W E D N E S D AY | 1 2 . 1 8 . 2 0 1 3 | E X P R E S S | 25
GEMMA LAMANA PHOTOS (PARAMOUNT PICTURES)
Leave Us Out of It A judge revokes singer Chris Brown’s probation after his recent D.C. arrest 31
David Koechner, Paul Rudd, Will Ferrell and Steve Carell, from left, are happy to be back for “Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues.”
He’s Back in the News Will Ferrell revives Ron Burgundy for the ‘Anchorman’ sequel he never saw coming Film Will Ferrell spent seven years on “Saturday Night Live.” Surely he knows how to engineer a culturesaturating catchphrase. “I think everyone is just dying to hear that as soon as we wrote it, Adam [McKay] and I looked at each other and said ‘Milk was a bad choice’ is going to be on T-shirts,’ ” Ferrell says. “There’s no way. I don’t think I could write a catchphrase if I had to.” So it was inadvertent that Ferrell, co-writer/director McKay and the rest behind “Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy” gave birth to “I Love Lamp” T-shirts
Ron Burgundy (Will Ferrell) and Veronica Corningstone (Christina Applegate ) own the ’80s.
(thanks, improvising Steve Carell) and declarations of “I IMMEDIATELY regret this decision!” Since Burgundy’s arrival in theaters in 2004, Ferrell and McKay have worked together on “Talladega Nights,” “Step Brothers” and “The Other Guys,” none of which made anyone stop quoting “Anchorman.” So, by popular demand, the duo reunited for “Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues,” which opens today. It’s Ferrell’s first movie with a “2” in the title. To drum up publicity, the 46-year-old comedian has been appearing pretty much everywhere in character as the egotistical newsman, but for this interview, he’s just Will Ferrell. He’s quieter and shier than you might expect — and nice, apologizing for the “Anchorman 2” soundtrack that’s blaring in the background. Ferrell says creating their first sequel posed challenges for him
‘Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues’ (PG-13)
Director: Adam McKay Stars: Will Ferrell, Christina Applegate and Paul Rudd In a Nutshell: The crack team of reporters from 2004’s “Anchorman” returns, this time staffing the first 24-hour news network as they navigate the 1980s with classiness.
and McKay. “It was all new to us,” he says. “How do you pay homage to the first one and not make it feel repetitive, but at the same time have some fun with calling a few things back, but making the whole thing feel like a brand-new movie?” One thing unchanged from the 1970s-set original is the core cast of characters — including sports reporter Champ Kind (David Koechner), reporter Brian Fantana (Paul Rudd) and semi-lobotomized weatherman Brick Tamland (Carell). “People ask, ‘How have these guys changed?’ And they haven’t one bit,” Ferrell says. “Now it’s 1980, and it’s almost like they were in a time capsule.” In “Anchorman 2,” the team is part of the first 24-hour news network, a setting that intrigued Ferrell and McKay. “We can be satirical, we can comment on the colliding interests of corporations owning the news,” Ferrell says. “That was all thought out from a writing standpoint.” That’s a departure from the first movie. “The first one was just simply ‘woman is thrust into the maledominated world of local news. What happens?’ ” he says. “And then all the jokes we had thought up, we made them all fit. A prime example is Ron Burgundy playing jazz flute. I’m driving along one day and I call up Adam and I say, ‘Should Ron Burgundy play jazz flute?’ ‘Yes, he should.’ ” Who knows how many T-shirts “Anchorman 2” might spawn or how big a crowd of devotees it might win over. But Ferrell says no one expected the original to inspire the following that it did. “With the first one, the ownership has been flattering,” he says. “But we shake our heads and just laugh.” KRISTEN PAGE-KIRBY (E XPRESS)
“I’m driving along one day and I call up [director] Adam [McKay] and I say, ‘Should Ron Burgundy play jazz flute?’ ‘Yes, he should.’ ”