Going back to that Premiere report, it noted that “Carrey would come to the set and find that he would have to reblock many of the scenes,” and crucially, not the scenes he was in. When he returned, there had been a significant change in personnel.ĭeCerchio had not had the easiest of times. Carrey, he noted, “was at war with the director and the producers.” After a few days of filming, Callow took a quick trip back to England. Simon Callow talked about this in his memoir, Shooting The Actor, in which he recalled how he arrived on set to quickly sense that all was not right. Robertson, as reported in Premiere magazine back in its July 1995 issue, was quickly released from the film, with the magazine’s report suggesting that she “never made it to rehearsals” and “reportedly couldn’t get her lines right.” It looks like her role was the one that Sophie Okonedo ultimately took.Ĭarrey, too, wasn’t happy on set. Georgianna Robertson, Ian McNeice and Simon Callow were cast in supporting roles, but problems soon started to mount up. As it turned out, a lot of time was nonetheless wasted. It’s worth noting that Carrey was reportedly not keen to embark on making Ace Ventura 2, but with a director and script in place, filming began in late March of 1995, with a Christmas release date on the horizon. “I’ve been kicking myself ever since,” Carrey said, unsurprising given that Being John Malkovich was just a few years away at the time.

Just last year, meanwhile, Carrey confirmed that he’d spoken to a then-young Spike Jonze about taking the job on, but that he wasn’t convinced by him at that stage.

The Farrelly Brothers, who had just wrapped Dumb And Dumber at the time, declined the opportunity to direct the film, for instance, through a mix of scheduling – they were prepping the terrific Kingpin at the time – and feeling the material wasn’t quite for them. He wasn’t the only candidate in contention. He was given director approval and settled on Tom DeCerchio to make his directorial debut.

And with his new superstar status came fresh influence. Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls had an overall budget of $30 million, and Carrey had been allocated half of that.

Ace ventura pet detective rhino scene