Last summer, I got to riff with a $20 million comedian. On the set of Land of the Lost, Will Ferrell entertained my silly questions and played back and forth. He gets paid millions to do that but I got it for free. He was in his full khakis as Rick Marshall too. In a tent off to the side from the Sleestak costume station, in a break from a scene inside the Sleestak temple, Ferrell previewed his summer adventure comedy, paying particular attention to a journalist from Landofthelost.com.
Will Ferrell: Who is Landofthelost.com? George! Staring down at me, making sure we haven't f*cked anything up. It's too late. We've f*cked everything up already. Gosh. George has it out for us already. What are you gonna do?
Will Ferrell: I don't know. I don't know how long. I was attached initially and then I wasn't going to be able to do it and then Universal really wanted to make it and they were going to make it with other people and then that disappeared. So, I forget the chronology of it all.
Crave Online:Do you think your character in Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back was some kind of cosmic foreshadowing of this?
Will Ferrell: It must have been. In fact, we owe a great deal to Kevin Smith that we were all sitting in this lovely air-conditioned tent right now.
Crave Online:Well, you are rockin' the khaki.
Will Ferrell: The khaki is good. I like it. I'm trying to think, not since Elf have I been able to wear the same clothes every single day. It's nice. You don't have to think about things. You don't have those awkward wardrobe moments where you tried on a different T-shirt that you thought was really cool and then it's not the same one the next day and you're like, “What happened?” “Oh, the director didn't like it.” Which is good. It never changes. I like it.
Crave Online:How hard is it with this big movie where you have effects and have to hit marks, to be really funny and loose and be Will Ferrell?
Will Ferrell: Well, yeah, it's a whole different animal in a way. You know, in some ways you actually don't have to be funny all the time which is what I like about it and in other ways you can play these adventure moments just completely straight and they come off funny. You don't have to work at it too much. The flip side of it is that as we are in precarious situations, it’s such a great backdrop to actually throw out these lines that are commenting that you're about to be eaten. That's why I love Rick Marshall who is obviously scared for his life, at the same time his scientific mind is always working and he has a great appreciation of this character that's going to eat him all at the same time. It's a great combination for comedy.
Crave Online:Tell us about your version of Rick Marshall.
Will Ferrell: Yeah, slightly different from the TV show, though George may be able to shed some light on this. Rick Marshall, was it ever established? Was he just a guy who liked to explore with his children?
George: He was a Park Ranger.
Will Ferrell: He was a Park Ranger. Okay, so that's where there is a difference. Rick Marshall in the movie is a quantum paleontologist. So, slightly failed, there was a moment at time that we sort of see at the beginning of the movie where he was one of the stars of the scientific community, but then he wrote this book on how he thought there were holes in time and space and everyone thought he was crazy. He ended up, eventually punching Matt Lauer. We haven't shot it yet. That led to his fall from grace and we sort of pick him up working at the La Brea Tar Pits trying to teach children who aren't listening to him and all stuff like that. So it's slightly different in that he had developed these theories about places like Land of the Lost and it wasn't until Holly showed up and studied some of his findings and sort of reinvigorated him to get back in the field and that lead them on this adventure.
Crave Online:Did you watch the original Land of the Lost?
Will Ferrell: Yeah, my brother and I loved Land of the Lost. It was kind of, for those of us who watched it, such a unique thing on Saturday mornings. I just loved that it wasn't a silly cartoon. It seemed so real at the time and how did they make this show with dinosaurs and Sleestack creatures and it looked so real! I wished I was Will! I always thought it was the coolest premise and the fact it didn't talk down to kids. It seemed like a real adventure show, so I loved it.
Crave Online:Were you responsible for any Sleestack references on 'SNL'?
Will Ferrell: I'm trying to think. I'm sure we did. Yeah, I don't have any specific ones. The cheerleaders sketch was based on Sleestacks though . The camaraderie the Sleestacks had with each other was a manifestation on that.
Crave Online:Oh, it makes sense now.
Will Ferrell: Yeah, now you finally get it. Now, it’s finally funny.
Crave Online:You were the first to discover Danny McBride. How would you describe his appeal?
Will Ferrell: Well, on a personal level if you spend any time, he's just a fun, gregarious personality. Someone everyone wants to be around. In terms of a performer, he's kind of got that thing that he shows off in Foot Fist Way which is this attitude of someone who is really doesn't know that he is maybe this kind of slovenly guy. That thing, that kind of unabashed, undeserved self confidence that is really funny to watch someone play with. That's kind of sums up a lot of things he does in a way.
Crave Online:We've heard some rumors about an Anchorman 2. Is Ron Burgundy character one you'd like to revisit?
Will Ferrell: I know, I heard Mr. Adam McKay already told the world. Yeah, definite interest. I think we now have to do it which is good. Sort of forced him into a corner.
Crave Online:Would you pick him up back the 70s or later?
Will Ferrell: I have no idea. We've talked about a couple little premises. I think Adam plans on directing another film so it would probably be at least another year before we could even write something or think of something.
Crave Online:And after the story came out, everyone who had been in the movie were just like, “Yeah, yeah, just call me up.”
Will Ferrell: I know, which is great to hear.
Crave Online:A lot of people really love the character so this is definitely something you'd be willing to go back to you?
Will Ferrell: Yeah, I would definitely be willing to go back to it. Whether or not it happens it still remains to be seen. I think myself and Steve, we are all in different places from when we filmed it, so we've have to figure that out, but yeah. We've never been huge on the sequel thing in a way and yet, I was always kind of prodding him that if we were to do a sequel on anything, Anchorman would be the one to do it on. It seems like it would be so much fun and so, I think Adam kind of came around on that idea and we started doing Ron Burgundy on the Funny or Die comedy tour and that got everyone fired up again. So, yeah, hopefully, we can actually get this going.
Crave Online:Can you guys top great comedy sequels like Caddyshack II and Blues Brothers 2000?
Will Ferrell: Blues Brothers 2000, no. We know the extent of our limitations to be honest and but I think we could come close. Like a Blues Brothers 1000.
Crave Online:How do you pick your future projects?
Will Ferrell: It's the usual channels of agent/manager, procuring scripts, that kind of thing. At the same time, working with a guy like Jimmy Miller, we kind of have a lot of relationships with other writers and kind of have enough people in place that if we have an idea we can get them into development and kind of get it going. So, it's kind of this 50/50 split of things we are developing just on our own, so we don't have to worry about a script coming along and then the usual thing of, “The script just came in. Everyone's talking about it, you want to read it?” That sort of thing.
Crave Online:Now that HBO bought a stake in your Funny or Die website, is it going to change at all?
Will Ferrell: The actual website? No, no. They won't have any creative influence I don't think. I hope not, I guess. Watch they will take it over now. We'll all be fired and HBO will take over. I think that's why they really wanted to buy it is because they really liked the model we were doing and everything had set up. We would obviously entertain any input they had, but at the end of the day, we are still kind of just in charge of the content and the style and everything like that.
Crave Online:Are there any Funny or Die productions that are going to come to HBO?
Will Ferrell: There could. It's all sort of brand new territory in a way. I don't know exactly how far or where this path is going to We'll see. We'll see how these ten half hours go and what that turns out to be like and go from there.
Crave Online:How involved are you creatively?
Will Ferrell: It’s pretty hard. If I'm doing this thing, I'm kind of out of the picture a little bit. Then once I wrap and have some breathing room I can check back in. We are always talking to each other about what the site is looking to do and updates on the numbers, half of which I don't understand. Yeah, I come in and out as my schedule allows me too.
Crave Online:Do you see Funny or Die being a springboard for movie projects or characters you create there?
Will Ferrell: Yeah, it could. It could in a certain scenario be a place where a movie is released potentially. We'll have to see just how far the internet is going to go. Is film going to go to that medium or is it a mix? I think it's one of those things. It's conflicting because that would be a neat thing to happen and at the same time I still love going to the movies.
