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\n\tFresh off the news<\/a> that Ron Howard<\/a> and Brian Grazer<\/a> are developing a sequel to their 2000 hit\u00a0How the Grinch Stole Christmas<\/a><\/em>, the pair sat down for a wide-ranging conversation at the UCLA<\/a> Entertainment Symposium, where they gave a little tease of the new film.<\/p>\n \n\tSpeaking to The Hollywood Reporter<\/em> editor-in-chief Maer Roshan on Thursday, Howard \u2014 who is returning to direct Jim Carrey<\/a> in his role as the classic Dr. Seuss character the Grinch \u2014 said the sequel is \u201csomething we\u2019ve thought about for a long time, and you know what, it\u2019s an idea that got all five or six of the brain trust excited. So it\u2019s worth a try.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tCarrey is looking to return despite famously struggling through the production, as Grazer and Howard \u2014 who have been partners in production company Imagine Entertainment<\/a> for 40 years \u2014 recounted how two weeks into filming the star told them he could no longer endure the extensive makeup and contacts needed to become the Grinch and would return his $20 million salary, with interest. <\/p>\n \n\tGrazer explained that he told Carrey to take the weekend to think about it before formally quitting, and in the meantime, \u201cI had met somebody from the CIA that teaches State Department people how to survive torture.\u201d The expert flew out that weekend to meet with Carrey, which seemed to do the trick. \u201cI did try things before that, like having comics come and talk to Jim and try to amuse him,\u201d Grazer noted, but after the meeting, \u201con Monday he said, \u2018No, I\u2019m gonna stick with it.\u2019 They developed a method for Jim to diffuse the pain.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tHoward added, \u201cMostly he just toughed his way through it and he also wouldn\u2019t downgrade the costume, or wouldn\u2019t not wear those contact lenses; that was before CGI could easily replace and color his eyes and things like that. He did go through this, he did learn a lot from this expert, talked a lot about it and relied upon those techniques, and really muscled through it. And by the way, I\u2019ve never been more in awe of an actor creating a character and performance in any film I\u2019ve done.\u201d <\/p>\n \n\tElsewhere in the chat, the duo reacted to the recent success of Obsession<\/em>, Backrooms<\/em> and the young YouTube filmmakers<\/a> behind them.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cI think right at this moment we\u2019re having a kind of an Easy Rider<\/em> moment,\u201d said Howard, noting that he had begun working with young YouTube auteurs years before they were in vogue. \u201cI think there\u2019s a generational shift that\u2019s happening right now \u2014 a couple of great examples of YouTube-born, talented filmmakers and the people they choose to cast and the kinds of scenes they choose to write, and the cultural tone they achieve, that is incredibly effective, organic to them, and exciting,\u201d Howard said. \u201cIt happened for Brian and I and a whole generation of Baby Boomers \u2014 there was a moment when the industry sort of turned to people our age and said, \u2018We need you, you know something we don\u2019t quite know.’\u201d<\/p>\n