What Anna Faris learned about acting when Queen Latifah refused to show up to “Scary Movie 3” stunt training

Ryan ColemanFri, June 19, 2026 at 2:00 PM UTC

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Anna Faris, Eddie Griffin, and Queen Latifah in 'Scary Movie 3'Credit: Paramount+Key points -

Anna Faris is looking back on stunt training for Scary Movie 3.

The horror parody franchise star tells EW that she didn't have to go to any stunt training for the latest Scary Movie, but back in 2003, Queen Latifah taught her an important lesson.

"I guess training is somewhat important. But Queen Latifah didn't show up at all," Faris recalls. "She told me on set, 'You know, they didn't pay me enough.' And I was like, 'Hell yeah, that's the way to do it.'"

Sometimes less really is more.

Anna Faris learned a valuable lesson in restraint from none other than Queen Latifah, the award-winning rapper and actress who appeared alongside Faris in Scary Movie 3. In a wide-ranging conversation for Entertainment Weekly's cover story on the latest entry in the horror parody franchise, Faris looked back on her time making the stunt-heavy threequel in 2003.

The 49-year-old comedienne describes the new Scary Movie as "the best," precisely because she "didn't have to go to any stunt training." Because her main action sequence, a high-octane parody of John Wick, relied almost entirely on a stunt double and involved guns, Faris jokes, "Turns out when they give you a gun, you don't have to go learn a bunch of fights."

But by the time the sixth Scary Movie rolled around — 26 years since the franchise launched, 25 since co-creators and writers Shawn and Marlon Wayans were last involved, and 20 since Faris and sister-in-crime Regina Hall toplined an entry — Faris "had actually acquired a bit of stunt training… They were always sending me to especially boxing, between boxing with a cat and doing that Million Dollar Baby parody. The Riverdance stuff."

A good deal of that training was required for Scary Movie 3. But Latifah, who played the wise, wily oracle Aunt Shaneequa to Faris' naive heroine Cindy Campbell, had a unique approach to training: Don't do it.

Anna Faris and Queen Latifah in 'Scary Movie 3'Credit: Paramount+

"For [the new Scary Movie], it was great," Faris says. "My stunt double [Sarah Irwin] was fantastic. For the first time, too, I was like, 'I'm not gonna be too hard on myself.'"

Where did she learn that lesson?

"I remember when Queen Latifah was in Scary Movie 3, we were supposed to spend all weekend doing this stunt rehearsal, because all the fight sequences inevitably get cut down to like 30 seconds. But meanwhile, you've spent three days shooting," Faris explains. "So you are doing these intense trainings. I guess training is somewhat important, but Queen Latifah didn't show up at all. She told me on set, 'You know, they didn't pay me enough.' And I was like, 'Hell yeah, that's the way to do it.' So this time I was — they didn't ask, and I just showed up on time on set. It felt great."

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Laughing, Faris reasons, "I don't know if I should be bragging about my lack of stunt work."

EW has reached out to representatives for Latifah for comment.

There were three primary targets for Scary Movie 3'sparodies: The Ring, Signs, and 8 Mile. Cindy's misadventure kicks off when she accidentally watches a Ring-like cursed tape; Charlie Sheen's Tom Logan and Simon Rex's George Logan, the latter of whom plays a major role in Cindy's journey, live beside a cornfield besieged from above as in Signs; and George is essentially Jimmy Poole Jr. in 8 Mile.

Director Michael Tiddes and Anna Faris on the set of 'Scary Movie'Credit: Quantrell Colbert/Paramount Pictures

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Hall has a fight scene with the evil Tabitha (Marny Eng) from the tape, which required some complicated moves. And George's 8 Mile subplot is full of action. But one other, slightly less major parody pulled in the lion's share of the stunt needs: The Matrix Reloaded.

Latifah's Shaneequa and Eddie Griffin's Orpheus counsel Cindy when she appeals to them for urgent assistance in defeating Tabitha. Latifah ends up fighting Tabitha in uncursed human form (Naomi Lawson-Baird) through a TV screen, while both Cindy and Shaneequa suit up, Matrix-style, to kick butt dressed in skin-tight latex.

Stunts or no stunts, Faris says she's "really come around" to the fame the Scary Movie films have brought her. "I really appreciate that, if people do recognize me, usually they smile, and they remember something ridiculous I did. A joyful memory. That is a huge gift."

on Entertainment Weekly

Original Article on Source

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