‘Scary Movie 6′ director unafraid of surprise competition: ‘It’s awesome!’
Director Michael Tiddes is not a household name, but the man he is largely attached to is: Marlon Wayans.
Tiddes, a Fayetteville resident for several years, has now directed six films with Wayans, including his newest “Scary Movie,” which was shot in metro Atlanta last year and arrives in movie theaters this weekend.
Pundits expect this latest iteration of the parody franchise to finish No. 1 at the box office its opening weekend. But it faces unexpected competition in the form of “Obsession” and “Backrooms,” two horror films created by young YouTube directors that opened huge last month.
“I think it’s awesome!” Tiddes told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution this week, noting any future “Scary Movie” sequels are certain to mock these two flicks.
“’Scary Movie’ is always paying attention to what’s capturing the culture,” he said. “The franchise works best when it’s poking fun at things people are already obsessed with. When audiences are diving down rabbit holes of analog horror and internet legends, we’d be crazy not to notice.”
In other words, Tiddes said these young filmmakers will need to brace themselves for the next “Scary Movie.”
“Becoming a horror icon,” he said, “is basically an invitation to get roasted.”
Marlon Wayans is one of 10 Wayans siblings who work in Hollywood. Tiddes, 50, has been part of the Wayans universe for more than 15 years. He is well aware of the acrimonious split between the Wayanses and “Scary Movie” producers Harvey and Bob Weinstein in 2002. The Weinsteins made three more “Scary Movie” films without the Wayanses, the last one in 2013.
“They had it stolen from them,” Tiddes said. “I know about the pain that caused.”
But new management at Miramax and Paramount Pictures in 2024 brought back Marlon, Shawn and Keenen Ivory Wayans to create this sixth iteration. Marlon told the AJC in April that his father, Howell, on his deathbed asked him to work with his brothers again. So Marlon used this latest “Scary Movie” to reunite with two of them.
“I was thrilled they got the franchise back,” Tiddes said. “It’s where it belongs, with the people that first created it. It’s a full-circle moment for them. We had some deep talks on this movie. It feels like an alignment of the stars, that something was guiding this in a great way.”
Tiddes said he understands the Wayanses’ comic sensibility, which is seldom subtle and often crass.
“I love the Wayans,” he said. “They’re all so funny. They each have a unique perspective on comedy. They taught me that comedy and collaboration go hand in hand. It’s not about who’s right. It’s about finding the best joke.”
Tiddes grew up in Miami with a cinephile grandma who would sometimes take him to the theaters twice a week. He remembered loving the sketch comedy show “In Living Color” as a teen. In his 20s, he saw “Scary Movie” with his tight crew of friends, recalling how it “ruined ‘Scream’ for me.”
As a filmmaker, he spent the 2000s shooting shorts and music videos. He was largely self-taught. “I didn’t have money,” he said. “I had to shoot my own stuff, do my own visual effects. It was me and my wife, Kelly, doing it together. She held the lights and I worked the camera.”
His mentor was Rick Alvarez, a Wayans collaborator and producer who helped bring Tiddes into the Wayans fold, first as a production assistant in 2004’s “White Chicks.”
Tiddes first directed Marlon’s 2013 movie “A Haunted House,” a found-footage horror comedy. With a budget in the neighborhood of $2.5 million, that film generated $60 million-plus in global worldwide box office gross.
Marlon hired Tiddes to direct the ‘Haunted House’ sequel and his next three films: the “Fifty Shades of Black” parody in 2015 and the Netflix comedies “Sextuplets” and “Naked.”
“Marlon is one of the hardest working guys in Hollywood,” Tiddes said. “The guy doesn’t stop. He and I really connected. We both have this childlike excitement about comedy and making people laugh and be silly.”
For six months in 2018, Tiddes spent time in metro Atlanta shooting “Sextuplets” with Marlon, who played six characters in the film.
“My family and I fell in love with the city,” Tiddes said. “We loved the idea that this is a city in a forest. So much greenery! It’s a beautiful place with great crew, too.”
So he moved his family to Atlanta and now resides in Fayetteville with his wife and daughter, not far from Trilith Studios.
He was especially happy that “Scary Movie 6” shot in metro Atlanta, allowing him to sleep in his own bed every night. About 75% of the film was produced at Tyler Perry Studios, which encompasses most of Fort McPherson, a former U.S. Army base in Southwest Atlanta that shuttered in 2011.
“I loved the history there,” he said. “We shot in the barracks where Confederate officers lived during the Civil War. It has so many different facets to it, and we got so many different looks.”
Although Tiddes has directed films for both streaming and theater release, he said it was smart for Miramax to place this franchise in theaters. The film, while wrapped around a “Scream” plot line, largely mocks recent horror classics, from “Sinners” and “Weapons” to “M3GAN” and “Get Out.”
“This is the type of movie that works best in the theater,” Tiddes said. “People need to feel the energy and electricity when an entire place roars with laughter. I wanted this to be a fever dream of comedy, a roller coaster through the great horror movies of the past decade.”
About the Author
Rodney Ho writes about entertainment for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution including TV, radio, film, comedy and all things in between. A native New Yorker, he has covered education at The Virginian-Pilot, small business for The Wall Street Journal and a host of beats at the AJC over 20-plus years. He loves tennis, pop culture & seeing live events.
