For someone who has been on both sides of the camera and nearly everywhere in between, Shawn Wayans has a remarkably positive attitude about Hollywood.
“It’s been the best journey in the world,” he asserted over the phone from Los Angeles, with nary a hint of sarcasm.
Jadedness is so common in the entertainment industry one almost expects it, but Wayans and his brothers – Keenan Ivory, Damon and Marlon – have built a reputation for meshing crowd-pleasing comedy with smart social satire on TV and in film, tackling race and gender with a directness sorely lacking in most pop culture.
“We don’t do many projects, but when we sign onto something, we try to give it our all and not bite off more than we can chew,” Wayans said. “What we do is develop it internally before we go to a studio to set it up. That way we’re way ahead of the game.”
When Wayans plays Comedy Works tonight through Sunday, he will demonstrate why his experience and talent seem to extend beyond his 36 years.
Wayans first debuted in his older brother Keenan’s blaxploitation spoof “I’m Gonna Git You Sucka” in 1988. He jump-started his TV career in 1992 on the groundbreaking sketch comedy “In Living Color” and has yet to look back.
“It’s almost scary to think nearly 20 years has gone by,” he laughed. “I was 17 years old when I first started my stand-up career, the summer that ‘I’m Gonna Git You Sucka’ came out.”
Since then Shawn and his brothers have been responsible for a string of outrageous and outrageously successful projects, including the WB sitcom “The Wayans Bros.,” and films like “Scary Movie” 1 and 2, “Little Man” and “White Chicks,” most of which Shawn acted in, co-wrote and co-produced. He’s also working on the animated kids series “Thugaboo” for Nickelodeon – not a huge stretch because he’s voiced cartoon characters in the past.
“We’re kind of doing ‘Charlie Brown’ meets ‘Fat Albert,’ with a hip-hop twist,” he said. “It teaches kids life lessons through music and humor. Most of our work has been pretty out there, but we’re all parents now and wanted to do something our kids could enjoy.”
Wayans said he perceives a lack of educational entertainment with universal themes, with “Thugaboo” presenting a multicultural attitude.
“Often on TV you see black and white kids, but they’re not all playing together. That’s how I grew up in New York, with black kids, Spanish kids, white kids – all playing together,” he said. “We use kids of all races and nationalities because it’s reflective of our world.”
On the other end of the Wayans’ ambitious spectrum is a mixed-use commercial-residential development they’re planning on a 70-acre former Army base in West Oakland, Calif. Their combined economic impact of $2 billion worldwide and commitment to using the facility to uplift the neighborhood won over city officials: Last week the Oakland City Council voted unanimously to approve a negotiating agreement with the brothers.
The space would include the Wayans’ movie studio, an educational kids zone and other entertainment options.
“Right now we don’t have a name for it,” he said. “It’s been about two years since we started, but those types of projects are so big that they take time.”
At the same time, Wayans is also working to adapt the classic TV show “The Munsters” to the big screen, but this won’t be a recent “Honeymooners”-style take, in which an all-black cast portrayed the original characters. Wayans’ love of the series spurs him to be creatively faithful.
“I actually thought the show was underrated,” Wayans said. “‘The Adams Family’ got most of the praise, but ‘The Munsters’ was actually a better, funnier show. We just loved those characters and thought it was be fun to update them, but we aren’t going to put a hip-hop outfit on Herman. He’s going to be green like he was in the ’60s.”
Staff writer John Wenzel can be reached at 303-954-1642 or jwenzel@denverpost.com.
