Scary Movie 3

Scary Movie 3
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	David Zucker
Written by	Craig Mazin Pat Proft
Based on	Characters byShawn Wayans Marlon Wayans Buddy Johnson Phil Beauman Jason Friedberg Aaron Seltzer
Produced by	Robert K. Weiss
Starring	Anna Faris Anthony Anderson Kevin Hart Leslie Nielsen Camryn Manheim Simon Rex George Carlin Queen Latifah Eddie Griffin Denise Richards Regina Hall Charlie Sheen
Cinematography	Mark Irwin
Edited by	Jon Poll
Music by	James L. Venable
Production company	Brad Grey Pictures
Distributed by	Dimension Films
Release dates	October 20, 2003(2003-10-20)(Los Angeles) October 24, 2003(2003-10-24)(United States)
Running time	84 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$48 million
Box office	$220.6 million

Scary Movie 3is a 2003 Americanparody filmdirected byDavid Zucker.It is the sequel toScary Movie 2and is the third film in theScary Moviefilm series.The film parodies thehorror,sci-fi,andmysterygenres.

The film starsAnna FarisandRegina Hallreprising their roles as Cindy Campbell and Brenda Meeks, respectively. New cast members includeCharlie Sheen,Simon Rex,Anthony Anderson,Kevin Hart,andLeslie Nielsen.It is the first film in the series to feature no involvement from theWayans family.The characters of Ray Wilkins and Shorty Meeks, previously played byShawnandMarlon Wayansrespectively, do not appear, nor are they referenced.

The film's plot significantly parodies the filmsThe Ring,Signs,The Matrix Reloadedand8 Mile.The film grossed $220.6 million worldwide, becoming the second highest-grossing film in the series. It is the last film in the series to be released byMiramax Films(under their then-subsidiaryDimension Films). It was named the2004 Teen Choice Awardsin the category ofChoice Movie: Your Parents Didn't Want You to See.A sequel,Scary Movie 4,was released in 2006.

Plot

Two women discuss a cursed videotape that kills anyone who watches it in seven days. Having both watched it, an unseen entity kills them. Meanwhile, on a farm outsideWashington, D.C.,widowed pastor Tom Logan and his brother George discover Tom's daughter Sue screaming in the middle of a crop circle.

ReporterCindy Campbelldiscusses the crop circles on the news, but it is largely ignored. She cares for her nephew Cody, who hasprecognitionpowers. While picking him up from school, Cindy meets George who invites her and Brenda Meeks to a rap-battle. With support from his friends Mahalik and CJ, George beatsFat Joe,but is thrown out after unintentionally wearing apointy white hoodandwavesto the largelyAfrican Americancrowd.

Brenda tells Cindy about the cursed videotape she watched and asks her to keep her company. After playing several pranks on Cindy, the girl from the tape, Tabitha, kills Brenda. George receives a phone call about Brenda's death, and Tom meets with Sayaman, who apologizes for killing Tom's wife in a car accident.

During Brenda'swake,George and Mahalik wreak havoc in an unsuccessful attempt to revive her. Cindy finds the tape in Brenda's room, watches it, and receives a phone call warning her of her death in seven days. She calls George, CJ and Mahalik for help. CJ says his Aunt Shaneequa can help. Shaneequa discovers the hidden image of alighthouse,which can break the curse if Cindy finds it. When Cindy returns home, she finds Cody has watched the tape.

Desperate to save Cody, Cindy types a warning into the news anchor'steleprompterbut her boss interrupts her and the anchor recites the wrong message. Meanwhile, the Logans encounter an alien disguised asMichael Jackson,and U.S. president Baxter Harris personally visits the farm to investigate the crop circles.

Cindy visits the lighthouse, where she encounters The Architect. The loquacious old man explains Tabitha was his evil adopted daughter whom his wife drowned in the farm's well, but not before she imprinted her evil onto theVHS tape.He mistakenly returned it toBlockbuster,mistaking it forPootie Tang,unleashing the curse. When Cindy asks about how this relates to the aliens, the Architect speculates that Tabitha is summoning them to aid her in destroying humanity.

Returning home, Cindy discovers Cody is missing, the news has been broadcasting the cursed tape for hours, and there have been various sightings of aliens around the world. She tracks Cody to the Logan farm, where he has taken refuge with George. Tom sends Cindy, Sue, and Cody into the basement for safety, as he, George and Mahalik go outside to fight the aliens with help from President Harris and theSecret Service.The aliens reveal they are friendly and have come to stop Tabitha after accidentally watching the tape on a broadcast they intercepted, also mistaking it forPootie Tang.

In the basement, Cindy recognizes the farm's cellar from the tape and she finds the well where Tabitha drowned. Tabitha appears and takes Cody hostage. Cindy and George appeal to her, offering her a place in their family. Tabitha falsely claims her curse is broken but as she attacks, President Harris opens a door and unintentionally knocks her into the well.

The aliens depart and Cindy and George get married. Leaving for their honeymoon, they realize they accidentally left Cody behind. After Cindy narrowly avoids hitting Cody at an intersection, another car strikes him.

Cast

• Anna FarisasCindy Campbell
• Charlie Sheenas Tom Logan
• Regina Hallas Brenda Meeks
• Simon Rexas George Logan
• Leslie Nielsenas President Baxter Harris
• Queen LatifahasAunt Shaneequa/The Oracle,based on The Oracle fromThe Matrix
• Anthony Andersonas Mahalik
• Kevin Hartas CJ Iz
• Camryn Manheimas Trooper Champlin
• George CarlinasThe Architect,based on the architect fromThe Matrix
• Eddie GriffinasOrpheus,based on Morpheus fromThe Matrix
• Pamela Andersonas Becca Kotler
• Jenny McCarthyas Katie Embry
• Drew Mikuskaas Cody Campbell
• Denise Richardsas Annie Logan
• D. L. Hughleyas John Wilson
• Ja Ruleas Agent Thompson
• Darrell Hammondas Father Muldoon
• Jeremy Pivenas Ross Giggins
• Tim Stackas Carson Ward
• Simon Cowellas himself
• Marny Engas Tabitha, based onSadako YamamurafromThe Ring
• Naomi Lawson-Baird as girl form of Tabitha
• Edward MossasMJAlien
• Ajay Naiduas Sayaman
• Tom KennyandDerek Stephen Princeas the voice of the Aliens
• Jianna Ballard as Sue Logan, based on theAbigail Breslincharacter Bo Hess fromSigns

Rapper cameos

As well as in "The Rap Battle", several actual rappers assist in the confrontation with the aliens and a subsequent shootout amongst themselves.

• Master P
• RZA
• Raekwon
• Method Man
• Redman
• Macy Gray
• U-God
• Fat Joe

Production

On November 22, 2002,Dimension Filmsannounced a thirdScary Moviewithout theWayans brothers(namely directorKeenan Ivory Wayansand co-stars/co-writersShawn WayansandMarlon Wayans) returning, withDavid Zuckertaking over as director. The movie was given the titleScary Movie 3: Episode I — Lord of the Brooms,and the movie was supposed to spoof theStar Wars,Lord of the RingsandHarry Potterfranchises.Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer,who previously wrote an early draft forScary Movie(2000), were set to write the movie. Zucker was going to shoot that script but eventually decided to not use it, instead using a new script written byCraig MazinandPat Proftthat was more similar to the first two installments.

Filming started on March 12, 2003 and wrapped on July 16, 2003. The movie was shot inBritish Columbiaand inWashington, D.C.

Music

The score for the film was composed byJames L. Venable.The original soundtrack was released on October 24, 2003, and features hip hop artists such as Buku Wise, Delinquent Habits, Dame Lee, Kebyar, and others.Frank Fitzpatrickserved as music supervisor for the film and soundtrack. Jorge Corante produced and co-wrote the majority of original songs used for the feature.

Release

Home media

Alternate scenes

TheDVDedition includes a director's audio commentary, several deleted scenes and alternate endings (with optional commentary). A "3.5" special DVD was also released, and contained several more deleted scenes than the original DVD, with an unrated version of the film.

In the alternate ending, Cindy is told Cody does not exist by her psychiatrist (played byWilliam Forsythe). After hitting a few people in the face with a shovel, Cindy asks everybody who is not real to stand over at a different spot. Cody goes over there and is followed bySanta Claus.The aliens then begin to invade but George stops them by transforming intoThe Hulk.President Harris tries to hulk out but ends up soiling his pants. Cindy enters the Logan House, where she is attacked by Tabitha. She is teleported away to Aunt Shaneequa, who teaches her how to defeat Tabitha. Cindy must then confront hundreds of Tabitha's. She wins the battle by performing moves fromThe Matrixand teleports back to the Logan House. The cast then gets into a car with the President, but are horrified to learn that the driver happens to beM. Night Shyamalan.

One of the scenes that appeared on the Extended DVD namedScary Movie 3.5was part of the unrated feature. After Pamela Anderson and Jenny McCarthy shut off the TV, the two compliment each other on their good looks. Anderson then asks if McCarthy wants her "shaved pussy", but this turns out to be a furless kitten.

In an extended scene, the person who runs Cody down at the end is shown to be Michael Jackson.

Reception

Box office

Scary Movie 3opened at the number one spot in the US, grossing $48.1 million in its opening weekendand $57.5 million for that week. In its second week, it grossed $24.7 million.At the end of its box office run,Scary Movie 3grossed $110 million in the US and $110.7 million internationally, making $220.7 million in total.

Critical response

Scary Movie 3received a 35% rating onRotten Tomatoesbased on reviews from 129 critics, with an average rating of 4.8/10. The site's critics consensus reads: "Though an improvement over the secondScary Movie,the laughs are still inconsistent. "OnMetacritic,it has a score of 49 out of 100 based on reviews from 27 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".Audiences surveyed byCinemaScoregave the film an average grade of "B" on an A+ to F scale.

See also

• List of ghost films

External links

• Official website
• Scary Movie 3atIMDb
• Scary Movie 3atAllMovie
• Scary Movie 3atBox Office Mojo