Jim Carrey and Steve Carell Press Conference
Jim, in the past you've turned down animated films where the schedule might have conflicted with staying in character, and other roles. How did this one work out? Were you able to work in between other movies?
Jim Carrey: “Well, what they do is they come to your house and they say, ‘This is going to be the simplest process in the world.’ And they lie to you, completely lie to you. Anybody who they're doing that to in the future might want to take note. It is hard work. I mean, it's not as simple as they make it sound. It is, you know, a half a day here and there. Whenever you get a free moment, you're going in to do it. But the fact is, they come to you and they really don't have a script. They have an overall idea of where they want to go, but they go, ‘Here's eight pages. What do you think we should do with it?’ And you sit in a room and you jam, and you come up with ideas and you come up with lines. It's an amazing process because you think, ‘How is this ever going to get to the end and make sense?’”
Steve Carell: “Well, it's also a huge leap of faith, too. Because there you are and you don't know how anything you do will synch up with what anyone else is doing. So it's all based on how the director sees it and hears it. So he's the one threading all of these performances together. So you give him 100 – 1000 different variations on a scene and then he then crafts it with the rest of the performances. I think it's a huge leap of faith because you can do things that you think, ‘Will that even work?’ And in terms of what he's hearing, yeah.”
Was there a time in your life when you actually felt like a speck? And who saved you?
Jim Carrey: “I know I'm a speck.”
Still?
Jim Carrey: “Absolutely. There's no question about it. I think…you know, that's how I feel. Honestly. Yeah, I mean, I'm an interesting speck. But I think that's how I've always thought, in those terms. I mean, how can you look at the sky at night and not feel that you're a speck somewhere? I saw a picture on Discovery Channel one time of Earth from Mars, it was Earth from kind of the Mars perspective - the Mars Rover thing. And you could hardly find it. It was a speck. We truly are a speck, you know? So there's all different levels of that. It's just kind of where you're at. It's really true.”
Steve, did you have an insignificant time in your life?
Steve Carell: “If I think about it too much, my mind will explode because, essentially, the same thing. We're all so, so tiny, in the big picture. And it depends on what picture you're looking at. In the really big picture, we're infinitesimal.”
Jim Carrey: “I've always thought there were worlds within worlds within worlds, though. That somewhere on my right arm, there's – inside a cell - some kind of world happening where people are sitting there, going, ‘Oh, I hope we don't destroy ourselves.’”
Steve Carell: “Which gives us absolute…”
Jim Carrey: “He could swing that arm and hit it against a tree, and we're gone.”
Steve Carell: “That's right. That's why we're paralyzed. That's why now, after doing this movie, I can hardly move. Because essentially, I'm afraid I will be crushing tiny universes wherever I go.”
Jim Carrey: “That's right.”
Steve Carell: “So even in your laughter, and the saliva that's coming out of your mouth, you are killing worlds.”
Jim Carrey: “Right. There are worlds of people. There are worlds of people.”
Steve Carell: “So if there's one thing people can take away from this movie, I hope it's that.”
Jim Carrey: “It's Armageddon in my pants right now. I swear to God, it's Armageddon.”
Have you had a chance to talk to Audrey Geisel? Jim, you may have talked to her the first time around. Have you talked to her further since then?
Jim Carrey: “Well, every once in a while I say hi, but we don't talk a lot. But, you know, I was really honored that she kind of like - it was the first thing out of her mouth when they come to her with Horton, is, ‘Can you get Jim Carrey?’ So I feel really honored that she wants me to be a part of the legacy. I just feel wonderful that two of these projects have come my way, you know? I'm such a fan of Dr. Seuss. It's a great thing.”
Steve Carell: “No, no, I've never spoken to her.”
Do both of you remain genuinely surprised at this sort of extraordinary success that you've attained? Do you pinch yourselves, and wonder why it is that you've become almost iconic in your success? And the second part of the question is, there's all these videos, these Ben Affleck/Jimmy Kimmel videos…
Jim Carrey: “I didn't touch him.”
Were you asked to be a part of those and are you disappointed that you're not part of that legacy?
Jim Carrey: “Do you know about these?”
Steve Carell: “Yeah. Yes.”
Jim Carrey: “Okay.”
Steve Carell: “So you're asking, am I f**cking Jim Carrey? I think it's great to do a press junket for Horton Hears a Who! frankly – that speaks to all the kids that are going to be…”
Jim Carrey: “Yeah. That's a good tack to take on this, I think.”
Steve Carell: “And our Fox friends are…”
Jim Carrey: “They're gonna love it. They're gonna love it.”
Steve Carell: “Quite horrified right now. No. That's not a legacy that I am straining to be a part of. In terms of pinching myself about success, all day, every day. And I owe a lot to Jim, frankly, for any of my success. Because essentially the first movie I was ever in was Bruce Almighty. I never got auditions for movies and it was one of the first I'd ever gotten.”
Jim Carrey: “Stole the whole f**king movie.”
Steve Carell: “No. But I remember – and I said this to Jim a week or two ago - was that I remember watching Liar, Liar and thinking, ‘That looks like the most fun you could possibly have,’ just being on set. You know, and at the end, the outtakes. And I thought, ‘Man, that just looks like a party.’ And I, in my wildest dreams, didn't think I would ever be able to be a part of that. And then a couple years later, I was. So, yes, I'm still pinching myself every time.”
Jim Carrey: “And he did an amazing job, and he's done that ever since. It's incredible to watch him.”
Page 3: On the World of Dr Seuss and Getting Into Character
