The One Stunt That Was Too Extreme For Jackass [Exclusive]
It's hard to imagine that there's any stunt the "Jackass" guys won't try. This is a group of friends who have eaten the most disgusting things imaginable, tortured their bodies, committed psychological terrorism on one another, doused themselves in all numbers of bodily (both human and animal) fluids, and often end up hospitalized in the process, all in the name of committing to the bit. That isn't to say that there isn't some corporate red tape that gets in the way of their shenanigans. Ahead of the release of "Jackass Forever," it was revealed that a handful of stunts including getting hit by a car, taking a live bullet while wearing a bulletproof vest, and rolling down the stairs in a cardboard box set with pillows were all denied by Standards and Practices.
Given the scope and intensity of some of the stunts they have gotten away with, rolling down the stairs in a box seems like child's play. If I had to guess, they were worried that impressionable viewers watching at home would ignore the countless warnings that bookend the show and movies and try it at home. /Film writer Jeremy Smith recently had the chance to interview "Jackass" star Steve-O in honor of his new comedy special, "Bucket List," and found out that one of the stunts included in his special was a rejected pitch for "Jackass Forever." Is it disgusting? Dangerous? Disfiguring? All of the above? In actuality, the reason this extreme stunt was denied was because it's highly illegal.
"Jackass Forever's" loss became "Bucket List's" gain.
This is spinal tap ... literally
"Bucket List" has been a dream project of Steve-O's for many years, and he started filming segments for it long before "Jackass Forever" and the COVID-19 pandemic. As such, the show has evolved greatly over time, with some stunts being added and others being pulled altogether. It wasn't until 2021 that he added one of the most notorious stunts in the entire special, "Spinal Tap." Sure, if you're a fan of the Rob Reiner film "This is Spinal Tap," this sketch sounds like a rock and roll-comedy bit ... but Steve-O means it literally. The stunt is that he would experience a legitimate, medically supervised lumbar puncture, more commonly known as a spinal tap. Smith asked Steve-O if there was ever a point where Paramount, who makes the "Jackass" films ever had to tell them "no f**ing way," and the human barometer for pain tolerance immediately referenced the spinal tap.
"We got to filming in March of 2020, but it only lasted a week and it got shut down because of Covid. During the Covid shutdown, that's when I found the 'Spinal Tap,' and this crazy doctor. I figured out shooting the spinal tap, and I knew it was going to happen, and I brought that to the powers-that-be on 'Jackass.' I said, 'I've got this guy. He's going to stick a four-inch needle in my spine. This is so unbelievably awesome. I will give this to 'Jackass.” They were like, 'Buddy, buddy, we can't do that, man.' Which checks out, because when you're working for a studio, you can't flagrantly break the law."
Fortunately, "Bucket List" was not made through a studio, so Steve-O had no one to stop him. You'll have to be the judge of whether or not this was a good thing by checking out the special on Moment through Steve-O's official Patreon.