So Spike Jonze could have won an Oscar 19 years earlier than he did — that’s what we’re hearing. While discussing their Man on the Moon behind-the-scenes documentary Jim & Andy: The Great Beyond at the Toronto International Film Festival, Jim Carrey lamented his decision to pass on a young, fresh-faced director by the name of Spike Jonze to direct the 1995 Ace Ventura sequel. (Jonze produced the new doc, however, which was just acquired by Netflix.)
“I’ve been wanting to do something with Spike forever,†the actor said of the Her director, according to ScreenCrush. “I was stupid enough to turn him down to direct Ace 2, ’cause I had no idea who he was. And he came in and pitched all kinds of shit, and he was about to take over the world and I didn’t know it. I was like, ‘I don’t know, this guy’s new.’ And I’ve been kicking myself ever since.†Considering the fact that When Nature Calls, which was eventually directed by The Nutty Professor screenwriter Steve Oedekerk, would go on to feature Carrey birthing himself nude from a mechanical rhinoceros vagina, you have to wonder: What “kinds of shit†was Spike Jonze pitching that even Jim Carrey had his doubts about it?