Written and directed by the Wayans Brothers, Scary Movie became a pioneer in the parody horror film genre following its 2000 release. Detailing the real reason he and his brothers weren’t involved in the third installment of the Scary Movie franchise, Marlon Wayans recently revealed that the film idea was “snatched” from his family by Dimension Films founder Bob Weinstein and his brother, disgraced producer Harvey Weinstein.
Known for his 1996 hood film comedy mashup Don’t Be a Menace to South Central While Drinking Your Juice in the Hood, Keenen Ivory and his brothers sought to create a similar concept, this time being a parody of ‘90s horror films and their cliché tropes.
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Before settling on Scary Movie, the Wayan Brothers also considered Last Summer I Screamed Because Friday the 13th Fell on Halloween as a title. They then got in touch with Dimension Films and began working with the Weinstein brothers to film and edit the movie.
Sitting in as a guest on Kevin Hart’s podcast, Marlon detailed that he, Keenen Ivory, and Shawn Wayans were forced to move on after the Weinsteins refused to sign their deal and went forward with filming Scary Movie 3 without them.
Jabbing at Harvey, who’s currently serving 23 years in prison for sexual abuse, Marlon said, “I ain’t gotta say sh**. One of them n****s is in jail right now. For what? Rape! They did it in their business. They were evil as f**k.”
“We didn’t walk away from our franchise,” the White Chicks star continued. “They didn’t wanna make our deal, and they snatched it. It was taken, and us being the creatives that we are, it was like, “Alright, bet. F**k you, now watch what I create.”
Though the Wayan Brothers were able to continue making their own lanes in comedy, Marlon also admitted that he’s considering taking legal action against the Weinsteins over the ordeal.
“We probably should sue for hundreds of millions of dollars because they probably owe us a shitload of money. And maybe one day we will,” he said. “But we didn’t walk away from our franchise. Them n****s took it. They were f**king f**ked up.”
