Nobody thought Jackass would last this long.
Originally launched on MTV in October 2000, the show instantly attracted controversy for its depiction of dangerous, reckless stunts that the audience were warned to not try at home.
Co-creator and Jackass-in-chief Johnny Knoxville wanted to end the show two years later while it was at its cultural peak, with a feature length movie that could double up as a swan song for the cast.
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But they quickly realised you couldn’t kill Jackass, and so, the crew kept coming back for more.
It’s been the longest gap between movies to date (Jackass 3D was released in 2010), but a much delayed, highly anticipated follow-up movie has finally arrived – and despite early reports this would be a fond farewell, they’ve got no intention of ending the saga here.
The film is called Jackass Forever, after all, and the cast believe the new movie will help it to endure even further.
“I think one of the reasons Jackass has endured is because it reminds so many people of their childhoods, and the crazy things they did when they were too young to know better”, Knoxville told Zavvi. “I think the relationship with the cast is important too; people respond to how much we love each other, and understand that’s a key part in why we give each other hell.
“We may make another one, we may not, but we’re ecstatic that this turned out the way it did, and that people get a chance to hang out with us another time.”
The cast were all familiar with the reports from a few years earlier saying that a final Jackass film
was in the works. But they’ve been here before, as every movie they’ve made has been referenced as the grand finale – something the title of this latest instalment hopes to correct.
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Party Boy himself, Chris Pontius, explained: “Every time we make a movie we always tell ourselves it’s going to be the last one; the first movie was supposed to be us saying goodbye to Jackass, ending the show on a high while it was still at its peak.
“And then the second film happened, and we said that was the last one, and then we said the same for the third. So yeah, let’s follow tradition and say this is the last too!
“Making these movies is the most fun thing you can do! We’ve been together so long we’re like a family at this point, so when the opportunity to make another movie came up, we were ecstatic.
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“We get asked so much when there’s going to be another one, and it got to the stage where we thought it was never going to happen. But it was time to, and we couldn’t be happier with how this one has turned out. And we need the world to see it, we need to all laugh now more than ever!”
The elephant in the room this time around is the notable absence of veteran member Bam Margera, who was fired from the film early into production, with the skateboarder posting on Instagram that he was let go for breaking his sobriety. Those disturbing videos showed Margera in an unwell mental state, with him reiterating that he was asked to check into rehab in order to continue production.
Director Jeff Tremaine later took out a restraining order based on other social media posts, while Margera filed a lawsuit against the film’s producers. Despite this, a scene Margera filmed before his departure has been included in the film, with Knoxville saying that he remains an integral part of the franchise, and that they hope he can get the help he needs after a long and public struggle with substance abuse.
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It threatens to cast a dark cloud over proceedings, but the cast remain adamant this is the funniest and most extreme film they’ve made yet, largely thanks to the relationship between the crew being at the centre – one that has only been strengthened by producing this fourth outing.
“We ask ourselves ‘why do people still want to see us do this’ all the time”, said Wee Man, a.k.a. Jason Acuña. “I think it’s because we figured out the chemistry within this perfect group of people, who are able to keep on going, pushing themselves to the limit to do what the audience loves. I don’t think we are ever going to give up on Jackass.
“We finally figured out that in life, this is what we were supposed to do, and sometimes you’ve just got to do it to the end.”
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Both Knoxville and Steve-O had multiple trips to the emergency room during shooting. In January, it was revealed Knoxville suffered severe brain damage after a stunt with a bull (teased in the film’s trailers), whilst Steve-O, a man who has broken over 20 bones over the years, had a harder time than usual.
He explained to us: “I got knocked unconscious on the treadmill, and in another bit, I had to get two plates surgically implanted in my collarbone. It was more trips to the hospital than even we’re used to.”
Is this the price the crew has to pay for doing Jackass as they get older?
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“I’m having a much more difficult time confronting middle age than Knoxville, so it’s hard to imagine what doing this will be like in 20 years. I was concerned that this one might be past the point where it’s funny, but Knoxville is convinced that the older we get, the funnier this becomes.”
You get the sense that, despite prematurely throwing the towel in on multiple occasions, doing this as OAPs has been Knoxville’s endgame the whole time. He has, after all, had a trial run in character as Irving Zisman, the bad grandpa who was given his own spin-off movie in 2013.
It was a blockbuster hit, and became the first Jackass film to receive an Oscar nomination on the strength of its make-up. Was it harder than before to do those hidden camera stunts undetected?
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“Only one time in filming did the old man make-up get recognised”, Knoxville continued, “and it wasn’t even because they recognised the character, this girl just came up to me in bright sunlight and noticed the make-up. I was once again surprised with just how much we managed to get away with – it certainly helps that I’ve got the grey hair now, it’s much easier for me to do the hidden camera pranks without getting recognised.
“You know, doing Jackass is fun now, but as we get even older, that’s when it’ll get really funny. ‘Hi, I’m Johnny Knoxville and this is the Colostomy Bag challenge’.”
And there’s little sign of mellowing with old age elsewhere. The Jackass films are some of the most homoerotic ever released by a major film studio – and the cast have ensured they’ve upped their game from that perspective too.
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“I think I already held the record for most male nudity in feature films, but this movie is a huge
victory lap for me”, Pontius joked. “We did a lot of amazing stunts with that part of our bodies.
“There’s always been a lot of nakedness in these movies, because everything is just ten times funnier when you’re naked.”
“We did raise the bar this time though”, Wee Man interjected. “Straight out of the gate and through the whole movie, we didn’t let the fans down – you’re going to see parts of the body on screen you’ve never seen before!”
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The cast confirmed that Jackass 4.5 will be on the way, with some stunts being far too explicit to be shown in cinemas. And yes, this includes a scene in which fellow cast member Dave England’s penis almost got ripped off – although we’ll have to wait and see what that specifically entails (Pontius teases that “it made his weiner longer – what he lost in girth during that moment he more than made up in length”).
Pontius agrees that seeing the crew growing old disgracefully is one of the selling points this time, although he wasn’t initially convinced.
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“We’d be lying if we said that some of the group weren’t initially worried about doing this now we’re getting old, but we did the test shoot and quickly realised that if it’s funny, this just doesn’t matter. If anything, I wish we looked older, it’s funnier the older we get!”
Jackass is forever, with the new film acting as both a reunion and an introduction to new cast members who form the next generation of Jackasses. You will laugh – but take Knoxville’s word for it, they’re still saving the best stuff for when they’re 70.
Jackass Forever is out in UK cinemas now.
