Chris Smith, Jim Carrey – Jim & Andy: the Great Beyond – the story of Jim Carrey & Andy Kaufman with a very special, contractually obligated mention of Tony Clifton #Venezia74

PODCAST | Angelo Acerbi interviews Chris Smith and Jim Carrey,  director and protagonist of the film Jim & Andy: the Great Beyond – the story of Jim Carrey & Andy Kaufman with a very special, contractually obligated mention of Tony Clifton.

FRED’s Chiara Nicoletti meets Jim Carrey and Chris Smith at the 74th Venice International Film Festival where they presented Jim & Andy: the Great Beyond – the story of Jim Carrey & Andy Kaufman with a very special, contractually obligated mention of Tony Clifton, a documentary-interview- confession the title of which only sums up the first intent of the film: to finally show the audience the behind the scenes documentary on the making of Man On The Moon (1999) by Milos Forman. The film starred Jim Carrey in the role of Andy Kaufmann and the actor somehow became so immersed in Andy’s character and his alter ego Tony Clifton that he felt his presence by his side for a long time after they were done filming. While guiding us on this trip through that moment in his life, Jim Carrey talks about the beginning of his career, the films that made him famous from The Mask to Dumb and Dumber  and also talk to us about his father. Thanks to the film, we long for Andy Kaufman but we finally meet the person hiding behind “the mask” of Jim Carrey.

Jim & Andy: the Great Beyond – the story of Jim Carrey & Andy Kaufman with a very special, contractually obligated mention of Tony Clifton: No one really knew what was real and not real half the time. I didn’t know what was real and not real, you just went with Andy and Tony and where ever their whim took you and the emotions often times were very real.” (Jim Carrey). In 1999 Milos Forman cast Jim Carrey to play cult comedian Andy Kaufman in his biopic Man on the Moon. What followed was an intensely bizarre and emotional film production. Surrounded by Kaufman’s friends and family on set, Carrey thoroughly “became” Andy and, alternately, Tony Clifton, Kaufman’s obnoxious lounge singer alter ego. Much like Kaufman’s comedy, Carrey’s acting took on a performance art quality during the film. He never broke character on set, the cast and the crew referred to him as either ‘Andy’ or ‘Tony’ depending on who he was embodying (he had created complete and separate identities for each). Jim Carrey earned critical acclaim and a Golden Globe for the performance, but many of the production’s most Kaufmanesque moments played out behind the scenes, thankfully captured on video by Andy’s former girlfriend, Lynne Margulies and former writing partner, Bob Zmuda. In Jim & Andy: the Great Beyond – the story of Jim Carrey & Andy Kaufman with a very special, contractually obligated mention of Tony Clifton, Carrey looks back at the resulting footage 18 years later, reflecting on how he and Andy came up in oddly parallel universes, his experience channeling Andy and Tony and more broadly the spiritual journey of his career.

 For the official page of the film on the festival website, click here.