07 June,2017 09:52 AM IST | London | PTI
'The Mask' director Chuck Russell has revealed that New Line originally wanted the madcap family film to be a horror in the same style as the 'Nightmare on Elm Street' series
Jim Carrey
'The Mask' director Chuck Russell has revealed that New Line originally wanted the madcap family film to be a horror in the same style as the 'Nightmare on Elm Street' series.
The 1994 movie, starring Hollywood funnyman Jim Carrey and a young Cameron Diaz, was a huge box office hit, reported Femalefirst.
"It's a great example of really fighting for your vision in a film. We changed it from a horror film into a comedy. It was original conceived as being a horror film. That was a real battle. New Line wanted a new kind of Freddy (Krueger) movie," Russell said.
The 59-year-old filmmaker said he always wanted Carrey, 55, for the lead role after watching him do a stand-up comedy routine in Los Angeles.
"He wasn't really desired as a leading man at that time. (When I saw) him he looked like a hallucination live on stage.
Jim read it and he said, 'I'll be doing this role at grocery store openings when I'm 70.'" Russell said.
