By his own admission, Adam Sandler makes some of the silliest, stupidest and downright goofiest movies in the world. And God bless him for it (and for making no apologies).
The newly minted MTV Generation Award winner sat down to discuss his latest project, "You Don't Mess With the Zohan," the story of an Israeli counterterrorist whose one great wish is to style hair. Read his thoughts on how Zohan would fare against James Bond, why Mariah Carey alone could bring peace to the Middle East, when the next "Chanukah Song" is coming out and what his upcoming project with Judd Apatow is all about.
MTV News: In this movie, your mission is to make the world "silky and smooth." You sport the Avalon — pretty stylish.
Adam Sandler: Yeah.
MTV: What's the opposite of that? The worst haircut you've ever had?
Sandler: [Laughs.] I think I got it right now!
MTV: Yeah, what is this little Mohawk thing you're working on?
Sandler: I have no idea! You know what happened? I had a Mohawk for a while. I started another movie up. I showed up on the set, and they were like, "You want us to straighten that out for you?" I was like, "Nah, I don't wanna get a haircut, leave it like this." And they were like, "Really? 'Cause you'll have to keep it the whole movie." I was like, "Yeah, just go." And now I'm like, "What the hell did I do that for?"
MTV: At the audience Q&A for "Zohan," you talked about how James Bond and the Zohan would match up. But go further: Describe the fight between the two. Play it out for me.
Sandler: James Bond is very crafty, and he does well with the ladies in his own right. The only thing 007 doesn't realize is that Zohan feels no pain, so it's just ultimately hard to win. You can tie him, but you can't beat him. It's just terrible, because I love James Bond, I always have. It's weird to talk trash like that about him.
MTV: So how's your physical fitness holding up? Can you do the splits?
Sandler: Yes. I did it one time. A guy had little pliers and snipped [my groin]. I guess there's a bone right there, and they kinda just worked with that. After I did the poster, I couldn't walk
MTV: How much of this movie is wish fulfillment in a sense? I've seen you do a lot of crazy things in movies, but I feel like those action scenes were the most fun I've ever seen you have.
Sandler: Yeah, that was something. I was dying to do that action stuff. I would have loved to see anybody do that. The fact that I'm in it makes it extra stupid. But yeah, I liked swimming like a dolphin, I liked pretending I had a giant package — that was fun! I enjoyed being sexual with my mother's friends.
MTV: Total wish fulfillment!
Sandler: Absolutely! [Sex with my mother's friends] has been a long time coming.
MTV: You always find a way to work with your friends, but is there anyone out there you haven't worked with who's on your list?
Sandler: I don't know. I luck out. I meet these guys. A lot of people I've met doing movies with them, and I become tight with them after that. I've worked with some cool ones. I worked with [Jack] Nicholson [in "Anger Management"] — that was pretty damn cool. It's hard to beat that one.
MTV: The T-shirt you're wearing throughout the film: Why Mariah Carey?
Sandler: We just thought it would be funny if [people in] the Middle East were constantly fighting about everything. The only thing they agreed upon is how hot Mariah is. And it's true.
MTV: She could single-handedly bring peace to the region.
Sandler: She's trying!
MTV: I was thinking about your Chanukah songs. The last one was 2002. When's "The Chanukah Song, Part 4" coming out?
Sandler: That's a good idea. That's a good idea! There are a lot of new famous Judaic celebrities out there, and we gotta get 'em on a list. The only problem is that when I start listing these Jews in songs, there's some people out there who write 'em down in the wrong way. "I gotta get that guy now!" So you gotta be careful if you wanna be in "The Chanukah Song."
MTV: O.J. Simpson, still not a Jew?
Sandler: [He laughs.] I'm not aware if he changed or not. But so far, I think he's not Jewish.
MTV: For the new Judd Apatow movie, are you going to go back on the road? Maybe do a little stand-up?
Sandler: Apparently I am. Man, I gotta write an act again. It's been a long time. I haven't done stand-up in, like, 10 years. Even more. So yeah, I gotta get to work this summer and start doing that again. That's why I want to kill Judd Apatow right now. I was so much happier doing nothing.
MTV: So if I show up one night at a comedy club, you might be there?
Sandler: Stuff like that will happen. You will see me bomb for about 15 minutes straight, then walk off and punch Judd.
MTV: It's not an out-and-out comedy, though, is it?
Sandler: [Judd's] doing something. He wrote something very funny. My friends who [also] read the script and I, all of us were baffled by how funny it was. But yeah, there's a lot of stuff going on in the movie. It's pretty heartbreaking, too.
Check out everything we've got on "You Don't Mess With the Zohan."
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