Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, a hugely successful film starring Jim Carrey and Kate Winslet, was released in 2004. While Carrey received several nominations for his performance as Joel Barish in the movie, he was reportedly a little anxious while filming. Anthony Bergman, a film producer, revealed that Carrey was the target of deliberate interference on the set by director Michel Gondry.
The Canadian-American actor is a perfectionist who understands how to perform at the top of his game. However, the filmmakers of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind wanted him to do the opposite and give up that perfectionist persona so that he could deliver some genuine emotions. The filmmakers went on to great lengths to get Carrey to deliver such a performance, which he hasn’t previously done so far.
In an interview with the Hollywood Gold podcast, Bergman revealed some behind-the-scenes information about the direction that Gondry gave to the movie. Let’s discover more unknown facts in that regard.
Jim Carrey Was Compelled to Go Against His Comfort Zone
Jim Carrey is considered to be among the best actors and comedians in Hollywood. Also, he is well known for being a perfectionist.
However, according to Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind’s producer Anthony Bergman, everyone on the set wanted The Mask star to step outside of his comfort zone. He said that because Carrey’s part in the movie was different from anything he had previously done, the producers wanted to make sure he couldn’t prepare for the part beforehand. Bergman uncovered:
“Everything was so chaotic in that way. People were thrown into the scene in a way that didn’t allow them to compose. It’s a very different type of role that Jim had. He’s a real perfectionist. It was ‘how do we destabilize it so he can’t prepare, so he can’t do the Jim Carrey thing?’ Part of the camera set-up stuff was designed to do that.”
Bergman admitted that Carrey detested his character, Gondry’s setup because he wanted to be ready for every scene. The producer went on to say,
“Jim…he hated it. We knew he was going to hate it. He’s the biggest star in the world, in control of every set, and here we were, pulling that part away. And who the f*ck were we to do that?”
It Was Not a Money-Driven Project
Jim Carrey wasn’t initially all that interested in taking part in the movie. Even director, Michel Gondry acknowledged that it took him a month to convince Carrey to take on the role. Anthony Bergman, the film’s producer, also revealed that they wanted Carrey to play the lead role in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. But out of concern for the actor’s well-being, he sat him down to provide encouragement. Bergman said,
“Jim could get very loud and he was very powerful but I think in the end, he’s wasn’t doing…He was getting paid $20 million to do movies like ‘Bruce Almighty.” He was receiving a tiny, tiny portion of that.
“I had an early conversation with him basically saying, ‘Look, the only reason any of us are in it is because we want to make a good movie. You’re not in it for the money. We’re not in it for the money. We’re only in it because we think there’s a really great movie we can make here. At the end of the day, we’re all working for the movie.’”
Bergman was ultimately able to convince Carrey that they were both on set for the same reason, and as a result, they were on the same page.
The debate seems to have been successful because Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind ended up grossing $72 million on a $20 million budget and became a cult favorite.
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind is available on Amazon Prime.
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Source- Hollywood Gold
