Jim Carrey and Zooey Deschanel in Yes Man

We enjoyed the music, it was a lot of fun, and I understand you had something to do with the lyrics...

Zooey Deschanel: And the music.

Was it fun working with some girls for a change? What was the dynamic like working and did you enjoy the music?

ZD: Yeah, I usually write music alone, so it was fun to write with other people, and all those girls are so great and so talented, and funny and smart. It was a fun process, because we had a week to rehearse. Van Iva is the name of the band. So I just joined their band for a week, and it was really fun.

Jim Carrey: She blew us away with that stuff. We weren’t expecting that. We were there on the set. It was just like “What? Fantastic!” We loved it.

Jim, a lot of us got to see you do the bungee jump, so we witnessed that it really was you. In retrospect, what did you think of the jump?

JC: Death, death, a lot of thoughts of death. You know, thoughts of crossing over (laughs) were actually going through my mind. It was very strange. It was like “Well, they do this all the time, this is no big [deal], they’ve got this down, it’s no problem,” and then I got to the bridge, and that was intense enough. I went, “Oh my god, what have I done? What am I doing here?” But when I got my feet up on the ledge, it literally was like a freight train going through my veins, through my entire body, the whole time until I jumped and everything. It was insane, it was insane, it was unbelievable. And it made me realise —I actually had post traumatic stress after it. (Laughs) For about a week after it, I dreamt of hitting the ground, all those things, it was amazing. So those people that do that all the time, they are addicted to some kind of an adrenaline rush like you would not believe, because they just can’t stop.

Jim, when you look back at your own life, have you been mostly a yes man or a no man?

JC: I would say yes, even when I say no (laughs), because sometimes saying no is saying yes to your own self worth. You know what I’m saying? (laughs) I like to enjoy life, I like to engage in life, so I would say I’m a yes man. I said yes to so many things, from a sex change to gastric by-pass surgery (laughs), so it’s always paid off for me. (laughs) I’ve kept the weight off. I have, I work hard at it.

You’re a very positive guy, was it hard to make fun of a philosophy you personally subscribe to?

JC: Yeah, no, everything can be made fun of. The most serious things are ripe for making fun of them. I have spiritual beliefs that I could literally go out and make an entire comedy routine about, and tour as some sort of spiritual guru, but it kind of goes against that [as] I actually believe the things, so I’m always kind of caught in the middle.

ZD: Humour is a part of spirituality.

JC: That is true. We must laugh at ourselves. Yes. I had no trouble at all.

Zooey, the scenes at Spaceland were very cool, were you consulted at all in getting the culture of the indie rock scene in Los Angeles just right?

ZD: Was I consulted? It wasn’t so hard. Yeah, I mean, I’m in a band myself and I write music and I do go to see shows a lot, and so it wasn’t really that — I don’t know, it wasn’t too much of stretch for me. (Laughs).

Jim, a lot of your movies have really great messages, what do you want people to walk away with after they’ve seen this movie?

JC: You know, mostly just to have a good laugh and to feel good in their heart. I think it’s not only a funny movie, but I think you really believe the love story and the friendships and so I think there’s a lot to walk away with, but I guess the only thing is, if there is a message, it’s just engage in life, you know, say yes more than you do no, maybe a little bit more than you did before, and life kind of turns out all right. Usually you regret the things you say no to.

Given the current state of things, we’re either in a recession or a depression and you’re playing a liberal loan officer...

JC: I’m not in a recession. (Laughs) I’m doing very, very well. I’m doing incredibly well. (Laughs) I just want to be honest. I really am kicking ass (laughs).

Have you guys ever said no in the past, and looking back now, especially after this movie, did you kind of regret it?

ZD: It’s exhausting I think to just say really yes to everything for real, even if you do it for a day.

Jim, you’ve had a few dark roles recently and this is like a throwback to a silly Jim Carrey comedy, how does it feel?

JC: I like doing everything, I love it all, so it’s just being creative. I just like being creative, whatever way I have to do it. I just want to tell stories, it’s really the storytelling aspect that’s great, but it’s always fun to do something that you know ultimately is not about the money, and it’s certainly not the fame because it’s a pain in the ass, but it’s really the person in the seat you think about when you sit in the rooms and write, and you do all the things you have to do. It really comes down to thinking about someone sitting in a seat laughing, and that’s it when you do a movie like this. It’s really that that gets me off, the idea of people actually laughing and maybe having something to think about when they leave the theatre.

What’s the stupidest thing you’ve ever said yes to that you’re willing to admit to?

JC: It was the Sea Cadets for me. I was like 11 years old and I joined the Sea Cadets, which is like a military version of Boy Scouts, and they shave your head and they humiliate you, they yell at you and they parade you around in front of the rest of the people you know in the town and you parade around with this uniform on. But, you know what? If I hadn’t done that, I wouldn’t know that I’m a useless maggot. (Laughs) So I’m glad. So, yes always leads to something good.

ZD: I accidentally entered a youth pageant when I was 14. That’s like a beauty pageant, but without the beauty. (Laughs) It was terrible.

What do you mean accidentally?

ZD: I thought it was a talent show. My choir teacher led me on.

JC: Then like a fetus should win that.

ZD: Yes.

JC: It’s a youth pageant.

ZD: Yeah, it’s true.

JC: Then it should be the youngest one. It should just be a handkerchief (laughs) wins the competition. That’s horrible.

Jim, your character plays guitar and sings sometimes and also speaks Korean fluently, how difficult was the preparation and do you regret saying yes to for this project?

JC: (Laughs) Well I never said I regret doing this project. Well, maybe there were a couple of moments. Actually it took about four weeks of studying it phonetically every day. It was so difficult, it was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done in my life, to study Korean phonetically to get it down, and then to have a Korean coach who literally is afraid to go back to Korea if I get it wrong. He’s telling me, “No, no, no, this is serious. Seriously, I will be hurt.” (laughs) And so I hope I got it right, but yeah, he was on me pretty hard. It took awhile, it took awhile, but I’m dedicated, I’m really dedicated.

In this film, both of your characters are very into doing spontaneous, romantic things. What’s the most spontaneous, romantic thing you have done with a love interest?

JC: Everything I do is carefully planned…and done by committee. (laughs)

Zooey, what was it like having to keep up the energy with Jim? Your character’s energy is so up and positive, and then it’s against him who’s so big, what was that like for you?

ZD: Well, it’s so fun to work with Jim because he’s so fun, and I just used fun twice in a sentence. That would be like, “Nice job, Zooey.” He’s so fun and fun, totally fun (laughs).

JC: Think of something. Hurry!

ZD: But yeah, it’s very contagious, and the fun is very contagious.

Jim, in the beginning, your character says no to everything. Why do you think he gets to that point? And, if you were to give advice to someone who was romantically down in the dumps, what would you tell them to do?

JC: Kill yourself. (laughs) Eat a ton of sweets and take your life. (laughs) All right, option two. Let’s go with option two. I would say hang in there, invite some people over, (laughs) and I don’t know, I think the devil works for God, that’s my concept. The bad times are supposed to force you into actually getting out of your shell and going out into the world and making friendships and having love. You know, he’s been through some hell, but he got to that place, so I guess those times in your life force you to become a better person.

Zooey, when you first meet him, your character impulsively kisses him. Would you advise someone to do that?

ZD: You mean to make out with somebody that you just met? Absolutely not. No. (laughs) I mean, it’s a great idea. What I mean to say is, yes. (laughs)

JC: So you’ve never done that, you’ve never kissed somebody when you first met them?

ZD: No.

JC: You’ve never like grabbed some guy and said “I saw you and I just had to have you”? (laughs)

ZD: No. (to Jim) Have you done that?

JC: I’ve never grabbed a guy and told him that I have to have him (laughs) except on camera.