‘Scary Movie 2’ wanted to replace Marlon Brando with Bill Clinton: “There are things he can’t do”
Marlon Brando made some odd choices during his career, which were a far cry from the days of appearing in acclaimed hits like A Streetcar Named Desire and The Godfather. Seriously, the man lost all respect for himself at some point, giving in to laziness and terrible productions.
Brando, the acting legend, shot one day’s work for Scary Movie 2; yes, the parody sequel which poked fun at movies like Scream and The Exorcist using crass jokes, some much more offensive than others, was set to star the Oscar-winning icon. Why he decided to stoop that low, no one knows. I guess he knew he was nearing the end of his career, so nothing was off limits.
Maybe Brando was a big fan of the first Scary Movie, which emerged in the wake of Scream’s success, although critical reception wasn’t positive. The parody was derided by many as a lazy and all-around awful attempt at comedy, but that didn’t stop it earning a dedicated fanbase. This might’ve predominantly included immature teenagers, but you can almost see Brando getting a kick out of it.
Luckily, he didn’t tarnish his reputation completely because his poor health prevented his performance from actually going ahead. Released in 2001, just three years before Brando’s death, by this point, he was seriously ill, his breathing assisted via an oxygen tank, which obviously impacted his ability to act, and so the role was up for grabs.
Who was going to take over a part meant for Brando? Well, according to Marlon Wayans, who wrote and starred in the film, Bill Clinton was of interest. “We didn’t want to be the guys responsible for killing The Godfather,” he said, “He wanted to go for it. He did one day. He had an oxygen mask and we were like, ‘Yo, we gotta let him go. This guy is not healthy’,” added Shawn Wayans.
Could Clinton have stepped in and saved the day? It was an odd suggestion, considering that he’s not exactly an actor (although, aren’t most politicians?), but the Wayan brothers thought it could’ve worked, at least in the beginning. “We just tossed the name around. But we had to really come to our senses and say, he was the president. He had to take an oath, so there are certain things he just can’t do, like appearing in a movie like ours, the shit we had him doing! It would have been plenty hilarious though,” they admitted.
In the end, the pair opted for someone with real acting chops (not that they were needed for something as awful as their shtick) in the form of James Woods. He played Father McFeely, and while it must be pretty incredible to say you got to play a role that was initially going to be played by Brando, it’s a shame that the movie was simply Scary Movie 2.
Like its predecessor, the film wasn’t a shimmering sensation with critics, but that didn’t stop it from becoming a box office hit, and it could’ve been one of the highest-grossing movies of Brando’s later career. Thank God he didn’t do it.
