Jim Carrey and Spike Jonze seem like such a perfect fit together that it’s amazing that it’s taken this long for them to work together. Carrey’s the comic genius with a serious side that verges on the provocative at times, Jonze is the acclaimed, inventive auteur who enjoys pranks as much as he enjoys making awards-friendly movies, and clearly they share a facility for Charlie Kaufman, with Carrey having starred in “Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind,” and Jonze directing “Being John Malkovich” and “Adaptation.”
But so far, their first and only collaboration comes with the new documentary “Jim & Andy: The Great Beyond – Featuring A Very Special, Contractually Obligated Mention Of Tony Clifton,” produced by Jonze and directed by “American Movie” helmer Chris Smith, which examines the making of “Man On The Moon,” and Carrey’s relationship with his subject of that film, comic genius Andy Kaufman (and Kaufman’s character Tony Clifton). The film, recently picked up for release by Netflix, screened at TIFF this week after its Venice premiere, and Carrey and Jonze revealed at a Q&A that they actually came very close to working together at the start of their Hollywood careers.
According to Screen Crush, Carrey says that the new film came about partly because of their desire to work together, the star having initially turned Jonze down for a high-profile comedy sequel. “I’ve been wanting to do something with Spike forever,” Carrey told the audience. “I was stupid enough to turn him down to direct ‘Ace [Ventura] 2, cause I had no idea who he was. And he came in and pitched all kinds of shit, and he was about to take over the world and I didn’t know it. I was like ‘I don’t know, this guy’s new.’ And I’ve been kicking myself ever since.”
For some context, Carrey would have been looking for a director for “Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls” some time in 1994 or early 1995, when Jonze was just making a name for himself as a music video director thanks to promos like The Breeders’ “Cannonball,” Weezer’s “Buddy Holly” and, famously, Beastie Boys’ “Sabotage.” Clearly, the prospect of Jonze taking on the comedy sequel would have resulted in a very, very different movie — instead Carrey picked “Celtic Pride” helmer Tom DeCerchio, only to fire him when production was underway and replace him with screenwriter Steve Oedekerk.
Still, it all worked out for the best — it’s probably better in the long run that we got Jonze making his directorial debut with “Being John Malkovich.” And maybe the two talents will eventually get to team up on a fiction feature, if either ever make one again — Spike Jonze is mostly focused on his job at Viceland at the minute, and Jim Carrey hasn’t shot a movie since the still-unreleased “True Crimes.” Fingers crossed for that: in the meantime, you’ll be able to see “Jim & Andy” on Netflix in the near future.