Jim Carrey and Zooey Deschanel Interview, Yes Man

Just say YES! MoviesOnline sat down with Jim Carrey and Zooey Deschanel to talk about their new film, “Yes Man,” directed by Peyton Reed (“The Break-Up,” “Bring It On”) from a screenplay by Nicholas Stoller and Jarrad Paul & Andrew Mogel, based on the book by Danny Wallace.

"Yes Man" stars Jim Carrey as Carl Allen, a guy whose life is going nowhere--the operative word being "no"--until he signs up for a self-help program based on one simple covenant: say "yes" to everything...and anything. Unleashing the power of "YES" begins to transform Carl's life in amazing and unexpected ways, getting him promoted at work and opening the door to a new romance with the free-spirited Allison (Deschanel). But his willingness to embrace every opportunity might just become too much of a good thing.

"Yes Man" also stars Bradley Cooper ("Wedding Crashers"), John Michael Higgins ("Fred Claus") and Terence Stamp ("Get Smart"). Rounding out the cast are Rhys Darby, Danny Masterson, Fionnula Flanagan, Sasha Alexander, Molly Sims, Brent Briscoe, Rocky Carroll, John Cothran and Spencer Garrett.

Deschanel describes her character, “She is cool. She’s in a band, she paints and she takes photographs. She’s very creative and spontaneous. She’s sort of naturally the way that Carl is striving to be.” Carrey describes love interest Allison as “quite a conundrum, inside an enigma, wrapped in an odyssey. The romantic element to the movie is so important, because one of the greatest things in life you can say yes to is love, so you want that chemistry to work. Zooey has such a wonderful, sweet, human quality, and at the same time she’s quirky and original.”

Jim Carrey and Zooey Deschanel are hilarious in “Yes Man.” Here’s what they had to tell us about their new movie:

MoviesOnline:   Zooey, I enjoyed the music, it was a lot of fun, and I understand you had something to do with the lyrics...

ZOOEY DESCHANEL:  And the music.

MoviesOnline:   Was it fun working with some girls for a change? What was the dynamic like working and did you enjoy the music?

ZOOEY DESCHANEL:  Yeah, I usually write music alone, so it was fun to write with other people, and all those girls are so great and so talented, and funny and smart. It was a fun process, because we had a week to rehearse. Van Iva is the name of the band. So I just joined their band for a week, and it was really fun.

JIM CARREY:  She blew us away with that stuff. We weren't expecting that. 

ZOOEY DESCHANEL:  Stop!

JIM CARREY:  We were there on the set. It was just like “What? Fantastic!” We loved it.

MoviesOnline: Jim, a lot of us got to see you do the bungee jump, so we witnessed that it really was you. In retrospect, what did you think of the jump, what was going on in your mind then and what do you think about it now?

JIM CARREY:  Death, death, a lot of thoughts of death.  You know, thoughts of crossing over (laughter) were actually going through my mind.  It was very strange. It was like “Well, they do this all the time, this is no big [deal], they’ve got this down, it's no problem,” and then I got to the bridge, and that was intense enough.  I went, “Oh my god, what have I done?  What am I doing here?”  But when I got my feet up on the ledge, it literally was like a freight train going through my veins, through my entire body, the whole time until I jumped and everything.  It was insane, it was insane, it was unbelievable.  And it made me realize -- I actually had post traumatic stress after it.  (laughter)  For about a week after it, I dreamt of hitting the ground, all those things, it was amazing.  So those people that do that all the time, they are addicted to some kind of an adrenaline rush like you would not believe, because they just can’t stop.

MoviesOnline:   When you were swinging upside down, you had this thing with the cell phone, was that all one jump or did you have a reset of some sort?

JIM CARREY:  No, I did it in one jump.  I'm always trying to complicate things. For some reason, like at the last second, I'll go, “Well, maybe I can get that in,” and stuff like that.  I always make it really hard for myself, so I had to make a little Styrofoam phone so it wouldn't hit me in the lip or something, but I put it in the pocket and they said, “You're not going to do the scene when you get to the bottom there,” and I went, “No, I'll do the scene.”  (laughter)  So I gave it a shot and I did it.  Once I knew I was alive, I was fine.  (laughter)

MoviesOnline:   Would you jump again?

JIM CARREY:  No.  I did that, crossed it off the list.  (laughter)  They didn't want me to do it at all and I said, “Well, I'm going to do it once in my life so you might as well get it on camera.” 

MoviesOnline:   Jim, when you look back at your own life, have you been mostly a yes man or a no man over the years?

JIM CARREY:  I would say yes, even when I say no (laughter), because sometimes saying no is saying yes to your own self worth.  You know what I'm saying?  (laughter)  I like to enjoy life, I like to engage in life, so I would say I'm a yes man.  I said yes to so many things, from a sex change to gastric by-pass surgery (laughter), so it's always paid off for me.  (laughter)  I've kept the weight off.  (laughter) I have, I work hard at it. 

MoviesOnline:   You're a very positive guy, was it hard to make fun of a philosophy you personally subscribe to?  You believe in the power of positive thinking. 

JIM CARREY:  Yeah, no, everything can be made fun of.  The most serious things are ripe for making fun of them. I have spiritual beliefs that I could literally go out and make an entire comedy routine about, and tour as some sort of spiritual guru, but it kind of goes against that [as] I actually believe the things, so I'm always kind of caught in the middle. 

ZOOEY DESCHANEL:  Humor is a part of spirituality.

JIM CARREY:  That is true.  We must laugh at ourselves.  Yes.  I had no trouble at all. 

MoviesOnline:   Zooey, the scenes at Spaceland were very cool, were you consulted at all in getting the culture of the indie rock scene in Los Angeles just right?

ZOOEY DESCHANEL:  Was I consulted? It wasn't so hard.  Yeah, I mean, I'm in a band myself and I write music and I do go to see shows a lot, and so it wasn't really that -- I don't know, it wasn't too much of stretch for me.  (laughs)

MoviesOnline:   Jim, a lot of your movies have really great messages, what do you want people to walk away with after they’ve seen this movie?

JIM CARREY:  You know, mostly just to have a good laugh and to feel good in their heart.  I think it's not only a funny movie, but I think you really believe the love story and the friendships and so I think there's a lot to walk away with, but I guess the only thing is, if there is a message, it's just engage in life, you know, say yes more than you do no, maybe a little bit more than you did before, and life kind of turns out all right.  Usually you regret the things you say no to. 

MoviesOnline:   Given the current state of things, we’re either in a recession or a depression and you’re playing a liberal loan officer...

JIM CARREY:  I'm not in a recession.  (laughter)  I'm doing very, very well.  I'm doing incredibly well. (laughter)  I just want to be honest.  I really am kicking ass.  (laughter) 

MoviesOnline:   The movie going public might have to face a recession at the very least.

JIM CARREY:  You know what?  I believe in them, and I believe that they can create their reality, and that weekend they're going to go, “You know what, there is no recession, there is no problem, I'm going to spend my money, I'm going to go in there, and I'm going to walk out with a smile on my face and say yes to life as is.”  (laughter)  How's that?

MoviesOnline:   Given that climate, is that going to affect the choices you make?  Is this a good time to make comedies?

JIM CARREY:  This is what comedy is about.  To laugh at the pain, laugh at the confusion, whatever, I mean, you need it.  Comedy is always welcomed, but especially in times like this.  It's like, what else do you want to do?  You want to have something positive happen in your life.  I think this is it.  This is the answer to everything.  (laughter) Yes Man is the answer. 

ZOOEY DESCHANEL:  Yes it is, yes.  I think the best comedies came out during the depression, personally.

JIM CARREY: And musicals. 

MoviesOnline:   Have you guys ever said no in the past, and looking back now, especially after this movie, did you kind of regret it?

ZOOEY DESCHANEL:  It's exhausting I think to just say really yes to everything for real, even if you do it for a day.

MoviesOnline: Have you done it?

ZOOEY DESCHANEL: No.

MoviesOnline: Jim, you've had a few dark roles recently and this is like a throwback to a silly Jim Carrey comedy, how does it feel to be doing that kind of movie again?

JIM CARREY:  I like doing everything, I love it all, so it's just being creative.  I just like being creative, whatever way I have to do it. I just want to tell stories, it's really the storytelling aspect that's great, but it's always fun to do something that you know ultimately is not about the money, and it's certainly not the fame because it's a pain in the ass, but it's really the person in the seat you think about when you sit in the rooms and write, and you do all the things you have to do. It really comes down to thinking about someone sitting in a seat laughing, and that's it when you do a movie like this. It's really that that gets me off, the idea of people actually laughing and maybe having something to think about when they leave the theatre. 

MoviesOnline:   Jim, there's a quote attributed to you in the press notes with respect to this character where you say that you've been there yourself at times in your life, that you know exactly where he's coming from.  Can you amplify that comment?

JIM CARREY:  Well, I go in and out of shut-in.  My social life goes in bursts, where I get like, “Oh, I gotta get out and do something, man, I gotta do something.” And I'll plan a trip and go on a motorcycle trip down the Baja [Peninsula] for 900 miles and I'll hang out with my friends for like a month, and then they'll never see me for two months or three months or whatever, and I won't answer any calls.  I go back and forth, you know, so it's just kind of a see-saw effect, but I need both.  And I don't think I'm ever going to have the kind of life or schedule that I can really have a steady way of doing things.  You know, sometimes I get real busy and all I want to do is hide when I get home, and sometimes I'm not so busy, and I want to reach out to friends and stuff.  So I’m different things, but I understand this character definitely.  It was my idea to do the dead guy on the couch.  (laughs)  That's kind of my own way of looking at myself sometimes, yeah, dying alone.  (laughs)

MoviesOnline:   What's the stupidest thing you’ve ever said yes to that you're willing to admit to?

JIM CARREY:  It was the Sea Cadets for me.  I was like 11 years old and I joined the Sea Cadets, which is like a military version of Boy Scouts, and they shave your head and they humiliate you, and they yell at you and they parade you around in front of the rest of the people you know in the town, and you parade around with this uniform on.  But, you know what? If I hadn't done that, I wouldn't know that I'm a useless maggot.  (laughter)  So I'm glad.  So, yes always leads to something good. 

ZOOEY DESCHANEL:  I accidentally entered a youth pageant when I was 14.  That's like a beauty pageant, but without the beauty.  (laughter)  It was terrible. 

MoviesOnline:   What do you mean accidentally?

ZOOEY DESCHANEL:  I thought it was a talent show.  My choir teacher led me on. 

JIM CARREY:  Then like a fetus should win that.

ZOOEY DESCHANEL:  Yes. 

JIM CARREY:  It's a youth pageant.

ZOOEY DESCHANEL:  Yeah, it's true. 

JIM CARREY:  Then it should be the youngest one.  It should just be a handkerchief (laughter) wins the competition.  That's horrible.  (laughter)

MoviesOnline:   Jim, your character plays guitar and sings sometimes and also speaks Korean fluently, how difficult was the preparation and which attraction, like rollerblading, or jumping, or playing guitar or speaking Korean, do you regret saying yes to for this project?

JIM CARREY:  (laughs)  Well I never said I regret doing this project.  (laughs)  Well, maybe there were a couple of moments.  The Korean, I just picked that up on the set the day of, I just picked that up.  (laughter)  I just hung out with a couple of Korean people on the set and that was it, I just did it, I just riffed.  (laughter)  No, actually it took about (laughs) four weeks of studying it phonetically every day.  It was so difficult, it was one of the hardest things I've ever done in my life, to study Korean phonetically to get it down, and then to have a Korean coach who literally is afraid to go back to Korea if I get it wrong.  (laughter)  He's telling me, “No, no, no, this is serious.  Seriously, I will be hurt.”  (laughter)  And so I hope I got it right, but yeah, he was on me pretty hard.  It took awhile, it took awhile, but I'm dedicated, I'm really dedicated. 

MoviesOnline:   In this film, both of your characters are very into doing spontaneous, romantic things. What's the most spontaneous, romantic thing you have done with a love interest?

JIM CARREY:  Everything I do is carefully planned…and done by committee.  (laughs)

MoviesOnline:   Zooey, what was it like having to keep up the energy with Jim?  Your character’s energy is so up and positive, and then it's against him who's so big, what was that like for you?

ZOOEY DESCHANEL:  Well, it's so fun to work with Jim because he's so fun, and I just used fun twice in a sentence.  That would be like, “Nice job, Zooey.”  (laughter)  He's so fun and fun, totally fun, (laughter). 

JIM CARREY:  Think of something.  Hurry!

ZOOEY DESCHANEL:  But yeah, it's very contagious, and the fun (laughter) is very contagious. 

MoviesOnline:   So, were there any days where you came in, you were like just...?

ZOOEY DESCHANEL:  It was always delightful (laughter) and it was always amusing on set, so it was pretty (laughter)…  It's hard to answer this question, because I'm just getting mocked at every turn.  But no, it was wonderful and I'm a pretty energetic person myself. It's always good I think in general to have different energies on screen, like it's nice to have different characters go at different speeds, just like different people work at different speeds and...

JIM CARREY:  Yeah, if we were the same person, it would be a drag, it would, and it wouldn't be attractive for her at all (laughter), but it was nice because she's a completely different kind of tone than me. So it was great, and our characters really worked well off each other, I thought.

ZOOEY DESCHANEL:  It was really fun. 

JIM CARREY:  Yeah, it was fun, (laughter) but I think also you really believe it, you know, you believe the relationship at that certain point when we're in the barn and we have that moment. You really kind of accept it and you can see why they love each other. 

MoviesOnline:   What are your plans for the holidays and what sort of Christmas gifts are you giving considering these tough economic times?

JIM CARREY:  I'm bailing out the economy.  (laughter)  No one's getting anything.  Isn't that enough, to bail out the economy?  No one should buy anything.

ZOOEY DESCHANEL:  I'm going to bake things. I'm going to buy some flour and some sugar.  I'm a fan of making bar cookies and brownies.  Well actually for Thanksgiving I made toffee bit brownies, they had toffee bits in them and roasted almonds.  I didn't actually eat them, but they were good, according to everybody else. 

MoviesOnline:   We see your characters body blading in roller buggy suits with inline skate wheels over the end credits. Did either one of you give any thought to doing any part of that extreme sport yourselves?

ZOOEY DESCHANEL:  Absolutely not, for me.

JIM CARREY:  I tried, (laughs) I tried, man.  Well I stood in the suit really well...

ZOOEY DESCHANEL:  Me not so well...

JIM CARREY:  And I tried to get one shot.  It's just literally the shot where I'm leaving frame and I first hit the deck and we did a shot where I went probably about 40 feet (laughs).  And it was terrifying, I mean, it was so terrifying, it was ridiculous, out of control. I don't know how this guy does it...

ZOOEY DESCHANEL:  Yeah, Jean Yves Blondeau, he's kind of a master at his sport.  He made it up. 

JIM CARREY:  He's unbelievable.  I saw it on the internet, that's how it got in the movie.  I'm watching this rocket man that goes down the French Alps at 70 miles an hour, he's passing motorcycles, and things like that.  People in cars are going “Whaah!” (laughter) and whiplash and it was the coolest thing I ever saw.  So, I said, “We gotta get these suits.  We've gotta do this.”  (laughs)  And it was so terrifying...

ZOOEY DESCHANEL:  Terrifying.

JIM CARREY:  I mean, you almost went off the cliff at one point.

ZOOEY DESCHANEL:  To stand up on that hill, just like on roller blades, was terrifying.  Like I can't imagine being on...

JIM CARREY:  Yeah.  Did you ever try to stop on roller blades going downhill?  I mean, it was just insane and your chin is this close to the ground, it's like, it's really hard not to brake with it. 

MoviesOnline:   What hill were you on?  Where were you?

ZOOEY DESCHANEL:  We were up in Malibu, in Decker Canyon.

JIM CARREY:  23rd Junction. 

ZOOEY DESCHANEL:  Okay.

JIM CARREY:  GPS off. 

MoviesOnline: Jim, in the beginning, your character says no to everything.  Why do you think he gets to that point?  And, if you were to give advice to someone who was romantically down in the dumps, what would you tell them to do?

JIM CARREY:  Kill yourself.  (laughter)  Eat a ton of sweets and take your life.  (laughter)  All right, option two.  Let's go with option two.  I would say hang in there, invite some people over, (laughter) and I don't know, I think the devil works for God, that's my concept.  The bad times are supposed to force you into actually getting out of your shell and going out into the world and making friendships and having love.  You know, he's been through some hell, but he got to that place, so I guess those times in your life force you to become a better person. 

MoviesOnline: Zooey, when you first meet him, your character impulsively kisses him.  Would you advise someone to do that? 

ZOOEY DESCHANEL:  You mean to make out with somebody that you just met?  Absolutely not.  No.  (laughter)  I mean, it's a great idea.  What I mean to say is, yes.  (laughter)

JIM CARREY:  So you've never done that, you've never kissed somebody when you first met them? 

ZOOEY DESCHANEL:  No.

JIM CARREY:  You've never like grabbed some guy and said “I saw you and I just had to have you”?  (laughter)

ZOOEY DESCHANEL:  No.  (to Jim) Have you done that?

JIM CARREY:  I've never grabbed a guy and told him that I have to have him (laughter) except on camera. 

MoviesOnline:   Of all the scenes on set, which one was the hardest to get through? Was it the bar fight scene or where you slip in the restaurant?

JIM CARREY:  Well it looked so planned and staged, it's that McLintock and stuff and then you got to sometimes just damn the torpedoes.  I broke my ribs. 

ZOOEY DESCHANEL:  And you were amazingly good natured about it.  I came in the next day after that happened and you were like, “I cracked them,”   (laughs) and then you'd laugh and then you'd be like, “Ow!” 

JIM CARREY:  Yeah, they just had to take all the physical stuff and stick it to the end of the movie, because I had three fractured ribs. 

ZOOEY DESCHANEL:  But it did not slow you down at all.

JIM CARREY:  Not really.

“Yes Man” opens in theaters on December 19th.