Sandler finds price is right to tee off Bob Barker, try new
movie projects
Comedian, game show host get kick out of new ‘Happy Gilmore’
By Emily Forster
Daily Bruin Contributor
Adam Sandler wanted to get pounded by Bob Barker.
In his latest film, "Happy Gilmore," the comedian wanted his
character to get into a fist fight with his partner in a celebrity
golf tournament. Bob Barker, the host of "The Price is Right," was
an enchanting choice for Sandler and his co-screenwriter, Tim
Herlihy.
"We were thinking about celebrities," recalls Sandler, "and
(Barker’s]) TV appeal is very relaxed and happy. Just the thought
of making him a very competitive guy was appealing. Every time we
thought of Bob Barker getting mad on the golf course we were
laughing so we thought ‘Gotta get Bob.’"
Barker has turned down several script proposals, including a
part in Kevin Costner’s "Tin Cup," but accepted his motion picture
role in "Happy Gilmore" because of the fight scene.
"Winning the fight was what I liked about it," says Barker. "I
had studied karate with Chuck Norris for 20 years and I never used
it. I thought ‘I wanna get in there and punch this guy out.’"
A line in the fight scene made Sandler apprehensive. He wanted
to say something offensive to the Guiness Book of World Record’s
"Most Durable Performer."
"I was nervous around Bob because he’s older than me," says
Sandler. "I show him my respect but I wanted to say ‘the price is
wrong, bitch’ to Bob."
"They had to explain to me how ‘bitch’ is used now," recalls
Barker. "You’d be amazed what I’m missing in life."
Sandler’s anxiety with Barker is just the beginning. With his
Yankees baseball cap pulled over his face, one hand anxiously
rocking the empty chair beside him, Sandler admits that several
aspects of "Happy Gilmore" made him nervous. He can do nothing but
wait until he finds out if his latest film is a hit.
The lighthearted "Happy Gilmore," directed by Dennis Dugan,
centers around Happy Gilmore, an aspiring hockey player who’s magic
with a puck, but a disaster on skates. When the blue-collar, short
tempered Gilmore ends up on the pro-golf circuit to raise money for
his grandmother’s condemned home, slapstick comedy ensues.
Sandler’s apprehension about the film is clear, but some would
say the comedian has nothing to worry about.
After several years on "Saturday Night Live," roles in
"Coneheads," "Airheads" and "Mixed Nuts," and his starring role and
co-written script for "Billy Madison," Sandler’s comedic career
seems well underway.
But according to Sandler, each endeavor is difficult and
nerve-wracking. Even the first stage in the creation of a film,
screenwriting, takes its toll on Sandler. When he and his old
college buddy Herlihy get together to write a script, tensions run
high.
"Writing a script is tedious," says Sandler. "You have to have
discipline to sit in a fucking room and I don’t have much
discipline. I get Herlihy a lot of times going, ‘Hey, sit down,
Adam. Relax.’"
Screenwriting isn’t all that makes Sandler uncomfortable. His
celebrity status also leaves him uneasy.
"On occasion I’ll be at a bar or something and somebody will get
a few too many drinks and get a little mad at me," explains
Sandler. "I don’t know what happens, but their eyes glaze over and
they get fucking mad at me."
Fortunately, most of Sandler’s fans do not have violent
tendencies.
"I’m pretty relaxed with (my fans)," says Sandler. "I don’t even
think about it that much anymore. People say ‘hi’ to me and that’s
about it."
Sandler’s following will most likely grow with each of his new
projects. The prospect of different experiences drives Sandler’s
career.
"I just get very antsy doing the same shit over and over," says
Sandler, "so I figured Happy Gilmore would be a new character to
play for the summer."
Sandler feels directing would be even more exciting than a new
character, but he is not ready for the director’s chair just
yet.
"I don’t have the directing bug but it’ll probably end up
happening," says Sandler. "The reason I don’t have the bug is
because I saw how Dugan was this energetic guy and then all of a
sudden the bags start coming in under the eyes. There’s a lot of
pressure and everybody’s bugging him every five seconds."
Sandler is anxious enough without having to direct films. He
plans to collaborate with Herlihy again to write a romantic comedy
and will start shooting an action movie, "Bullet Proof," with Damon
Wayans in March.
"In my future I think about doing stuff I haven’t done before
and that’s why I’m doing the action movie. It’d be fun to do
something different like that."
Sandler finds anxiety in most of his projects, but he remembers
the fun when he sees the final product.
"I get a little crazy but when it’s done, it’s a great deal,"
says Sandler. "When you look back, you think, ‘Wow, that was fun,’
but at the time you’re doing it, you don’t realize how much fun
you’re having."
FILM: "Happy Gilmore" opens everywhere today.Comments to
webmaster@db.asucla.ucla.edu