(Welcome to Tales from the Box Office, our column that examines box office miracles, disasters, and everything in between, as well as what we can learn from them.)
"If you went into a movie called 'Ace Ventura: Pet Detective' and you were doing the stuff I was doing in that movie, would you be expecting while you were doing that movie that it was going to be huge?" Jim Carrey asked this to radio shock-jock Howard Stern in 1994 shortly after the actor's movie opened unexpectedly atop the box office. Stern bluntly responded with "No" but it was, in fact, a monster hit. It was one of three such hits that Carrey would be a part of that year, making it one of arguably the best years that any actor has had — from a commercial standpoint — in history.
Yet, it all started with a movie that, as Stern pointed out,...
"If you went into a movie called 'Ace Ventura: Pet Detective' and you were doing the stuff I was doing in that movie, would you be expecting while you were doing that movie that it was going to be huge?" Jim Carrey asked this to radio shock-jock Howard Stern in 1994 shortly after the actor's movie opened unexpectedly atop the box office. Stern bluntly responded with "No" but it was, in fact, a monster hit. It was one of three such hits that Carrey would be a part of that year, making it one of arguably the best years that any actor has had — from a commercial standpoint — in history.
Yet, it all started with a movie that, as Stern pointed out,...
- 2/3/2024
- by Ryan Scott
- Slash Film
Danny Trejo was honored by Los Angeles drug and alcohol treatment center Cri-Help Friday night during its 50th anniversary drive-in celebration at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, Calif.
The “Desperado” actor, who has been sober for nearly 53 years, was presented with the inaugural Vanguard Award for his work and advocacy of the recovery community by his filmmaker son, Gilbert Trejo. “Everything from Aug. 23, 1968 to now is just like a dream,” Danny Trejo told Variety, referring to his sobriety date. “I’ve got nothing to complain about. I’ve got nothing to fix.”
He has been involved with Cri-Help since it first opened. “You get to see moms who should never be near a kid become soccer moms and drive a minivan,” the actor said. “You see dads who you’d think would still be in prison coaching little league baseball teams. Cri-Help is really one of God’s tools.”
Driving...
The “Desperado” actor, who has been sober for nearly 53 years, was presented with the inaugural Vanguard Award for his work and advocacy of the recovery community by his filmmaker son, Gilbert Trejo. “Everything from Aug. 23, 1968 to now is just like a dream,” Danny Trejo told Variety, referring to his sobriety date. “I’ve got nothing to complain about. I’ve got nothing to fix.”
He has been involved with Cri-Help since it first opened. “You get to see moms who should never be near a kid become soccer moms and drive a minivan,” the actor said. “You see dads who you’d think would still be in prison coaching little league baseball teams. Cri-Help is really one of God’s tools.”
Driving...
- 5/16/2021
- by Marc Malkin
- Variety Film + TV
Ninety-five members of the Writers Guild of America have signed a letter sent to the guild’s board of directors urging that it divest from gun companies and any companies that support the NRA.
The letter, sent to the Board Tuesday, warns “Gun violence enabled by the ready availability of military grade weapons, has become one of the biggest threats to the safety and security of the American people.” The letter continues, “We urge the WGA and the WGA Pension Plan to divest of all stocks of any gun or ammunition manufacturer, and any company that provides material support to the gun industry lobbying organization called The National Rifle Association, whether through donations, deductions or other means (e.g. Federal Express), until such time as sensible national gun reform legislation is passed.”
It is signed by 95 members of both WGA West and WGA East.
You can read the letter in...
The letter, sent to the Board Tuesday, warns “Gun violence enabled by the ready availability of military grade weapons, has become one of the biggest threats to the safety and security of the American people.” The letter continues, “We urge the WGA and the WGA Pension Plan to divest of all stocks of any gun or ammunition manufacturer, and any company that provides material support to the gun industry lobbying organization called The National Rifle Association, whether through donations, deductions or other means (e.g. Federal Express), until such time as sensible national gun reform legislation is passed.”
It is signed by 95 members of both WGA West and WGA East.
You can read the letter in...
- 4/4/2018
- by Denise Petski
- Deadline Film + TV
It's easy to forget that, two decades ago, Jim Carrey was just a talented TV sketch comedian who'd been trying for a decade to break into films. (Remember his roles in "Peggy Sue Got Married," "The Dead Pool," or "Earth Girls Are Easy"? Didn't think so.) But then came "Ace Ventura: Pet Detective" (released 20 years ago this week, on February 4, 1994), in which Carrey starred as a hyperactive sleuth tasked with finding the Miami Dolphins' kidnapped mascot, and suddenly, he was an A-list box office draw.
Critics didn't think much of the puerile Ace, whose favorite gag was talking through his butt cheeks. But audiences loved him, enough to make Carrey an overnight star after 10 years of trying, and enough to put the film on permanent rotation on basic cable for the next 20 years.
Still, as many times as you've seen "Ace Ventura," there's probably a lot you don't know about...
Critics didn't think much of the puerile Ace, whose favorite gag was talking through his butt cheeks. But audiences loved him, enough to make Carrey an overnight star after 10 years of trying, and enough to put the film on permanent rotation on basic cable for the next 20 years.
Still, as many times as you've seen "Ace Ventura," there's probably a lot you don't know about...
- 2/4/2014
- by Gary Susman
- Moviefone
Royal Pains, which stars Mark Feuerstein as the go-to Hamptons “doctor for hire”, has cast Frances Conroy (American Horror Story, Six Feet Under) in a multi-episode story arc for Season 5 of the USA Network series. She will star as Blythe Ballard, a member of the Hamptons “royalty” who lives in the estate next to Hank (Feuerstein) and Evan’s (Paulo Costanzo) residence, Shadow Pond. Also cast are Callum Blue (Smallville, The Tudors) in a recurring role and Stephen Bishop (Moneyball), Kevin Kilner (House Of Cards), and Liza Lapira (Don’t Trust the B— In Apartment 23) in guest-starring roles. Ben Shenkman has been upped to regular for the show’s 13-episode fifth season, which is set to premiere in the summer. Season 5 production began last week. It moves to Savannah, Ga, then internationally before returning to its Brooklyn and Long Island home base. The Universal Cable Prods-produced series is written...
- 3/26/2013
- by THE DEADLINE TEAM
- Deadline TV
'Ace Ventura'
With his roving eyes, overactive mouth, less-than-extraordinary gifts of mimicry and goofy way of moving rhythmically, comic Jim Carrey looks like he's having a swell time in his first starring role. Too bad the movie, "Ace Ventura: Pet Detective", is as much fun to watch as cleaning up after a dog in the park.
Fans of Carrey's "In Living Color" characters Fire Marshall Bill and Vera De Milo will give the Warner Bros. release whatever opening weekend treats it can beg from the marketplace.
But even with a pro football angle, plenty of cuddly animals, smirky in-jokes about movies and such unlikely co-stars as Miami Dolphins quarterback Dan Marino and Sean Young, the comedy will be straying out of theaters faster than Emmitt Smith with the ball and an open path to the goal.
Equal parts Ernest and Max Headroom, Ace Ventura (Carrey) lives in a Florida apartment with a menagerie of fowls and furry creatures, drives an aging muscle car with reckless abandon, out-thinks crooks and cops and makes love with woman-pleasing endurance. The plot, such as it is, concerns Ace's taking on the case of a dolphin-napping in the weeks before the Miami Dolphins are to play in the Super Bowl.
First the dolphin mascot, then quarterback Marino is nabbed, and team marketing director Melissa (Courteney Cox) gets nowhere with local police forces headed by hard-nosed Einhorn (Young). But with the help of lame ''Jaws, '' ''The Crying Game'' and ''The Silence of the Lambs'' shticks, Ventura unearths the truth -- something to do with a missed field goal and a former player who obsessively hates Marino.
Relying on juvenile anti-gay jokes, cartoonish misogyny, a belligerent talking anus routine and the 10-millionth ''Star Trek'' spoof for its biggest laughs, the film's screenplay is negligible. Co-writer Carrey and director/co-writer Tom Shadyac took original writer Jack Bernstein's pet detective script and made it their own.
First-time director Shadyac relies entirely on Carrey's persona and presence to make the material work. Any time the plot calls for routine cinematic exposition, the film barely wags its tail. Marino and the entire football angle are laughable in none of the ways intended.
ACE VENTURA: PET DETECTIVE
Warner Bros.
James G. Robinson Presents
A Morgan Creek Production
Director Tom Shadyac
Producer James G. Robinson
Screenplay Jack Bernstein, Tom Shadyac, Jim Carrey
Story Jack Bernstein
Executive producer Gary Barber
Director of photography Julio Macat
Production designer William Elliott
Editor Don Zimmerman
Music Ira Newborn
Casting Mary Jo Slater
Color/stereo
Cast:
Ace Ventura Jim Carrey
Melissa Courteney Cox
Einhorn Sean Young
Emilio Tone Loc
Dan Marino Dan Marino
Riddle Noble Willingham
Running time -- 81 minutes
MPAA rating: PG-13
(c) The Hollywood Reporter...
Fans of Carrey's "In Living Color" characters Fire Marshall Bill and Vera De Milo will give the Warner Bros. release whatever opening weekend treats it can beg from the marketplace.
But even with a pro football angle, plenty of cuddly animals, smirky in-jokes about movies and such unlikely co-stars as Miami Dolphins quarterback Dan Marino and Sean Young, the comedy will be straying out of theaters faster than Emmitt Smith with the ball and an open path to the goal.
Equal parts Ernest and Max Headroom, Ace Ventura (Carrey) lives in a Florida apartment with a menagerie of fowls and furry creatures, drives an aging muscle car with reckless abandon, out-thinks crooks and cops and makes love with woman-pleasing endurance. The plot, such as it is, concerns Ace's taking on the case of a dolphin-napping in the weeks before the Miami Dolphins are to play in the Super Bowl.
First the dolphin mascot, then quarterback Marino is nabbed, and team marketing director Melissa (Courteney Cox) gets nowhere with local police forces headed by hard-nosed Einhorn (Young). But with the help of lame ''Jaws, '' ''The Crying Game'' and ''The Silence of the Lambs'' shticks, Ventura unearths the truth -- something to do with a missed field goal and a former player who obsessively hates Marino.
Relying on juvenile anti-gay jokes, cartoonish misogyny, a belligerent talking anus routine and the 10-millionth ''Star Trek'' spoof for its biggest laughs, the film's screenplay is negligible. Co-writer Carrey and director/co-writer Tom Shadyac took original writer Jack Bernstein's pet detective script and made it their own.
First-time director Shadyac relies entirely on Carrey's persona and presence to make the material work. Any time the plot calls for routine cinematic exposition, the film barely wags its tail. Marino and the entire football angle are laughable in none of the ways intended.
ACE VENTURA: PET DETECTIVE
Warner Bros.
James G. Robinson Presents
A Morgan Creek Production
Director Tom Shadyac
Producer James G. Robinson
Screenplay Jack Bernstein, Tom Shadyac, Jim Carrey
Story Jack Bernstein
Executive producer Gary Barber
Director of photography Julio Macat
Production designer William Elliott
Editor Don Zimmerman
Music Ira Newborn
Casting Mary Jo Slater
Color/stereo
Cast:
Ace Ventura Jim Carrey
Melissa Courteney Cox
Einhorn Sean Young
Emilio Tone Loc
Dan Marino Dan Marino
Riddle Noble Willingham
Running time -- 81 minutes
MPAA rating: PG-13
(c) The Hollywood Reporter...
- 1/31/1994
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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