steve-o Tagged Articles at Cinematical

Whoa, here's a surprise. The Hollywood Reporter has announced that the highly successful Jackass franchise is sending its next film, Jackass 2.5, directly to the internet. It will skip the theaters entirely (though it was originally rumored to be going straight to DVD). The film will be online, free of charge courtesy of Blockbuster Video, for two weeks starting December 19th of this year. You can view the film at blockbuster.jackassworld.com. Then the movie moves to DVD and iTunes, as "part of a light-speed reinvention of the customary distribution-window chain. The domestic release strategy also will be replicated internationally in early 2008, but with different distribution partners." Jackassworld.com will now be the permanent online spot for all things Jackass, with new content due to start February 9th, 2008.

I've got to say, I find this news incredibly disappointing. Now, why would I say that a free movie is a disappointment? Because I effing love the Jackass films! And the reason I love them so much is because they are an absolute blast to watch in the theater! You get a big, rowdy, preferably tipsy crowd together, you go on a Friday night, and you laugh your asses off. It's like Borat (which I would argue Jackass paved the way for). It's just not the same on the small screen, and it's best as a shared experience. Jackass 2.5 is only 64 minutes, which I guess could be part of the reason it's not hitting theaters. But...couldn't they just add fifteen more minutes of Jackassery on tape? I don't know, I'll watch the thing of course, but it's going to be mighty depressing sitting in front of my computer watching something that used to be an exhilarating, hilarious, disgusting highlight of my theatergoing year. Then again, there's always Jackass 3 (which will begin shooting early next year) to look forward to. What do you think?

Get ready for more cringing: another Jackass movie is on its way. This was a given after Jackass Number Two made so much money, and there were reports last year that Jackass 3 was officially greenlit by Paramount. But now we've gotten news that it is definitely happening, with sequences to begin shooting at the beginning of the next year. According to /Film, who heard it on Howard Stern, Steve-O has been told to rest up because they begin production in January. Poor Bam, who expressed at the end of Number Two his hope that there'd be no Jackass 3. I guess he could drop out of this round, as could any other regular who can't take another feature's worth of mayhem and injury. Just as long as Chris Pontius and Wee-Man don't quit.

I'll admit that I'm looking forward to it. It's funny, though, because when the first Jackass: The Movie came out, I was working in a movie theater and I refused to watch it, even for free. I didn't even like cleaning up the auditorium during the final credits. It just wasn't my cup of tea. But then some friends dragged me to the sequel -- which I reluctantly paid for (or maybe a buddy bought mine) -- and actually found ways to appreciate it. Plus, I laughed my ass off, too. By the time they dragged Mark Zupan out for some wheelchair shenanigans, I was sold. And I think that most moviegoers have reason to like Jackass too. Aside from not having a plot, it has all that audiences crave these days: gross-out comedy; action-packed scenarios; a little bit of the torture horror; some sports sequences; and, of course, male nudity. Plus, there's occasional homages to people like Buster Keaton and Busby Berkeley for the cineastes. For those who can't get enough of the hijinx, and don't want to wait until whenever Jackass 3 hits theaters (I'd guess a year from now), there's also the straight-to-dvd outtakes compilation Jackass 2.5, which hits stores this Christmas.

Hey, we might not be the biggest film snobs here at Cinematical, but when it comes to Jackass Number Two, we seem to be above it. Erik was surprised and a little bit scared to see it rise to the top of last weekend's box office. James, also shocked, suggested a reason for its successful opening. Even I thought it was too stupid to bother with, and had even planned to avoid phone calls from those friends who might attempt to peer pressure me into seeing it with them. Alas, I'm an easy one to break, and on Saturday night we got boozed up with Texas-size margaritas at Dallas BBQ, headed to the theater with the liveliest crowds in Brooklyn, and watched Jackass Number Two. And, of course, I laughed my ass off. Why? Because I'm a normal human being with a sense of humor. And no attempts at being cynical, snobbish or above it could keep me from splitting my sides for almost 90 minutes straight.

I won't go so far as to say Jackass Number Two is the funniest movie of the year; I'm still sure that I'll laugh more during Borat, but it is at least the funniest thing I've seen this year. And let me point out that without the tequila and the rowdy audience, I would probably have laughed just as much. It isn't simply the ridiculous stunts and pranks and gross-out gags that makes the film so funny, either. It is the wonderful group of guys, who are constantly as curious, afraid, amazed and yes, even above the bits as their audience is. The fact that some of them occasionally show disdain for the whole project and swear off even thinking of doing a third film shows that these aren't just a bunch of idiots who like playing with fire (and snakes, sharks, terrorism, riot weapons, horse excrement and semen and, best of all, Busby Berkeley musical routines); they are witty entertainers who can take a lot of pain and suffering for the enjoyment of the viewer.

Besides, if Murderball's Mark Zupan can allow himself to be shot off a pier into a lake, then surely we can all sit through a silly film like Jackass Number Two for an hour and a half.

Here's a big question: Does Jackass Number Two attract vandals or make them? Now that I've seen my first article about theater vandalism and its link to the release of the Jackass sequel -- reports of vandalism came from all over the U.S. when the original opened -- I have to wonder if people are insinuating one or the other. Does the theater manager dislike the film because it brings riff-raff in, or does he dislike the film because of its influence on the audience? According to this news, the Tinseltown theater in Medford, Oregon had to evacuate 500 people over the weekend because somebody lit toilet paper on fire in the men's room, and the manager suspects that it was not an exiting moviegoer all hopped up on sugar and reckless stunts, but was instead some teens who were denied entry into the R-rated movie.

I would never have imagined such good news in all my life -- for once it is not the entertainment being blamed for violent behavior. This time it's the MPAA! Take that, Dan Glickman. Okay, so the politicians could certainly spin it the other way; the fire would have never happened if it weren't for Jackass, and the rating has now actually protected more people by prohibiting those kids from being exposed to even more dangerous ideas. So, what really came first? The jackass or the Jackass?

Usually I try to ignore gossip related to the private anatomy of actors and celebrities. I quite frankly don't want to know about size, although I'm not unwilling to watch male frontal nudity in films. I don't want to know about anyone's quirky little habits in that area, either. But this week's celebrity news has made the topic unavoidable, from book-promotion interviews to the red carpet itself. You have been warned.

• I suppose if you want innovation at red-carpet events, you have to break taboos: Steve-O (pictured above), star of Jackass: Number Two, broke ground -- or at least dampened it -- by urinating on the red carpet at the film's premiere. (Caution: The linked story does include photos.)