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'Jackass' originals welcome high technology, new crew with 3-D film

By Brendan FitzGerald and Emily Ruane, VBS.TV
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Behind the scenes of 'Jackass 3D'
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
  • Using just handheld video cameras, "Jackass" franchise had humble, low-tech beginning
  • Johnny Knoxville and core group of cast and crew has been together since the start
  • Technology required to produce 3-D film meant embracing new equipment, crew members

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Brooklyn, New York (VBS.TV) -- There have been several points in my career as a producer and camera operator where I've realized that I have one of the best jobs in the world. This usually occurs to me in remote and interesting places like South Africa or Denmark or something. I'd been on the Santa Clarita, California, set of "Jackass 3D" for about two hours, watching two gigantic cranes catapult a Port-O-Potty containing star Steve-O and gallons of fecal matter 10 stories in the air when the feeling struck me again.

Admittedly, I'm a longtime fan of the "Jackass" franchise, which was born out of an article for Big Brother magazine in 1999. A friend showed me a clip of Johnny Knoxville getting shocked with a stun gun while hoisting an American flag, and I've been on board ever since.

When I heard about the 3-D project, I have to admit I was worried. I was concerned that the Jackass concept was old and tired, and its stars -- Johnny, Steve-O, Chris Pontius, Wee Man, Bam Margera, and Preston Lacy -- had run out of ideas. With nothing left in their creative arsenal, they wandered out of "Avatar" one afternoon and decided that they would jump on the 3-D bandwagon to cash in one last time.

However, a few days on set showed me those concerns were unfounded. The Jackass joie de vivre was alive and well, and the addition of a third dimension only enhanced the jaw-dropping inexplicable hilarity of the crew's antics.

See the rest of The Cast and Crew of Jackass 3D at VBS.TV

Video: 'Jackass 3D' invades the red carpet
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By mid-morning of my first day onset, Steve-O had been launched hundreds of feet in the air and the crew -- along with maybe $1 million worth of 3-D camera equipment -- had been coated with a fine spray of human and animal waste. Director Jeff Tremaine was screaming at a gagging camera operator to get b-roll shots of the poop-slicked interior of the Port-O-Potty that Steve-O had been strapped in moments before.

Despite the smell and intermittent bouts of vomiting by the crew, I could tell that everyone on set knew they'd created something special. I went from having the feeling that I had one the best jobs in the world to being pretty sure the cast and crew from Jackass had it all figured out.