Adam Sandler has gone serious plenty of times before. Indeed, today is the 20th anniversary of the theatrical release of maybe his finest film, Paul Thomas Anderson’s Punch-Drunk Love. But the most popular of his non-Happy Madison productions is Uncut Gems, the unbearably intense gambling thriller he made with two of New York City’s most New York City filmmakers, Ben and Josh Safdie. There’s been talk of the three reuniting for yet another panic attack of a movie. But not only is that actually happening, it’s actually happening very soon.
Sandler spoke with Vanity Fair, where he up and revealed that he’s teaming back up with the Safdie brothers, and that they’re going to “start in the late winter.” Whether that mean they’re starting pre-production or actual shooting is unclear. Nor is there any indication about what it will be about. Some poor shlub suffering through one of NYC’s brutal winters?
What we do know is that Sandler is stoked. “I love those guys, I know we’re going to dedicate ourselves into working our asses off and making sure it’s as good as it can be, and I know that takes a lot of time,” he said. He also talked about getting into the zone. “Like everybody, when you work hard you’re tired, you’re knocked out, and you miss out on some stuff that you wish you could’ve seen. But ultimately, I know it’s going to be a few months of going after a goal that we all feel the same about. We want to do the best we can.”
When asked if it will be as “intense” as Uncut Gems, he said, “Yeah, because of how much these guys care.” That’s a bit cryptic. Does he mean the film will be as intense or it will be an intense shoot? Perhaps both? It’s probably both. What he will say is he doesn’t “want to let them down,” adding, “And I see how hard they work, and just like when I’m working on my comedies with my friends, it means a lot to us. Every joke means a lot. The Safdie boys, every word means a lot to them, every frame of the movie means a lot. So I don’t want to walk through anything. I care about it, and I respect those guys so much.”
When Uncut Gems came out in 2019, it instantly scored Sandler the best reviews of his career. There was Oscar talk, which, alas, came to naught. It would have been deserved. After all, he allowed himself to almost get choked for real during one of the many tense scenes. Still, even though the Academy snubbed him, he won plenty of other trophies and became a welcome, goofy presence on the awards circuit, delivering delightful speeches such as the one below.
(Via Vanity Fair)