If you're anything like me, you've gasped, laughed, shrieked, and cried over the Jackass crew. And with their second movie, Jackass: Number Two, hitting theaters this week, star Johnny Knoxville said the group had insurance on the brain this time around.

Knoxville et al. said they were certain they were going to die during the Jackass sequel, and therefore asked studio execs to shell out $7 million in insurance coverage to protect them. According to Starpulse.com, the precautions weren't unwarrented—Knoxville said he nearly died during the soon-to-be-infamous rocket-launching stunt.

"When the rocket exploded in one stunt—there was like a foot-long metal rod that went right out next to my side. It was close!" said the Jackass star.

Director Jeff Tremain agreed, adding that when they watched the playback of the rocket stunt, the frame by frame footage showed the rocket casings shooting out the back and side, barely missing Knoxville's torso. Tremain also explained how he went about asking the studio for the insurance money.

"The studio is like, well what do you need $7 million for? And I'm like well, you've got to insure these guys! You know. The tapes cost $7. The cameras are about $2,000. After that, it's all insurance!"

Makes you wonder if said studio execs had ever watched five minutes of Jackass in their lives...or if they just leapt at the chance to invest in something that the kids would go crazy for. Otherwise, insurance would have been foremost on their minds.

So, before you attempt to wrestle an anaconda in a Chuck E. Cheese ball pit...contact the movie's studio reps to find out who agreed to insure these jackasses pranksters.

[Source]: Exposay
[Hat tip]: The Insurance Coverage Blog