Michel Gondry talks reuniting with Jim Carrey on Showtime’s ‘Kidding’

Jim Carrey for Showtime’s “Kidding.”
Showtime

• Oscar-winning director Michel Gondry spoke to Business
  Insider about reuniting with Jim Carrey on the new Showtime
  series “Kidding,” 14 years after the release of their acclaimed
  film “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.”
• Gondry also touched on his prolific direction of music
  videos, shooting his last two films in France, and Carrey’s
  recent headline-grabbing satirical drawings.

Fourteen years after he won an Oscar for cowriting his acclaimed
film “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind,” director Michel
Gondry has reunited with the film’s star, Jim Carrey, on the
eccentric new Showtime series “Kidding.”

Gondry directed several episodes for the show’s debut season,
including its pilot (which premieres Sunday), marking his first
sustained effort in television. Carrey stars in the darkly
comedic show as a “Mister Rogers”-esque children’s show icon
whose family life is rapidly falling apart.

Gondry spoke to Business Insider about the “surreal” experience
of working with Carrey on “Eternal Sunshine” and “Kidding.” The
director also touched on his prolific production of music videos,
shooting his last two feature films in his native France, and
Carrey’s recent headline-grabbing satirical drawings skewering
the Trump administration. 

This interview has been edited and condensed for
clarity.

John Lynch: What drew you to the material in
“Kidding?”

Michel Gondry: The premise. Jim Carrey. I
didn’t know [“Kidding” creator and showrunner] Dave Holstein, but
that was his premise, his universe. This idea of the host of a
kids’ show who is confronted in real life into a succession of
difficulties and reflecting family problems. This sort of
contrast between his image in the show, and how he tried to adapt
it in real life. 

Lynch: This is the first TV series you’ve put your stamp
on. How was it for you adjusting your shooting process to an
episodic mode?

Gondry: When you do a movie, you know how
it’s going to end, when it’s going to end. On a TV show, these
questions don’t have an answer, so you have to go along and
discover the story. And I think Dave was enjoying keeping things
in the dark for us. He would say, “If you see episode seven, it’s
going to make sense.” All that is more complicated than a movie.
Also, we shot for six months, I think, so there’s a really solid
bond that’s created with the crew. And there was a difference for
me to accept, where in a movie the creator or leader is the
director, and in the TV show, this role is given to the
showrunner. I didn’t expect that, to be honest, but it’s fine,
and we found a good way to collaborate. 

Lynch: The show has some great surreal moments, but it’s
predominantly realistic. How was it for you working in this
manner creatively?

Gondry: I don’t know, I think working with
Jim Carrey is surreal, to start with. So my job when I work with
him is to try to bring him back in the real world, and he does it
very well. And I don’t necessarily need to have a dream sequence
or science fiction in every movie I shoot. 

Michel Gondry and Jim Carrey at the 2004 Gotham Awards
for “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.”
Getty Images

Lynch: It’s been a decade and a half since you last
worked with Jim on “Eternal Sunshine.” How would you say your
on-set experience with him on the show compared to the
film?

Gondry: In the film, it took me a bit of
time to gain his trust, because we tried things and had to wait
for the result for him to see how it could be different. In
“Kidding,” right away he trusted me, so we were diving into the
story instantaneously, and it was easier. 

Lynch: What kind of advice did you give Jim to set the
tone for this character of Jeff Pickles?

Gondry: It’s a little touch, sometimes
bigger touch, but hard to summarize in one advice. I always try
to get him to be himself, because in general, in films you
create a character, and I mean, I love his films, the comedies,
but for a dramatic movie, I prefer actors who are more
themselves, and then we do composition. So I try to find a soft
spot and dig into them, but I don’t do manipulation. With Jim,
it’s pretty simple. I just ask him directly what I want, and if
it doesn’t work I find another way to ask him. But he never gets
upset like a lot of actors. You ask them to be less theatrical,
they can get really upset. As for Jim, he just wants to be good,
so he’ll take whatever I say. 

Lynch: In “Kidding,” there’s an obvious inspiration in
“Mister Rogers,” and I thought it was similar to “Pee-Wee’s
Playhouse” in the mise-en-scène. Did you watch either of those to
get ideas for “Kidding”?

Gondry: Well, I watched them at some point,
but I really didn’t want us to be influenced or obsessed. I asked
Jim if he could not watch “Mister Rogers.” Of course people will
think of him, but if you look at the two characters, they’re so
different. Also, I don’t like actors who mimic existing
characters, or wear a mask where I don’t see anything truthful or
touching, where it’s just about the accent, the mimic, the
prosthetic, and all these layers that cover the complexity and
the depth of the character. So I really didn’t want anyone,
especially the actors, to watch “Mister Rogers.” And with
“Pee-Wee Herman,” I mean, I like the creativity, but honestly if
he never existed, the show would still be the same.

Lynch: As an animator and graphic artist yourself, I’m
wondering what you think of Jim’s recent turn into drawing these
satirical pieces, if you’re familiar with it?

Gondry: Yeah, I think it’s great. All the
Trump drawings. He would come every morning with a new one. Yeah,
it’s awesome. 

Lynch: So did you see his process on set at all?

Gondry: His process? To draw?

Lynch: Yeah [laughs], sorry.

Gondry: Uh, yeah, well, he start with a
black line. And then he puts orange for the hair
[laughs], orange for the face. 

Lynch: [laughs] Your last two feature films were
French productions. Is there a marked difference for you shooting
in the US versus your home country?

Gondry: In size, mostly. But in terms of
the people, it’s very similar. A gaffer in France looks very much
like a gaffer in America. People are more influenced by the job
they do than the country they live in. And that works in every
country.

Lynch: You’ve also been a
prolific director of music videos throughout your career.
What do you like about that form, or what do you feel you bring
to the music?

Gondry: Different things. Sometimes there
is a story, so in four minutes, you can really find the essence
of a story. Sometimes it’s more direct. Then you can find the
closest, the best expression for the music. You can use an idea
that has been in your mind for years. These days, I do animated
films for my daughter who’s three and a half, and it’s a lot of
work, but I really like doing that. Because I don’t see her so
much, being here in the US, I ask her what stories she wants, and
last time she said she wanted to be in a farm, so I did a really
complicated one with a farm. Now I have to find a story with a
little princess, so I’m really in trouble.

Lynch: Moving forward for you, aside from the show, what
else do you have in the works?

Gondry: I’m working on a screenplay that’s
quite personal, and I’m reading other stories, but I don’t have
anything sure. And I’m still finishing the production of
“Kidding.” 

Lynch: Do you see TV as a form you could return to after
this experience?

Gondry: Yeah, it was a good experience.
Honestly, on the set, with the technicians and the actors, it was
really like a movie. We had longer hours, but I didn’t see much
difference. 

“Kidding” premieres Sunday at 10 pm ET on Showtime.