Jim Carrey Loves Andy Kaufman

To say Jim Carrey likes Andy Kaufman would be an understatement. Carrey, 55, loves Kaufman, who pushed the envelope more than any other comedian of the twentieth century. Kaufmans act was, to put it mildly, bizarre. He took sleeping bags onstage. He ate breakfast onstage. He donned a bad wig, sunglasses, and spirit-gummed a large mustache on his face and then, as the grisly persona of Tony Cliftonthe character was that of a burned-out, rum-guzzling and cigarette-breathing lounge lizardmercilessly berated his audiences.

To Mr. Carrey, Andy Kaufman was more than just a comedian. He was the anti-comedian.

On September 5th, a documentary featuring Carrey Jim & Andy: The Great Beyond The Story of Jim Carrey & Andy Kaufman Featuring a Very Special, Contractually Obligated Mention of Tony Clifton debuts at the Venice Film Festival.

The documentary showcases precious behind-the-scenes footage of Jim Carrey as the late comedian Andy Kaufman, never once breaking character.

The true author of the project is Andy and his genius, the fact that he committed so completely to what he did, really made that possible and made it essential for me to lose myself, said Carrey in a recent interview with the Hollywood Reporter. I dont feel like I made the film at all. I feel like Andy made the film.

Many would agree with Carreys assessment. I can tell you with absolute certainty that I never worked with Jim Carrey [on the set of Man on the Moon]. Never worked worked with him. I have only worked with Andy Kaufman, and Tony Clifton and Latka Gravas. I have never once worked with Jim Carrey on the set, said Man on the Moon director Milos Forman.

Said actor Judd Hirsch of his experience with working with Carrey in the 1999 biopic: The great thing about working on this movie is you dont have to pretend Andy is on the set. This guy, Jim Carrey, is Andy. He really has done an enormous amount of homework.

Since the dawn of the new millennium, theres been a resurgence of interest in Andy Kaufman. In 2004, Kaufmans longtime friend and partner-in-crime in comedy Bob Zmuda created a show at the House of Blues in Los Angeles Andy Kaufman: Dead or Alive, in which Kaufman himself was supposed to make an appearance. In 2008 filmmaker Christopher Maloneys The Death of Andy Kaufman was released. In 2018, Larry Charles (co-writer of Seinfeld/director of Borat) will be releasing an untitled Kaufman documentary. Also to be released in the not-so-distant future is Kaufman Lives, by British filmmaker John Lundberg (Mirage Men).

I hope the documentary with Carrey someday soon sees the light of day for us non-film festival goers. I also am looking forward to the documentaries; not just because Im in one of them.

But because like Mr. Carrey, I too, love Andy Kaufman.