Back in 2000, director Keenan Ivory Wayans, with a great writing assist from his brothersMarlon Wayansand Shawn Wayans, launchedScary Movieto great financial success. The film was a spoof of the popular horror films that emerged during the late ’90s, such asScreamandI Know What You Did Last Summer, and the response was overwhelmingly positive – so much so that a sequel was quickly released just a year later. WhenScary Movie 3came to fruition, fans were surprised to learn that the Wayans Brothers were out of the franchise, replaced by director David Zucker and his team. Now, all these years later, Marlon Wayans is revealing how the franchise was stolen from him and his brothers, and how the studio used their pitch for the third film anyway.
During an appearance on Shannon Sharpe’s podcastClub Shay Shay, Marlon Wayans revealed that Harvey and Bob Weinstein"took the franchise from us.“Much of this was sparked by the brothers wanting more money for the third movie given the big financial success of the first two films. When the Wayans brothers pitched their idea for a third movie to the Weinsteins, Marlon said,“They go, ‘We love it. We’re going to make an offer.'“Sadly, the Weinsteins offered the Wayans brothers the same amount they made for the first movie, and the brothers passed. So, imagine their surprise whenScary Movie 3was made and it looked very familiar. Marlon said the Weinsteins"stole the idea for the third one. [They] took the idea we pitched them.”
“All the toxic things that you did to me and my family, when you took the franchise from us. First of all, they took it from us, and gave it to somebody else because we couldn’t make a deal.So, they gave it to somebody else, and they didn’t tell us. We read about it in the papers.”
Scary Movie 3
Some past assertions validate Wayans’ accusation that the pitch for the third movie was stolen by the Weinsteins. David Zucker, who went on to direct the third movie, admitted toBritish GQthat he was essentially a hired hand by Bob Weinstein and that he came to him with an idea stating,“We want to base (the film) onSignsandThe Ring. You’ve seen those, right?“As those who have seen the film know, the majority ofScary Movie 3’splot is centered around being a spoof of those particular films. Craig Mazin, who scripted the third movie, also admitted that the Weinsteins wanted the third movie to be rushed so they could get out ahead of the Wayans Brothers. Mazin was told,“I think the Wayans are going to come up with another parody movie. I need to haveScary Movie 3out before them.”
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Despite what happened withScary Movie 3, when Wayans was looking for distribution for 2013’sA Haunted House, he ultimately showed it to the Weinsteins, and it was clear they were still up to their old nefarious habits. Wayans said that the Weinsteins attempted to"buy it and shelve it,“and, in a move that mirrored theScary Movie 3situation, tried to “take the ideas that I had inA Haunted Houseand apply them toScary Movie 5.”
Wayans admitted to feeling a sense of validation when karma seemed to come back to both Harvey and Bob Weinstein in the years following their forced exit from theScary Moviefranchise. As the world knows, Harvey’s career came to a quick end during the resurgence of the #MeToo movement, leading to his current incarceration. Though his brother Bob wasn’t accused of similar misconduct, he also fell out of Hollywood’s favor as years and years of the Weinsteins' bullying to get deals done came to light. Wayans said,“Now your brother’s in jail, and you ain’t in the business.”
“Sometimes you ain’t gotta do nothing because God’s gonna do it all, God’s revenge. When God come for you, you gotta trust God. You don’t retaliate, vengeance is mine. They took Miramax, his company…Then they had the Weinstein Co. and then all this stuff started going down with the rape allegations and they took that company, too.”
Scary Moviewas a huge success when it was released in 2000, grossing $278 million worldwide on a $19 million budget. WhileScary Movie 2wasn’t as financially successful, the film still performed well given its $45 million budget and $141.2 million final global tally. What probably made the theft ofScary Movie 3sting even more for the Wayans is that the third movie was more financially successful than the second, grossing $220.6 million worldwide on a $48 million budget. Zucker and his team would return forScary Movie 4in 2006, while Malcolm D. Lee took over directing duties forScary Movie 5in 2013.
