What’s Adam Sandler like?
I loved working with Sandler be-cause he’s completely involved in the process. He’s not just an actor who shows up and is funny. He produces, writes, is in the editing room and helps with the soundtrack. Q: One of the film’s inspired elements is Steve Zahn and Jack Black’s Neil Diamond obsession. A: That wasn’t in the original script. I knew Steve and Jack both played guitar, and I thought they should have a cover band, and it should be of someone who’s hip, but not of their generation. When we first approached Neil, his big concern was that he didn’t want to be made fun of. I assured him that wasn’t our goal. These guys would be crazed but genuine fans. Once he trusted me, he was 100 percent on board. And he even suggested some bits, like using his song titles as dialogue. Q: There are some serious Diamond fans in the concert scene at the end. A: His fan base is insane. Once it got out on the Internet that Neil was doing a one-song concert [“Holly Holy”] in Vancouver, people flew in f
