The “genius” director who slipped through Jim Carrey’s fingers: “I’m so excited”
Birds of a feather always flock together, a sentiment that can definitely be applied to the film industry and the many weirdos who find fellow weirdos to make weird art with.
Whether it be David Cronenberg and Viggo Mortensen, David Lynch and Laura Dern or Olivier Assayas and Kristen Stewart, there are many visionary creatives who are able to realise their vision through working with other people who operate on a similarly unconventional wavelength.
As a result, many of the most infamous auteurs are defined by the actors who have brought their wonderfully weird ideas to life, with one exception being Jim Carrey and his almost project with one director who might have been a perfect match.
Carrey has built a career on playing strange and heightened characters who are either defined by living in weird worlds or possessing odd characteristics that make them stick out in a normal world. Whether it be The Truman Show or The Grinch, the actor has forged a reputation for his ability to bring to life the most abnormal people/scenarios and doing so in a way that blends both comedy and drama.
However, the actor never quite got the chance to work with someone who could’ve been the cherry on top of his career, describing his excitement at the idea of working with Tim Burton after the announcement of his Ripley’s Believe It Or Not! movie, with Carrey being attached to star in the lead role of Robert Ripley.
The Jim Carrey and Tim Burton collaboration that never happened
However, while he might have been thrilled at the chance to work with him, the fabled union never came to fruition, with Carrey describing his excitement at the news before the project collapsed. When asked about what drew him to the project, the actor said, “Tim Burton. I’ve always wanted to work with Tim Burton. He’s a genius. I’m so excited about that. We met when I was in Paris”.
He added: “When you meet somebody you really admire, you’re so nervous and you think, ‘Gosh I wonder if he’ll like me, and I wonder if he’s somebody I’ll like,’ and we met and it was just immediately a great time. He’s just a great guy. I don’t think anybody can do the freaks better than he could! I’m going to be surrounded by a bunch of misfits in the movie, and I think it’ll be wonderful. I’m really looking forward to it”.
However, while it sounded like a great idea on paper, the project was eventually scrapped, with some describing creative differences between Carrey and Burton about the script and Burton’s vision, with additional concerns about the budget, which topped the $150 million mark.
Ultimately, the film never saw the light of day, and nobody else was brought in to replace Burton after he left, even though Chris Columbus and Eric Roth were entertained as options. It remains another project in the Hollywood graveyard of unmade stories, and given the rumours about these creative differences, who knows if Carrey would still be keen to work with Burton on something else.
