DR. SEUSS' HOW THE GRINCH STOLE CHRISTMAS [2000]

HO, HO, HO! Hi there everyone, I thought that since CHRISTMAS is almost here and with today’s movie turning 25 [As of the time that i’m writing this!] that we would take a look at the 2000 live-action version of “DR. SEUSS’ HOW THE GRINCH STOLE CHRISTMAS”.

Did you know about how the film got “THE GREEN-LIGHT”?

Our story starts with “DR. SEUSS” [A.K.A. TED GEISEL - MAR. 2, 1904 – SEPT. 24, 1991] himself. Following his death in 1991, his wife, AUDREY GEISEL [AUG. 14, 1921 – DEC. 19, 2018], began licensing his work with greater regularity. In 1998, she invited HOLLYWOOD bigwigs to present her with pitches for “HOW THE GRINCH STOLE CHRISTMAS”, which would be the first live-action film adaptation of any “SEUSS” story. According to a letter that laid out her terms (explained in “TIME MAGAZINE” at the time), she had a few key stipulations. No. 1? The work was open only to DIRECTORS who had already earned a minimum of $1 million from at least one previous movie. She’d also consider only those “GRINCHES” who were of “comparable stature to JACK NICHOLSON, JIM CARREY, ROBIN WILLIAMS and DUSTIN HOFFMAN.” (THE PRODUCERS would have to hand over a portion of the box-office gross too.) In the end, DIRECTOR RON HOWARD [“APOLLO 13” - 1995] and CARREY successfully wooed her. But that dream team almost fell apart …

[TED GEISEL/“DR. SEUSS”]

[TED and his WIFE/WIDOW AUDREY GEISEL.]

Do you know how CARREY really feels about “THE GRINCH” COSTUME?

For CARREY, saying yes to the role in this iconic Christmas movie was the easy part. Transforming into the character was the real challenge. After undergoing eight brutal hours of makeup and prosthetics on Day 1, he put his leg through the wall of his trailer out of anger and told the powers that be that he wanted a one-way trip out of “WHOVILLE”. “It felt like being buried alive,” he told GRAHAM NORTON about the experience on NORTON’S talk show, “THE GRAHAM NORTON SHOW”, in 2015. “I told RON HOWARD I couldn’t do the movie.” HOWARD’S PRODUCING partner, BRIAN GRAZER, came up with the solution: Hire an expert who trains CIA OPERATIVES to withstand torture. The guy came to the set and taught the ACTOR how to endure this special brand of torture. Here are the tricks in CARREY’S OWN WORDS: “Eat everything you see. If you’re freaking out and you start to spiral downwards, turn the television on, change a pattern, have someone you know come up and smack you in the head, punch yourself in the leg or smoke as much as you possibly can.” I do not recommend that anyone start smoking by the way on account of the fact that it’s not healthy for you!

[GRAZER]

In empathetic support of his LEAD ACTOR CARREY, HOWARD spent a whole day DIRECTING while decked out in the full “GRINCH-Y” gear “so I could suffer along with him and see how miserable it really was,” the ACTOR/FILMMAKER revealed during an appearance on “IN DEPTH WITH GRAHAM BENSINGER”. He found the costume “terrible” and “itchy” but noted that CARREY “appreciated that I was willing to suffer with him.”

[Images of CARREY throughout “THE GRINCH” makeup process.]

[HOWARD getting his very own STAR on “THE HOLLYWOOD WALK OF FAME”!]

[HOWARD dressed-up as “THE GRINCH”]

Did you know that one of THE MAKEUP ARTISTS almost quit the film?

According to LEAD MAKEUP ARTIST RICK BAKER, CARREY’S makeup process eventually averaged about 2.5 hours for application and another hour for removal [after the initial eight hours had been shortened] —which CARREY had to endure a staggering 92 times. “By the end of the project, literally you could’ve hit me in the face with a baseball bat and I would’ve gone, ‘Good morning, how are you?’” CARREY later said. “I learned patience. It was amazing.” But getting there wasn’t easy. MAKEUP ARTIST KAZUHIRO TSUJI, who would go on to win “OSCARS” for his work on “DARKEST HOUR” [2017] and “BOMBSHELL” [2019], told VULTURE that CARREY was so unpleasant and erratic on set that his behavior started to stall production. After discussing the issues with his MANAGERS, they decided that TSUJI should take a leave of absence to prove how important he was to the project. It worked: CARREY promised to treat people better, and TSUJI returned to work.

[TSUJI with his OSCAR AWARD for “DARKEST HOUR”!]