jackass – johnny coxville
Looking back on “Johnny Coxville” now, I recall it being a real shock to our silly systems coming from the free-for-all fantasy world of Big Brother magazine to the legal-bound land of reality over at MTV. Where at first there were no rules, now there were many. And while we could work around some, others were unavoidable and frustrating as fuck. So when we attempted to slide some of the original Johnny Knoxville segments from the Big Brother videos up into the jackass television show, a few chunks were lost in the process and had to be re-filmed. The “Poo Poo Platter” was one such bit; “Coxville” was another. Both of these prank-based concepts were filmed for boob, the third Big Brother video released in 1999, but only “Coxville” was in a somewhat salvageable condition (the “Poo Poo Platter” had to be redone in its entirety—several times, actually—but that’s a story for another shit-filled day).
To begin with, the “Coxville” segment shown on boob had an entirely different intro, not to mention an un-blurred dildo and formal “Johnny Coxville” title treatment. The original basketball pick-up game was a total loss and filmed anew for the jackass version, as was the guitar store and select shots from the oil lube check (all of which are actually in better shape now, thanks in part to our improved spy-cam rigs and riggers). The only scenes that really remained intact were the nail salon pedicure, the tourist photo outside Grauman’s Chinese theater, the karate studio, and tuxedo store fitting (which would’ve been a real kick in the junk to lose), while the fitness center and shoe store pranks were entirely new additions.
There was one other scenario filmed for the jackass “Coxville” segment that involved him posted- and pitched-up outside of a supermarket to solicit signatures for some random cause, but this was ultimately a ruse under which we attempted to sabotage him with an “outraged bystander” (played by Michelle Madden, one of Spike Jonze’s assistants at the time). It didn’t go off half bad—she did manage to physically smack him around a little—but no one felt 100-percent about the final footage and the cut was subsequently wished straight into that famous cornfield from The Twilight Zone. Haven’t seen the shit since.
On a purely random and musical note, the “Coxville” song used on boob was “Get My Rocks Off,” by Dr. Hook. “I’m So Excited,” by the Pointer Sisters, was the originally used track on the jackass segment, but was later and lamentably replaced on the DVD (and consequently here on the site) with “Whorehoppin’ (Shit, Goddamn),” by Eagles of Death Metal.
