If you ever wondered why jackass the movie sounded so much better than jackass the TV show on MTV, it's because we hired professional mixer Cordell Mansfield to do the job. That was 2002 and he's been with us ever since through thick and thin. Now, for the first time ever in the history of the written word (actually this isn't true, he once had an interview in some random ass magazine devoted to the profession of sound and those who record it), the man who is usually the most quiet on set gets a chance to speak and make sounds all of his own in this revelatory interview by Rick Kosick. Bonus! This interview features the first ever use of pull quotes on the GORILLA FLICKS blog. Congratulations, Cordell! Not only are you the most handsome crew member but you're an inspiration to us all—a real Canadian wind beneath our wings.
RK: I called to talk with you about your career as a soundman.
CM: Well, what do you want to know?
How did you get started doing sound for TV and film productions?
I kind of stumbled into it. A buddy of mine that I grew up with, the day after school was done he moved out to Hollywood. He wanted to be an actor and started doing some extra work. He was on a Disney movie as an extra for a couple of months and he made friends with the sound mixer. Then he stated working with him. I came out a couple years after that and started working with him, carrying cases and driving trucks. He thought me how to do it and I did one job and never had go apply for another job again… the phone never stops ringing.
When did you get involved with Dickhouse and now Gorilla flicks?
When I started, I was working with MTV, VH1, and Nickelodeon, and I worked with Trip Taylor and Michel Klepper on MTV’s House of Style. So I’d worked with those guys and they thought I would fit in.
What did you think the first day you came in and met everybody during pre-production on the first jackass movie in 2002?
You know, it was funny. I met Dimitry, Jeff, and Knoxville and they were in their office with the big photo of Pontius that you took of him all oiled up and naked. Jeff pointed to the picture and said, “You think you can put a microphone on that dude?” So I guess that was one of the qualifications, to wire up a naked person.
Do you still think you can wire up a naked person?
I never wired anybody naked. I always used a boom. Haha… you can’t put a microphone on a naked dude.
The first day I met you, we were having a meeting about the cameras we were going to be using on the jackass movie and we were all sitting at this table and looking at you like, who’s this guy? You were probably looking at all of us like, who are these idiots?
Haha… No, I never thought you guys were idiots. Everyone was pretty cool and knew what they were doing. It was fun. There was nothing serious about it and it seemed like when we weren’t working that everybody would spend their time coming up with new, funny ideas to film. That was the best part really. Everyone having fun and thinking of stupid ideas.
"You can’t put a microphone on a naked dude."
What’s your all-time favorite TV show that you’ve worked on?
I look at it from a different point of view, like short days and good food, nice hotels. Some of the Travel Channel shows are real easy, staying in nice hotels. I guess the jackass stuff by far is the most fun.
What about Wildboyz?
That was a lot of fun.
A big boom with a physique to match—Cordell is truly a professional sound specimen.
Do you have a memory that sticks out the most?
I think when we shot the pilot in South Africa, the night before we were going to shoot the great white bit where Steve-O and Chris jumped off the boat. We were in Gansbaai and Chris and Steve-O burned down their condo. It was the pilot, so they started that fire and they pretty much thought their careers were over. With some dumb luck they saved a couple of journalists’ lives and they ended up writing a story about Chris and Steve-O being heroes. That day—burning down the hotel condo and then going out to the ocean to jump off the boat onto a great white shark—I guess I’ll never forget that.
So you’ve traveled all around the world. What’s the favorite country you’ve been to so far?
I think Mexico, just because of the food and everybody is so friendly. I think Mexico has a lot to offer, like the beaches, lots of beautiful women… and the food, you know.
You really like food.
You like food, too, Rick.
Haha… I’m not going to lie.
What’s your favorite place?
Every country we visited has something special that I really like about it… I loved all the martial arts stuff we filmed in Thailand. The tuk-tuk race was really fun, getting the opportunity to create a high-action chase scene with the tuk-tuk’s and running around Bangkok.
That was rad. India was super rad, too.
India was amazing in its own weird way. The first day we arrived I had a panic attack. I don’t know why, it was probably lack of sleep and I didn’t know where I was, but we had stopped off at some roadside cafe and I was tripping out.
Yeah, it was all hitting home at that first stop, man, what the fuck are we doing?
Yeah, that first stop was like, I didn’t know where I was at and it was all polluted and smelled really weird. Everyone was staring at me because I’m this big white guy.
I was thinking we were fucked and that we were going to be sick the whole time.
"I just fucking love elephants so much."
Do you have any other funny stories you can share from working on Wildboyz?
That one time in Rio.
I don’t think we can talk about that. Those are good stories, but we’ve got to do a PG version unfortunately, because once it’s on the internet it stays on the internet.
The baby elephants in Kenya, Africa. That’s maybe the greatest day I ever had at work.
What made it so special?
I don’t know, man, I just fucking love elephants so much. Baby elephants are so adorable. They think they are full-size adults and they trumpet with their snouts. They were super playful.
When he's not body doubling for Brad Pitt on the The Big Short, Cordell pushes his cart around wherever sound is needed; or, similar to Clark Kent, Cordell is ever ready to drop his glasses, become the Superman, and record sound in a single bound!
I remember our first day getting to Africa, we drove out into the bush and stayed the night camping out, sleeping in cots along this river. The African tribe was walking around protecting us from any wild animals that could kill us.
Yeah, no doubt there were a bunch of lions, but didn’t Steve-O stay up and get all the African tribe who were supposed to protect us drunk? They weren’t protecting us very well.
What have you gone on to do since the Wildboyz, jackass, and Bad Grandpa?
Lately I’ve been working on the Vice HBO show, a serious journalism/documentary show.
What’s been the greatest Vice assignment that you’ve done so far, or the one you’re most proud of?
The one that made my parents proud, I guess, when I did a couple of things with President Obama. Over the summer I worked on a documentary about the prison system and we went to the Oklahoma El Reno state penitentiary with Obama and took a tour to talk about the problem with overcrowded prisons. It was an interesting hour-long HBO special. That and a different show for Vice on AIDS, those are maybe the two most important jobs I’ve done so far in my career. I wouldn’t trade that stuff for doing the fun days with the Wildboyz and jackass, though. I would prefer doing comedy rather then anything else.
Big or small he mics them all!
Yeah, I feel the same way. I would much rather make comedy shows then anything. Laughter is therapy. It’s important to have. I feel there’s not enough laughter in the world we live in. So what show did you just finish up working on?
Swerved, the WWE hidden camera show, and it’s amazing.
Yeah, the second season went really well, wouldn’t you say?
Yeah, I haven’t seen any of the cuts, but I imagine it should get us a third season.
Who were some of your favorite Superstars and Divas that you got to work with?
Paige and Foxy.
Paige comes in first?
Oh yeah.
Wow, Paige, she just dominates everyone, doesn’t she?
She’s not your favorite?
She is my favorite.
She’s like the female Ozzy Osborne.
Haha… She is definitely the queen of Goth. Obviously she’s really pretty, but she’s got the best attitude and just gets it, you know? She’s fun to work with. What about the Superstars?
The Boogeyman is really rad. Super friendly, nice dude. R-Truth is hilarious. The Miz is pretty cool. I like The New Day, and Dolph Ziggler is cool… but when did we go see his improv show?
Last year in San Jose during WrestleMania.
I had to sneak out of there. I was tired and had to get up early the next morning. You know, improv can be torture, even the pros sometimes.
It wasn’t that bad. I had a good time, even though I was tired, but I have to agree that we have early call times on this show.
Yeah, but it’s definitely a fun show. It’s different from last season with the wrestlers pranking each other. Now it’s pranking the fans. The wrestlers didn’t like being joked around with too much.
What I mostly like about working with the Superstars and Divas is that they have such good improv skills. They really bring it to the table when we shoot these bits on Swerved. They’re really good at what they do, and that’s what makes the show extra special. So one more question: How did you get your nickname “Unga”?
From a Geico commercial, I guess.
Who coined that?
I don’t know, dude, it’s the worst nickname ever.
What do you mean? Unga is a pretty cool nickname.
No, it’s not cool at all. I mean you have a cool nickname: Dick Thunder.
You have to admit it, though: you do look like the guy from the Geico commercial.
Yep.
Any last words you want to say?
Thanks for taking the time to interview me. I enjoyed it.
"Unga smash!" Famous last words written by Sean Cliver before Cordell does just that.
I remember meeting Cordell for the first time in Orlando with you guys. I called him by his name and introduced myself. He looked at me with a confused stare and said: "How do you know who I am?"
I replied in a growly voice: "Me like Unga!."
His face was priceless.
Posted by: That Guy™ (The Original Anal Whore ®) | 04/26/2016 at 03:43 PM