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 Will Ferrell gets to play both the funny man and the straight man, as Dr. Rick Marshall in Land of the Lost.
{sidebar id=1}The film version of Land of the Lost updates the 1974 television series, in a way that takes advantage of current technology and combines it with some old favorites, like the Sleestak and Chaka (Jorma Taccone). Has-been scientist, Dr. Marshall, is a man with no weapons, few skills and questionable smarts, who is sucked through a space-time vortex to a place of spectacular sights. Along with him for the adventure are his research assistant Holly (Anna Friel) and Will, a redneck whose tourist attraction served as the source of their journey.
At the films press day, Will Ferrell talked about changes they made to the original Land of the Lost, along with his possible return to Eastbound & Down and the chances of an Anchorman 2.
Q: Because a lot has changed from the show, like with Holly and Will no longer being teenagers or brother and sister, how much input did you have into the script?
Will: For whatever reason, we just thought it would give us a better platform for the comedy, instead of having my character saddled with these two kids. Will, the character that Danny brought to life, and a potential love interest, mix it up.
Q: Part of the fun of the show was the bad special effects. Did you ever discuss doing maybe one bad effect as homage to the show?
Will: No. We knew the Sleestaks would be slow, and that we would maintain that. But, for the most part, the decision was made early on to make the effects part be updated and a cool thing, as opposed to a kitschy thing. Getting to build all the sets and everything was really a neat aspect that they decided to add in. But, there was a decision, early on, to make that be the great part, and then have the comedy bounce off of that.
Q: How did it feel to actually invent and sing the theme song in the film?
Will: That was actually a pretty cool moment for me, having been such a fan of the show, as a kid. We also shot a really great teaser trailer that they never used, where it was just me in black silhouette, playing the beginnings of the song. It was fun. It was also fun to actually play a banjo, for the three chords I had to learn to do that. I thought that was a really smart way to pay homage to the theme song, by the fact that hes trying to make amends with the group, with this stupid song he figured out while he was sad by himself. I love that scene.
Q: What was it like to work with Brad Silberling?
Will: It was great. Ive known Brad in passing, for a long time. In fact, I did this movie, The Suburbans, with his wife, Amy Brenneman, a long time ago, and it was really fun to get to know him and work with him, on a professional level. Ive been a fan of his work. When we were meeting with potential directors, he immediately set himself above everyone, just because he was like, You know, whether you hire me or not, you should use these two stages on the Universal lot because they are the biggest ones. He had so much knowledge about how to shoot this film, and he was so willing to help. He was like, If I dont get the job, thats fine, but here are the things you should probably do to make sure you do it the right way.
We were so impressed by how he had the whole thing laid out. We had been looking at some comedy guys who didnt necessarily have a handle on a movie of this scope and, in the end, I think we made the best decision because Brad, obviously, was okay with anything we wanted to throw in, comedically. Hes got a better sense of humor than he gets credit for, with the types of movies hes done. So, it was actually a great marriage. Plus, he put together this team of amazing people that another director might not have been able to do.
Q: Was it difficult for you guys to get the comedy with this much CGI?
Will: It was hard, at times, yeah. Youre running from point A to point B, and its something that I wasnt used to. I find that, in watching the movie, you see moments, after the fact, where we were like, Oh, we could have maybe made a joke here. So, that was a little difficult, but for the most part, the script was pretty well set, going into it.
Q: The film is pretty edgy, as far as the comedy goes. How young an audience do you anticipate that this is for?
Will: I dont know. We obviously didnt want it to be a Disney film. We wanted the humor to be cool and push that PG-13. Kids are pretty sophisticated. Im going to say that I think this movie is appropriate for six years and above. No, probably a sophisticated 11-year-old or 10-year-old. Im proud about this movie, in the sense that it is more of a family movie than Ive done in awhile, and yet I feel like its still got some original, sophisticated jokes that youre not going to find in a movie, in a similar vein.
Q: Was Chaka grabbing Hollys breast in the script?
Will: That was always in the script. He figured out that this was the way you communicate with women, by grabbing their breasts. Hes kind of sly. and a little touchy-feely. We just thought that would be a funny place for Chaka to go, and Jorma did such a great job. He just started touching me everywhere he could. He added all of that, and it was really funny to play off of.
Q: As a kid, you either loved or hated Chaka. Did you like him, as a kid?
Will: I was pretty enamored with the fact that this early man-creature became friends with the kids in the show, even though I remember thinking, God, he looks freaky. I think I liked him.
Q: Was Matt Lauer always supposed to be in the film?
Will: I dont think so. In the original draft, I was on a Charlie Rose type show, with a panel of people, like Al Gore, Stephen Hawking and myself, and Hawking starts to go after me and discredit me, and then we get in this fight. I actually tried to lunge at Stephen Hawking, which was really funny. It was a great idea on paper, but then you start to make the phone calls and people are like, No, were unavailable. So then, it became the Today Show, and they were really up for it. Matt was totally game. So, that became the plan B, which worked beautifully, so much so that we went back and did a reshoot, to add that second part because the front part worked so great. And, he got such a kick out of it.
Q: Was the scene ad-libbed, where he was interviewing you?
Will: The first scene, no. There was a couple of little moments, but for the most part, it was scripted. We were so impressed because, as you see in the movie, hes so at ease at snapping into being himself, which a lot of people cant do. It sounds like a silly thing to say, but a lot of times, people get stiff and they start to act, and he was so real. And when I did little things, like keep showing my book, he was like, Stop it, okay? He would just throw those things in. For the ending scene where he tackles me, he said, You know what? Lets do one more take. And then, he just did that, which was great. I was trying not to laugh because I was so surprised that he was tackling me, but that was brilliant. That was great. He totally faked us out. He was like, I think I messed up that line, and the next thing I knew, he just tackled me. Iit was really fun to see him really take advantage of that.
Q: Jody Hill says theres going to be a second season of Eastbound & Down. Are you going to come back?
Will: I would love to, but its up to the guys. The direction theyre talking about going with the second season, which I dont want to spoil, is something that wouldnt lend itself to my character reappearing.
Q: Could you do someone else with a different wig?
Will: I could. I would be up for that, especially where theyre planning on going with the show. Those guys are busy up until probably next year, and then theyll probably put it out again in the Spring.
Q: Is there a specific person you based Ashley Schaeffer on?
Will: They wanted it to look like Ric Flair, the wrestler from Atlanta. Hes the Mouth from the South. I used that guy, as the basis.
Q: You shot Eastbound after Land of the Lost, right?
Will: Yes.
Q: Did that help your relationship with Danny McBride?
Will: It definitely made it so much more comfortable, for sure. We had already had the talks with them, as producers about Eastbound, before Danny got cast in Land of the Lost, so that was already in the works. And, having spent three or four months together, it made it great just to show up in North Carolina and play around. Danny, Jody, Ben and the crew were just a bunch of funny, smart guys. They employed a lot of the guys theyd worked with at the School of the Arts in North Carolina, so a lot of their crew and everyone else made it a real family affair, and I think it shows in the series.
Q: Can you talk about your experience doing Man vs. Wild?
Will: Yeah, it was crazy. It was fun, but it was one of those things where I knew I would be out there going, Why did I do this?, but I couldnt say no to it. We were 40 miles north of the Arctic Circle, in northern Sweden, just in the middle of nowhere, making snow shoes out of birch branches and eating reindeer eyeballs, and things like that. It was pretty intense.
Q: How long were you there?
Will: It was 48 hours. They scaled it back for me because hes usually out there an entire week, or five days. They made it really safe for me. They made sure that I had a few more of the creature comforts that I dont think he gets, such as warm clothes, being able to warm my hands, a base camp, and things like that.
Q: Who made that pitch, and how did that happen?
Will: As far as I know, my manager, who also represents Sacha Baron Cohen, is friends with the London manager who represents Sacha, who also represents Bear Grylls. They were having lunch in London, one day, talking about various things, and the guy says, By the way, Bear Grylls is a huge Will Farrell fan. Would he ever want to come on the show? And, may manager, who happens to be a huge Man vs. Wild fan, was like, That is a great idea. Let me talk to him. So, then he pitched it to me, and I hadnt see a lot of them, so I watched a bunch and said, Oh, my God, this is too crazy to say no to. So, thats how the whole thing happened. And, Universal loved it because of the cross-promotional thing. It all added up in a way that made it appealing to everyone.
Q: Who wins, man or the wild?
Will: Wild kicks mans ass, and then man gets courageous, at the end.
Q: You have a Sherlock Holmes project also, dont you?
Will: Yeah. Were trying to develop it. I just met with Sacha Baron Cohen three weeks ago.
Q: Would it be a comedy version?
Will: Oh, yeah, definitely. Its just a question of the Robert Downey, Jr. one that theyve just shot, which comes out around Christmas. That ones probably going to be a hit franchise. I dont know whether that is something you want to go up against, or if it would allow for us to do a comedy version. Would it feel like were just trying to copy them, even though we wrote our script before they did? I dont know. But, yeah, were thinking about it.
Q: Are you going to do Anchorman 2?
Will: I thought we were. I kept saying that. I was told we were, and now Ive heard its too hard to get everyone together. So, hopefully Adam McKay is going to be able to talk to all the guys individually and see if theres a time and place that were can figure out how to do it.
Q: Comedy sequels have a difficult history. Why do you guys think that you can break that curse and come back and do a sequel thats just as good as the original?
Will: Oh, we dont. Its just that it would be really fun to do. It could be terrible. But, if theyre going to pay us to do it, why not?
Q: Is it something youre eager to do? Is it on the front burner?
Will: We werent necessarily, but the legacy of that movie just kept building and building and we just got excited about it. And then, Steve Carell said, Im totally up for it. I agree that sequels are hard. I think we would use that as a challenge, to try to make it the craziest sequel youve ever seen, with a live by the sword, die by the sword kind of feel.
Q: Would you like to do a sequel to Land of the Lost?
Will: I would love to. You never know, but I love working with Brad and this cast. It was so fun to actually work with a small cast. Ive done ensemble films for so long, so it was nice. Given the opportunity, it would be fun.
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