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RENAISSANCE MAN
By Antony Teofilo
July 8, 2004
Newsies: Continued
The Anchorman Press Conference, Part 2
By Antony Teofilo
Continuing our look at Will Ferrell's new flick ANCHORMAN, the cast doesn't let up on their goofing and riffing. (To read the first half, click here).
(It should be noted, especially in the cases of any reference to Nicole Kidman's tushie, adventures on the casting couch, and Steve Carrell's career, all remarks were made in humor: take this stuff with a grain of salt. Except BEWITCHED. And TALLADEGA NIGHTS. And...you know what, if you can separate fact from fiction, you let me know).
Either way, enjoy...and go see this flick.
Q: Will, you're be starting on BEWITCHED next?
Ferrell: We won't be starting until September 21st. And we're kind of working with Nora Ephron on the script a little bit.
Oh, What A Feeling... - Ron Burgundy and his Channel Four cronies rejoice in their maleness, and the fact that they're San Diego's number one news team.
Q: It's a very different interpretation, isn't it?
Ferrell: Yes. It will be done in a Kabuki theater style. We're very excited. We're going to have to learn Japanese.
Q: What do you think you can teach Nicole Kidman about comedy?
Ferrell: I'm not really familiar with Nicole Kidman as an actress. I've heard that she's done some great stuff. And I hear that she's got a cute little rear end on her. [Laughs]. But, aside from that, I'm not really familiar with her.
Q: Steve, you've done a lot of newsman roles.
Carell: Yes, I have.
Q: Is there any talk about you heading up your own project?
Carell: Weatherman! Weatherman is in post-production right now. It's the continuing saga of Brick Tamland. Yeah, there are a few things. And they're all going to be fantastic. Probably better than everything I've done, combined. But I'd like to write some of my own stuff. Because some of the stuff I'm given now is pretty lame. I'd like to put my own bent on something.
Q: What is this next project?
Carell: I have to figure that out. I know it will be hysterical. I really want to direct. And do drama. I don't want to do comedy anymore. I just want to do really straight dramatic roles. And theater. And I want to direct theater. And do choreography. I'd like a cooking show.
Q: Steve, are you going to play anything other than newscaster?
Carell: Nope. This is it. It's newscasters for the rest of my life. That's all I'm going to do. That's all I understand. I think that's pretty much it for me. That's my range.
Q: Do you like continuously playing a newscaster?
Carell: No. And you can see that in my performance. I have contempt for all the other actors, except for myself. I deserve a lead role. But I have a three year old and a new born. I have to make ends meet. I resent my wife. You know, for making me work. Why doesn't she go out and get a job? She's talented too. She can write, she can do something. She doesn't do anything. She just sits around eating bon-bons all day, [whining] "Oh, I have a three week old. I'm breast feeding." I'm so sick of that...I've had it up to here. And the kid? With the crying? "I'm needy!
I'm hungry! I've a poopy diaper!" So, pretty much, I'm going to be doing this. Just to get out of the house, essentially.
[pauses]
I hope my wife never gets on the Internet. [Laughs]
The Wrangler - Writer/Director Adam McKay tries to keep the chaos of a strong improvisational cast in check on the set of ANCHORMAN.
Q: Steve, you stole a lot of laughs in this film. Where did you find the inspiration to play Brick?
Carell: Do you watch Spongebob Squarepants? Well, the character of the starfish? We're essentially the same person. Patrick. [Laughs] I think the inspiration was the script itself. It was such a funny character. And to
joke about doing this character for an entire movie would be the worst idea ever. Because it's the kind of character where very small doses are very funny. But anymore than that would be pretty obnoxious. I was pretty lucky.
This script was so funny.
Q: Christina, how did you relate to this character?
Applegate: I loved playing Veronica. Having watched a lot of footage from that time in the 70s, and watching women as newscasters, I got to have this tape that was behind the scenes. I got to see the dynamic between the men and the women. I loved the idea that these women were in
hell. I love playing a character that has to overcompensate playing with the boys.
Q: Did you ever experience anything like that?
Applegate: No.
Q: You've never experienced sexism?
Applegate: I don't find it. The casting couch thing is a normal thing, right? I mean, that's what we do to get jobs. I had to sleep with Adam to get this job. But
that's not sexism. I think that's just the way the biz goes.
The Sexual Revolution Will Be Televised - Ron Burgundy and Monica Corningstone battle it out at Channel Four. Will Monica succumb to Burgundy's wiles?
Koechner: That's not sexism. We all did it.
McKay: It's about tenderness and understanding. That's what it's all about.
Rudd: Earning your keep is what I always call it.
Ferrell: And being filmed. And you literally just sleep with Adam. There's no contact. You just lie in bed with him.
McKay: I caress you hair and sing German Children songs to you. And I feed everyone cups of honey...and then I cleaned their feet in the morning. There's nothing creepy about it.
Ferrell: He'll let you listen to your I-Pod while it happens.
Q: How did you choose San Diego as the location for your news station?
McKay: Originally, it was set in Philadelphia. That was our first choice. I grew up outside of Philadelphia. Those are the anchormen that I remember. Then we went over to Portland. We thought Portland would be good, because we
were starting to go West Coast. But Portland turned out not to be a good double for Vancouver. Then we thought, wait a minute. San Diego's perfect. Because we wanted a mid-market; sort of big, but not too big.
Q: Will, how did you keep this character going through the end of the day?
Ferrell: Well, I didn't make it, a lot of the times, to the end of the day. I'd usually check out around 11 am. But that's just a sidebar. A fair amount of this character was on the page. Just because Adam and I had lived with it
for so long, writing it. But Adam's somewhat unconventional as a director. We kind of do the scene written one time. And then we'd start improvising right away.
Q: How long did this sort of process last?
Ferrell:Well, a take would usually be when the film ran out. And then we'd reset and keep doing stuff over and over again. Plus, Adam, a lot of times, would just yell out great suggestions and lines while we were rolling.
Applegate: They weren't that great.
Ferrell:You know what? You're right. They were just borderline horrible. And you'd do it anyway. Then we'd look at each other and go, "Ooh, it's nothing but hurtful to do this."
Q: Christina, what's your next project?
Applegate: Right now, I'm going to New York to star in SWEET CHARITY.
Q: How are you preparing for that?
Ferrell: Be sure you stretch.
Applegate: Yeah. I am. This is really difficult, and absolutely insane to do. But I'm just training right now.
Q: What's next for the rest of you?
Koechner: I'm going to do SWEET CHARITY on Broadway for about nine weeks.
(There is a long silence)
Ferrell: No one else has anything? God, what a sad answer that was.
McKay: The whole group is not doing well.
Ferrell:Nothing.
Applegate: What the hey? It's summer [vacation].
Ferrell: I'm working on BEWITCHED. What are you doing?
McKay: BEWITCHED. And Will and I are actually working on our next project, TALLADEGA NIGHTS, about racecar drivers.
Rudd: I'm actually going to go see Christina in SWEET CHARITY somewhere in the course of nine months.
McKay: That's it. Good-bye.
Just like that, the press conference was over, and Ron Burgundy and his intrepid gang of newsies were off to their next interview.
Stay classy, MoviePoopShoot.
Anchorman opens nationwide on Friday, July 9th.
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