September 30th, 2010:
CHRISTIE REVEALS ERROR ON RACE TO THE TOP FUNDING WAS STUNT FOR MTV’S NEW “JACKASS” MOVIE
Don’t Try This in your school district, Governor Warns
In an “Ask the Governor” radio show last night on 101.5, Governor Chris Christie revealed that his administration’s “error” on the Race To The Top funding was an elaborate stunt for MTV’s new “Jackass” movie, based on the show of the same name. Jackass ran on MTV from 2000 to 2002, and featured people performing various ridiculous and self-injuring stunts. “We think this stunt definitely fit their criteria,” Christie told the 101.5 hosts.
Christie told the Jersey Guys that he “had been a fan of the crude-stunt movie series for years” and was actively seeking advice from his Cabinet for a stunt that could appear in the new movie, to be released in October: “We need something that is wacky—dangerous, crude, ridiculous, and self-injuring for New Jersey,” Christie told his Cabinet in June. Former Education Commissioner Brett Schundler recommended the stunt involving losing the Race To The Top funding. “This will get us national exposure,” an enthusiastic Schundler told the Governor, back in the early summer. Although Christie said his “Race To The Top stunt” had been a hit, he warned New Jersey towns, “Do not – I repeat – do not try this in your own school district. Leave this type of thing to the professionals in Trenton.”
The Governor said he first tried imitate a “Jackass” stunt back in 2002, when he was in a traffic accident that injured a motorcyclist in Newark. Back then, Christie drove down the wrong way on a one-way street, playing ‘chicken’ with motorcyclist Andre Mendonca. “But I guess that was not wacky or dangerous enough to get on the MTV show back then,” Christie told the 101.5 hosts Monday night.
In Newark this week, where Christie and Mayor Booker were receiving a $100 million check from FaceBook founder Mark Zuckerberg, the “Jackass” news was astoundingly well-received. “When Christie told the State Senate that NJ lost $400 million, we thought he was just joking,” said Senate President Steve Sweeney, “But it’s gratifying to know New Jersey is getting national exposure for things beyond Snooki and Tony Soprano.”
In other news, the Christie administration revealed today that they have been in negotiations for the governor to appear on an episode of the new Bravo network show “The Real Teachers of New Jersey”, insulting one of the show’s teacher stars at a town meeting.
