopold and Loeb. The Thrill Killers provided much of the nuance in Billy and Stu's twisted chemistry.

The slasher franchise Scream is mainly inspired by The Gainesville Ripper. The Ripper, otherwise known as Daniel Harold Rolling, killed 5 students in Gainesville, Florida in the late 1990s. Scream screenwriter Kevin Williamson confirmed in an interview that Billy and Stu, however, are based specifically on Leopold and Loeb. One of the infamous lawyer Clarence Darrow's most notorious court cases is his defense of two young boys from Chicago who murdered a fourteen-year-old child for the thrill of it. Nathan Leopold and Richard Loeb's queer relationship was exposed during their trial in 1924 and inappropriately sensationalized. Darrow secured each boy a life sentence rather than death sentences, but Loeb died in prison at the age of thirty.

Right before the release of Scream 2022, Kevin Williamson took to Pride Source to validate the rumors that Billy and Stu are queer-coded. The fictional killers share physically intimate moments onscreen and show dependency on each other. This has sparked questions about whether they are in an LGBTQ+ relationship. They are reminiscent of other fictional killers such as the leads in Alfred Hitchcock's Rope, characters who are also inspired by Leopold and Loeb. When confirming that Leopold and Loeb were used as inspiration for Billy and Stu, Kevin Williamson claimed about the reactive dynamic between the fan favorite Scream characters:

It’s very sort of homoerotic, in the sense that there were these two guys that killed this other person just to see if they could get away with it. And one of the reasons that one could get the other one [to follow] is because I think the other one was secretly in love with him. And it was sort of a fascinating case study on double murderers. If you Google ‘Leopold and Loeb,’ you will see. And you’ll read about it and you’ll get, OK, that’s Billy and Stu.

Billy & Stu's Dynamic Is Based On Leopold And Loeb's Relationship

Though details of Leopold and Loeb's relationship get skewed, they admitted to being in a homosexual relationship. In their trial, the sexual side of their toxic dynamic was revealed. Loeb agreed to do sexual acts with Leopold if Leopold committed crimes with him. Their relationship hinged on adrenaline and thrill-seeking which is translated clearly in Billy and Stu's dynamic in Scream. While the film doesn't adapt Leopold and Loeb's story, the almost contractual agreement made between Billy and Stu to kill together for the "thrill of it" reflects their case. Williamson further validated Leopold and Loeb's influence when he said, "One was the follower and one was the leader. And that alone sort of sets up the dynamic of a hidden relationship" (via Pride Source).

In Kevin Williamson's interview with Pride Source, he mentions that if he made Scream today he would be less shy about the LGBTQ+ qualities in Billy and Stu's dynamic. Leopold and Loeb's influence on the fictional killers could have created an entirely different Scream film, but Billy and Stu's dynamic is still darkly engaging. With Williamson's confirmation, Billy and Stu from Scream can be confirmed to be based on Leopold and Loeb.