The Mask

The Mask is a Dark Horse comic book series created by writer Mike Richardson, the artist Mark Badger, John Arcudi and Doug Mahnke. The series follows a magical mask which imbues the wearer with reality-bending powers and physical imperviousness, as well as bypassing the wearer's psychological inhibitions. It was adapted into the 1994 film The Mask, starring Jim Carrey, which was followed by an animated television series voiced by Rob Paulsen and a stand-alone sequel made in 2005, Son of the Mask.

Overview

In all versions the story initially revolves around a magical mask which gives any wearer limitless power and an altered appearance, characterized by a large set of teeth and a green head. The mask affects the personality of the wearer by removing all personal social inhibitions, causing the wearer to become insane. The book was inspired by a combination of earlier characters: The Joker and Steve Ditko's Creeper, as well as Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. In the original comic stories, characters who wore the Mask would become dangerous and cruel antiheroes with ultraviolent tendencies, even if this was not the wearer's original intention. When adapted into a film, the violence was toned down to make the Mask only as dangerous as its wearer. In both the 1994 film and animated television show, the main character Stanley Ipkiss was depicted as a benevolent yet mischievous superhero. The same is true of the 2005 sequel's main character Tim Avery, who is named after Tex Avery.

Jim Carrey

James Eugene "Jim" Carrey (/ˈkæri/; born January 17, 1962) is a Canadian American actor, comedian, impressionist, screenwriter, and film producer. He is known for his highly energetic slapstick performances.

Carrey first gained recognition in 1990 after landing a recurring role in the sketch comedy In Living Color. His first leading roles in major productions came with Ace Ventura: Pet Detective (1994), Dumb and Dumber (1994), The Mask (1994), and Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls (1995), as well as a supporting role in Batman Forever (1995) and a lead role in Liar Liar (1997). He then starred in The Truman Show (1998) and Man on the Moon (1999), with each garnering him a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor.

In the 2000s, he gained further recognition for his portrayal of the Grinch in How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000), as well as Bruce Almighty (2003), Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004), Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events (2004), Fun with Dick and Jane (2005), Yes Man (2008), Horton Hears a Who! (2008) and A Christmas Carol (2009).

Cameron Diaz

Cameron Michelle Díaz (born August 30, 1972) is an American actress, producer, and former fashion model. She rose to stardom in the 1990s with roles in The Mask (1994), My Best Friend's Wedding (1997) and There's Something About Mary (1998), and is also known for voicing the character of Princess Fiona in the Shrek series (2001–10). Other high-profile credits include Charlie's Angels (2000) and its sequel Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle (2003), In Her Shoes (2005), The Holiday (2006), What Happens In Vegas (2008), My Sister's Keeper (2009), Knight and Day (2010), The Green Hornet (2011), Bad Teacher (2011), What to Expect When You're Expecting (2012), The Counselor (2013), The Other Woman (2014), Sex Tape (2014), and Annie (2014).

Díaz has received four Golden Globe Award nominations for her performances in Being John Malkovich (1999), Vanilla Sky (2001), Gangs of New York (2002) and There's Something About Mary (1998), for the latter of which she also won the New York Film Critics Best Lead Actress Award. In 2013, Diaz was named the highest-paid actress over 40 in Hollywood. As of 2015, the U.S. domestic box office grosses of Diaz's films total over US$3 billion, with worldwide grosses surpassing $7 billion, making her the highest-grossing U.S. domestic box office actress.