Interviews: Johnny Knoxville, Director Jeff Tremaine Formulate ‘Jackass 3D’

Submitted by PatrickMcD on October 13, 2010 - 7:15pm

CHICAGO – One man inadvertently taking a painful fall is tragic, several men doing it is “Jackass 3D.” The storied Jackass franchise, which began as TV show on MTV, has expanded into an empire, with breakout performers and a film trilogy. Johnny Knoxville is the face of Jackass, Jeff Tremaine is the director.

Johnny Knoxville hails from Tennessee, and was a struggling actor when he met Jeff Tremaine in the 1990s. Tremaine was publishing a skateboarding magazine called “Big Brother,” when he and Knoxville decided to test self defense equipment with various stunts on video. The underground classic “Number Two” video was born.

Teaming up with skateboarder Bam Margera, who was doing something similar with his CKY video series in Pennsylvania, Knoxville and Tremaine put a pilot together combining stunts from both video sources. With a little help from Tremaine friend Spike Jonez, the pilot to the newly redubbed “Jackass” series was sold to MTV. The rest, as they say, is show business history.

Airing it Out: Johnny Knoxville and the Jet Ski in ‘Jackass 3D’
Photo credit: © Paramount Pictures

Jackass 3D is the latest entry in the storied franchise, the third in the series of films. Johnny Knoxville returns with his strange and iconic cast, which includes Bam Magera, Steve-O, Ryan Dunn, Jason Acuña, Dave England, Ehren McGhehley and Preston Lacy. The stunts, humiliations and general Jackassery returns, in this film you can actually see the projectiles from a certain body hole fall right into your laps in vivid 3D.

HollywoodChicago.com interviewed Johnny Knoxville and Jeff Tremaine on their latest Jackass adventure, going behind the scenes and more.

HollywoodChicago.com: Jackass has become a shorthand word for a specific content that you and Jeff invented. What has been the main evolution of Jackass? What, besides the size and scope of the concept has changed the most?

Johnny Knoxville: It’s more a devolution. [laughs] Most of it has stayed the same since we started. We just tried to do really dumb things that make ourselves laugh. And that’s how we still measure a bit. If it makes us laugh it gets in the movie and that’s it.

Jeff Tremaine: Having more money to do these big things doesn’t mean it necessarily adds to it. The best ideas in my opinion are always the backyard type, cheap and stupid ones.

Knoxville: And that’s what we shoot. It allows us to do more silly things, the bigger budget, but we don’t really spend more money per bit.

Tremaine: All our money goes to insurance anyway. Insurance and lube. [laughs]

HC: What was the thought process of the pranks and bits in this feature, knowing you were going to film it in 3D?

Tremaine: We wouldn’t have shot it in 3D if it really changed the process too much. It took a little more pre-planning on my part, and making sure that spontaneous stuff happened in front of the camera, but for the most part it didn’t change our process that much, we got used to it pretty quickly.

Knoxville: We hired a great 3D company, Paradise 3D, and had more people on the set. That was different, because the regular cast and crew had been together for ten years, but the 3D company became part of the family.

Tremaine: On set, a lot of times, it felt like a sitcom with its canned laughter. Since we had a lot more people, when something funny happened, the room would erupt like a live sitcom taping. That was pretty funny, and there were also a lot more people throwing up when it went bad. [laughs]

HC: What distinguishes your use of 3D in this film, from other 3D movies?

Tremaine: It’s all shot in 3D, there is no conversion. It is with the newest, most expensive version of 3D out there. The coolest thing about the 3D is that you really feel you’re in there with the guys, it really feels you’re part of the group. We definitely have the stuff jumping out of the screen.

Knoxville: Yeah, but it’s not a constant barrage of stuff coming at you, it’s more like having you inside the scene with us. There are times when we pick our spots for things coming out of the screen. One of my favorites is Will the Farter, when we wanted to get darts shot out of his behind, we could do that, because he can control it back there. Besides the darts we gave him kid’s party favors and he jammed that in there, and off they went.

Tremaine: We put the camera right there, so it jumps out the screen, this stupid party favor. [laughs]

Knoxville: Nowhere close to clever. [laughs]

HC: Jeff, your background and early career is in the skateboarding culture. Since skateboard has evolved into more and more spectacular stunts, what is the closest stunt in Jackass 3D that you think mimics the sheer balls of a skateboarder?

Tremaine: The overall sensibility of Jackass appeals to skateboarders. Most skateboarders always have a video camera, and they’re always doing stupid sh*t. [laughs] Even where they’re not skating, they’re doing stupid sh*t, it’s just part of it. It’s even edited like a skate video, that’s all I know how to do. It’s hand-in-hand with skateboarding, even though the stunts are different.

Knoxville: That’s not all he can do. Jeff directed a wonderful documentary about Matt Hoffman for the ‘30 for 30’ documentary series on ESPN called ‘The Birth of Big Air,’ and we’re really proud of it. He can do other things, and he can annoy me all f**king day long on this press tour. I got my nuts poked in my butt right now so he can’t get at me.

Team Jackass: Johnny Knoxville and Jeff Tremaine in Chicago, September 29th, 2010
Photo credit: Patrick McDonakd for HollywoodChicago.com

HC: What is the atmosphere of a Jackass set, apart from the set-up and execution of the bits?

Tremaine: Dave England put in context best when he said, ‘making a Jackass movie is like going to Funny War.’ You never know where something is going to come from, or when something bad is going to happen to you, so the best thing you can do is stand up with your back against the wall.

Knoxville: And then something will come out of the wall. [laughs]

HC: I read an article where you commented on your colleagues Steve-O’s sobriety. How much did his overindulgence in the past effect what you guys did, and how different is he as a friend and presence now that he is sober?

Knoxville: Well, first off, if anybody was loaded we wouldn’t let them do a stunt in the past. There was beer on the set on the first two movies, but if you were doing a stunt you didn’t drink, because it’s tough enough. On the this movie, we made the decision not to have beer on the set because Steve-O is sober now and he celebrated his second year of sobriety on the set.

He is a different person, he has taken to being sober like he took to his former life, he is super sober and super present. It’s great.

Tremaine: I think he just wanted to prove it to himself that he could still be an idiot and be sober. He went after this movie with full gusto.

HC: Since this is the 10th anniversary of the original TV show, how do you feel about the fan base that keeps coming back to it and also how do you feel about revisiting the concept again?

Knoxville: Jackass is what we do, and what we love. I love it. It’s my favorite thing to do. I’m lucky to do other movies, and I’m grateful, but Jackass is it. And the fact that people love it after all these years, we couldn’t be happier.

HC: Now that you are getting over, do the stunts and bits get any harder?

Knoxville: Well, The 3 Stooges did it until their 60s. The only two things I do is stand in one spot or hold onto something.

Tremaine: Yes, he just has to stand there and take whatever is thrown at him. Most of our ideas are just to think of funny ways to fling these guys up in the air and let gravity sort it all out. Gravity makes it all funny.

We make all these movies like they’re our last. I don’t think you can look too far down the road with Jackass. The third movie is done, the trilogy is complete.

Knoxville: We don’t make any predictions for Jackass. After the first one, we said it was done. After the second one, we thought it was done. Now that we’re doing a third one, we’re going to shut up.

HC: Johnny, I read that the inspiration for you to leave your native Tennessee and go to L.A. was Jack Kerouac’s ‘On the Road.’ What about the essence of that book particularly inspired you and how important do you think the book is to capturing the spirit of America?

Knoxville: I read that book when I was 14 years old, and I didn’t know people lived like that and did that. It was exciting, and of course I wanted to get out. I liked how they were going out and ‘getting some.’ Which way was the wind blowing that day, they went out and had a ball that way.

HC: There was a wild jet ski stunt involving Johnny and a outdoor pool. How did you pull that one off?

Tremaine: Bam Magera’s family had a pool, but it wasn’t long enough for us to complete the stunt. So we found a guy who had a bigger pool.

Knoxville: And a bigger jet ski that went faster and farther.

Tremaine: Yeah, we’re real scientists.

HC: Jeff, you are also known for your graphic skateboard and fine art. How do you think an artist stays reckless enough to produce something that has meaning?

Knoxville: Well, he has to be reckless enough to produce something that has meaning. And they are screening Jackass 3D at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City.

Tremaine: It’s art, I tell you! Sure there is poo and stuff in it, but goddammit, it’s art.

Knoxville: Poo was the first clay. [laughs]

Tremaine: It’s like Jackson Pollack, except with people instead of paint.

HC: Is there anything you guys won’t do?

Knoxville: If you say you have a weakness, it will become a gift. [laughs] Never loudly proclaim that you’re scared of something if Jeff and I are listening. If it’s around, just act minimally scared. It’s a strategy of Funny War.

Tremaine: If it’s an idea you won’t do, it’s the idea you have to do.

“Jackass 3D” opens everywhere October 15th. Featuring Johnny Knoxville, Bam Magera, Steve-O, Ryan Dunn, Jason Acuña, Dave England, Ehren McGhehley and Preston Lacy. Written by Preston Lacy, directed by Jeff Tremaine. Rated “R”