Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1468810
32 C I N E M O N T A G E F E A T U R E Sascha Stanton-Craven: It feels like you're a part of the hangout, that you're there with them as they're trying these things out, trying to one up each other, coming up with new stupider things to do. The stunt or prank is the centerpiece. But if that's all it is, it feels airless. The more you feel their dynamic, messing with each other, the more life it has. That alchemy makes it work. And them not wanting to do it, pressuring each other to do it—all of that. It has to be genuine. And to your point about character, there are things which are like, "That's so Steve-O." Or Pontius is sort of the guy who wraps things up with funny quips. They're themselves but know their roles in some way. So it's bringing all those things out in a way that feels organic—which is easy, because it is. CineMontage: With so much footage, how are you making decisions? M a t t K o s i n s k i : T h e r e 's a m i l l i o n different ways you can take a bit, and Jeff [Tremaine] gives us a lot of leeway in our first cuts to interpret the footage before he, [Johnny] Knoxville and Spike [Jonze] come in. Not having a lot of guidance at the beginning keeps it fresh for me so I can have that sense of play before we start shaping it based on what the producers feel like the scene needs and what the movie needs—at certain point, these scenes need to work together and feel cohesive. Matt Probst: You don't want to see someone execute a perfect stunt in "Jack- ass." What works best is when it doesn't work. You need to show the process of the stunt, the different elements, and the fail. So part of it is telling that story within the bit itself. And we can always condense or expand on it because they're always rolling. CineMontage: Sascha, this was your first "Jackass" project. How did you get schooled in "Jackass"? Sascha Stanton-Craven: There is a thought-out aesthetic to the entire thing. I learned you need to preserve the feeling of it happening in real time. That's much more effective and compelling than trying to get in as many great bits as possible. That component of being part of the hangout was a revelation I had halfway through. Your first pass at a bit is, fundamentally, is this going to be funny or not? Is there something here? Once you have the bit, then it's, what's the right way to play it? There were bits that felt airless at first: setup, stunt, we're done. With those, it was about roughing them up, opening them up. One example is the testicle speed bag bit with the boxing gloves. Initially it was just that: you see the model set, the gloves go in and punch the testicles. Then you pull out, you see Preston there in pain, and that's it. It was a great visual but it felt like, is that the whole thing? So, we went back in, thought, They did do multiple takes of this. Why don't we have that be part of the narrative of this bit? So we put in Jeff saying, "We got to go again," Preston having to ramp him- self up with Knoxville just thinking it's the funniest thing in the world. They definitely got the shot the first time, so seeing Jeff wanting to do it again, just to do it again, became the emotional architecture of the bit. And that's "the hangout" right there. CineMontage: It's the character element that separates "Jackass" from "Ameri- ca's Funniest Home Videos." Matt Probst: Absolutely. That's what gives it its longevity. "Jackass" is about the two minutes before the stunt, and the two minutes after, and the two minutes within. It's not about the stunt. It's about the people doing the stunts. We're in the world of competing with YouTube and TikTok and any viral video, too. But you want to follow these same guys for 20 years because you have gotten to know them and they have personalities. Matt Kosinski: The Triple Wedgie bit could have been cut with the two guys jump- ing down, Wee Man gets the wedgie and we're out. But what makes it work is seeing them joke about the grimy mattresses that everyone has to land on and speculating, "Where did we even get this, the garbage dump?" And Knoxville asking Zach if he's afraid of heights and Zach saying he's terri- fied of heights. It's all the texture and detail you're not getting in "America's Funniest Home Videos." Matt Probst: There's always a peanut gallery on set. If someone's not in the bit, they're in the bit because they're there watching, laughing along with the audience at home. We create the atmosphere by the guys being there and watching their friends going through it together. Sascha Stanton- Craven: They 're a tribe and, if we do our jobs right, you feel like you are in the group, having a fun time with them. They're also all professional showmen. They understand how to elevate something to get what is elemental or fundamentally fun or stupid or silly about it. Knoxville makes the best ringleader because he is so good at drawing that out of other people, at being the narrator for the entire thing, where he's both in the thing, but also giving perspective to it. It's really elegant. It's his natural instincts. He almost has an editor's perspective. CineMontage: Why are we so willing to watch people get hit in the crotch over and over and over … and over? Matt Kosinski: It's primal and we're tapping into that. You can show "Jackass" to a caveman, and the caveman will laugh about it. But as we've talked about, it's mak- ing sure that we're adding these character details and that the audience is invested in these guys. You do care more about watch- ing these guys get hit in the nuts for some reason, rather than the random YouTube guy. It's the friendship that makes that work. They're doing it to each other and they're laughing and that's part of the magic. But it is nut hits, farts ... These are all timelessly funny. Sascha Stanton-Craven: And there's a celebration of how stupid it is and how much work is being put into it. That is part of the joy. CineMontage: Not to intellectualize "Jackass," but I mean, what is it? It feels like an attitude to me. Matt Probst: It's a little punk rock. I think there's a chaos about it that comes o u t o f t h e s c r e e n . T h e y ' r e r e b e l l i n g . You're just not exactly sure what they're rebelling about. SEE PAGE 60