Andy Richter has been all around Hollywood, so it's not surprising to hear he's rubbed shoulders with many acting greats. That said, when The Masked Singer revealed he once shared the screen with the iconic star of The Godfather, Marlon Brando, I had to do some searching and figure out when the hell that happened. Suffice it to say, I only had more questions when I learned it was from Scary Movie 2. Fortunately, Richter was able to talk about the experience and the wild contract stipulation that came along with it.
I had the honor to talk to Richter after blessing the Fall TV schedule with his presence via The Masked Singer Season 12. After a question about an erroneous guess inspired a story about him encountering Jay Leno in a diner, we talked Marlon Brando and Scary Movie 2. Though Richter eventually starred alongside James Woods in the Exorcist-spoofing opening scene, Brando was the iniital choice. The latter duo filmed a solid amount of scenes for the parody that were ultimately cut once Brando dropped out of the movie due to declining health.
Richter confirmed the experience was as surreal as it sounded when I asked about it, saying:
Absolutely. I couldn't believe it. And it was one of the reasons why I was excited to do [the movie]. That segment of the movie, it's only like four minutes, and at one point, it was 40 pages because they just kept writing bits and jokes and bits and jokes and just not cutting anything. It was, I mean, it was a lot of fun to do the movie, but it was crazy. They were under a super tight schedule because the first one had done so well, and then they bought the next one and didn't give [The Wayans] much time. I mean, we were shooting reshoots the end of June, and the movie had a July 4th release date. So it was crazy.
One of the best Wayans family movies could've been that much better with Marlon Brando in the mix, or at least I can only assume as much. Aged and health-challenged as the actor may have been by that stage, Brando is a legend for a reason, having fronted the best movies of the 70s (possibly of all time) in The Godfather Part II, amidst many other all-time classics. As such, it would've been quite a sight to see him in the finished Scary Movie 2, doing some of the things written for his character.
Andy Richter shared one of those scenes with us and how it led to an outrageous and specific stipulation in his contract for Scary Movie 2. The actor described the scene in broad strokes, though readers can figure out what was supposed to happen between his and Marlon Brando's priest character:
There was one point at which there was supposed to be a simulation of, let's say, an assault from the rear in which my eyes blinked like goat eyes. So I had to go get contacts made that were like goat eye contacts. And in my contract, it said something along the lines of that, ‘I will only allow myself to be portrayed as being sexually assaulted by Marlon Brando. If they recast that, whoever they recast could not sexually assault me, only Marlon Brando could.' Somehow, I lost that contract. I don't have it. And I wish I still had it because it was such a great artifact.
He may not have the contract, but that's an incredible story from Andy Richter tied to one of the greatest actors of a generation. If only the upcoming Scary Movie 6 could attempt something just as great with another legendary actor, I think it would be something that would have the audiences in stitches. That said, I realize how damning it is to speak the phrase "Marlon Brandon hologram" into existence.
If it's any consolation to the actor, Andy Richter's vomit-filled scene in the final cut alongside James Woods and Natasha Lyonne remains one of the more memorable parts of Scary Movie 2, and it gets the movie off to a great start. Full credit to everyone involved for enduring all that gross goop they get covered on in the scene, which I recently rewatched using my Paramount+ subscription.
With the scene cut and the contract gone, I guess the best-case scenario was that The Masked Singer was able to use it for an obscure clue to Andy Richter's true identity when he was masquerading as Dust Bunny on stage. I doubt I'm the only one who learned about the strange connection between these two actors, and I'm doubly glad I asked to learn the wilder story behind the experience.
The Masked Singer airs on Fox on Wednesdays at 8:00 p.m. ET, and as previously mentioned, Scary Movie 2 can be found on Paramount+ and Pluto TV. Catch Andy Richter in one of those two, and continue to stick with CinemaBlend as we follow Season 12 of TMS and react along the way.
