«She’s Leslie Nielsen with boobs» – an interview with Shawn Wayans and Anna Faris
Scary Movie made Anna Faris a star and Shawn Wayans a parody legend. In this interview, they talk about the decline of their genre and why, now of all times, it needs to make a comeback.
Press interviews have their own unwritten rules. You prepare your questions, join the call 45 minutes early and make an effort to sound professional. The thing you don’t plan for? Echoes. When I try to speak, my own voice reverberates through my headphones with a slight delay. Meanwhile, Shawn Wayans, co-creator and co-writer of the original Scary Movie, and Anna Faris, the face of the franchise since the first film came out in 2000, are waiting patiently.
Eventually, Faris breaks the ice: «Luca, can you hear us?» Wayans chimes in nonchalantly: «What’s up, yo?» Faris laughs. I resolve to ignore the echo, although I can barely hear myself think for the rest of the interview. What follows is a conversation about the decline and resurgence of an entire genre, Hollywood’s betrayal, sentimentality and the hallmarks of a good parody versus a bad one.
Parodies and spoofs were everywhere in the 2000s, but in recent years there have been very few, aside from maybe The Naked Gun lately. Why is that?
Shawn Wayans: The studios.
Anna Faris: I think the answer’s a little more complicated than that. I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to cut you off, but–
Wayans: Sure, go on. You’re white, you know!
And she’s a woman too!
Wayans: (laughs) Exactly!
Faris: (laughs) The secret is the Wayans brothers [Editor’s note: Shawn and his brothers Marlon and Keenen Ivory, who created Scary movie]. Scary Movie was made in 2000 for 13 million dollars, with low expectations – and became this massive hit. There was a whole run of copycats with studios thinking that it’s an easy format. They thought you could make a comedy by taking the plots of these other movies and patching them together like a quilt.
Wayans: What happened was two guys [Editor’s note: Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer] got credit for Scary Movie that they really didn’t deserve. Those two guys? I don’t even know who they are. But they took and pimped out the genre, then went and made Date Movie, Epic Movie and a bunch of other crazy movies. And then people thought it was us!
Times have changed too. With memes, reels and AI, the internet is already parodying everything in real time. What does a parody film need to do to work in today’s world – to be different, to stand out amid all this slop?
Wayans: It needs to be funny. And it needs to be something you want to see the artist make fun of.
Faris: Wait a minute. Can I give us a little credit? It’s only now as I got older that I recognise that Keenan Ivory Wayans gave me a gift. He gave me this huge honour of casting me, but I didn’t think I was a funny person. I never studied comedy. And Regina Hall [Editor’s note: in the film, she plays Cindy's best friend Brenda] is a brilliant actor. I think that’s the difference – this appreciation of actors. Do I sound like a jackass?
Wayans: (nods) Not at all, I think you’re hitting it on the head. And you know, we’re not the first guys to do it. Mel Brooks and the Zucker brothers – they inspired us. In the end, it comes down to what’s going on in the zeitgeist and what’s getting ridiculous. A group of writers in the room thinking about what should be made fun of.
Anna, you’ve become the face of this franchise –
Wayans: She’s Leslie Nielsen with boobs! (everyone laughs, Faris almost chokes on her drink)
So Anna, what made you think Scary Movie 6 was really worth coming back for? And don’t tell me just «the Wayan brothers», I want more than that.
I wish, for your sake, there was more to it, but there wasn’t. It’s like… (pause) I would do anything for money.
Wayans: Oh no! Please don’t say that!
Faris: (laughs) It’s been a tough road!
Wayans: Who wouldn’t though? (imitates a deep voice) It’s been a tough road! I love the deep voice – in a deep voice, the truth comes out.
Faris: (laughs) No, look. I always thought if I did another Scary Movie that I would be a cameo, that I would be doing it for money. I spent my first years in Hollywood living in an industry that didn’t appreciate what Scary Movie brought to the table. And now it feels so good to have this validation, to feel people so excited to work with these guys. Now I get to tell them «thank you» every day.
Wayans: Thank you, Anna.
Faris: I mean it! I didn’t think I would get sentimental around Scary Movie.
Wayans: And that’s all she’s been, sentimental, the whole journey.
Faris: *(laughs)*If you can’t beat ’em, join ’em.
I can’t think of a better note to wrap up on. Thank you so much for the interview!
Scary Movie 6 will be released in Swiss cinemas on 3 June 2026.
I write about technology as if it were cinema, and about films as if they were real life. Between bits and blockbusters, I’m after stories that move people, not just generate clicks. And yes – sometimes I listen to film scores louder than I probably should.
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