With their latest film, jackass: best and last, Johnny Knoxville and his crew are calling it quits. No, really, this time.
While it was widely accepted that 2022’s Jackass Forever would be the last go-around for the famous stuntmen and lunatics – that also includes Steve-O, Chris Pontius and Wee Man – jackass: best and last is the real curtain call.
If you don’t believe their own words, then consider the latest and last instalment in the franchise a greatest hits compilation, made up of new stunts and some classics, that even include former Jackass member Bam Margera and the late Ryan Dunn.
What surprises in this film however is the heart. Not only are there some nostalgic flashbacks, but Knoxville gets emotional a number of times throughout.
As fans around the world prepare for the end, we sit down with Knoxville, Pontius and director Jeff Tremaine to talk all things Jackass. One last time.
Rolling Stone AU/NZ: Firstly, congratulations. I never thought that I would get emotional in a Jackass film, but here we are. We all thought Jackass Forever was the end. Who made the call?
Love Music?
Get your daily dose of everything happening in Australian/New Zealand music and globally.
Jeff Tremaine: It’s interesting because it sort of happened by accident. [Knoxville] and I were talking. And we started talking about what should we do for the 25th anniversary of Jackass. And we thought, well, let’s get Paramount to release all the movies together. And I think it was someone over on their end that suggested, why don’t you make a greatest hits movie?
Johnny Knoxville: And shoot new bits!
Tremaine: We thought that’s a kind of weird, interesting idea, and then we decided, yeah, let’s go get the gang back together and shoot some.
Johnny, after Jackass Forever the understanding was you couldn’t do more stunts, especially after the bull incident. What changed?
Knoxville: Well, it’s not that I couldn’t do stunts again, I just can’t get any more concussions. I’m over my limit. So, yeah, we were just like I just avoid the stuff where I’ll get a concussion. And that’s what I did. It was weird. It was weird for me to do a film like that, and I think it was probably weird for the cast to see me not do the bigger stunts, but with that said, I think we got some great footage. Like you said, this movie is oddly emotional, and I don’t think people will be expecting that.
View this post on Instagram
Chris, in your case, we know that historically, when you’re on set, all bets are off. Everyone is fair game and could be pranked at any moment. Was it the case this time around, or was it much more coordinated and calculated?
Chris Pontius: I would say all bets were off once again.
Knoxville: [Laughs].
Tremaine: Whenever we’re together, you can bet that he’ll be showing up in his birthday suit at some point!
Pontius: I was asked to perform a nude scene in this movie, maybe several nude scenes, maybe most of it.
Knoxville: And you don’t have to bag them! Some would argue that I may have been a little tough on everyone in this movie, but that’s what we showed up for.
Do the films usually happen this fast? Johnny, you announced it in January, you did an interview with Rolling Stone in February where you said you’d locked in about 80% of the stunts, and here we are in mid-June promoting the film.
Knoxville: No. We just didn’t shoot as many days as we usually do, so we were able to turn it around quicker.
Tremaine: It was a very crazy schedule though, to get this done.
Pontius: It was very productive! Sometimes you go for like a week and maybe get one. But we got so much good stuff every day.
Johnny, there are two scenes I want to single out. The first day on set you get emotional, and then there’s a scene where Steve-O presses you and asks, “Is this really it?” and you choke up again. What does this franchise mean to you, Chris and Jeff, and to the cast and crew? What is the legacy of Jackass?
Knoxville: I compare it to it’s like putting down a dog you absolutely love. It just kills you to do it, but you know it’s time.
Pontius: One thing I think, like making this film and all the other ones, you really realise how important all these people are to you and that you’ve been with all these years, and how fun it is to be together, and how proud I think we all are of this whole thing that we’ve done. For all this time together, and made it happen together, and all the fun times that we’ve had on and off camera.
Tremaine: It was also fun to go back and even in all these things that we’ve done in the past, going back and opening up and looking at all the stuff that didn’t make the edits — we re-edited everything. And so we took a look at new shots, and it was really sort of nostalgic to just open that up.
Knoxville: Yeah. I didn’t know Lance Bangs was the getaway driver in the Brad Pitt kidnapping! I totally forgot that.
Tremaine: He wasn’t the getaway driver. He dropped Brad off at Pink’s [Hot Dogs].
Knoxville: Oh! Who was the getaway driver?
Tremaine: [Trip Taylor, Jackass producer].
Knoxville: Oh, ok. See? I learned something today!
Jeff, you just touched on the nostalgia here. There are so many emotional scenes in the film. We get to see some new and fan favourite Bam Margera bits, despite the controversy around his exit, some classic scenes from the late Ryan Dunn. And then you think about someone like Steve-O, who has now been sober for almost 20 years. With all that’s changed over the years, what is the secret to the connection that this Jackass family has? No scene sums it up better for me then when Johnny hugs a bare-naked Pontius to the ground and despite the… full frontal intimacy, everyone just seems so happy.
Pontius: I felt so happy when he came and gave me a hug. I felt like I’d won a gold medal or something!
Knoxville: [Laughs]
Tremaine: It really is a family more than anything. We’ve just been together so long. Everyone knows everyone’s soft spots…
Knoxville: Typical Jeff just thinking about everyone’s soft spots and how to exploit those soft spots.
Tremaine: That’s what it’s all about, isn’t it?
Jackass: best and last is in cinemas now.
