Directed by Michel Gondry, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind is one of the most iconic films released in the past two decades that has left a lasting impact on the entertainment industry. Released in 2004, the film told the unconventional love story of Joel (Jim Carrey) and Clementine (Kate Winslet).
The film was outstanding, however, the process of making the film was quite chaotic and left Jim Carrey quite disappointed. During the filming, Michel Gondry tried a new approach, and as a result, the sets were quite organized and Carrey, who is known to be a “perfectionist,” hated it.
The sets of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind got chaotic
In March 2023, the producer of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Anthony Bergman, revealed that the crew faced a lot of problems while filming the movie. In an interview with IndieWire, the producer said,
“Everything was so chaotic in that way. People were thrown into the scene in a way that didn’t allow them to compose. It’s a very different type of role that Jim had. He’s a real perfectionist. It was, ‘How do we destabilize it so he can’t prepare, so he can’t do the Jim Carrey thing?’ Part of the camera set-up stuff was designed to do that.”
The sets of the movie were unorganized which made actor Jim Carrey very disappointed. Director Michel Gondry tried to change the direction of the film, but it only made things worse.
Jim Carrey hated working on the film
It is well-known that Jim Carrey is a perfectionist, so working on these chaotic sets obviously made the actor quite mad. Bergman further said,
“Jim… he hated it. We knew he was going to hate it. He’s the biggest star in the world, in control of every set, and here we were, pulling that part away. And who the f**k were we to do that? Which he would have a good point about that. He would, like, storm out and scream at me. He called me all sorts of things and I would just be there to absorb it. He’s like, ‘This is like the worst set I’ve ever been on, I don’t know what the f**k is going on!’ And we’re like, ‘No, no, no, it’s all good. This is why we’re getting great stuff.'”
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind achieved significant success as it grossed roughly $74 million at the global box office on a $20 million budget.
The movie was never about the money
Jim Carrey and the filmmakers took up this project just to create this masterpiece, it was never about the money. Bergman said,
“Jim could get very loud and he was very powerful but I think in the end, he wasn’t doing. He was getting paid $20 million to do movies like Bruce Almighty. We were paying him a tiny, tiny fraction of that. I had an early conversation with him basically saying, ‘Look, the only reason any of us are in it is because we want to make a good movie. You’re not in it for the money. We’re not in it for the money. We’re only in it because we think there’s a really great movie we can make here. At the end of the day, we’re all working for the movie.'”
In the end, they did create a timeless cinematic gem. Even today, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind is cherished by audiences and filmmakers alike for its captivating storytelling and emotional depth.
Source: IndieWire
