IAm Peter Farrelly, creator of comedies such as Dumb & Dumber and Movie 43, AMA

penis...?

Yes.

I was an extra for the train station scene shot in Vermont for Me Myself and Irene. Do you remember that?

Yes, I remember you very well. You were so natural. You made it seem like you were a person just waiting for a train.

What the hell is Movie 43? All I've seen in commercials is an apparent hodge podge of unrelated scenes and a metric ton of various A-list actors.

Good question. It's a collection of comedy shorts in the vein of Kentucky Fried Movie. Except each short has a different writer and director. There is also a story holding it all together, Dennis Quaid is a down and out movie producer pitching projects to Greg Kinnear and Common (along the way they bump into Seth Macfarlane and others). As Dennis starts to grow more nervous he gets more desperate and the screws start to turn in a big way. It's going to score around 7 on the Rotten Tomatoes meter. It's really funny, but may be too outrageous for critics.

Thanks for the reply.

Outrageous how? Vulgar? Non sequitur? Sexually crude? Or some combination in between?

Did you get a chance to view each filming segment? Which segment was the best to work on? Whose onscreen performance should I be most excited about?

I did not see each segment filmed because we had 12 different directors and I stayed away from the other guys to give them their creative freedom. The movie is just outrageous in a testicles on the chin kinda way.

A commercial for your movie came up before a porn once. Did you make that decision or did an agency? Because I probably am in your demographic.

I personally made that decision.

Is 'Dumb and Dumber To' really happening?

100% Guaranteed that it's a possibility. We're in negotiations right now with Warner Bros. And hope to have an announcement soon.

jim carrey?

Yes. Jim Carrey and Jeff Daniels are in. And there are a couple of other very juicy roles. I love that guy Channing Tatum and would love to get him in there. Also, there's an excellent role for a young dumb girl. Emma Stone would knock it out of the park.

Wasn't there a movie called Dumb and Dumberer?

Yes. We had nothing to do with it.

How much of Dumb and Dumber was improvised by Jim and Jeff?

Not as much as you think. Probably only 95%. No seriously I would say 15% was improvised, however we did sit down with Jim and Jeff before the movie started shooting and we came up with a lot of gems then together.

What's it like working with Charlie Wessler?

Thanks for the question, Charlie Wessler. It's great working with you. Although sometimes you can be a little needy, like right now. And a bit of a publicity whore. However, you are definitely one of the most talented creative producers I've worked with.

What did you use to create Cameron Diaz's signature hair in Something about Mary?

Actually that was just some kind of glue. But the funny part was when a guy showed up on the set with all different jizz sizes and shapes, to hang on Bens ear. God's honest truth, that's somebody's job. This guy shows up with a briefcase and inside he has about 40 different loads. Each one is a different length and texture, sort of like snow flakes. Only prettier. We laughed our asses off. But I did feel kinda bad that this was the man's lot in life--to carry a briefcase full of jizzm. By the way that man grew up to be Anderson Cooper.

Have you ever licked a butthole?

43 times.

What's your favorite moment that has happened on a movie set?

Probably when Bill Murray showed up on the set of Kingpin for the first time. Being that he doesn't have an assistant, agent, or cell phone there was no way to reach him. So we were just hoping he would show up on time. Then when he did show up, that burst of energy was just the thing we needed at that point in the movie. Another favorite moment was when my kids showed up on the movie set for the first time.. as they looked upon the jizzum in Cameron Diaz's hair.

Is Emma Stone as much of a babe in real life as she seems on TV?

I never met her because that short was directed by Griffin Dunne but according to him, she couldn't have been sweeter. She's a solid ten.

How did you manage to get so many stars to be in Movie 43? Did you have to convince any of them to do any of the really inappropriate jokes?

Is begging the same as fellating? Because if thats the case, then yes I had to beg Richard Gere.

Movie 43 is about the hardest R Rated comedy ever. So the actors were definitely stunned when they read the script. However that's what appealed to them too, because Hugh Jackman, Halle Berry and Kate Winslet had never had the opportunity to push the envelope so much.

Hey Peter, huge fan of you and your brother's work!

One of the things I love most about your movies are the soundtracks. Jonathan Richman for Mary, Steely Dan covers for Irene, Flaming Lips in Heartbreak Kid, Bob Dylan (!) in Stooges, the music is always amazing. How do you guys come up with such odd musical ideas, like the Steely Dan covers or Dylan for such a silly slapstick movie, and do you ever have trouble getting rights? It couldn't have been easy to get Monkberry Moon Delight for Hall Pass.

Also, I've just got to say that Stuck on You is a criminally underrated comedy classic. "Boozin' with Cher...boozin' with Cher..."

Thanks for the kind words about Stuck On You. I have a soft spot in my heart for that movie. Wish it had done better. Putting in the music is my favorite part of making the movie. The hardest part is writing the film. Shooting is pretty fun but a lot of work. But when you're in the editing room, laying in the music and watching it all come together I feel a joy that you can't even believe. We have always made sure they gave us a huge budget for music, for songs, because we tend to use very little score. Yeah, Monkberry Moon Delight cost about 2g's, but it was worth it. Bob Dylan was very kind to let us use a song off the classic, Highway 61 Revisited.

How was working with Jim Carrey in the 90's? I heard he can be hard to work with now.

I'm being completely honest when I tell you I've never had one bad moment on set with Jim Carrey and we've done 2 movies with him. Ive seen Jim be hard on himself, where he kind of beats himself up a little. But he's always been the nicest guy to everyone on set. The great talents have moments of darkness- Bill Murray -Jim Carrey etc, but they always seem to take it out on themselves, not other people. Bill did once beat a studio head to death--but to me he's been a luv.

What advice would you give to young filmmakers?

There's never been a better time to break in. And it's never been easier to make your own movie. Take a page out of Wes Anderson and the Wilson Brothers playbook. They shot a 10 or 15 minute teaser that later turned into Bottle Rocket. They played it at film festivals, made people laugh, and ended up getting a movie deal out of it. Recently, as you may know, someone sold a pitch to Warner Bros. based on a Reddit thread. You can get a Canon 5D and go off and make your own movie. And you have a built in audience on the internet. It's never been like this before. So stop talking about it and just fucking do it. Stop wasting your time on Reddit!

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Nope.

what is prompting you to reach out to your fans on this forum?

It was either this or Friendster.

If you had an unlimited budget, what movie would you make to look back on as the highlight of your career?

I'd make the Godfather. But I'd do it right this time.

Which actor/actress surprised you the most on Movie 43 and why?

I would have to say Halle Berry. I was a little nervous about meeting her because her scene is so outrageous and I was afraid she might get on the set and balk. Not only did she not, but she thought the scene was too soft, and asked us to amp it up a little. We ended up coming up with a couple of things for her to do that weren't scripted, but were insane. To give you an example the short is about a couple (her and Stephen Merchant) who play Truth or Dare on a first date. Among other things she ended up sticking her bare breast into a bowl of guacamole. She couldn't have been more fun to work with.

How do you come up with most of your material/humor scenes? Is Mary Jane ever in attendance?

Well I have 12 and 13 year old kids... who will be reading this... So.. I would have to give you a very firm "no" ;)

Love your movies...2 questions:

1 - what do you think is the funniest non-Farrelly movie?

2- How does one cast for the small penis guy in Hall Pass?

ps- had pleasure of working with your sister at GBH...super nice.

Thanks for the kind words about my sister Cathy. 2- It was easy. We hired our friend Rich Brown. He's the kinda guy who you could see with clothes on and tell that he has a small dick. We actually put a prosthetic device on to enhance his dick and make it look believably small. Because his real one looked too jokey.

Is there a certain field of humor you shy away from? If so for what reason?

I do try and avoid the really witty stuff.

Love all of your movies and your comedy style, has me rollin' on the floor every time I watch one of them! My question is for Movie 43 how did you get such an all-star cast for a comedy like that? I realize it's going to be split up into smaller somewhat different story lines (from what I've read on it), so did that open up a lot of different big roles that big actors were interested in?

The producer Charlie Wessler actually knew most of the people in this movie, so he had a direct line to them. And because the budget was so small, only 6M, and because nobody was getting paid, we bent over backwards to accommodate the actors schedules. We shot WHEN they were available, WHERE they were available. So we would shoot a short in 3 days, shut down for 3 months and then go shoot another short in another city. That's why the movie took 3 1/2 years to make.

What scene was your favorite to shoot from Movie 43?

I only shot two scenes. One had Hugh Jackman and Kate Winslet and Stephen Merchant. They were both extremely fun to do. By the way I think Stephen Merchant is the future of comedy. Nobody's funnier.

Hey do you remember Bobby Andre from Cumberland? Thats my brother, he remembers you guys from CHS, said to say hello an sends his best regards. Love you guys

Sure I remember Bobby. Tell him we said hi.

how did you get Gerard butler to play a leprechaun?

He's a funny fucker. And doesn't get to show it a lot. So he was more than game.

When is the last time you saw your brother naked?

He's draped across the couch right now. To give me inspiration. Sort of like Michelle Pieffer in The Fabulous Baker Boys.

Hey Peter. I met you at your premire of Stuck on you. YOu were so nice to talk to

Um... you must have met Bobby.

Are you a dog person or a cat person? Choose wisely...

I like dogs but cats are better in bed.

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The movie with the highest degree of difficulty was, without question, The Three Stooges. We're huge Stooge fans and wanted to do them justice. People ask, "Why did we make that movie." and the answer is--they were going away. Young kids didn't know about the Stooges, and yet to us, they were one of the funniest parts of our childhood. I've seen a few snarky comments about the Stooges here but it's one of the movies I'm proudest of. I promise you, in a parallel universe, Chris Diamantopoulos, Sean Hayes, and Will Sasso are collecting Oscars right now. Their performances were fucking genius. And I've never met a real stooge fan who didn't agree.

I am currently attending your alma mater (go Friars!). Is there anything you gained from your college education that helped you down the road in the entertainment industry?

I wasn't a very good student. But I was good partier. Everything I know I learned at keg parties.

Who has been your personal favourite actor to work with?

Our sets are very loose, so we never run across a mega-asshole. But there was something about working with Owen Wilson that was unbelievably enjoyable

How did you manage to break into the business after getting your Master's in Creative Writing?

I was writing a book which turned out to be Outside Providence--Don't bother reading it, the movie's better--It was taking too long. I knew writing screenplays would be a lot easier. So I knocked one out with my friend Bennett Yellin and low and behold it sold. It was called Dust To Dust and never got made, but it was sort of the seed of Dumb And Dumber.

Were you Mary's husband at the end of Dumb and Dumber?

No, I've never put myself in any of our movies, even for second. Until now. I actually have a very small scene at the end of Movie 43.

How's Mud?

Muds great. He's living in Boston, recently married. By the way for those of you who don't know him, that's just his nickname, it's not a racial slur.

Was Petey the bird in Dumb and Dumber named after you?

Dear LiquorballSandwich, long time no see, thanks for checking in. Petey the bird was named after Petey the bird from Albert Brooks's Modern Romance.

Pre-release how does movie 43 rank (as far as excitement to hurry up, get it out there and see how it does) among the others you've released?

Tough to call. This is a very low budget movie and there is not a lot of marketing money behind it. However, It's got a lot of laughs, trust me.

Are any of the characters in your movies based on people you know in real life?

Nope.

How many times did you spend in Hart Perry's office?

EDIT: Yay Kent Alumni

I got to know The Whooper very well in my years at Kant. I actually liked him. But not as much as I liked Mr. Genovese. He was really the only guy that got to me, to be honest.

What are your favorite kinds of comedys out now (or in recent times).

Good question ShutupPussy. I'm a huge fan of Family Guy and Curb. Anything that Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant have done is great. Ted killed me. Bridesmaids was sensational and so was Knocked Up and 40 Year Old Virgin. I don't think Apatow has made a movie yet that wasn't really funny.

Growing up, what would you say was the film(s) that influenced you and your brother most, and made you say "I want to do this for a living."?

Cool Runnings. Just kidding, actually it was Airplane, Animal House, Blazing Saddles, Cat Ballou, and Something Wild.

Aren't there supposed to be two of you, like the Kaufman brothers?

Yes, there is of course my brother Bobby. However, Movie 43 was a project I produced with Charlie Wessler.