After The Duck Factory ended, Jim quit doing stand-up for a few years. He put most of his time in art and taking acting classes. Jim appeared in the movie, Peggy Sue Got Married, which co-starred Nicolas Cage. They soon became good friends. Once Bitten, a vampire comedy about a high school student who's chased after by a female vampire was Jim's first major role. Clint Eastwood got a hold of Jim's audition tape and soon gave him a part in Eastwood's movie The Dead Pool. Carrey played Johnny Shakes, a drug user, rock star who's part ends quickly after being killed off. Clint also gave him a role in Pink Cadillac as a stand-up comic. Jim then returned to the comedy circuit, but this time he was looking for something completely different. Jim met Melissa Womer, a waitress who worked at The Comedy Store. They started dating and were married in 1987. Jim then became a father when his daughter Jane was born the same year. Jim worked on, Earth Girls Are Easy, a comedy about three aliens that came from another planet. The movie co-starred Geena Davis and Damon Wayons. Damon Wayons introduced Jim to his brother Keenan Ivory Waysons, who was creating a skit comedy show for Fox called, In Living Color. Jim got the job in the show and was the only white guy. The famous characters he did were Fire Marshal Bill and Vero De Milo. In Living Color was a hit until it was canceled in 1994. Jim got raves for his role Fox-TV movie; Doing Time On Maple Drive and its ratings scored very high after it aired.
Warner Bros. was after Jim for 3 years to do their movie, Ace Ventura Pet Detective, but Jim didn't like the script. However, he was willing to rewrite it and take the lead role. The movie was about Ace Ventura, an animal lover, who must find the Miami Dolphins pet dolphin. The movie grossed 12 million on its opeing weekend; grossing 72 million altogether nationwide. Jim then started shooting, The Mask, about a bank clerk, Stanley Ipkiss, who finds a mask and turns him into a cartoon like character. The movie also was a hit and gave Jim his next starring role in the Farrelly comedy, Dumb And Dumber, about a limo driver and his hair cut buddy who go cross-country to return a suitcase to a woman played by Lauren Holly. Jim and Lauren soon became involved after shooting was completed and this movie was another hit when it opened in December 1994.
Warner Bros. was trying to get Robin Williams to play the riddler in Batman Forever, but Jim got the role opposite Val Kilmer and Tommy Lee Jones instead. Jim played a man who wanted to take the minds of Gothan City, and to stop Batman (Val Kilmer) from saving the city from Two/Face (Tommy Lee Jones) and the Riddler (Jim Carrey). Jim returned to Ace Ventura this time in Africa, trying to find a white bat.
Jim in 1995 was offered $20 million dollars to star in Sony Pictures movie The Cable Guy. He played Chip Douglas, a cable installer who gets involved with his customer's life a bit more than normal. The movie tanked at the box office and it got bad reviews. Jim signed on to Universal's comedy, Liar, Liar in which Jim played a lawyer who must tell the truth for 24 hours after his son's birthday. The movie grossed $32 million during its opening weekend and made $181 million nationwide.
Jim and Lauren got married in 1996. After a couple of months, they got divorced. It was Jim's second divorce the first was Melissa Womer in 1995.
Paramount Pictures had been floating a script around Hollywood for years called, The Truman Show. Jim signed to star in what was to be his first serious role. He played the role of (Truman Burbank) a man that discovers his life is a 24 hour television show for the whole world to see. Christof, played by (Ed Harris), is the man behind the TV camera who put Truman in this strange world he was in. Jim's dramatic talent got raves and Jim won a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Drama and a MTV Movie Award for Best Male Performance. That same year he took a small part and narration in Simon Birch playing the adult version of the main character.
When Universal Pictures announced that a biography of Andy Kaufman was in the works and every actor wanted to play the late comic. In the final casting call director Milo Forman picked Jim Carrey after reviewing his audition tape. Man On The Moon was about Andy Kuafman's wildside; from wrestling women to provoking audiences; until his death of Lung Cancer in 1984. Danny Devtio starred as his manager (George Shaprio) and comic Norm MacDonald played a rival comic. The movie didn't perform well at the box office only getting a way with a few million bucks, considering a total of $36 million, however Jim's raves were universal for his partrial of the late comic Andy Kaufman. He earned another Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Comedy/Or Musical and a Screen Actors Guild Award Nomination, and a MTV Movie Award Nomination.
Jim in 1999 re-teamed with The Farrelly Brothers to do their comedy Me, Myself And Irene. The story was about a state trooper with multiple personalities who fights for a woman, Irene played by (Renee Zellweger). The movie grossed $24 million dollars on it's opening weekend and grossed $90 million nationwide.
Jim and Renee started dating each other after the movie was completed. Jim and Renee's romance ended in December 2000 after a year together. Jim's next movie after Me, Myself And Irene was the cartoon-to movie adaptation of the classic holiday cartoon special How The Grinch Stole Christmas. The movie is about The Grinch played by (Jim Carrey), who tries to take Christmas away from the people of Who-Ville by taking thier decorations and holiday food. The movie also stars Molly Shannon. Ron Howard directed the movie to the big-screen. In its first weekend at the box office it opened with a huge $55 million dollars becoming the highest grossing movie of the year 2000 grossing a total of $260.0 million.
Jim then went back to serious acting in The Majestic a Drama/Romance film by director Frank Darabont (The Green Mile, The Shawshank Redemption). The movie is about a blacklisted writer (Jim Carrey) who loses his memory after a car accident and finds a new home in a small town, where he is mistaken for the long-estranged son of the owner of the local movie theater played by (Martin Landau). Production began in March 2001 and warpped during the end of June 2001. Filming took place in Los Angeles and Northern California. Allen Garfield will also star as Carrey's literary agent. The movie also stars Laurie Holden, James Whitmore, Hal Holbrook, Ron Rifkin, and Bob Balaban. Village Roadshow Pictures/Castle Rock Entertainment produced the film and Warner Bros distributed it to movie theaters.
Jim can currently be seen in the Summer 2003 hit film Bruce Almighty a Comedy/Fantasy film that reunites him with director Tom Shaydac (Ace Ventura, Liar, Liar) The movie is about a whiny TV reporter Bruce Nolan (Jim Carrey) who constantly complains about his life, his job, and the job God's doing. Tired, God (Morgan Freeman) summons him and challenges him to trade places for a day. If Bruce doesn't do a better job, humanity will revert back to the dark ages. Production began August 6 2002 in Los Angeles. Also staring in the film will be Jennifer Aniston who plays Bruce's girlfriend Grace. Steve Odekerk rewrote the script. Shaydac's Shady Acres and Jim's new production company Pit Bull Productions will both produce the film. Universal Pictures/Spyglass Entertainment distributed the film. The movie opened very huge at the box office during it's opening weekend which also counted Monday for Memorial Day hit the screens with $68.0 million in three days, and $85.7 million for the entire 4-day period. The movie has now raked in currently a domestic gross of $236.6 million and $368 million Worldwide.
After that Jim in 2004 will move on to star in 3 films in the same year. He will first return to more serious territory in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind a Drama for director Michel Gondry (Human Nature). The movie takes place partly in the recesses of the brain, showing what happens to a man (Jim Carrey) when he tries to forget about a particularly steamy relationship he had with his ex-mate. Kate Winslet co-stars as his ex-girlfriend Clementine Kruczynski. Kristen Dunst will also appear in the film as an office receptionist who gets caught up with the complications of the memory elimination process. Charlie Kaufman (Human Nature, Confessions Of A Dangerous Mind) wrote the screenplay. Production began in January 2003 in New York City. The movie features an all-star cast which includes Mark Ruffalo, Tom Wilkinson, Elijah Wood, David Cross, Ellen Pompeo, and Lauren Adler. Focus Features will distribute the film. The budget for the film is set at $35 million. He will then also star in a remake of Fun With Dick And Jane for director Barry Sonnenfeld (Men In Black) about an upper middle-class couple who turn to pulling heists to pay the bills. Cameron Diaz will reunite with Jim for the film playing the role of Jane. Production is set to begin this September 2003. Joel and Ethan Coen (Frago, O Brother Where Are Thou?) are rewriting the script. Brain Grazer will produce via his Imagine Entertainment, and Jim will also produce through his Pit Bull Productions. Columbia Pictures will distribute the film. After that he will turn to Lemony Snicket an adventure/fantasy film for director Brad Silberling (Moonlight Mile, Casper), which Paramount Pictures hopes will be its ticket to a Harry Potteresque franchise. The picture, which the studio is developing with Nickelodeon Films, is an adaptation of the Daniel Handler children's book series "Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events." The wildly popular Snicket series has grown to eight books since Handler hatched the series in 1999. The saga revolves around a trio of orphans who are passed around to a series of quirky people. The first of those is the mysterious Count Olaf (Jim Carrey), who is counting on separating the children from their inheritance. The series has the kind of kid-appropriate edge evident in J.K. Rowling's "Potter" series, and its sequel. The script has been written by Handler with a rewrite by Robert Gordon (Men In Black). Production will start in January in Los Angeles and Boston.
Jim after that can be seen in several upcoming projects some on which he will produce under his new production company Pit Bull Productions. He will star in a remake of The Secert Life Of Walter Mitty for director Steven Spielberg (Catch Me If You Can). The movie is about a timid fellow whose daydreams of being a swashbuckling hero were played out in fantasy sequences. No word yet on a production start date, however sometime in 2004 is more likely. Zach helm is writing the remake. Paramount Pictures takes the US in the domestic distribution, and DreamWorks Pictures takes international. Jim will the star as Howard Hughes in Hughes a biopic for director Chirstopher Nolan (Memento, Insomnia). The movie is about the story of Howard Hughes life as a billionare and movie producer. Castle Rock Entertainment who will produce the film nabbed the book rights from Richard Hack's Hughes: The Private Diaries, Letters and Memos for the use of the biopic. Nolan write the script for the big-screen. Jim will also produce with Nolan. Still no word on when production will start. Warner Bros will distribute the film. Jim will also star in and produce The Children Of The Dust Bowl a Drama adaptation from the novel by the social historian Jerry Stanley. The movie is about the plight of migrant laborers and their children who fled Oklahoma for California in 1939 to escape the dust storms of the Midwest. As refugees, the homeless kids went without schooling until a caring high school superintendent named Leo Hart (Jim Carrey) undertook the daunting venture of building them a schoolhouse in a field known as Weedpatch Camp." Charlie Mitchell is writing the screenplay for the movie. Still no word yet on who will direct the film. Miramax Films will distribute the film. Jersey Films, Double Feature Films, and Pit Bull Productions will all produce the eventual film.
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