The stars of ‘Grown Ups 2’ sit down with NASCAR.com
Comedian Adam Sandler’s latest movie, ‘Grown Ups 2,’ hits theaters July 12. The 46-year-old, along with fellow comedian Kevin James and former NBA all-star Shaquille O’Neal, served as grand marshals for this year’s Coke Zero 400 at Daytona International Speedway.
Was it difficult to convince the cast to do a sequel to Grown Ups?
Sandler: Kevin was …
Difficult?
James: I was in the beginning.
Sandler: He was screaming about the script.
James: And salary. I always do those two things — salary and script. I scream like crazy.
Sandler: But when he read it, he said ’91.’ And I said, ‘What’s 91?’ And he said, ‘That’s the amount of lines you gave me.’
James: I count them. It exceeded the amount, I thought.
You and Kevin gave a unique rendition of the command to start engines at Michigan in 2010. How did you come up with the idea for this year’s Coke 400 command?
Sandler: We said, ‘We have to commit to something.’ … Probably, in the long run, if you watch it 30 or 40 times you’ll end up liking it. In the beginning, you’ll probably just say ‘that was a waste.’
James: It’s one of those things that grows on you; it’s like an acquired taste.
Sandler: Kind of like, what was that Jimmy Stewart movie that you watch every Christmas? ‘It’s a Wonderful Life?’ That wasn’t a hit in the beginning. Someday this will be the one.
Is Shaq intimidating to be around?
James: He could be; he could kill us all.
Sandler: No, not at all. We feel like we’ll be protected for the rest of our life. By the way, Shaq is on top of his game; he sees what’s going on … and he’s a pretty funny guy.
How did you get to know him?
Sandler: I’ve known him for years, just from living in California. He was like the biggest star in LA. I would go to (Laker) games and we talked for a little bit. I’d see him in different places; I’d give it up for the Shaq and he was always nice back.
Kevin, you’ve been on the road doing standup. How did that go?
James: I did a little tour. It was a lot of fun.
Sandler: Basements?
James: Basements and picnic areas. You ever see those grills that are like already cemented into the ground? You go there and people have cooked meat on those things for years. I would go there and just start telling jokes, and hopefully attract at crowd. Sometimes it would be a gazelle and an alligator. But wherever it was, I’d find it.
Are you involved in social media?
Sandler: I don’t tweet. We take care of our Internet stuff. Do you do it? We’ll watch what you tweet about us and see if you should keep doing it.
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