Marlon Wayans Is 'Dynomite'
Filed under: Action, Comedy, Independent, Casting, Focus Features, Comic/Superhero/Geek
Hopefully we'll never again have to see Marlon Wayans' face on the body of a little person, or covered by a white-girl mask. If he and his brothers (Shawn and Keenan Ivory) want another franchise (they are still going with the Scary Movie series), they could possibly make one out of their next project. The Wayanses are turning their comic book Super Bad James Dynomite into a live-action feature film for Rogue Pictures with Marlon starring as the title role. Dynomite is a 1970s blaxploitation-era detective -- ala Shaft and Dolemite (which is apparently being remade) -- who has been in prison for the past 35 years, or so. When he's released in the present, he retains his 70s look, complete with exaggerated afro, and sets off to find the criminal who framed him. The comic is full of adult material, so turning it into a franchise wouldn't be as easy as it has been for superhero titles. The Wayans brothers aren't reported as being interested in sequels, but I'm sure Rogue would love a franchise if the guys were down and if the first movie does good business. Of course, there are a few reasons why the movie might not be too successful. The most important of these reasons is that blaxploitation doesn't need another homage. Between the Shaft remake, Jackie Brown and the spy comedy Undercover Brother, we've seen enough tributes to and jokes on the genre recently to last us another 35 years. Plus, the Wayanses already covered the territory with the blaxploitation spoof I'm Gonna Git You Sucka. The bottom line, though, is that the original films are just too enjoyable by themselves to require any kind of hindsight rehash. If Dynomite is only a single shot film, Rogue should be fine. The studio also just bought another script from Marlon and Shawn, which was co-written by Xavier Cook and Mitchell Marchand (The Wayans Bros. television series).
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
5-15-2007 @ 3:28PM
stephen said...
FYI the Wayans have had nothing to do with the "Scary Movie" franchise since number 2.
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5-15-2007 @ 3:43PM
Christopher Campbell said...
I know that the Wayans brothers aren't directly involved with the Scary Movies anymore. I mean that the franchise is still going with the characters that the brothers created. I guess they probably don't get any payment for that credit, but I figure they are still associated with the ongoing series.
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5-15-2007 @ 4:44PM
Jonathan said...
Maybe they want to create a black version of the Austin Powers series. Meyers didn't say at first he would do sequels - just wait and see how the box office is.
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