Keenen Ivory Wayans

Euphemistically speaking, there are simply no words to politely describe the sight that has just been set before Keenen Ivory Wayans for his approval. On Stage 7 at the BA Studios in Hollywood , the director is in the final weeks of shooting "Scary Movie 2," the inevitable sequel to last summer's sleeper shock hit, "Scary Movie," a brazenly lowbrow parody of teenage slasher movies.

BET, which has been targeted in recent years for showcasing provocative music videos and other programming that critics and cultural observers said showed blacks in a negative and derogatory light, is unveiling an ambitious development slate. These new programs include a number of scripted shows and projects that emphasize positive aspects of African American culture. Among the highlights of the lineup is a new scripted comedy from the Wayans family and a gritty police drama which would be the urban-oriented network's first scripted drama.

On a night when there was no dominant winner, the talk backstage at the Emmy Awards in Pasadena Sunday was narrowly focused on the individuals bestowed with the statuettes. Those who trekked back to meet the press--not everyone did--were happy but not always expansive. One of the happiest was Ted Danson. Veteran loser Danson, finally a winner after eight previous Emmy nominations, said that it felt good to be recognized finally for his work on "Cheers."

When it was announced that Marlon Wayans and not Eddie Murphy would be portraying Richard Pryor in the long-discussed biopic of the comedy giant, the news was greeted with Internet jeering. Wayans wasn't surprised when he read the disparaging comments -- you can't hang your star on films like "White Chicks" and "Little Man" without consequences. "Look, I want to be able to make the stupidest movies ever, because they make people laugh and they make money," Wayans recently said with a smirk.

No official fight bell will clang when the two latest entries in the late-night talk-show arena, "Vibe" and "The Keenen Ivory Wayans Show," square off at 11 p.m. Monday. But publicists, agents and talent managers are getting their scorecards ready for what they say will be one of the fiercest late-night showdowns since CBS' "Late Show With David Letterman" first went toe to toe with NBC's "The Tonight Show With Jay Leno" in 1993.

When it was announced that Marlon Wayans and not Eddie Murphy would be portraying Richard Pryor in the long-discussed biopic of the comedy giant, the news was greeted with Internet jeering. Wayans wasn't surprised when he read the disparaging comments -- you can't hang your star on films like "White Chicks" and "Little Man" without consequences. "Look, I want to be able to make the stupidest movies ever, because they make people laugh and they make money," Wayans recently said with a smirk.

Spielberg does Kubrick . . . Tim Burton goes "Ape" . . . Kate Beckinsale goes to war . . . "Scary" Keenen Ivory Wayans . . . and more in our summer movie preview.

Comedy (June 23) Columbia Pictures/Revolution Studios With: Marlon Wayans, Shawn Wayans, Jaime King, Lochlyn Munro, Anne Dudek, Busy Philipps, Maitland Ward The idea: Two FBI agents get waaaay into their disguises as Long Island debutantes. Writers: Keenen Ivory Wayans & Marlon Wayans & Shawn Wayans & Andy McElfresh & Michael Anthony Snowden & Xavier Cook Director: Keenen Ivory Wayans Black guys in white face in drag.

In Bigger Productions: "In Living Color" creator Keenen Ivory Wayans has entered into an exclusive agreement with 20th Century Fox to produce motion picture and television programs. 20th Television and Wayans' production company, Ivory Way Productions, produce his Sunday-night show airing on Fox at 8.

"In Living Color" is hilarious, and I'll watch it every week. But how could creator Keenen Ivory Wayans claim in the April 15 cover story that he doesn't watch TV? Every single skit was a spoof on TV! (Talk about "everybody has their own version of each other's shows.") I look forward to his "original" programming. D. W. Heller, Palms

Call it Charlie Brown with a twist. Brothers Keenen Ivory, Shawn and Marlon Wayans, of "Scary Movie" and "In Living Color" fame, have created a series of animated children's shows, with books and toys to follow. It's name: "Thugaboo." The series of three specials will premiere on Nickelodeon, then air on the network's all-animation channel, Nicktoons. The first program will air in August.

Comedy (June 23) Columbia Pictures/Revolution Studios With: Marlon Wayans, Shawn Wayans, Jaime King, Lochlyn Munro, Anne Dudek, Busy Philipps, Maitland Ward The idea: Two FBI agents get waaaay into their disguises as Long Island debutantes. Writers: Keenen Ivory Wayans & Marlon Wayans & Shawn Wayans & Andy McElfresh & Michael Anthony Snowden & Xavier Cook Director: Keenen Ivory Wayans Black guys in white face in drag.

David ZUCKER is a comedy scientist. As a part of the legendary Zucker-Abrahams-Zucker team, he was involved in creating such maniacal, riotously paced spoofs as "The Kentucky Fried Movie" and "Airplane!" and film comedy has never been quite the same. In subsequent years, Zucker has worked on such projects as the "Naked Gun" series and has also inadvertently become something of a comedy mentor, giving early work to Peter Farrelly as well as Matt Parker and Trey Stone of "South Park" fame.

Euphemistically speaking, there are simply no words to politely describe the sight that has just been set before Keenen Ivory Wayans for his approval. On Stage 7 at the BA Studios in Hollywood , the director is in the final weeks of shooting "Scary Movie 2," the inevitable sequel to last summer's sleeper shock hit, "Scary Movie," a brazenly lowbrow parody of teenage slasher movies.

Spielberg does Kubrick . . . Tim Burton goes "Ape" . . . Kate Beckinsale goes to war . . . "Scary" Keenen Ivory Wayans . . . and more in our summer movie preview.

After more than six months of mediocre ratings and backstage difficulties, "The Keenen Ivory Wayans Show," a late-night talk show geared to young urban audiences, has been canceled. Mort Marcus, president of Buena Vista Television, which produced and distributed the syndicated show, said the decision to shelve the program was a painful one.

Wayans Goes Away: Keenen Ivory Wayans, the creator and star of Fox's "In Living Color," is leaving the show, it was learned Thursday. Although no official reason was given, reportedly there had been a growing rift between Wayans and 20th Century Fox over the show's direction and the tone of its comedy material. Wayans was also the show's executive producer, host and a writer, although his on-screen role had recently diminished.

Robert Townsend can put away his credit cards--Warner Bros. has extended his credit. "Hollywood Shuffle," writer-director-star-fund-raiser Townsend's $100,000 spoof of Tinseltown's treatment of black actors and film makers largely financed with his plastic cash, has earned him and "Shuffle" co-writer Keenen Ivory Wayans a multi-pic deal with the studio. First in line from the new partnership will be "Heartbeat."

Earvin "Magic" Johnson will attempt to score in the late-night talk-show arena when "The Magic Hour" debuts in syndication next June, Twentieth Television executives said Tuesday. But the announcement of Johnson's entry, which had been expected, threw a shroud of confusion and uncertainty over the highly competitive late-night scene, particularly with regard to the future of "The Keenen Ivory Wayans Show," which debuted last August.