UNITED KINGDOM: "We could've done it now or in five years," says Ferrell as Anchorman 2 premieres in London

Record ID: 221208

  • Title: UNITED KINGDOM: "We could've done it now or in five years," says Ferrell as Anchorman 2 premieres in London
  • Date: 11th December 2013
  • Summary: LONDON, ENGLAND, UNITED KINGDOM (DECEMBER 11, 2013) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (English) ACTOR, PAUL RUDD, SAYING: (CONTINUES OVER REPORTER ASKING QUESTION OFF CAMERA) RUDD: "Oh you saw that?" REPORTER ASKING QUESTION: "It must be quite difficult to get through scenes sometimes?" RUDD: "It is every once in a while, it's impossible to try and keep one's composure, and I was pre
  • Embargoed: 26th December 2013 12:00
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  • Location: United Kingdom
  • Country: United Kingdom
  • Topics: Entertainment
  • Reuters ID: LVA9G5OWODSR3JUO4RNIR53O89X8
  • Story Text: Nine years after the widely-quoted comedy "Anchorman" slowly started taking the world by storm, its sequel premiered in London on Wednesday (December 11), but co-writer and lead actor Will Ferrell said as far as the main character Ron Burgundy was concerned, the story is timeless.
    Following the news team as they adapt to working at a 24-hour channel, the highly anticipated sequel to "Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy" reunites Ferrell, Steve Carell, Paul Rudd, David Koechner and Christina Applegate, all of whom made it to the burgundy carpet in the British capital, coloured in honour of the name of the film's main character.
    Speaking to Reuters Television on the carpet, Ferrell said that despite being away from the character so long, he was far from daunted at reprising the role
    "I think that's the beauty of Ron Burgundy; we could've done a sequel now, we could have done a sequel in five more years. He kind of fits into any era in a weird way. But once we came up with an idea that we liked, we felt like "oh, this will be exciting"," he said.
    The 2004 original, with the dapper Burgundy challenged by the arrival of the ambitious Veronica Corningstone, won cult-like status on the back of plucky one-liners and satirical commentary on the ingrained sexism of the 1970s.
    It made about $90 million at the box office.
    Fans attending the premiere on Wednesday were encouraged to show up dressed as their favourite news team member - though one fan turned up dressed as a nightstand with a lamp on his head - a reference to a line from Carell's character, Brick Tamland.
    "It's stunning that it's sort of seeped into the culture that way," Carell said, adding that he continued to be astonished at just how widely the original movie came to be adored.
    "It's bizarre, let's face it - we did this little thing ten years ago, and it was a reasonable success, but at the time it didn't cause much of a wave, but then, all these years later it picked up steam," he told Reuters Television.
    One of the significant elements of making both movies involved improvisation from the cast, though Paul Rudd, who plays reporter and ladies' man Brian Fantana, said that often that could backfire by making the cast themselves laugh - though the challenge of keeping a straight face was often part of the job, especially when working with Ferrell.
    "It's impossible to try and keep one's composure, and I was pretty bad at it several times. We all were. Some days more than others. But there's the pressure of ruining someone else's take, and if they do something funny, you feel terrible," he said.
    "As soon as Will said that whole thing about taco meat I tried my hardest not to laugh, but thankfully there was just a little moment before, I remember thinking "you can cut it and I didn't ruin it", because that was just the funniest thing I'd ever heard," he added.
    Applegate, who wed rock musician Martyn LeNoble in February, said returning to a role nine years on was always going to be a challenge, particularly as the character was moved from being an antagonist in the first movie to more of an emotional role in the second.
    "It actually is a little bit difficult and I think all of us have shifted the characters a little bit. It's hard to spend nine years away from something and then jump in and remember exactl what you're doing," she said.
    Director Adam McKay, known for his collaborations with Ferrell, was already holding out the possibility of a third movie, but said that it was still important to highlight the peculiarites of the world of contemporary news through the lens of comedy especially.
    "It's a free-for-all in the States and, you know, most of our country doesn't know anything. There's a lot of misinformation floating around, so to get into that world, it would be a little irresponsible to not comment on that.
    "You know the number one thing for us is also that it's funny, so sadly it's also very funny," he added.
    Due for public release on December 20, the sequel features cameos by a raft of celebrities including Liam Neeson, James Marsden, Nicole Kidman and Kanye West - a testament to the enduring success of the first movie, which producer and director Judd Apatow said was down to the original film's longevity.
    "It's one of those movies that's really fun to watch 35 times. It gets funnier every time you watch it, and every time we watched it we would notice a new weird thing Steve Carell was doing in the background, and it grows on you. Like a fungus," he told Reuters Television.
    A day ahead of the nominations anouncement for the Golden Globes as well, Apatow said it had been a great year for cinema in general.
    "This is really the first year I've really felt like it's ridiculous to do awards because there are so many movies that deserve a lot of attention," he said
    "I mean is "Fruitvale Station" better than "Her" or better than "12 Years a Slave", or better than "American Hustle" or better than "Wolf of Wall Street"? I'm just happy that movies have been great this year," he added.
    In character as Burgundy, Ferrell has conducted a guerrilla marketing campaign by cycling with electronic music duo Daft Punk, presenting at the MTV European Awards, releasing a short video before the Australian elections and serenading embattled Toronto Mayor Rob Ford on television.
    As for his Golden Globe tips, Ferrell said he had one in particular in mind.
    "I have a good feeling about the cast of "Downton Abbey"."
    "Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues" goes on general release on December 20.
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