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“Scary Movie 2”: Marlon Wayans Interview

MIAMI BEACH, June 12, 2001

Remember the tagline for Scary Movie?

“No mercy. No Shame. No Sequel.”

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They lied.

Marlon Wayans says he and his colleagues “sold out” by deciding to return for a sequel to last year’s comedy smash, which marked his screenwriting debut alongside brother Shawn Wayans. Older sibling Keenen Ivory Wayans directed both, making the Scary Movie films a family affair.

Scary Movie made $260 million worldwide, which was beyond Marlon Wayans‘ expectations. If the sequel scares up anything close to that figure, Wayans said that he “will jump for joy–and will run butt naked, breakdancing in the beaches of Miami.”

So, given the success of the first film, Wayans knew that the fans would want a sequel.

“You gotta give the fans what they want,” said Wayans as he relaxed in a room at the National Hotel in Miami Beach. “They came out to see the first one, and that’s why we gave them part two.”

While the first film took aim at such teen-driven slasher films as Scream and I Know What You Did Last Summer, Scary Movie 2 promises to broaden its horizons, both in parody material and tastelessness, Wayans says.

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When the sequel opens Wednesday, July 4, audiences won’t find themselves laughing at any slasher films. This time around, the Wayans targeted the classic exorcism sequence from The Exorcist and other supernatural horror movies.

“When you do a sequel to a parody is important to not do the same joke twice,” Wayans said. “We exhausted all jokes in the slasher film genre and now we got some old and new [films], but at the end of the day we got jokes.”

The film also pokes fun at The Haunting, the tattoo sequence from Dude, Where’s My Car?, and even a Nike commercial.

Wayans, who starred in Requiem for a Dream and Dungeons & Dragons between the Scary Movie films, reprises his role as Shorty. He says his character came back for the check. Brother Shawn plays the closeted gay character Ray. Anna Faris returns as Cindy Campbell. The cast also includes Kathleen Robinson, Tori Spelling (Beverly Hills 90210), Tim Curry (The Rocky Horror Picture Show) and Chris Elliot (Cabin Boy).

How did the Wayans brothers come up with even more jokes for the sequel? They drank Red Bull energy drinks.

“It sure gives you a lot of energy,” Wayans said. “If you drink too many it makes your heart pop. It’s like liquid crack.”

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If you thought the first film pushed the envelope, the sequel promises to double the effect. Wayans remembers his parents “scooting” out of the theater when they screened Scary Movie 2 for his family.

“We know this, if we can get them to leave in the opening scene, we know we got a hit,” Wayans said.

“This one is not as gross as it is funny. We are not making [audiences] throw up. We are trying to make them laugh until they throw up.”

Outraged by the costly price of movie tickets, which in some states go for as much as $10, Wayans promises the movie will be worth the viewer’s money.

“Ten dollars for a movie?!” Wayans said repeatedly “I can buy some ass for that!”

 

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