I never saw Batman Forever, the one with Val Kilmer as the Batman and Jim Carrey and Tommy Lee Jones as the bad guys (the Riddler and Two-Face). That one and the George Clooney Bat-nippled one just kind of escaped me. But I remember hearing stuff about the Batman Forever production and how tortuous the whole thing was everyone involved. Tommy Lee Jones was fresh off his Oscar win for The Fugitive and he clearly just signed on to the Batman movie for the money. And he was stuck doing scenes with Jim Carrey, who was at the height of his popularity/film stardom. Tommy was and is a “real actor” with a great education and real training. Carrey was just cut from a different cloth. So yeah, they hated each other. Jim is doing interviews to promote Dumb and Dumber To and he stopped by Howard Stern. Stern asked him about the Tommy Lee situation:
Jim Carrey, 52, was asked about his time with Jones when he appeared on The Howard Stern Show on Tuesday, Oct. 28, in promotion of his upcoming movie Dumb and Dumber To.
“When you were doing Batman Forever, when you were making that, the legend goes that you were on the set fighting with this guy Tommy Lee Jones the whole time,” Howard Stern began. “The two of you did not get along at all, you annoyed him, he annoyed you…”
The comedian did not deny the claims and reflected back to his time filming the superhero movie with Jones, now 68.
“I think what happened was, I was really looking forward to working with Tommy because he’s a fantastic actor and he still is to me, I mean he’s amazing, but he was a little crusty, he was a little crusty,” Carrey said, going on to joke about Jones’ Ivy League education. “Sometimes that Rhodes Scholarship is more of a weapon than an asset.”
“I think he was just a little freaked out because Dumb and Dumber came out on the same weekend as Cobb, and Cobb was his big swing for the fences and that didn’t work out and that freaked him out a bit I think,” the actor continued, referencing Jones’ 1994 Ty Cobb biopic, which opened to mixed reviews from critics and less-than-stellar box office numbers. Any suspicions Carrey had that Jones felt negatively about him were confirmed one night during the filming of Batman Forever.
“I walked into a restaurant the night before our big scene in the Riddler’s lair and the maitre’d said, ‘You’re working with Tommy Lee Jones, aren’t you?’ And I said ‘Yeah, I am.’ He said, ‘He’s in the back corner, he’s having dinner.’ I said, ‘Oh, great, I’ll go say hi.'” Carrey told Stern. “I went up to say hi and the blood drained from his face, in such a way that I realized that I had become the face of his pain or something.”
“He got up, kind of shaking, and hugged me and said ‘I hate you. I really don’t like you,'” Carrey added. “I was like ‘Wow, okay. Well, what’s going on man?’ And he said, ‘I cannot sanction your buffoonery.’ He did not want to work with me at that point.”
Ha!!! Jim makes Tommy Lee sound like Yosemite Sam. “Sir, I say SIR, I cannot sanction your buffoonery! Good day!” And yes, “crusty” is a great description for Tommy Lee. Even Harrison Ford was terrified of Tommy Lee and Harrison is one of the butchest, manliest actors out there. Tommy Lee really is the human version of Grumpy Cat. As for Jim… I think he’s being honest and I don’t really think this story is shocking or anything. Everyone knew Tommy hated Jim. Jim didn’t even diss Tommy that hard!
Oh, and there were some requests for Jim’s take on Matthew McConaughey’s Lincoln ads. This is the best version of Jim Carrey!
Photos courtesy of WENN.
I wish they would all gossip like this!
YES YES!
“Sir, I say SIR, I cannot sanction your buffoonery! Good day!”
Oh Lordy. You kil’t me.
*dead*
It might be the best 5 words ever spoken.
I know. I must save that quote forever and ever.
It’s like a sentence grenade, perfect for any occasion. In fact, I’ve already thrown it at you on another thread.
LOL @ mimif lobbing buffoonery grenades.
@ mimif, I know. I hate-hugged you in response.
Who knew TLJ was my spirit animal??
That’s Foghorn Leghorn.
You’re right! 🐓
Crusty is a good description of Tommy. He’s not so much difficult as to low tolerance to absurdity. Unfortunately for him Jim is the embodiment of absurdity.
Unfortunately, Tommy Lee works in Hollywood and signed on to be two-face in a cheesy Batman sequel. Not exactly Hamlet. Probably he was more angry with himself.
That sounds about right
Exactly !! Low tolerance for absurdity. This proves that not everyone finds Jim Carrey amusing…..got that, Jim? Actually, Jim’s a very funny guy, definitely unique, but sometimes it gets to be just too much or too over the top and tiring…..
Anyone know what the Harrison Ford/TLJ story is?
I’d like to know about it, too! Anyone?
I watched Harrison Ford’s Inside the Actor’s Studio and he talked about how f–king terrified he was of doing scenes against Tommy Lee.
Makes for some good chemistry though, in that particular instance. Imagine if it was say, a romantic comedy, and your co-star hated you so much, he was shaking when he hugged you. Kind of like 50 Shades of Grey. 😉
This was hilarious and frankly this comes from me, which Im NOT a Jim Carrey Fan, his tics, his “comedy” his act during the morning shows It all drives me up the wall, half the time i see trailers for his movies I end up, seething in something that’s halfway rage and disgust (especially when i think of The Truman Show!! i LOVED him on that!! ) asking myself:” Is this Motherf*cker Poor?!? Why is he doing this?”
Jim can be a really great serious actor! The Truman Show, Eternal Sunshine, and the best for me was Man on the Moon…He was fantastic in that!
QQ, you read my mind . . . or I’m reading yours! I have the EXACT same reaction to Jim Carrey (and his last name is my first–arghh!). The Truman Show was an anomaly for him.
And I adore grumpy ole’ Tommy Lee. Sexy smart doesn’t suffer fools = me swooning
No, no! Not an anomaly! Jim’s a fantastic actor, as he proved in The Truman Show. And his buffonery is at such an elevated level — he’s physically very gifted to do what he does. He looks out of control, but actually is SO in control. I just loved him in The Mask.
He’s really weird for me because I basically never want to watch his movies and then I end up seeing them on a Sunday when nothing else but football is on, and I might cringe but also guffaw at other moments. I thought the liar liar scenes in the court were uproariously funny with Swoozie Kurtz; the entire back and forth.
And I also love Tommy for his unabashed curmudgeon-ness.
Right, Idk what is it you guys! i just Haaaatttee his stuff, as far as i can pin it is like if it involves me seeing your neck veins pop or pratfall around looking goofy and loud hollering Im off, Im down for quiet sarcasm or absurd stuff tho??
Adam Sandler and Chris Farley get the same reaction from me but Paul Rudd, Will Ferrel and Vince Vaughn Dont? (Sh!t That Intership Movie was so not great but I still dieeee laughing to myself at the kid calling Vince “Marfan Syndrome Over Here”)
I loathe Carey’s goofy schtick but he won me over in Eternal Sunshine of The Spotless Mind. Dude actually has some range, and by all accounts, is a swell guy. So, he gets one buffoonery pass for me.
Tommy Lee, however, is pretty much up there with EVERYTHING, just in a different way. Man has been in the game a lonnnng time (Coal Miner’s Daughter, anyone?), and even if he gets somewhat temperamental at times, he’s still a total pro. Lurve him.
*pets QQ*
*hate hugs Kiddo*
Adam Sandler is in a special terrible league of his own non-funniness plus grossness. Will Ferrel makes me laugh at the weirdest things, Like when he exuberantly screamed “SANTA” in Elf. It was so stupidly absurd that I couldn’t help myself.
I do like a bit of Buffoonery, though, especially when delivered by BILL MURRAY.
I think Jim Carey went up a few notches simply for relaying such a humiliating story that was also hilarious.
ETA: @mimif, I bet his temperamental nature is entirely your fault. I read that somewhere.
@mimif Coal Miner’s daughter totally!!!
Gotta say, I feel the same about these actors. I guess it’s all movie-dependent. Like, Adam Sandler NO except for Wedding Singer.
Will Ferrel in Night at the Roxberry, YES (“BUT THERE’S NO HBO!”), and that’s weird cos I’m not a fan of SNL particularly. I just like that film, and some other films that come out SNL.
Jim Carey is hit and miss – his serious stuff is awesome. His silly stuff is OK when it’s early to just-nearly-famous. Like, ‘Earth Girls are Easy’ to ‘Ace Venturer’ (sp?)
I love Jim Carrey .. He seems so annoying, but that’s what makes some of his most hilarious comedic moments. You just gotta sift through the ‘buffoonery’ haha.
He deserved an Oscar or at least a nomination for The Truman Show. Seriously. That was such a terrific film, and he was incredible in it. imo 😀
and Liar Liar! hilarious! The outtakes were the best part. And I’ll never forget the paparazzi pictures when he was dating Jenny Mc Carthy. They were on the beach, and they both went into a change room and when they came out, he was wearing her bathing suit. OMG Cracked me up!
ETA: Link to a picture http://cdn.trendhunterstatic.com/thumbs/jim-carrey-mankini.jpeg
Jim Carrey reminds me of Robin Williams. They both have so much talent, but often unfocused, manic-seeming episodes. I think that they both just improvisationally riffed on stuff. Some of it worked, some of it didn’t.
I hated Jim in the early days. The thought of him talking out his butt seemed so childish. I didn’t want to see anything he was in. One day as I was stuck on a bus, they popped in Dumb and Dumber. I was like, ‘damn, I gotta sit through this crap?’ I’d managed to avoid it when it was in theaters, but it found me anyway. Needless to say I laughed through the whole thing. It was hilarious. So many funny one-liners, sight-gags and yeah, heart, that I couldn’t help myself. I even laughed out loud at the 2nd Ace Ventura (they made everything out of bat droppings!) ‘Guano bowls, collect the whole set!’ Its all silly fun, I guess.
Tommy being a crusty grump is a cliché at this point.
I rather enjoy him for it.
Team Tommy Lee Jones. 🙂
I wonder if he softened up by the time he worked with Will Smith in Men In Black. 🙂
Maybe not, since his character is crusty.
Also Team Tommy Lee Jones.
And It sounds from interviews they’ve done together that WS and TLJ get on like a house on fire. http://www.silive.com/entertainment/tvfilm/index.ssf/2012/05/mib_agents_smith_and_jones_tal.html
Will once said that if you understand Tommy Lee will always tell you the absolute truth, doesn’t care if you like him personally and truly does not suffer fools at all – you’re good. And my estimation of Will Smith went up when I found out that Tommy Lee is Team Will!
Yes. They look like they certainly get on well in the Men in Black, like they understand each other.
I love Jim so much. and can I say that he is the best smelling celebrity ever? I interviewed him a few years back and he was lovely and told the best stories about his childhood/schooling that have stuck with me. But seriously, he smelled freaking amazing and I wish I knew what he was wearing that day. haha
I love it when a man smells nice. I’m a big JC fan.
“Sir, I say SIR, I cannot sanction your buffoonery! Good day!” *loses it* I need to use this somewhere.
Btw, when is Tommy Lee not cranky? That’s just him innit?
Commercial inception! That’s the funniest thing I’ve seen on SNL in a while.
This somehow makes me like both of them more.
I have such a torn relationship with Jim Carrey. Some of his stuff is over the top for me. But then I caught the Truman Show a few weeks ago and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind over the weekend and they sort of led me back to liking him.
TBH, I didn’t dislike Carrey as the Riddler. He sort of played the character as it was conceived – a really spastic, over the top, sort of mentally unbalanced guy. Frankly, Tommy Lee Jones destroyed Two Face for me. That character has such a rich story and could be played as so tormented and dark and broody and he played him as a gaudy joke. THAT, I hold against him. True, he was working within the script, but still, dude.
However, neither of them can touch Michelle Pfeiffer or Danny DeVito in Batman Returns. Best batman villians ever.
Michelle Pfeiffer’s catwoman is a bench mark no one has reached out of all the comic book villains past and present.
She was perfect, perfectly cast and had the best lines, perfectly delivered.
I remember being so disappointed in tlj’s two-face. He played him almost as manic and spastic as the riddler. That’s not two-face. In the one scene at the end, when batman convinces him to flip the coin, that was as close as the movie came to getting it right, and it was frustrating because if the whole movie had been that good, it would have been amazing. Anyway, I love this story (I agree that it sounds more Foghorn Leghorn than Yosemite Sam). I love tlj. I don’t care for Jim carrey’s comedic style, but he blows me away dramatically. Especially in the Truman Show.
I think Tommy Lee jones hates everyone, that’s just his nature. He and Jim seem like polar opposites, so no surprise they didn’t end up BFFs after filming.
I bet he posts on d-listed.
He even hates D-listed. And grumpy cat. And videos of panda cubs on a playground.
With his Harvard roomie Al Gore?
Not exactly. He was very complimentary toward Meryl Streep when they were in that movie a couple of years ago. I watched the bonus features in the dvd and he had nice things to say about her. But then again, she’s MERYL STREEP!
I can’t stand Tommy Lee Jones! Crusty? He looks like a big headed a$$hole, who probably could not stand the fact, that at that time Jim was the biggest star on the planet! Also, If I remember correctly, the movie sucked, but Jim was getting kudo’s for being the only entertaining thing in the movie, so I’m sure that hurt TLJ’s pride!
This. Great actor but what a pompous jerk wad. I love him read him great education as a weapon not an asset about says it.
Love Tommy Lee. Not a Jim C fan, so this was a joy to read.
I loved the year at an awards show, Golden Globes or Oscars, when the audience was laughing and the camera landed on Tommy Lee Jones looking grumpy as hell. I’m glad that jerk Josh Brolin played him in MIB 3, he did a perfect job and that movie was surprisingly entertaining. Love Jim Carey’s honesty, he knows an entertaining story can’t touch Tommy anyway.
Was JUST going to post about him at the Golden Globes looking all kinds of pissed off!
3:30 mark. Terrifying!
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/01/14/tommy-lee-jones-grumpy-not-impressed-golden-globes-will-ferrell-kristen-wiig_n_2472672.html
I have a Tommy Lee Jones story.
I passed him in Harvard Square in 2000, and I completely, unabashedly lost my cool. I ran after him like an attention-deficit giraffe on roller skates, yelling, “MR. LEE JONES! MR. LEE JONES!” He turned around and let me babble (I asked if I could “borrow” him instead of bother him for a moment), and actually consented to signing an autograph. He asked me my name so he could personalize it, which I promptly forgot. But he was very gracious, despite my display of awesome idiocy.
So he sanctions SOME buffoonery, at least. 🙂
LOL that’s a cute story.
Mr. LEE JONES is one of my old fart crushes. Harrison Ford, Liam Neeson and Alan Rickman are on the list too.
Alan Rickman, forever dong.
*eyes Jaderu and mumbles about my man, Liam*
I have loved TLJ forever. My husband (who is younger than me BTW) is severely confused by all of my “old man crushes.” LOL
Aw, I love this story! I would say he’s taciturn. He looks grumpy but I bet deep down he’s a softie. If he was class A jerk, he would have been out in the cold like Val Kilmer and all those douche bag actors who are currently out a job.
Jim Carrey would be one of my top 5 guests to my fantasy dinner. There was a fantastic article about him in Atlantic Monthly a few years ago, after Lemony Snicket, that really analyzed his psche. I didn’t realize how complicated many of his characters really are until I read the piece. His own brilliance is also off the charts.
Any idea what the article is called? I could not stand Jim Carrey in his heyday but after watching Truman Show and Eternal Mind I realised he is actually very talented. When I read years ago he was trying to become a serious actor I was dismissive but he has proven me wrong (still not going to watch The Mask again though, ugh!). i also read how he had to help support his family as a young teen when times were hard. Much respect.
I believe it is called The Existential Clown in the December 2008 Atlantic. It is available online.
In my opinion there are 2 kinds of people: those who love Dumb & Dumber, and those who loathe it. And I can’t suffer the latter. So to hear Howard Stern say the sequel is hilarious makes me sooooo happy!!!
Lol my aunt used to work for him and I got the opposite impression. He used to always talk about how much he hated his wife (one of his exes). My aunts a socialite/wasp so maybe his Ivy League-ness didn’t bother her. More his mysoginy did. I’m not saying he’s a mysoginist (I think you have to be from Texas to understand the jokes) but in the context of his ex wife I got the impression it made it difficult for my aunt to work for him.
That being said I can see how old stodgy Jones might not like Carrey. Carrey of the mask days must have been grating.
I liked Tommy Lee Jones in that movie with Meryl Streep, “Hope Springs”. They were really cute in that. I like Jim Carey too. He was awesome in “I Love you Phillip Morris” more recently. I really like Howard Stern’s interviews because he always cuts out the fat.
‘… Phillip Morris’ is an outstanding film, & probably Carrey’s best performance. I think it’s a terrible shame that it’s not more widely known. But then, a large number of cinema-goers probably can’t sanction A-lister homosexuality with Ewan McGregor.
The Stern interview was interesting given Jim’s openness about his occasional issues with pot. As he said, not enough people talk about the potential to get into it a little too much.
We saw TLJ in a restaurant in San Antonio. He sat at the table right next to us. All of us were familiar with his “crusty” rep and his disdain for autograph/photograph seekers so none of us approached him. He just kept looking at one another and whispering, “That’s Tommy Lee Jones.”
I love Jim Carrey. What an awesome story. It’s one thing to know someone doesn’t like you, but to have them get up and tell you they can’t stand you as you just stop by a table to say high. Whoa. But it seems like he handled it well and harbors no bad feelings and can reflect on why without taking it too personally..
How is it even possible that Tommy Lee Jones is only 68?? Hasn’t he been 68 forever? ? Holy sh-te. That’s my takeaway. I loved TLJ in the movie with the cheerleaders, perfect crusty with gooey inside movie. And he was awesomesauce
As far as I’m concerned, TLJ can’t be mean enough to Jimbo. Can’t stand the guy. For years he’s been telling that same story. I’m sure his therapist has been suggesting that he just let it go, but no, he rants on and on… BTW, Tommy also called him a “cabaret performer”.
I am taking that TLJ quote and living it!! That and “Go f*ck a couch”. I am planning on using both of these at work tonight, because I know there are so many possible targets. Although I will be cremated , I may even put the buffoonery quote on my tiny replica Great Pyramid urn. In hieroglyphics. Yes, I have thought ahead.
I love TLJ. I too have a disdain for buffoonery. I’m not saying Carey has to be banned from the planet or anything, I’m just saying that I wouldn’t pretend to like him either.
(swoooooooon . . . ) I LOVE Jim Carrey!
Love this story! I’ve been a TLJ fan since the Fugitive. I saw it for Harrison Ford but ended up being really impressed with TLJ! I still liked the way he said, “I don’t care!” and the dog house, out house speech.
I like how Jim Carrey can tell the story without really dissing TLJ.
Jim is completely devoid of ego and I love him for that.
Captain Woodrow Call – that’s enough for me. “I hate rude behavior in a man. I won’t tolerate it. “
Tommy Lee Jones was probably just pissed that his dinner got interrupted. Word around San Antonio was that if, as a server, you spoke to him about anything other than his order, he would try to have you fired.
I like him as an actor, but he does not sound like someone I’d want to know personally.
Love them both. I thought Jim was very diplomatic but honest about the way he described the situation. And in TLJ’s defense he doesn’t have to like everyone.
The irony of this story is that most of the folks who go to Harvard would consider Tommy Lee to be a bit of of buffoon…
After all he was a football recruit at Harvard. Dumb. Jock. Then he graduates and goes into acting, which is just fine, but it’s certainly not scaling the heights of intellectual achievement or becoming a captain of industry or something, like some of his classmates have done.
Lol now I am thinking of that Saturday Night Live skit where the Unibomber attended his Harvard reunion in an orange jumpsuit and shackles and tried to get everyone’s business card.
The irony. What a jerk! Awesome post by the way. Totally looking at him differently. Has JC gotten on my nerves in the past however I can name very few movies I disliked by him. TLJ is grumpy old pretentious turd.
Tommy Lee I love you for this: ‘I hate you. I really don’t like you,’” and ‘I cannot sanction your buffoonery.’
JC is an unfunny bio-polar boob to me. I haven’t seen a movie he’s made in years.
I wonder then if Tommy Lee also liked Will Smith on the set of MIB.
That’s just mean. What’s the point?
Jim Carrey is one of the most humble and gracious celebrities I’ve ever had the pleasure of meeting, he engaged me and a few other fans and was so genuinely warm. And this was after I had already thought he was and is a phenomenal actor, I don’t know an actor who can do what he does and gives it his ALL and can go slapstick flawlessly like in Ace Ventura or Dumband Dumber op but at the same time, can blow a lot of other actors out of the water with his performances in Man on the Moon, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and The Truman Show. I have nothing but love for him and his brilliance. 🙂
“‘I cannot sanction your buffoonery.’”
Oh the people I’m going to say this to, can’t wait ha , ha hilarious!!
Love the both of them!
I know it’s not ever going to make the top movies of all time, but Jim was excellent in ‘How The Grinch Stole Christmas’. Not everyone could do a role like that. He is cool. I don’t even love those ‘Liar Liar’, ‘The Mask’ movies he churned out (although will forever love ‘Dumb & Dumber’ & ‘The Thurman Show’), but he makes me laugh the same way Will Ferrall does.