It’s been 25 years since the Wayans family has had any direct involvement in the “Scary Movie” franchise.
The first installment of the parody series hit theaters in 2000, starring and co-written by brothers Shawn and Marlon Wayans (with other writing credits from Buddy Johnson, Phil Beauman, Jason Friedberg, and Aaron Setzler), and directed by their brother Keenen Ivory Wayans. The first film, which parodied horror films like “Scream” and “I Know What You Did Last Summer,” was a hit, spawning a sequel that landed in theaters in 2001.
But in 2003, “Scary Movie 3” hit theaters without any involvement from the Wayans family. In a recent interview with Variety, Marlon claimed that Bob and Harvey Weinstein – who, at that point, owned “Scary Movie” distributor Dimension Films – refused to offer the brothers more money for the third installment of the very successful franchise. When the Wayans balked at the offer, the Weinstein brothers proceeded with the movie without them.
This year, for the first time in more than two decades, the Wayans brothers are back in the mix. The sixth installment, titled “Scary Movie” – directed by frequent Wayans collaborator Michael Tiddes, and co-written by Marlon, Shawn, Keenen, nephew Craig Wayans, and Rick Alvarez – his theaters on June 5. In addition to the Wayans, stars Anna Faris and Regina Hall are back for the first time since “Scary Movie 4” in 2006.
Ahead of the release of the film, Rough Draft Atlanta briefly spoke with Marlon and Shawn about returning to the franchise after so many years. This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
It’s been a while since you guys were involved with one of these movies. Looking back at how the horror genre has evolved over that time, were there any trends that you noticed?
Marlon Wayans: Yeah, the trend was they started making a lot of money at the box office [laughs]. We found [that] they started elevating the horror.
Shawn Wayans: They got more intelligent with it.
MW: Yeah. We used to like the slashers, with some kids out at camp [who] just start getting killed by a maniac. They just started making a lot more cerebral and a lot more psychological thrillers. But it still left us open and led us toward jokes.
Saying they got more intelligent with it, how does that affect how you approach it from a parody standpoint, or does it at all?
SW: I mean, there’s still dumb stuff within that. So you just wait for the dumb stuff, and you go, okay.
MW: Well, how do you make this intellect, make it stupid? Where can you find the fun?
SW: Find the silly, yeah.
Comedy has also changed over these past 20 years, and you’re obviously casting for a new generation here. How do you think about these new actors coming into this landscape in combination with the actors from previous films?
MW: It’s funny, because we brought the new cast in, but it’s still under the old rules. We weren’t looking for them to do nothing but stay in pocket with what we were doing. We like outlandish, outrageous [things]. We like people to take chances and to express themselves creatively. We don’t believe in keeping it closed. There are no referees and no judges in our comedy. Everybody’s just here to play, so let’s go have a good time.
SW: They brought it. They brought a good, new, fun energy and funny characters too.
How does that freedom manifest on set? What is set like? Is there a lot of improv, or how does that come out?
MW: There’s improv, but you know, we have a great script. And from there, we definitely allow for improv. We want you to make us laugh, right? So if you come with something that’s not in the script, chances are that’s gonna get a huge laugh because we already know what we wrote. But, we like to make sure that everybody’s topping the material.
SW: We shoot one the way it’s written, make sure that’s good and locked in. And then you get to play on the next couple of takes.
I was watching the trailer back, and there’s a “Weapons” reference in the trailer. That’s very recent. I’m curious, how down to the wire are y’all getting with the references you’re making?
MW: All the way down to the wire!
SW: We’re actually on the set with “Weapons” while they’re shooting, and we’re writing jokes.
MW: [Laughs]
Just lurking in the background.
MW: We kind of keep it open, so at the last minute we can write some new stuff. Keep it fresh.
“Scary Movie” opens in theaters this weekend.
