Jack Black

June 13, 2014

Hey, reddit, it's me, Jack Black. Let's do this. AMA!

I'm taking a break from filming the Goosebumps movie to hang with you and answer your questions. This will be a themed Q&A, so please prepare spooky questions only. Just kidding, normal questions are also welcome.

I'm also helping to support an awesome cause - Tonasket Water Ranch and Pool Project. Donate and you could win a trip to hang out with me on the set of Goosebumps and see your childhood nightmares come to life. Plus we'll take selfies! Enter here: http://www.omaze.com/JackBlack

And now…ask me anything!

PROOF: https://www.facebook.com/JackBlack/photos/a.456841183800.235971.22498263800/10152266873613801/?type=1&theater

I gotta run. Thanks for joining me today, all my friends and family and fans. Check me out on http://www.omaze.com/JackBlack. Much love. J out!



What is your favourite comfort food?

I’ve got to go with the good old fashioned cheeseburger and milkshake. One more thing I need to add, Apple Pan is the best burger in Los Angeles. There’s this big debate but Apple Pan wins. I’m also going to go with Fat Burger over In-N-Out. Sorry Haters!!


Hey Jack, If you could name who you think are the 4 most underrated bands of all time, who would you name?

Oh my god, the four most underrated. You know, that’s going to be some bands no one has ever heard of. Well, I love Sebadoh. Urge Overkill. They are basically my favorite band and they get almost no love. Who else is underrated? I’m gonna say...let me think about it. Let my look at my iTunes. Okay, looking at my iTunes. ABBA, no. Aerosmith, no. Arcade Fire, obviously not.

So, Beastie Boys, especially To the 5 Boroughs. And finally, The Beatles. They just don’t get enough love.


Hey Jack! What is one thing you loved about the '80s and one thing you loved from the '90s?

The thing I loved about the 80s was devil rock. Like Motley Crue and Iron Maiden. Just all the great rockers who were throwing up the devil horns when it was about the bible. It was just a bitchin’ time to be a teenager.

The 90s, I'm gonna say Nirvana. Best band ever.


Hi Jack, what do you consider your most badass moment?

When Tenacious D played in Germany for the first time it was in front of like 100,000 screaming people. We went on before Metallica, doesn’t get more badass than that. And right before we went onstage we had a band prayer. We put our heads in the center and shared all of our dreams and looked in each other’s eyeballs. There was a silent understanding. We went out and performed like it was the last day of our lives.


Hey Jack!

You have any crazy on-set stories? Preferably concerning Ben Stiller? He's doing an AMA later, and it would be brilliant if I could call him out on something freaking Jack Black just told me.

Yeah, when we were doing Tropic Thunder, I had to ride on the back of a water buffalo, and the water buffalo went crazy and started bucking like a bronco and threw me off it’s back.

So, it bucked me off and I went flying 15 feet through the air and landed between two giant boulders. Obviously, I was shaken and a little traumatized, and Ben Stiller said, ‘Jack, can you get back on there and do it again please?’

You know, he’s one of the best directors I’ve ever worked with but, uh, there is no way in God’s good earth I was getting back on that beast. And, yeah, I hope to have him half-naked strapped to a water buffalo some day.


Hi! What were you like in high school?

What was I like in high school? I was a theater nerd, but I also really liked heavy metal, so I was a strange mix of creature. I was a very rare musical theater metalhead. I probably would have done very well on American Idol. The kid that just won, Caleb? Probably a musical theater metalhead. I had an eclectic taste in music. I liked McFerrin...that’s enough about me, isn’t it?


I'm 16. How can I improve my guitar skills? I want to pursue a career in music. I have been playing for about a year and a half. Also, Tenacious D rocks! Really well put together music.

Well, I should be asking the same thing. I've always let Kyle, my partner in Tenacious D handle the heavy stuff. What I lack in skill I make up for in style. If you play really hard and really feel the chords, that improves your onstage performance. I think it’s just all about learning the songs that you love. That’s the best way to improve your knowledge. Lately, I’ve been trying to learn how to play the Gregory Brothers jams. I’m learning their songs on my guitar. You want to jam on songs that you think are great, that’s the best way to learn. Everything’s better when you’re having a good time.


Thanks for doing this AMA!

I've read that both your parents were satellite engineers... what was their reaction to you pursing a career in entertainment, and did it changed at all since?

I think they realized early on that I wasn’t going to be following in their footsteps. They were great mathematicians and aerospace engineers. They were very supportive and have been of my theater performance. My father did want me to get a college degree, and I failed in that. But they’ve been very supportive to me in my life anyway!

Speaking of dad, he lives in Washington state in Tonasket in the Okanagen Valley. And I’m trying to raise money for this project that he’s working on with my stepmom. They want to build a water park. And they asked me if I would help them do it. It’s a big project and the town really needs it and will really benefit from it. So I said yeah! Let’s do this! So I’m doing it. And if you go to Omaze.com/JackBlack I’m offering the chance to spend time with me on the set of Goosebumps. I will teach you ALL of my secrets. We will party. We will rock. And we will magic.

I think it might be the key to world peace, to build water parks. The world needs more water parks.


Do you believe in the existence of Sasquatch?

It goes without saying, I'm a believer.


What's the scariest thing that happened to you as a kid?

Hmmm. Hmmmm. Hmmm. Scary things never happened to me. Hmmmm. Hmmm. Hmmm. One time, I got lost in the forest. It was only for a few minutes, but I thought I was definitely going to die. I made my peace with the world. And a few minutes later, I found my way back to camp. I think I was like 7 or 8, I was too young to be lost in the forest.

There was also a dude who really wanted to kick my ass over a girl. I was like 13 years old, and this kid was older than me and was was kind of a scary motorcycle dude. He was wailing on me on the street one night. I thought he was going to break my face. Luckily, I went into a tight, tight fetal position and he couldn’t break my tortoise shell. I survived. I’m a survivor!


Dearest Jables,

  1. As a huge fan of Tenacious D, I was wondering if there is a possibility of a second movie or more video shorts like in the HBO series? Those are still my go-to videos whenever I need a good laugh!

  2. Also, when will the D create it's fourth album masterpiece? Your people are waiting!

Thanks for everything you do both in the music world and in the movie world, and thanks for taking the time to do this AMA!

We’ve got another album coming in a couple of years. But we’re putting all of our rocket sauce towards a comedy festival right now.

We’ll be making more content too, but probably not a feature film right now. But we’ll be dropping comedy nuggets as long as we have air in our lungs.


Hi Mr Jack Black,
could you guide me to achieve the best man chest hair & facial hair to scare crying babies? ty

You want me to help you scare crying babies? Do you think I’m Lex Luther? I think what you mean is you want the most intense facial hair possible. This is a new invention I’m thinking of now: mohawk all the way across your face. And then all the way down your chest, all the way through the pubes. Maybe down the neck. Back, crack and sack. That would make them cry. It’s the body-hawk.


I'm trying to get with a lady person i work with but shes dating some dude. any advice?

Yeah, I’m going to say slowly walk away from that scenario. There’s a lot of love out there. Keep searching. You’ve really got to think, what are you looking for? I took a long time to find my lady love. Not until my 30s. There was a lot of searching.


Yeah, I’m going to say slowly walk away from that scenario. There’s a lot of love out there. Keep searching. You’ve really got to think, what are you looking for? I took a long time to find my lady love. Not until my 30s. There was a lot of searching.

Actually, you know what I was really searching for? Myself!


I once high-fived you after a T.D. show in Detroit. My question is, from whom did you receive the best high-five ever in your freaking life? And also, what type of High five was it? My goal is to take this information and give you an even better high five next time I see you after a show.

The best high five I’ve ever received? Hmm… I don’t know about best high fives because aren’t all high fives the same? By definition you have to slap all five fingers. I'm all about creative handshakes. My best one is probably School of Rock, but I’ve been jamming on a new one for my new movie Goosebumps. First we hold hands. Then our hands start to vibrate and shake. Then at the same exact moment, while staring into each other’s eyes, we say GGGG GGG GGG... (13 of them) and then Goosebumps.


How hard is it to be this awesome? Do you go to sleep and be like... damn I wish I was less awesome?

You can never be too awesome in my experience. That’s the weird thing, I go to sleep with the terror that I’m not awesome. That's the source of my awesome, the fear that I’m not awesome. The imperfection is the clam that makes the awesome pearl. It’s the insecurity that makes the hero. Did I just call myself a hero? An awesome hero? Yes, I did.


Hey Jack. I saw Bernie recently and was just amazed at how different your character was from your other films and was absolutely astounded at how great your performance was. So my question is, how does it feel to you to play a serious character in a drama? Was the experience one that you had to prepare a lot for?

You know I didn’t have all that much time because it kinda came together really fast. Richard Linklater gave me the script and I loved it and it was just like, let’s do it. I didn’t have much time to get very in depth in my research but I had an amazing experience. It definitely was one of the highlights of my career. Not that many people saw it, but as an artistic endeavor, it was amazing.


Hey Jack, answer me two things

  1. Why the fuck is The Pick of Destiny not on Blu-Ray?!? Do you not realize its the greatest film of all time?!? Have you seen Rush: Snakes and Arrows Live on Blu-Ray? It fucking rocks. Have you seen This is Spinal Tap on Blu-Ray? It rocks even harder (but not past 11). A Vinyl release of the soundtrack would be great, also.

  2. Why the fuck has Tenacious D not done a "proper" American tour? I'm tired of finding out that you're playing in the state next to me or in fucking Australia with the Foo Fighters.

P.S. Brutal Legend is my favorite videogame that's not made by Rockstar.

That’s a good question. You know, we’re coming up on our 10 year anniversary so maybe we will release a blu-ray version with some extra doodahs. Yeah, that’s a good idea. Thank you.


Jack, I'm a 46 year old dude, newly single, no kids.

But, after being tied down for 10 years, I find I've got no game left with the ladies.

How can I get my groove back?

46 and single and no game. What can you do... diet and exercise? There’s nothing as attractive as passion. Get passionate about something and the love will follow.


Hi JB,

what does KG smell like?

P.S. You rock!

KG is an Old Spicer. Minty fresh. Don't let the relaxed wardrobe fool you. Hes a hygienist.


Hey Jack, thanks for doing an AMA! My question to you is who is the most comedic person you've worked with, either on or off the set?

I’ve gotten to work with some pretty funny people. All the people from SNL were pretty amazing. Will Ferrell, Amy Poehler. I love Will Forte, Will Arnett. I like a lot of the Wills. Three of my favorite people are Will and I only said 4 people! What the fuck happened?! If your name is Will, chances are you WILL be funny.


Hey JB! If I win the trip to hang out with you, can we smoke pot and play guitars?

I don’t know if I’m legally allowed to say that if you win the contest we will smoke pot. I don’t know if that's something I can say. But I guarantee you a good time. Things might get crazy. I will take you under my wing and teach you my ways. You won’t be the same person after our day together. We’re both going to grow. We’re going to learn. Yeah.


I don’t know if I’m legally allowed to say that if you win the contest we will smoke pot. I don’t know if that's something I can say. But I guarantee you a good time. Things might get crazy. I will take you under my wing and teach you my ways. You won’t be the same person after our day together. We’re both going to grow. We’re going to learn. Yeah.

Do you want to learn and grow with me? http://www.omaze.com/experiences/hang-with-jack-black-on-the-set-of-the-goosebumps-movie


What's something that most people don't know about you?

Um, Jesus. I kissed one of my cousins on the lips when I was a kid.


Hi Jack, You've been my first influence since the School of Rock. Speaking of that, what was it like while filming and behind the set with those kids?

We had good times. They were in school most of the time because they were like ten years old. And I was in my trailer playing video games. They were really smart and talented. That was one of my best experiences. It was amazing to see them at the ten year reunion (we just had a party like 6 months ago). It was amazing to see them all grown up. We jammed and played a concert in Austin, Texas and it was awesome.


If you could work with any actor that you haven't worked with yet, who would it be?

I never think of who I want to work with in terms of actors. I don’t really care as much as who the director is. But in this case, I’m going with Daniel Day-Lewis, motha fucka. The best living actor, maybe the best alive or dead. That’s a pretty heavy statement. And that might only be true if its a period piece and its like 1850. Weirdly, no one can play an American better than him. Who else? Keira Knightley. Boom.


Will you kick my ass with karate?

You’d have to make me really mad. I haven’t pulled out my karate skills in a long time. But truth be told I’m more of a judo man. After my experience with Kung Fu Panda I’m way more about the flow of chi.


The Dead Island 2 trailer had a voice at the end that sounded JUST like you, not sure if you're allowed to confirm, but you could totally deny it, is it you?

I’m looking it up right now…Dead Island 2 trailer. I’m just going to watch this real quick. Is this a video game? Oh my god. It’s a video game. Very real looking! Yeah, it’s not me, but now I’m so into this. I can’t stop watching a trailer. This is not a trailer, this is a short film. Holy shit, is he a zombie? I want to see if they got a voice impersonator. Oh my god. This is like the best trailer ever. It’s almost over guys. That’s infuriating. Yeah, I can definitely guarantee that’s a Jack Black impersonator. It sounds like the dude that plays me in the Kung Fu Panda TV show.


As someone who read a ton of goosebumps books as a kid, I am excited to see the movie.

My question is what is your favourite Goosebumps book?

My favourite was always 'Monster Blood' :)

Well, you know at the center of it all is Slappy’s Revenge, but I’m gonna go with Night of the Living Dummy and The Blob That Ate Everyone.


This interview was transcribed from an "ask me anything" question and answer session with Jack Black conducted on Reddit on 2014-06-13. The Reddit AMA can be found here.