Yes Man is based on a memoir of the same name by British humorist Danny Wallace. The books tells of the 6-month period in which he committed himself to saying 'Yes' to everything based on a brief conversation with a stranger he met on the bus. Danny Wallace also has a cameo in the film, in the final bar-scene of the movie, in which he is speaking to someone behind Jim Carrey.[1]
Carrey received no upfront salary for his role in the film. He will instead be paid 36.2% of the film's gross after its production and marketing costs are recovered.[2]
During shooting of a scene where Carrey's character bungee jumps off a bridge, Carrey interrupted and asked to do the stunt himself.[3] Carrey stated to the stunt double that he intended to do it in one take. When he jumps off, he is seen taking out a cell phone for the scene.
While shooting the scene in the bar where Carrey's character turns around into a waitress and falls flat on his back, Carrey executed the stunt incorrectly and fell to the floor harder than he expected, breaking three ribs in the process. Carrey himself revealed this in an interview for Moviefone in response to a viewer-submitted question about the film's stunts. [4]
Carrey also mastered basic Korean for a scene. A language coach was hired to help Carrey learn the language accurately. However, this is not the same for the scene in which Carrey's character learns to play the guitar; Carrey has been playing the instrument since his childhood.
The film's soundtrack features original music by "Munchausen by Proxy", a fictional band named after the Münchausen syndrome by proxy, a psychological disorder. Jim Carrey's character is incessantly invited to see the band by an over-eager manager/street promoter. Along with female lead Zooey Deschanel, the fictional band was created by Von Iva.[5] The San Francisco-based all-girl power trio of vocals, keyboards and drums were hired to collaborate with the actress to write and perform the original songs and stylized aesthetic of the group for this pivotal scene.[6][7] Von Iva got the part of the fictional ensemble in the film after the movie's music supervisor, Jonathan Karp, saw the cover of their CD in Amoeba in Hollywood.[8] The soundtrack also features 9 songs by Eels including a brand-new song, "Man Up." [9]