Adam Sandler says that working with Uncut Gems directors Josh and Benny Safdie reminded him of Saturday Night Live
The veteran comedian worked on the sketch series in the early '90s
Back in the halcyon days of late 2019, Adam Sandler delivered a career-defining performance in Uncut Gems. Now, he’s getting ready to work with directors Josh and Benny Safdie again in a secretive new film. In a recent interview with Vanity Fair, Sandler looks back on the white-knuckle thriller, which was seemingly a lot less stressful to make than it was to watch.
“Boy, I just remember that whole process was fun,” Sandler says of first working with the Safdie brothers. “Getting to know those guys, getting to be with those guys, it kind of felt like the old days, like early Saturday Night Live, hanging out with a group, going places together, believing in a project together. I just felt like I had great teammates there.”
The veteran comedian worked on the sketch series in the early ’90s, hired when he was just 24. While projects like Billy Madison and Big Daddy minted him as a movie star, Paul Thomas Anderson’s Punch-Drunk Love is another career highlight for the actor that makes it a lot less surprising that he teamed up with two of A24's favorite directors–and will do it again.
“…I love those guys, I know we’re going to dedicate ourselves into working our asses off and making sure it’s as good as it can be, and I know that takes a lot of time,” Sandler says, noting that their next film will enter production this winter. “So part of my brain is going, ‘Wow, once that movie starts I’m in deep and our lives are going to change.’ Like everybody, when you work hard you’re tired, you’re knocked out, and you miss out on some stuff that you wish you could’ve seen. But ultimately, I know it’s going to be a few months of going after a goal that we all feel the same about. We want to do the best we can.”
Of course, Sandler has stayed busy in the meantime. In 2020, his Happy Madison Productions inked a deal to produce four more movies for the streamer, following the success of Murder Mystery and The Ridiculous 6. Hustle was the first release from this new batch of projects, and will be followed by Spaceman, You Are SO Not Invited To My Bat Mitzvah!, and Murder Mystery 2.