‘Jackass’ adapts to new technology

The first person to walk in is Steve-O. There is the faint realization that the tattoos you have been seeing for years

were not drawn on with marker right before every shoot.

Making eye contact with any one of the tattoos will spell doom until Jeff Tremaine and Chris Pontius walk in.

Pontius is fully clothed (which would not be strange for anyone else in the world) and carrying a ukulele that will supply the interview with a beachside feel. It is the music from the ukulele that helps break the locked in stare on one of Steve-O’s tattoos.

It has been a while since the last “Jackass” movie, “Jackass 2,” was filmed, but all of the same characters are back with all the same moves, and now they are in 3D.

“It takes about four years to recover from a Jackass movie,” Tremaine said.

There have been many films that have already been made in 3D, and that gave Paramount Pictures the idea for the perfect title to the third round of fun for Jackass fans.

“Your third movie had to be in 3D. It gives you the name,” Tremaine said.

Even though everyone was in favor of filming the new Jackass in 3D, the style still made the group uncertain because they worried that additional crew would change the nature of their previous successes too much.

“We were hesitant at first because of the way that we do things. We’re a real run and gun crew, and to get these big 3D cameras and the extra people that come with all that just scared us,” said Tremaine.

It took the team some test shots before they were able to come to the conclusion that adding the big cameras wouldn’t take away from the spontaneity.

“It’s hard because it’s all real. No one has done it (some of the stunts) where it is all real. There are no computer graphics to enhance it. Anything that is flying at the lenses, that’s flying at a real expensive lens.

“And when we do it, it’s going to hit it,” Tremain adds.

They are some shoots — like the hidden camera action — that had to be converted. Otherwise, everything seen on screen is truly happening as the viewer sees it without the help of special effects.

“You got to understand, this technology is evolving as we were making it. The converting that we tested was a lot better than it would have been like months before,” Pontius said.

The 3D technology was not the only thing that improved. Steve-O went through a big change himself. This is the first Jackass movie that he was able to do sober.

“Steve-O really went through a lot between two and three. It really was a big challenge for him. He did it sober for the first time.

“We are really proud of him, and we wanted to guard his sobriety — and we’re not the easiest people to be around sober. And Steve-O got the best footage that he has ever gotten. He was so present in the movie and it really shows,” Tremaine said.

“It was important to prove to myself and everyone else that sobriety has made me a lame boring wimp. And being present and clear-headed, I was dreading the stuff so much more than ever before, but at the same time I was more eager to do it,” said Steve-O.

Anyone who has ever seen Jackass can attest to the power that dread brings to the stunts that they are attempting.

“We don’t have macho guys. That doesn’t work when there are no consequences, no fear going into it. Then, there is no emotional connection to it. Steve-O’s fear made him better than ever. It made him respond to it,” said Tremaine.

One of the scenes that proves the point of Steve-O’s new quality has already been shown in part of the movie trailer. Steve-O is sitting in a porta-potty filled with poop. To make things worse, the porta-potty is hooked up two bungee cords.

“I think about that footage. One of the guys will get something awesome, and that will give us footage envy. By the time we got to the porta-potty-bungee, there was so much good footage in the can. I just was like, ‘Man I hate to do this, I don’t want to but I have to and that’s really what it’s all about,’” Steve-O said.

And even with 10 years of Jackass and the additional technology, they are proving one thing — and that is:

“You get a bunch of chimpanzees with ADD together and magic is going to happen if you give them the video camera,” said Tremaine.