Jerry O'Connell stars as an egomaniac basketball player in Ballbuster, a new comedy from director Tom Hines. O'Connell stars as Rich, whose bad behavior on and off the court leads to him getting forced into playing with a low-rent charity team touring the country playing novelty basketball games against various ridiculous teams. Ballbuster doesn't aim to be an awards season contender or a sappy, inspirational sports film, but instead has only one goal on its mind: getting the viewer to laugh by any means necessary. The end result is crass, foul-mouthed, and delightful.
The handsome and talented Jerry O'Connell first broke onto the scene as a child actor in Rob Reiner's Oscar-nominated Stephen King adaptation, Stand By Me. Since then, he's arguably best known for his leading role on the first four seasons of the cult science fiction show, Sliders, though he's also made scene-stealing appearances in films like Mission to Mars, Piranha 3D, Jerry Maguire, and Scream 2. Fans of comic book superheroes may know him best as the voice of Superman in the DCAU, including the critically-acclaimed The Death of Superman and Reign of the Supermen.
While promoting the release of Ballbuster on digital storefronts, Jerry O'Connell spoke to Screen Rant about his work on the film, and his career in Hollywood. He talks about how working on Ballbuster gave him the chance to visit scenic Sacramento for the first time in his life, and how he feeds off the energy of a broad ensemble comedy cast. He also discusses some of his notable roles from over the years, and expresses his interest in once again working with Piranha 3D director Alexandre Aja in the future. Finally, he talks about his hopes and dreams for a Sliders revival and what it would take for Universal to take a chance on bringing the beloved series back from the dead (hint: it involves Twitter and the Peacock streaming network).
Ballbuster is out now on Digital and DVD.
What a jolly movie Ballbuster is, and what a jolly presence you are! That's the word for it: jolly!
Well, you don't live with me, so you don't know what I'm really like.
I wanna take you back to February 2019, I'm in the hospital getting my gall bladder removed, I'm in there for a week. I'm very high on doctor drugs, and my best friend during this time is you, hosting the Wendy Williams show!
Oh yeah!
That was on while I was in the hospital, and I loved it!
That was, yeah, last year. That was over a year ago.
I thought you were so great, why don't you have a daytime show now? I think you totally deserve one.
You know, I tried. I tried last Summer, and it just didn't work out. It didn't get picked up. I don't know what to say.
That sucks. I thought you were just a joy.
I really tried. I don't know why... It just didn't work out. And my agent, after I tried this Summer, my agent said, "I think that's it. I don't think you get any more chances, I think that's it." I think that was it... And he hasn't returned my calls since!
I hope you get another shot at it in the future if that's what you want to do.
I think I'll just be a substitute for Wendy Williams.
That's where all the great ones begin! Let's talk about Ballbuster for a minute. Again, what a jolly movie. It's got that tapdancing, almost punk rock, "I don't give a s***" sensibility, where it just wants to have fun and wants you to have fun with it. You've gotta cast off your cynicism and have a good time, and I think this movie does that.
Thank you!
Can you tell me about how the project came to you? Did the script come across your desk, did you help develop it, did your agent go, "Jerry! You've gotta read this!" What was the process for this one?
My bosses, Mark and Howard, the producers, they're two Sacramento people. They've been doing this sort of thing, shooting films in Sacramento and that area, and I love keeping the movie business here in California. But I have to admit, I'd never been to Sacramento in my life! It was just a fun way to see my home state's capital. It was fun to do the movie, and they put together a great cast. Luenell, Flex Alexander, Mike E. Winfield, Elizabeth Rohm... Just a really fun group of people, and we had a good time doing it!
The performances definitely shine. I get the impression that it's hard for a room to bring your energy down.
You know, I think it was a group of us in a lot of the scenes. When you have an ensemble thing, you've got to dish it, too, a little bit. I don't think I really had any solo scenes in the film. I think it was mostly with the whole team. When you're on a bus with these guys and girls... I can't take all the credit for the energy, I think all of us were out there doing it.
Do you consider yourself someone who feeds off the energy in a room and you use that to build your performance, or is that too, uh, mystical? Where do you pull it from?
I do like to drink coffee and go to set. I do think it requires a little bit of energy. A lot of times, when you go to a set, you know, everybody's watching the performance. They're there to see what happens in front of the camera. If you're not really into it, it's sort of a bummer, man! There's nothing worse than doing a scene with an actor who doesn't want to be there. It's really tough. I do try to bring an energy to every scene, you know? I don't totally goof off! I do like to concentrate a little bit when I'm there. But I do like to bring it. It's also fun, when you do an ensemble like Ballbuster, it's fun to... It's like playing a pickup game of Basketball. You're not going to walk around the court slowly; you want to at least look like you have a little spring in your step!
You've had a prolific career over the years. I mean, your roles in Superman and Piranha probably couldn't be more different. I was just telling someone who hadn't seen Piranha... I'll always go to bat for Piranha 3D.
I've got to tell you... I've maybe not been the best of movies, but Piranha... I think it will go down as one of the best movies I was ever in. Those two who made it, Alexandre Aja and Grégory Levasseur, they are true French artists who wanted to make a gory American horror film. We had a lot of fun doing it. A lot.
I got to interview Alexandre for his crocodile movie, Crawl, that he made last year.
I am going to put this out in the universe: I'm dying to work with Alexandre Aja again. I really enjoyed him. He's just a great... You feel like you're doing something on another level. He's just an auteur. Maybe it's the accent. But it's his style of filmmaking, you just know that what you're doing is special.
You've got this Americana vibe, you can play all sides of that great American equation, from a noble lawman to, well, Joe Francis.
(Laughs) That character was NOT based on anyone in particular. Any similarities are, um, were not intentional.
Didn't you get, like, a cease and desist to insist that be the case, or is that too far out of turn for this conversation?
Any similarities between me and anyone else in the world were not intentional.
Okay, fair enough!
That's my answer to that! (Laughs)
You're also on Star Trek now! Is that a "pinch yourself" dream come true moment for you?
I've never felt more welcome by a group of fans. It's really all online. I have to say, having played Superman in some of the DC stuff, I thought that was a pretty fun fanbase to be part of. I don't want to draw comparisons and upset any fanbases, but the Star Trek fanbase is very welcoming. I feel like the mafia has allowed me in. They've given me, like, a job, a mid-level mafia job.
You're a made man!
I'm a made person, yes.
After all these years, Sliders is still very popular. New generations are finding it all the time. If the original Star Trek was the ultimate "cult show" of the 60s, I think Sliders is that for the 90s.
It's currently on Peacock television. So the launch of this Peacock streaming service gave a new life to Sliders. It was on Netflix for a second, but then I think they stopped paying for it, so it's not on Netflix anymore. It was originally a Universal show. It was, I believe, Sci-Fi Channel's first original series. So Sci-Fi is part of Universal, and Peacock is part of that, whatever... I don't even know what the parent company is... It used to be General Electric, now it's Comcast. Sorry, I'm not up to date on the trades! But anyway, if it does well on Peacock, I bet Universal would return my phone call about a Sliders reboot.
You're game for it.
I think it just depends on how it does on Peacock. They also care a lot about social media. They care about what's trending on Twitter and all that stuff. I think, if the streaming numbers are there, they will return my phone call. I'll say, as of now, no one has returned my Sliders phone call. Not to call anybody out... But I did make a phone call, and it has not been returned.
You want it, I want it, we all want it!
I know I'm not Shonda Rhimes here, but it's almost like dating. I can't call them up and be like, "You've gotta do a Sliders reboot, I'm telling you, everybody's DM-ing me, I'm getting all these messages on Twitter." I just can't do that. Peacock has to swipe right on my photo and write to me, "Hey, I'm interested in meeting up for a coffee," you know? It's like online dating. It can't just be me swiping and saying I want to go on a date; they have to swipe back, we have to match as a couple.
Do you have an elevator pitch for the show, or, I should say, a version of that pitch you can share with us?
Um... No. If it came close, I would take it to the fans online. I would take it to the fans, and see where they would like to see it. And I would call John Rhys-Davies, who I've gotta call back, and Cleavant Derricks, and Sabrina Lloyd. But I would take the temperature of what's out there. Being part of Star Trek, it's funny; after doing Superman and Star Trek, it's all right there on Reddit and Twitter. Everybody can be heard. I'm a firm believer in the idea that the fanbase, while loud and sometimes a little negative and maybe a little angry, I tend to believe that they're right. If I work on something for Star Trek, like Lower Decks, which is hilarious and everyone should go to CBS All Access and watch it, but Star Trek isn't my baby. It's your baby! I'm just a guest. Someone's allowing me to drive a Ferrari for a couple of hours. I have to make sure I don't crash it, keep it at a sensible 70-75 MPH. Maybe I can take it out for a couple of donuts or sharp turns, but eventually, I have to get out and give the keys to Strange New Worlds or whatever is the next Star Trek show. It's not my Ferrari, so I want to make sure it doesn't come back with a scratch. That's why I always listen to the fans online.
Thanks so much for your time, it's been a delight to talk to you, Ballbuster is very funny, you're a delight in it, and I hope to catch you again soon!
Ballbuster is out now on Digital and VOD.