The Farrelly Brothers, who had just wrapped Dumb And Dumber at the time, declined the opportunity to direct the film, for instance, through a mix of scheduling – they were prepping the terrific Kingpin at the time – and feeling the material wasn’t quite for them. He wasn’t the only candidate in contention. He was given director approval and settled on Tom DeCerchio to make his directorial debut. And with his new superstar status came fresh influence. That’s a film worth an article in its own right.Īce Ventura: When Nature Calls had an overall budget of $30 million, and Carrey had been allocated half of that. Just a few months later, incidentally, Carrey would become the first actor to receive $20 million up front for a single film role, for taking on the title part in The Cable Guy. That was at the suggestion of Carrey’s friend, Steve Oedekerk, and Morgan Creek quickly paid up. Carrey was in a much stronger negotiating position this time around, and as a consequence, he took advice and asked for a $15 million payday. It thus put the wheels in motion for Ace Ventura 2, and quickly went about tying Carrey into the project. Morgan Creek and Warner Bros wanted to cash in, and cash in quickly. Following that, The Mask landed in cinemas in the summer of that year (by which time he was also knee deep in making Dumb And Dumber), and within six months, Carrey had gone from relative obscurity to global megastar. It was a fast follow-up to his breakthrough movie, Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, that was only released itself early in 1994.

I wonder if part of the reason for that was the bumpy behind the scenes story of Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls, the one direct sequel that he did opt to make.

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