Extended Interview: Marlon Wayans

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Marlon Wayans may be best known for his comic collaboration with his brothers on television and in the movies. But now, Be very afraid. Marlon Wayans has made a horror film and telling Sunday mornings Tracy Smith all about it. Did you talk about that? Talk to God about this movie before you decide to be in it?

Every day. Yeah. I was prayed up. I was prayed up. Okay.

I was covered. I used to read my scripture, I would have to. This movie was dark. And, you know, I would often pray before I went to set. taught a pray in the car, you know.

Just to, not even to protect me. I'm always protected, you know? I'm my father's child and my mother's child and they're adored by God. And so I'm always going to be protected. I'm always going to be covered.

So I don't want to worry about. losing myself in that way. Because a lot of times you do dark roles, like, and you get sucked in, especially when you're a very committed actor, like Heath Ledger, for example. Similar Right. That darkness, that place you have to go to create this dark character.

I just am grateful. That Through his whisper. Don't be me, be better than me. Lessons, people, bad things happen, they leave you with a gift.

So I go, oh, I'm not going to take it that far.

Some actors, you go method. You can't come back. I just want to go right to the wall. and right to the edge, let some little pebbles fall over the cliff. and then step on back.

I don't need to go all the way there. I've seen too many bad examples of people that, you know, that went the wrong way. And I'm a very committed actor. And but those dark roles do something, they can do something to you, you know? One of the things that I heard you talk about Uh You've always been a good dramatic actor.

But when you were younger, you had a pretty happy life. and that it took getting Older and suffering some tragedy. I mean, you talk about in good grief how you lost nearly 60 people over the span of three years. Oh, 65 now. People keep dying.

Can y'all stop? Yeah. Maybe 69 now. Maybe you shouldn't know me. I'm bad luck.

Get out of here, I like you. You stay. Yeah. Oh, I um I used to have the manufacturer. Tears, I'm good at that because Acting is making The unbelievable believable.

Living truthfully in a given circumstance. Whether you've been in that circumstance or not, And it's not you that lives truthfully in that given circumstance, it's the character. That Lives truthfully in the given circumstance. What you may do in the situation is different from what your character would do, but you have to tether it to yourself.

Alright, you tether the two things together. And so the truth of what you would have done Has to come into play with, and has to communicate with the character.

so that y'all can live truthfully in that given circumstance. Because you have to infuse your truth. Into That make-believe. And um Into the fantasy. Um What was the question?

Do you think losing all these people in such a short span of time? That pain informs your acting. Because I used to have to make believe. I used to have, what if, you know. Like and that's what I'm really good at, is putting myself in a position that I never experience.

But just thinking about what if I was in that situation can bring real emotions out of me and I've always been really good at that. And sometimes you have to dig and manufacture those things. For when you have The five-year I would say I would have called it a curse. that I will now call a blessing. When you've been through Your own hell.

And you can pull from there. and you can write from there and you can create from there. I used to have to manufacture tears. My mother died.

So what are your thing? And then it's not to cry. It's to suppress it. It's right there. It's right behind my eyes.

I don't need 20 minutes to go think about stuff no more. And your mom's the one who told you if you can laugh. at the worst parts of your life. Smile the rest of your days.

Song. That's You asked me a question. Yeah. I don't have to manufacture them more. And that's why you go.

I'm ready. I needed life. I needed hurt. I needed damage. I needed everything that happened to me.

so I could find me. No crutches. Because when you get over things, you get... Two things. You find a better version, especially as we're doing the work.

I'm the best version of the artist. that I've been striving to be. Right now, at 53, than I was at 19, and I was really talented 19-year-old with great instincts. But I've been doing A lifetime of work. And I've been through a lot of stuff.

And now when I get a role like this, that I could apply all this. Into this role and focus all that. And the same thing with my stand-up. When I could take all my pain and go, that's. This blood I'm writing with this.

That's where I pull from. I pull from pain. When I do comedy, I pull from pain.

Some people pull from the news.

Some people pull from pop culture.

Some people pull from family. I pull from what hurts me. That's the first thing I say and I go, hmm. How do I make that funny? I went to see your most recent stand up act and I was crying laughing But at one point I was crying, crying.

I mean you make jokes about your trans son. But you also talk about how it changed you going through this period. that is just incredibly touching. I felt like at one point I was sitting in church. Yeah.

That was a very hard time for me. And it wasn't It wasn't them. That was his life. All this happened. When my mother was dying after like COVID.

My mother was dying. My father was ill. I probably lost 65 people, all these family issues. And then on top of that, Now my child wants to transition. My daughter wants to transition.

Um I was just like, I don't. That's when I look at the guy like, you playing, right? You're playing. What did I do? Why so much?

Why so much at one time? And It wasn't just them. If so much wasn't happening to me, I'd have probably been easier for me to, look, it only took me a week. It was a very hard week. You went through all those five stages of grief in a week to get around to accepting it.

That's how much I love my child. Because at the end of the day, that's so much and and I I love life and I love love So I want to stay in a toxic place. And I realized that they were sent to heal me, not to break me. What I found in accepting them It was unfound peace. I found peace of my Parents being gone.

I found Because life changes. Just like your child changes. But it continues. They're still here. We smile differently, but we still smile.

I love my child. And they have been a blessing to me, and the whole experience has been a blessing because I found light and love, but I also found some wonderful art. that I think a lot of parents A lot of people need to hear. It's healing Because it's it's written with blood. and it's signed with love.

And I want to gift it to the people because I really feel like. Everything that I went through, I've I had a show I was writing called Book of Marlin. And I call it Book of Marlin because I feel like I've been through so much. in my life. up to this point, like I feel like I'm a Bible story.

I'm a chapter in the Bible. Everything that happens to me, and all the painful stuff that happens. Instead of just lessons, I find jokes. Oops. The funniest stuff comes from pain.

But it's more than a joke. Yeah. It's more than you're telling a joke, isn't it? Yeah. I'm telling the story.

I'm telling the painful truth in a funny way. And um A start in darkness? And I get to light. When I do my specials, I don't follow the structure that everybody follows. I'm going to do 10 minutes of sports and 10 minutes of this, and I'm going to talk about family, and then I'm going to end on sex.

I don't try to Have that structure. Everyone, and that's how you know you're getting good in comedy: is when you take all the different methods that you love and all their approaches and you throw it away, and you go, oh. I found me. I found my way. It makes me different.

Same thing with acting. All these methods, Stanislavski and Meisner and Uda Hagen. You have all these different books and performing arts high school. And then you go, I'm throwing all that away. What's Marlin's method?

of madness that gets me there. And um So I did that with stand-up. I found my own structure. It's like It's stand-up. But in my head it's a movie.

because I'm an actor, but I get to play every role. in that movie. But that's where the voices come in, right?

So it's kind of like a one-man show. But it's a character And this me as a screenplay writer. It's a hero's journey. It's a character that wants something. What do they want?

There's an elixir. What is that elixir? And you take them through the structure. Not just not a stand-up structure, a story structure. The five stages of grief to get to what?

Acceptance. That's what they're trying to get to. Light, love, acceptance, right? And there's insurmountable Uh obstacles in their way. And there is and all hope is lost.

And then they fight their way back. to be better to be stronger and to get the elixir. And that's how I do stand-up. I just put a bunch of jokes on that. And I Crazy, all kinds of.

I don't know what you could rate it. It's like R, NC17, PGG. It's wild, it's a wild ride. But I've learned to bring All of me. That's what I love about stand-up is You know, every now and again I'm grateful for Justin Tipping and grateful to Jordan Peel because they let me give all of me.

That's why I like writing my movies, like doing sex tuplets, and I'm playing seven different characters because I'm going. I'm, this is my movie. I'm doing all of me. I want to do that's why I want to do my T V shows, Marlon. I don't I'm bringing all of me.

I like doing it all, and I like bringing all of me to the stage. And I think I'm. Able to pick and choose better material than I used to. Because I'm not as desperate to perform Because I'm doing stand-up.

So I'm always I quell That anxious spirit, that thirst that I have to perform.

So the stand-up allows you to pick and choose movies and TV roles. Yes. Because I'm able to put the The hungry actor to sleep. Every weekend, if I'm doing, and I'm a hard worker, I'm doing nine shows this weekend. Which means I got three on Saturday and three on the Lord's Day.

I know why. Because when I film this special, I want it to be special. I want to know exactly where it's at. And I'm working on my next special. Like, I know my next three specials.

You're planning that far ahead. Yeah, because I don't need... I went to this school. Lucky me. We learn plays, Shakespeare, as you like it.

That was my spring drama festival performance. I was touched on, and as you like it, and we learned. How to learn. Words. Scripts.

Intention.

So I don't need, a lot of actors or a lot of comedians need to. Five minutes here, we're gonna work in five minutes, make sure this five-minute work and remember it, remember every beat. That's them. When I came to stage to stand up, I already was a writer, movies. I created television shows.

I've written a lot of my own sketches. I've went to performing arts high school. I had a billion dollars in box office. I had a lot. Before I started doing stand-up, so I could bring this skill set of all this.

to stand up. Where a lot of times stand-ups start here and then they figure out all those other things. I was reverse engineered. I did the thing you're supposed to do first, last. And then it brought all of this into that Artists Call a comedian.

But I'm able to do, I already know, like, oh. I already know the structure. I know my next three. I know what I want to talk about. I know what the title is.

I know what the subject matter is.

Now, when I already know what Skittles is, I know that one. That one's ready, it's ready cooked, so I can go, I'm gonna go work on Ugly Baby. And I do that. This weekend, I just told one of my friends, Xavier Cook, who a writer I worked with, he Fell on some misfortune, and not only did I lose 65 people, but a lot of people I loved. had terrible things happen to them.

brain aneurysms, strokes. Um heart attacks um Just a lot of stuff that I dealt with. And he's still alive, so he came out to my show in Dallas, and I did my show, and he goes. Brothers are different. You know, he's still struggling fixing his talk.

He's like, that was brilliant. I say, you like it? You're doing great, Grasshopper, because we used to always dream about doing stand-up together, but we were scared. And he's a really funny writer. I said, do you wanna see some?

You say, y yeah. I said I'm gonna show out for you. It's okay. I said, you want to see a brand new hour? You just did an hour and a half.

How do you ever brand new hour? Let's go. And a whole other hour. And you think that comes from life experience and dramatic training. I think comes from everything.

It comes from our journey. I don't uh I was born To be special. That's why God gave me so many great legends. I grew up in a house with legends. I'm supposed to be legendary.

I grew up in a house with legends. Keenan Wayance, Damon Wayans, Sean Wayance, Kim Wayne. These are my siblings. Was that ever intimidating? Yes, that's why I didn't do stand-up, because when you do stand-up, you're supposed to talk about your life.

Well, by the time I came along, I ain't got no life to talk about. You got these all Keenan, Sean, Damon, Kim, done told all the jokes about mom and dad. And I was intimidated to do it because I can't talk about being poor. There ain't nothing talked about being poor. But then I realized something.

And that's the beauty of comedy. is I do have a voice. Because I have my experience. in my family. With my mother and father.

I have a different relationship than all my siblings do with my mother and father because they were my friends. They were y'all parents. Those were my grandparents. By the time I came along, my daddy hit this age where he was too tired to beat me. This man had breasts, he was like, of estrogen he's like just don't do it again huh you know i got away with murder my i Because I I I was I was Like I said My journey has been special.

To get to Grew up in that house. To know Eddie Murphy when you're like eight years old, the biggest star in the world comes to your house. To be on movie sets. and work with legends like Robert Townsend, who lets you write a few in in day play in his Partners in Crime. To be an extra and I'm gonna get you sucker, and be on the set and just playing like a little kid, and to go to performing arts high school, to go to this school.

and study acting, everyday dramatic acting. And then to know that Oh, I'm gonna be a writer first because actors don't work. My teachers told me that.

So I'm gonna create roles for myself.

So I already came out the gate going, no, I'm gonna write my I wrote my Me and Sean created Alan Show. He was like twenty. One and twenty-two. Don't be a minister, he was like 23 years old. But you knew we need to write our own material.

Yes, but do you understand at the time, I wasn't thinking about being special. I've just been working. From necessity. not understanding The sword that the fire was creating. And it's for the first time in my life at 53.

I could look and go, shh. Yo. This is a This is Excalibur. This is special. It's not ordinary.

It took me me doing the work for 53 years. to feel Special. You didn't feel special? I felt like I would enjoy something. And now you feel like that something is here?

I feel like it's never there. But he's getting closer. I never want to peep. We'll have more from our Sunday morning extended interview. after this break.

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Who lasts 35 years in this industry? And continues to not just survive. continues to entertain continues to grow. continues to get better. Usually you come out the gate and you see the stars for five, ten years, yeah, yeah, yeah.

And it's like, all right, I'm tired of him. He got that thing he does. I don't have a thing. You think that's it? You've continued to evolve?

It's not one thing? I do everything, I'm a student. I get better. I've been getting better. Every year I get better.

I don't care if it's stand-up, I don't care if it's acting, I don't care if it's producing, I don't care if it's writing. It's because I do it all consistently. Your natural progression is you get better. You shoot a thousand jump shots. You gonna get good.

You shoot 10,000, you're gonna be great. Your arm may be a little sore.

Now, Learn to do it with the left hand. I look at the guys like Michael Joe. Kobe Bryant. Who You would think they were one trick poding. He came, Michael Jordan.

Why is he the goat? Because he started with the dunk. Everybody was scared of the dunk.

So they started. crowding them. snatching him out the sky. He was like, all right, now I'm not going to dunk.

Now I'm just going to softly lay it up. Oh, and you think I can only go right? All right, bet.

So now, when you're trying for my right hand, I'm going to stay in the air so long, I'm going to switch it to the left.

Now Okay, you're gonna really crowd the middle. All right, well I'm gonna learn to shoot this. Shot, set shot, so I don't have to go all the way there. 18 foot up, all right. Oh, so you're gonna give me that, just crowd all this, you're gonna give me all this free space right here?

All right, bet three-pointer, eight three-pointers in one game. Then, okay, you're going to triple team me. I'm going to trust my teammates. Then you're going to foul me.

Okay, I'm going to go from a 70% free throw shooter to an 80-something percent free throw shooter.

So I'm going to take those free points. And just when you think I'm getting old and I can't dunk no more, I'm going to create this turnaround jump shot that I'm going to kick my leg out, fall backwards, and stay in the air just a little bit longer than you, because I'm getting older. And I'm going to hit that shot. It's practice. It's hard work.

It's dedication, it's the stuff that people don't see. They don't seem to be working like this. But it's how I show up.

Now I can show up for those games because I'm doing the work. And do you feel like every time people think they know Marlon Wayans, you switch it up? It's not on purpose. It's not. I don't try and switch it up.

I just never been a guy that has a thing. You come out the gate, oh, Marlon's he's goofy. He's goofy, crazy, they do scatological humor, pop culture, hip-hop.

Okay, great, that's what you know me for. Watch me work. Continue to work. Continue to work my craft. Every day I'm working.

And then, oh, he's starting to do stand-up.

Well, he's talking about, you know, wokish. He does that little thing, and he's got the structure that all the comedians have, you know, start with pop culture, end with sex, and then. The second one. And I remember when I did my first one. My niece, Shantae Williams, who's a comedian, really funny, been doing it longer than me.

She was like, Uncle, you shouldn't do your special. I said, why? She said because Why don't you wait a little bit of time so it's more special? I like the one that you're working on now. I think you should do that one because it's more personal.

I said I see that baby girl. But I just want to do s I want to do this. Because this ain't my she said it should be special. I said for you. See This ain't my end-all be-all.

I'm just going to put this special out to see where I'm at. And then every year and a half, every two years, I'm gonna drop a new special. And I want to see the progression of an artist. And by the time this is done, I hope to have 20 specials. And I'm just going to keep on putting them out.

And just watching and seeing if I continue to get better. And when there's a drop-off, That's when I'll get concerned, and that's when I'll dig deeper, and that's when I'll become an even better version. of the artist that I was. It's all about doing the work, staying a student, being passionate, and never feeling yourself. I just start taking moments to be confident enough because you gotta own it.

You gotta say it to the universe. You gotta believe it. If you don't believe it, nobody else is gonna believe it.

So true. Are there, you've touched on this in your stand-up. Are there movies that you did just for the paycheck? Oh yeah, I'm pretty sure that definitely. But I never did nothing bad.

intentionally. What was something bad? I actually, in my head, I thought the movies were going to be good. Honestly, I didn't understand that Okay, when I did Dungeons and Dragons. I had a great time doing the movie.

We just didn't have the budget to make real dragons like You can't make real dragons. That costs $150 million. We was trying to do it for $3 million. And it was still an entertaining movie, you know, but you know, i i there's more elements that go into things being successful. And it's not always just you.

I've learned that. Like when I read material now, I who's directing? That's important to me. Who's producing? Who are the visionaries?

What's the budget? How are you going to execute this? And how many days? Because that's producing me.

Okay. Who's marketing it? And distributing? Mm-hmm. How many territories?

This is worldwide.

Now 53 years you start asking the the right questions. and now you're making different decisions. than you would back when you're just a 19-year-old, they're just happy to work. I see a much bigger picture and I know how small I am. In that picture, it's not just me.

Who am I surrounded by? And I'm just going to do the work, but. These are my helium balloons.

So we're going to the moon if we do it the right way. And I think, like, with him. You got Jordan Peel. You got Justin Tipping. We got universal.

You got Tyreek, Julia Fox. I mean, the list, all the elements. Just as like, oh. This one this one's good. When you read the script, what did you think?

What did you think about him? would resonate with audiences the most. Um I thought that just the story of a of meeting your hero. And how much You want them and you want to uh how much you want to impress them. And y you don't understand that Sometimes They hate you.

Because they know that you're trying to replace them. Insecurity. It's something that everybody has, envy, jealousy. And then I like the triumph. And I liked the dedication.

I knew what kind of work I was going to do. I saw a great character, I saw a great story, I saw great elements. And um You know, when Jordan and uh Justin It was an offer.

So there was no reading meeting. They They had me on at zoom and they was like we want you for this You're the only guy. this. I don't get a lot of offers like that. You're the, because I'm busy creating my own stuff.

It's rare somebody, you know, I have to meet, I have to work for it, you know, they want called the meeting. What did that feel like? They just offered it to you. I felt like my mother was in heaven talking to God. That's why I feel like I'm going to be elevated.

I have two angels up there talking to God. For me, hey God. My dad, I've been a loyal servant to you, Jehovah King. Help my boy out. He's doing this little thing.

And my mother's like, oh, shut up. God, come here. Let me talk to you.

Now, my baby, you know I gave you 10 kids, five of them, five boys, five girls, and they making great kids. We stay out of trouble as a family. Marlin, my baby. He really been dreaming about being this Big thing and working so hard. Can I show you pictures of him at the pizza shop?

My mother's up there talking God's ear off. He's like, I give it to him. I just, shut up, just please. Just how? Tongue gets one.

I got him. And so God's favor. That's the only thing And I you're prepared for it. And I worked hard and earned it and it was like, you're the only one we want for this role. And then w when we got close to filming and we finished, And you know, Jordan came to set, you know, And he pulled me to the side.

And it was just like what an amazing performance that you gave. He was like, I got to tell you. You're one of one. Right now. He said There's been rare guys They have the skill set.

that you have. that you display that you are as an artist. There's only been about a handful of guys. And most of them are either dead or crazy. or they're just not doing it anymore.

Robin Williams. Jim Carrey. Eddie Murphy. Jamie Foxx. And my brother Damon.

He's like The five guys that have that skill set that they can go from deep dark drama. to hilarity. and hit it everywhere in between. You said and I I just want And I was like. I didn't see it.

I saw myself and and he anointed that. He started making me think about seeing myself differently. Not being not saying arrogant, I'm never going to be arrogant. But to be confident. and what you do.

to own it. You have to own it. You have to own the vision because you have to be... brave enough or courageous enough to throw it out there to the universe. And then the universe is going to conspire with you.

And it's crazy. When I went to go do this movie, this movie is a. a blessing, kind of saved my life. Saves your life. I was in a really bad place.

It was some very dark places. There was just so much happening. I needed an outlet. And this movie gave me the outlet. to discover the best version of myself after the pain.

When I went to get to find Isaiah, I jumped in this a dark, murky pool to go find this dark character. Swimming down there. I grabbed his hand, I found him, I saw Isaiah.

Now go up. to get out the pool when I see him looked up. And I've seen a broken Marlon Lands. Face down. Like a superhero that was just j.

Hmm. Like Iron Man, if you used to see him after what's that one where they they kicked his ass. What's the one w with the dude? Oh, Thanos? Thanos.

Yeah. What's the name of that one? Endgame? Infinity War. Yeah, Infinity War and games.

Imagine if there was still a little spark left in him. That's what I saw myself as. And I was like I will bring Isaiah. to the surface. But I'm gonna grab Marlon.

And I'm going to put Isaiah and Marlon because I'm studying what it is to be a goat. I'm studying what it takes to make it. I have been studying the whole time, my whole life, with this fee at a feverish pace. And I'm Breathe life. and resuscitate Marlin.

and put him into me. And that's why this movie was so important and kind of a lifesaver because I got to see myself for all the dreams that I wanted to be: that no, you've been doing the work. You are everything that you have Work to be. And even though you will never stop working. And there's so much more that you're going to give.

Because you're tireless. until you can't give no more. But right now You're there.

So Own it. How dark did it get for you? In my life? Yeah, when you were in that stage where all these Horrible things were happening. Two therapists dark.

You had two therapists? Two therapists. Did that help? Yeah. Yeah, I just talked to them yesterday.

It's still dark. You don't know what it's like working with my brothers. And the thing about it, no, I'm talking, it got dark, it got hard. You know, and the hardest part, it wasn't the damage. It was having to show up.

For everybody. As you're going through this, Beyond depression and people losing lives with best friends and It was a lot. My mother, my father, my aunties, my uncles, just, it was crazy. It was a wild time. And You know I made sure that I showed up.

I went to a lot of funerals during that time. I spent a lot of time in a lot of hospitals with a lot of friends. Um Feeding them. Watching them learn to walk again. Mm you know, uh Just Showing up.

showing up and it it was so was hard. And there was no time for me. no time for just my kids or just you know, it's just I just Had the cape on and I was just flying around.

So uh and that's a gift. That I wasn't I didn't sit still. And let it all Hit me. But it's not showing up.

So, and also. When you asked me earlier, what am I chasing? And when I said I don't know what I'm chasing. And maybe I'm chasing. and I'm running at the same time.

So I was running from all this stuff that was happening to me because I didn't want to sit still because I didn't know how I was going to take it. Because if I got to sit still and let it affect me, I didn't know what damage it was going to do to me.

So I just kept moving. And I ran. From it. as I chase my passion. And that's God.

that it gave me this thing and this thing and it's helped me to cope. and it's helped me to survive. And it's helped me to keep my joy, and it's helped me to take care of my family, and it's helped me to. To Yeah. Be happy.

It's my cloud. Performing is my cloud. I love it. I write. and produce Just so I could perform.

I do all this work. just so I could perform. That's where the joy is in the performance. Between action and cut.

Now, don't get me wrong, I've learned to really enjoy writing. Like we just wrote Scary Movie 6. We wrote like 500 pages just to break it down to 110 pages. That's the joy. and the love that I have.

for what we do. You know, when I do a special, this thing about The the Skittles is Easily I could do a Hot. I wore in 47. Which is fine. I know I got to cut that down to about an hour.

Seven. And that's fun, but there's something about performing that is Yeah. and it's shooting through You have to shoot through a wall. If you just want to hit the mark, Then you're going to be good. Sure.

Break through that wall. your potential to be great.

So give more of yourself, not less. I do more. I over prepare.

So that I can Really, and that's what everything I do, all the writing, producing, I just Overly. And I just, my brother taught me: if you want to make it in this industry, especially as a minority, you have to be an undeniable. Force of nature. And you've done that. I've learned over the course of 53 years that That was whispered in my ear.

And Yes, that's what I'm that's what I'm Becoming. I'm still becoming. But I'm here. I understand. And then you have to not just when you're doing movies and stuff, that's the fun part.

Then you gotta market and promote. Do you still have the wind? Do you still have the energy? Do you have the energy to get off a red-eye plane and you're about to do two shows tonight? And nine shows this weekend.

Do you have the energy in this synapse to give it a A great interview. That, you know, that, you know, with the where you can actually, you know. have energy in make people laugh and still be vulnerable and you know Yeah.

So yeah, I I I don't complain about work. I just do the work. My publicist thinks I'm crazy. Jess Pearson, shout out. They think, Vision PR, they think I'm crazy because I don't complain.

I just do the work. I might be a little late. But it's not because I'm not doing the work. Even that is part of work. Right.

I got some more work. Yeah, I just love it.

So you touched on Scary Movie. How does it feel to have that franchise back? Home. Um Feels great. Feels like um I missed you.

It feels like It was like a scary movie is kind of like, you know, It's gonna be moving one and two. I don't think people understood. Like when we did Scary Movie One, And me and my brothers, we rarely Smell the roses. We rarely receive our flowers and we don't give them to ourselves. It's not us.

Look at what we've done. It's always in hindsight. We're like, man, we did that.

So When we did uh uh Scary Movie One, it opened up forty two point three million dollars. And And a weekend. And I remember sitting at Cape Mandel Eatings with me, Sean, and Keenan. And we cried. Because we made history.

That's the first time that we really acknowledged, man, that was the highest gross in film. Written and produced By a team of African Americans, directed by not just an African American director, but for a comedy director. And you know, we're we're excited for this. Venture, we're bringing all everybody back: me, Anna, Regina. Sean, you know, and we're we're gonna The world needs a laugh right now.

It's perfect timing. I feel like the world, when was the last time we had a great comedy in theaters that everybody sat down? Because when we did Scary Movie One, Kids was in the aisles. You could hear the laughter outside the theater. It was huge.

So I want to just Make the world laugh again. And this is a great opportunity to do it. I'm Jane Pauley. Thank you for listening. And for more of our extended interviews, follow and listen to Sunday Morning on the free Odyssey app.

or wherever you get your podcasts. Tulsa is my home now. Academy Award nominee Sylvester Stallone stars in the Paramount Plus original series, Tulsa King. His distillery is a very interesting business. And we gotta know the enemy.

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