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Does 23 add up?

In a recent interview, Jim Carrey, whose new film, “The Number 23,” is a psychological thriller about a man whose life unravels due to his obsession with the number 23, answered some number questions.

When you were 23, was it a very good year?

A lot of people say, “I wish I were young.” Personally, I would not want to return to my 20s. My 20s were so confused. It was like Mr. Fear knocked on the door, and he stayed a decade until I was 30. I don’t know how I lived through it. I’m so glad I’m where I am. It’s such a relief!

If 1 is the loneliest number, what does that make 23?

Well, it’s not lonely. Go on the Internet. People are really into this number!

Why? Have 13 and 666 simply lost their luster?

When I lived in Canada, a friend of mine would point out license plate numbers, and our birthdays and everything added up to 23. And it started popping up. The earth rotates at a 23.5 degree axis. Each parent gives their child 23 DNA chromosomes. It’s everywhere, good and bad. For me, it’s a fun game the universe plays.

That friend from Canada … is he in a padded cell now?

No, no. Twenty-three isn’t always disastrous. But, come to think of it, he has become pretty obsessive over the years. He has scrapbooks. I’m not going there. To me, it’s a little tap on the shoulder that reminds me that something could be magical here.

The number as a code to deeper meaning?

I don’t believe in white men with beards, but the energy behind everything is absolutely unmistakable. It’s undeniable that there’s some intelligence behind it.

Does the name of your production company–JC23–have more to do with the 23rd Psalm than your fascination with the number?

A friend gave me a book about the 23rd Psalm, and I thought, “That’s a great way to look at my life and career. To make choices without fear. To know that I’m taken care of, that I’m all right. And I can choose boldly.” And in Hollywood, the line about a banquet in the midst of your enemies is not bad, either. It makes you feel better.

Given all the historical and pop references in the movie to 23, I was surprised you didn’t use 9/11. (Add the numbers in 9/11/2001 and they total 23.) It’s in the trailer.

It’s still too close. Yeah, it is freaky. But I don’t fear it. The Mayan calendar … it’s kind of depressing. We’ve only got five years left.

You’re kidding. The Mayans predicted an apocalypto … er … apocalypse?

Dec. 23, 2012. The exact same date predicted by (psychic) Edgar Cayce, who said we’d be hit by something that would knock us off our 23.5-degree axis and shift the plates and cause gigantic earthquakes.

Well, that’s going to change my 401K contributions.

You know, I figure if we’ve only got five years left, what an honor to be here when the whole thing goes up. I’m getting a lawn chair. It’s a drag we gotta go, but wow … this meant something.

Hollywood according to Jim Carrey

“The Crash of Jim Carrey,” reads a teaser on the cover of the new Radar magazine. The story puts forth the idea that Carrey’s career is on the skids because studios shelved two high-profile Carrey vehicles in recent months.

Is Carrey in trouble?

“I’m sure there are certain people who would like that to be the perception,” Carrey says. “But it’s not what’s going on. I could make a giant-budget movie tomorrow. I could pick up the phone at this moment and say, ‘I’m in, and make it tomorrow.’ But I’m letting choices mean something to me.”

Carrey says one of the two movies–“Ripley’s Believe It or Not”–will go ahead in 2008, with Tim Burton remaining as director.

Carrey’s other big-budget project, “Used Guys,” is dead. The Jay Roach-directed sci-fi sex farce would have featured Carrey and Ben Stiller playing outdated pleasure robots.

“I believed there would have been a return of $500 million worldwide,” Carrey says. “So business-wise, what they did didn’t make sense to me, unless they were trying to establish some precedent. But that’s their business.”

[L.A. DAILY NEWS].